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Regarding the Bible's influence on America, Andrew Jackson, America's seventh president, declared, "That book, sir, is the rock on which our Republic rests." Born in 1767, Jackson's life overlapped that of the founding generation, and his statement reflects the general sentiment of the founding generation toward the Bible.
George Washington Honors and Esteems the Bible
When, for example, George Washington chose to place his hand on a Bible to take the oath of office it was no mere formality, but a declaration that the Bible would be the ultimate source of wisdom and guidance for his administration. He also once said, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible" (Hyatt, 5 Pillars of the American Republic, 13).
While president, Washington's nephew, Robert Lewis, served as his secretary and lived with him. Lewis said that he had accidentally witnessed Washington's private devotions in his library both morning and evening and that on those occasions he had seen him in a kneeling posture with a Bible open before him, and that he believed such to have been his daily practice.
James Madison's Biblical Worldview
James Madison, the chief architect of the U.S. Constitution, had a thorough Christian upbringing and training. At the College of New Jersey, he was mentored by the school's president, John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian Reformer and signer of the Declaration of Independence, who once declared, "Cursed is all education that is contrary to Christ."
After completing his studies, Madison remained at the college where worked on a project translating the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into English. His estimation of the Bible was demonstrated when as president, in 1812, he signed a federal bill that provided economic aid for a Bible society in its goal of the mass distribution of the Bible.
Dr. D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe were right when they said, "Madison's worldview was one shaped by the Bible more than any other source" (Hyatt, 5 Pillars of theAmerican Republic, 14).
The Founders Primary Authority
From the beginning, the Bible had been incorporated into all the learning of the schools in Colonial America. For example, The New England Primer coupled Bible verses and church doctrine with the learning of the ABCs. The letter "A," for example, was associated with "Adam" and the statement, "In Adam's fall, we sinned all." Children in early America learned to read with their primer in one hand and their Bible in the other.
Knowing how the Founders esteemed and reverenced the Bible, it comes as no surprise that The First Continental Congress was opened with Bible reading and prayer. It is also no surprise that when Benjamin Franklin called the Constitutional Convention to Prayer, he quoted from both the Psalms and the Gospels (Hyatt, 5 Pillars of the American Republic, 14).
Indeed, a ten-year project instituted to discover where the Founders got their ideas for America's founding documents found that by far the single most cited authority in their writings was the Bible. They were people of the Book and consciously and unconsciously used it as the standard for measuring all other writings both ancient and modern.
Congress Recommends the First English Bible Printed in America
The Founders' respect for the Bible was highlighted when the first English Bible printed in America in 1782 included a recommendation from Congress. The producer of the Bible, Robert Aitken, had written a letter to Congress in which he asked for that government body's sanction on his work. In the letter, Aitken called this Bible, "a neat Edition of the Scriptures for the use in schools."
Congress enthusiastically responded to his request and offered the following recommendation to be included in this first English Bible printed in America.
Resolved: That the United States in Congress assembled, highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interest of religion as well as an instance of the progress of the arts in this country, and being satisfied from the above report, of his care and accuracy in the execution of the work they recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States and hereby authorize him to publish this recommendation in the manner he shall think proper.
The Founders Not Impacted by Deism
The Founders lived at a time when the European Enlightenment and its exaltation of reason was drawing many on the European continent away from the Bible. However, the Enlightenment and its religious counterpart, Deism, never gained popularity in America. The late Harvard professor, Perry Miller, called Deism an "exotic plant" that never took root in American soil. America's Founders saw no dichotomy between Biblical revelation and reason. The well-known Catholic scholar, William Novak, says,
Everywhere that reason led, Americans found the Bible. If they read Francis Bacon, they found the Bible. If they read Isaac Newton or John Milton, they found the Bible. In Shakespeare, they found the Bible. In the world of the founders, the Bible was an unavoidable and useful rod of measurement, a stimulus to intellectual innovation (Hyatt, 5 Pillars of the American Republic, 16).
