About this time every year, and more so this year as we celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday, our friends on the Left tell us that our nation’s founders were either enlightened freethinkers who thoroughly rejected the tenets of Christianity or that they were evil, exploitative Eurocentric white men whose only purpose in life was to oppress as many people as they could. Most of these folks have never spent a moment researching what they believe, but since it fits their anti-American narrative. They simply regurgitate what they were told by teachers in government schools and college professors whose main source of reference is the screeds of Howard Zinn. Let me set the record straight with a brief sampling of their own words and writings.
Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin are the two most referred to as Deists. While Deists may reject Orthodox Christianity, they believe in a creator, an afterlife, and divine judgment.
Thomas Jefferson:
The Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator…”
A letter to Thomas Jeffersom Smith (The son of a friend, John Spear Smith):
“Adore God. Reverence and cherish your parents. Love your neighbor as yourself and your country more than yourself. Be just. Be true, Murmur not in the ways of Providence.”
A letter to Miles King:
“Nay, we have heard it said that there is not a Quaker or a Baptist, a Presbyterian or Episcopalian, a Catholic or a Protestant in Heven; that on entering that gate, we leave those badges of schism behind and find ourselves united in those principles only in which God has united us all…”
“I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our Creator and, I hope, to the pure doctrine of Jesus also.”
Benjamin Franklin:
The recently released movie “A Great Awakening” gave the viewers a fascinating perspective on Franklin’s religious beliefs. His character played by John Paul Sneed said that he “was a friend to all churches but a member of none.”
Franklin was a close friend of the great revivalist Rev. George Whitefield, who no doubt had an influence on Franklin’s spirituality when, as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, he called for prayer when it appeared that the delegates were deadlocked:
“In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer…I have lived a long time in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered…I have, sir, lived a long time, and the longer I live the more convincing proofs that God governs in the affairs of men. And, if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can raise without His aid?”
While Franklin may not have been a Christian in the orthodox sense, his statement at the convention clearly proved that he was no Deist.
George Washington:
In a letter he wrote to his brother in 1755:
But by the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me’
As the commander of the Continental Army, Washington ordered prayer In his General Orders, he commanded that divine services be conducted on a regular basis in every brigade. While some historians dispute the historical accuracy of the famous painting of Washington praying alone at Valley Forge, none of them dispute that Washington prayed at Valley Forge.
- Divine Service be performed regularly in every brigade.
- Profanity, gambling, and drunkenness be avoided.
- Chaplains provide sermons and guidance to the soldiers.
Washington’s National Day of Thanksgiving February 19, 1795:
“….I, George Washington, President of the United States, do recommend to all religious societies and denominations, and to all persons whomsoever, within the United States, to set apart and observe Thursday the 19th of February next, as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer and on that day to meet together and render sincere and hearty thanks to the great Ruler of nations for the manifold and signal mercies…”
Farewell Address:
“…Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens…”
John Adams:
In a letter he wrote while President to Massachusetts Militia leaders:
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other…”
A diary entry while he was a young man:
“ I am resolved to rise with the sun and to study the Scriptures on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning…”
In a letter to Thomas Jefferson, 1818:
“…Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company…”
Samuel Adams
While he is best known as a brewer, he was a devout Christian and considered as the Father of the American Revolution.”
From his speech to the Continental Congress August 1, 1776:
“…Heaven hath trusted us with the management of things for Eternity….The hand of Heaven appears to have led us on to be perhaps humble instruments and means in the great providential dispensation which is completing…”
Rev John Witherspoon
He was the only member of the Continental Congress who was a clergyman. He was considered the “spiritual inspiration” behind the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Dr. Benjamin Rush:
Dr, Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a founder of the American Bible Society
“…A Christian, I say again, cannot fail of being a republican, for every precept of the Gospel inculcates those degrees of humility, self-denial, and brotherly kindness.”
Charles Carroll:
Carroll was the only Catholic and the oldest surviving signer.
“Being persuaded that there can be but one true religion taught by Christ. And that the RC is that religion, I conceive it to be my duty to have my grandchildren brought up in it. I feel no ill will or illiberal prejudices against the sectarians…’
While our Founding Fathers were flawed men -as all men are-their sacrifices led to the creation of the greatest nation in the history of mankind. They left us a legacy of freedom and liberty. Let the members of the Left sit out celebrating our nation’s 250th birthday. They aren’t good company, anyway. As for my family and me, we will celebrate our nation’s birthday, honor the memory of the great men and women who made it possible, and give praise to God, as John Adams recommended.
Book recommendation:
Great American Statesmen and Heroes by Catherine Millard
