c. 2006 Religion News Service
(UNDATED) The authors of these three new works view the founders of the United State _ especially George Washington _ as men of faith. But after exhaustive research, they see that faith as being personally understood and lived out in different ways in the founders’ private lives and public statements:
“Establishing that George Washington was a Christian helps to substantiate the critical role that Christians and Christian principles played in the founding of our nation. This, in turn, encourages a careful reappraisal of our history and founding documents. A nation that forgets its past does not know where it is or where it is headed. We believe such a study would also empower, enable, and defend the presence of a strong Judeo-Christian worldview in the ongoing development of our state and national governments and courts. We set out to provide the necessary foundation for an honest assessment of the faith and values of our founders and the government they instituted.”
_ From “George Washington’s Sacred Fire” by Peter A. Lillback
“Washington learned that Providence does not mean that everything works for the best, always issuing in happy endings. He did speak of Providence as a `good Providence,’ of `benevolence,’ and of `the Smiles of Heaven.’ But his favorite description of Providence, appearing much more frequently than any other, is `inscrutable.’ Our ways are not God’s ways. Providence seems frequently to be in the business of humbling us through defeat, calamity, ruin. It was often difficult for Washington to see how such disasters worked to the nation’s ultimate benefit, and in such cases both philosophy and faith taught him that the right way was to submit his wisdom to that of the Almighty. And to trust.”
_ From “Washington’s God: Religion, Liberty and the Father of Our Country” by Michael Novak and Jana Novak
“The language of the Declaration (of Independence) marked an important shift in early American history. Prior to Philadelphia and the Revolution, most public professions of faith were Christian, whether the words came from Anglicans in Jamestown or Puritans in New England. In declaring the colonies’ independence from Great Britain, though, the Founders were also making another declaration: that Americans respected the idea of God, understood the universe to be governed by moral and religious forces, and prayed for divine protection against the enemies of this world, but were not interested in establishing yet another earthly government with official ties to a state church.”
_ “American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers and the Making of a Nation” by Jon Meacham
KRE/PH END HOLMES
Editors: To obtain author and jacket photos for all three books, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.
See main story, RNS-FOUNDING-FAITH, transmitted June 29, 2006.