The Bible Impacted All of American Life
When the French sociologist, Alexis de Tocqueville, visited America in 1831 to study her institutions, he said, "The religious atmosphere of the country was the first thing that struck me." In describing the opening of America's western frontier, he was impressed with the character of those adventurers, whom he said "penetrated the wilds of the New World with the Bible, an axe, and some newspapers."
Yes, Jackson was right. The Bible was the rock on which the early American republic rested. This profound influence of the Bible on the founding of America was confirmed by her 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, who said, "No other book of any kind ever written in English has ever so affected the whole life of a people."
What Christians Can Do
How far we have fallen! The Book that made America great has become an object of disdain and ridicule by an arrogant, narcissistic cultural elite. America's Founders would be astounded to know that the book they so revered is now banned from public schools and that government officials are threatened with lawsuits for holding Bible studies with their colleagues.
Yes, this un-American hostility to the Bible is a marker showing the extent to which the nation has been severed from its roots. It also serves as a wake up call for Christians in America to repent of their burning desire for acceptance by modern culture and become salt and light to this generation and begin praying for another great, national spiritual awakening.
Workers with jack hammers recently showed up at the capital grounds in Oklahoma City and removed the Ten Commandments monument by order of a federal judge who said it violated the First Amendment. In Mississippi, a federal judge, for the same reason, ordered a high school band to remove "How Great Thou Art" from the musical repertoire they played at their school's football games. For the same reason, a kindergartner in Florida, who bowed her head to pray over her lunch, was stopped by a school staffer and told she could not pray in school.
These attacks on religious liberty have become commonplace in modern America and they are all based on a mythical "separation of church and state," a phrase that is not found in the U.S. Constitution. "Separation of church and state" is a contorted interpretation of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which merely says, "Congress shall make no law concerning the establishment of religion, nor hindering the free exercise thereof."
Secularists have taken the first phrase of the First Amendment, known as the "establishment clause," and argued that any expression of faith on state-owned property amounts to an "establishment of religion." Based on this myth, Bible reading and prayer have been banned from public schools and numerous lawsuits are regularly filed against Christians, including a recent suit filed against Benjamin Carson related to his participation in a Bible study with other members of the president's cabinet.
George Washington Was Unacquainted With This Myth
That the secularists have created a myth with their interpretation of the "establishment clause" is obvious when we consider what happened the day after the adoption of the First Amendment. Led by George Washington, the president of the Constitutional Convention, those same Founders issued a proclamation for a Day of Prayer.
Consider also that the ink was hardly dry on the First Amendment when George Washington took the oath of office with his hand on a Bible, bringing his faith to bear upon the execution of the office of president. This was in harmony with his stated belief that, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."
Immediately then, after being sworn in, Washington and members of Congress proceeded to St. Paul's Chapel where they participated in a worship service. So much for a "separation of church and state."
That Washington was unacquainted with this modern myth is also demonstrated by the fact that shortly after being sworn in as president he issued a proclamation designating Nov. 26, 1789, as a Day of Thanksgiving wherein all citizens should offer gratitude to God for His protection, care and many blessings. The proclamation reads in part,
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness ... Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
So much for a "separation of church and state" in the thinking of George Washington and the founding generation.
The Source of the Myth
The phrase "separation of church and state" is derived, nor from the Constitution, but from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to a group of Baptists to reassure them that they would not suffer persecution from the new American government such as they had known in the Old World and even in Jefferson's home state of Virginia.
In this letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, Jefferson assured them that in America a "wall of separation" had been erected by the First Amendment that would protect them from government intrusion. His "wall of separation" was obviously unidirectional, put in place to keep the government out of the church, not to keep God out of the government.
Modern secularists have turned Jefferson's statement on its head by reinterpreting his wall as a barrier to keep people of faith from influencing government. Jefferson would roll over in his grave at the distortion of his simple statement of reassurance to one of the most persecuted religious groups of that era.
In Jefferson's mind the First Amendment provided "freedom of the church from the state," not "freedom of the state from the church." It is obvious that even Jefferson wanted Christian influence to predominate in the new nation.
Jefferson's Words and Actions Deny the Myth
Jefferson's actions clearly demonstrate that he welcomed Christian influence in the public and political arenas and that he saw no problem with the government advancing Christian causes. For example, as president, Jefferson sat on the front row of church services that were held each Sunday in one of the chambers of the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.
At one point, displeased with the music, he ordered the Marine Band to provide music for the Sunday services, and the band members were paid with money from the federal treasury. No one protested because no one of that generation had any thought of removing God from the public life of the nation.
Jefferson's high regard for Jesus Christ is shown by the fact that he closed all presidential documents with the appellation, "In the year of our Lord Christ." It is also shown by his statement that, "Of all the systems of morality that have come under my observations, none appear to me so pure as that of Jesus."
As founder of the University of Virginia, Jefferson invited the churches of all sects and denominations to establish schools of instruction adjacent to or within the precincts of the university. He wrote:
The students of the University will be free and expected to attend religious worship at the establishment of their respective sects, in the morning, and in time to meet their school at the University at its stated hour (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 151).
The Reason for the First Amendment
It is obvious that the modern myth of a "separation of church and state" did not originate with Jefferson. Neither did this myth originate with anyone in the founding generation. This was confirmed by Joseph Story (1779-1845) who served as a Supreme Court justice for 34 years from 1811-1845. Commenting on the First Amendment, Story said:
We are not to attribute this prohibition of a national religious establishment to an indifference in religion, and especially to Christianity, which none could hold in more reverence than the framers of the Constitution (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 152-53).
The First Amendment was put in place to guarantee that America would never have an official, state-sanctioned church, which had been the norm in Europe since the time of Constantine. These state-authorized churches, with the power of the government at their disposal, persecuted, imprisoned and put to death those who dared to deviate from the "official" policies of the "official" state church.
Most of the founders, or their parents or grandparents, had suffered at the hands of those state churches, both Catholic and Protestant. Benjamin Franklin, for example, tells how his grandfather, during the reign of Mary Tudor, had to read the Bible to his family in secret in order to keep from being arrested.
He did this by fastening an open Bible on the bottom and underneath the cover of a stool. With one of the children watching at the door for civil or religious authorities, he would turn the stool upside down and read the Bible to his family. In case of danger, he would quickly secure the pages and return the stool upright to its place in the corner of the room.
The danger was real for during Mary's reign many Protestants were imprisoned and 288 were burned at the stake for their faith. The Founders were determined that such would never be the case in America.
The First Amendment was put in place to guarantee religious liberty. It guaranteed that the government would never create a national, state church and would protect the liberty of all good people of faith to live and worship according to the dictates of their conscience.
The Founders considered the First Amendment to be based on Christian values of individual freedom and religious liberty, and this was affirmed over and over in their words and actions.
The Founding Generation Would be Horrified at This Modern Myth
The Christian mindset of the Founders was affirmed in a 10-year project to discover where they got their ideas for America's founding documents, including the First Amendment. The study found that by far the single most-cited authority in their writings was the Bible (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 163). It comes then as no surprise that John Adams, nearly four decades after the American Revolution, would declare:
The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were ... the general principles of Christianity. Now I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 163-64).
John Marshall (1755-1835), who served as the second Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court for 34 years, would be mystified by the modern idea of the "separation of church and state." In one of his writings, Marshall clearly states what every Founder assumed; that the founding documents and institutions on which the nation was formed presuppose a commitment to Christian principles and values. He wrote:
No person, I believe, questions the importance of religion in the happiness of man, even during his existence in this world. The American population is entirely Christian, and with us Christianity and religion are identified. It would be strange, indeed, if with such a people, our institutions did not presuppose Christianity, and did not refer to it, and exhibit relations with it (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 166).
While Chief Justice, Marshall made the Supreme Court facilities available to a local congregation for their Sunday gatherings. So, each Sunday, the singing of Christian hymns and the preaching of God's Word could be heard ringing through the chambers of both the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court. This was neither surprising nor offensive to anyone, for it fit perfectly within the mindset of the founding generation.
A French Visitor Sees No Sign of the Myth
That America's founders did not separate God from government was obvious to the young French sociologist, Alexis de Tocqueville, who came to America in 1831 to study her institutions. He wanted to see if he could discover the reason for America's rapid rise to power and affluence in the world.
Arriving on the heels of the Second Great Awakening, he exclaimed, "The religious atmosphere of the country was the first thing that struck me on arrival in the United States." Tocqueville said that Americans had combined the notions of Christianity and civil liberty so intimately in their minds that it was impossible to make them conceive of one without the other. He concluded that, in America, "From the beginning, politics and religion contracted an alliance which has never been dissolved" (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 168).
According to Tocqueville, this linking of faith with civil liberty was the reason for their passion to spread the gospel to the American frontier where new settlements were springing up. He wrote:
I have known of societies formed by the Americans to send out ministers of the Gospel in the new Western states, to found schools and churches there, lest religion should be suffered to die away in those remote settlements, and the rising states be less fitted to enjoy free institutions than the people from whom they came. I met with New Englanders who abandoned the country in which they were born in order to lay the foundations of Christianity and of freedom on the banks of the Missouri, or in the prairies of Illinois. Thus, religious zeal is warmed in the United States by the fires of patriotism.
Tocqueville told how, while he was in America, a witness was called to testify before the court in Chester County in the state of New York. When, however, the witness admitted he did not believe in the existence of God, the judge refused to admit his testimony as evidence. According to the judge, by admitting he did not believe in the existence of God, the witness had "destroyed all the confidence of the court in what he was about to say." Tocqueville said the incident was merely noted in the newspaper without further comment.
Tocqueville saw no "separation of church and state" in America in 1831. He in fact saw faith and freedom running parallel and producing the most prosperous and free nation the world had ever seen. To those critics in Europe who did not believe that freedom and faith could coincide in a nation, Tocqueville responded, "I can only reply that those who hold this language have never been to America."
A Supreme Court Declaration
The merger of faith and freedom was still a part of the American mindset as recent as 1892, when in the ruling of Church of the Holy Trinity vs The United States, the United States Supreme Court declared:
Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of The Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian ... From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation ... we find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth that this is a Christian nation (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 167).
This clear statement was made by the nation's highest Court after investigating thousands of historical documents. They saw no sign of the modern myth of a "separation of church and state" as is propagated by so many in our nation today.
The Way Forward
Jesus said in John 8:32, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." We must take the truth and go on the offensive. We must teach everyone—friends, children, co-workers, etc.—the truth about America's founding and about the myth that has been foisted upon us.
As truth is proclaimed and received, students, teachers, pastors, politicians and all freedom-loving people will be liberated to stand strong in their faith, for they will realize that their faith is the source of their civil liberty. This was the understanding of the Founders and was expressed by John Adams in a letter to his cousin, Zabdiel, two weeks before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. He wrote:
Statesmen, my dear sir, may plan and speculate for Liberty, but it is Religion [Christianity] and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles, upon which freedom can securely stand (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 173).
God is calling American Christians to take back this nation's heritage of faith and freedom that has been stolen in the past 60 years. This is a vital key to seeing another great, national spiritual awakening sweep across the land and a national healing as promised in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
This article is derived fromDr. Eddie Hyatt's book, Pilgrims and Patriots, available from Amazon and his website at eddiehyatt.com. Dr. Hyatt also conducts "America Reawakening" events, which consists of a PowerPoint presentation documenting how America was birthed out of prayer and spiritual awakening, and a call for Christians to rise up and believe God for another Great Awakening across the land. Information is available from his website.
Like Washington, we can be tolerant and respectful of those of different religions and cultures, but we do an injustice to them and ourselves when we do not stand for the truth that is in Jesus. (Skeeze/Pixabay/Public Domain)
Native American Prophecy Eerily, Accurately Describes How God's Hand Rested on George Washington
"He cannot die in battle. The Great Spirit protects that man and guides his destinies. He will become chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him the founder of a mighty nation."
These words were spoken by an old Native American chief concerning George Washington several years before the Declaration of Independence. He spoke these words as he reminisced with Washington and others about a battle, 15 years previous, when they were on opposite sides during the French and Indian Wars.
The Chief Saw God's Hand on Washington
It was the Battle of Fort Duquesne in July 1755 when 1,459 British soldiers were ambushed by a large contingent of Native American warriors who had joined the French in their fight with the British for control of the North American continent.
It proved to be one of the bloodiest days in Anglo-American history with 977 British soldiers killed or wounded. It was a day, however, when Washington's reputation for bravery began to spread throughout the land.
Washington, in his early 20s, had been recruited by the British because of his knowledge of the ways of the wilderness and the American Indians. He had acquired this knowledge in his work as a surveyor of wilderness territory.
Assigned to travel with the British General Braddock to take Fort Duquesne (present day Pittsburgh), Washington found his advice for traveling through the wilderness and dealing with the Indians ignored by Braddock who considered him a young, upstart colonist.
But when the ambush occurred and Braddock himself was wounded, Washington took charge and organized an orderly retreat while at the same time putting his own life at risk, rescuing the many wounded and placing them in wagons. During this time, two horses were shot out from under him and his clothes were shredded with bullets.
He emerged unscathed and gave glory to God, saying, "I was saved by the miraculous care of Providence that saved me beyond human expectation." From that day, his reputation for bravery and leadership spread among both the English and the Native Americans.
The Prophecy Comes Forth
Years later, according to historian George Bancroft, Washington and a friend were exploring an area along the Ohio River when they encountered a group of Native Americans. Recognizing Washington, the natives invited the men back to their camp to meet with their chief, whom it turned out had fought on the side of the French in the Battle of Duquesne. They had a cordial visit and then the old chief, motioning toward Washington, spoke these amazing words. He said,
I am chief and ruler over all my tribes. My influence extends to the waters of the Great Lakes, and to the far blue mountains. I have traveled a long and weary path that I might see the young warrior of the great battle. It was on the day when the white man's blood mixed with the streams of our forest that I first beheld this chief. I called to my young men and said, 'Mark yon tall and daring warrior? He is not of the redcoat tribe—he hath an Indian's wisdom, and his warriors fight as we do—himself alone is exposed. Quick, let your aim be certain, and he dies.' Our rifles were leveled—rifles which, but for him, knew not how to miss. 'Twas all in vain; a power far mightier than we shielded him from harm. He cannot die in battle. The Great Spirit protects that man, and guides his destinies. He will become chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him the founder of a mighty nation.
The prophecy came to pass. Several years later the colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. Washington was appointed commander in chief of the colonial army and led his outnumbered, outgunned troops to an amazing victory over the British through numerous providential events. He later presided over the Constitutional Convention, was unanimously elected the first president of the United States and became known as "the father of his country."
What We Must Learn from Washington
Washington was devout in his Christian faith and respectful toward the Native people and culture, but he never allowed the two to be in conflict. He was always clear in his belief in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, and that only Christianity offered the moral and intellectual underpinnings for a successful nation.
He clearly expressed this in a 1779 meeting with chiefs from the Delaware tribe who had expressed a desire for their children to be trained in American schools. Washington responded cordially and assured the chiefs the new nation would look upon their children as their own. He then commended the chiefs for their decision and said,
You do well to wish to learn our arts and our ways of life and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do everything they can to assist you in this wise intention.
For Washington, sharing the gospel with those of other religions was like sharing bread with a starving man. It was the just and righteous thing to do. This is also why he had no qualms praying in public, "Bless, O Lord, the whole race of mankind and let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy Son, Jesus Christ."
In our world of multiculturalism and religious pluralism, we need to take a lesson from Washington in this regard. Neither Islam nor secularism offer the moral and intellectual belief system for a peaceful, civil and free society. This is obvious from merely observing the nations where those doctrines hold sway.
We, therefore, must never be shy or apologetic about our Christian faith. It is what made America great in the first place; and only a revival of biblical Christianity will make America great and peaceful again.
Like Washington, we can be tolerant and respectful of those of different religions and cultures, but we do an injustice to them and ourselves when we do not stand for the truth that is in Jesus. In the words of the Old Testament prophet, we forsake our own mercies (Jon. 2:8) when we compromise our faith for political or cultural convenience.
Washington was very clear in his belief that only a Christian worldview would sustain America. Before he passed from this life, he warned the fledgling nation,
The propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the external rules of order and right, which heaven itself has ordained.
Concluding Prayer
As we remember George Washington on his birthday (Feb. 22), let us remember the prophecy of the old chief, and let it be a reminder that we are not here by accident or coincidence. God raised up George Washington and America for a divine purpose, and I am certain that purpose is not yet fulfilled.
Eight years ago I thought, perhaps, that God was finished with America as a nation. But then I experienced an unusual visitation of God, such as I had not known before or since. Over several hours, He renewed my hope that America "could" see another Great Awakening, and I clearly saw for the first time that America was birthed out of a Great Awakening and providential acts of God.
So, I ask you to join me in praying the prayer of the psalmist in Psalm 85:6-7. He prayed, "Will you not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in you? Show us Your mercy, O LORD, and grant us Your deliverance."
Yes, do it once again in America, O Lord!
This article is derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt's book, Pilgrims and Patriots, available from Amazon and his website at eddiehyatt.com. Dr. Hyatt also conducts "America Reawakening" events in which he shows how America was birthed out of a great, spiritual awakening and calls the nation to pray for a Great Reawakening. You can read more about this on his website at eddiehyatt.com/america_reawakening.html
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The revivalists of the Great Awakening found an especially receptive audience among the black population of Colonial America. Blacks, both slave and free, resonated with the message of a "new birth" and found many areas of Scripture with which they could identify, such as Israel's time of slavery in Egypt and God's mighty deliverance of them. Through the Awakening, the racial chasm was breached, slaves were humanized and whites were awakened to the evils of slavery. The Great Awakening, indeed, marked the beginning of the end of slavery in America.
George Whitefield Reaches Out to Blacks in His Preaching
George Whitefield preached from the steps of the Philadelphia courthouse to crowds of over 10,000, when the population of the city was only 13,000. In the crowds were numerous blacks who were especially receptive to the evangelical, revival message that he preached. This was borne out by the fact that, after preaching his farewell sermon and retiring to his lodgings, "Near 50 Negroes came to give me thanks for what God had done for their souls." Whitefield considered this an answer to prayer, saying, "I have been much drawn in prayer for them, and have seen them wrought upon by the word preached."
One black woman who was converted under Whitefield's ministry became discouraged and prayed that the Lord would manifest Himself to her. Shortly thereafter both she and Whitefield were in a meeting where a Baptist minister was preaching. Whitefield said that the word came with such power that the woman began to cry out and "could not help praising and blessing God."
When some criticized her for interrupting the preacher, Whitefield came to her defense saying he believed that, in that hour, "the Lord Jesus took a great possession of her soul." He went on to say, "I doubt not, when the poor Negroes are to be called, God will highly favor them, to wipe off their reproach, and show that He is no respecter of persons."
Whitefield exhibited genuine compassion and concern for the blacks in his audiences, and they recognized it. One black woman, after hearing Whitefield preach, stated that he must have been in a trance and insisted that "Jesus Christ must have told him what to speak to the people or else he could not speak as he did."
It is obvious that in these revival meetings blacks and whites were worshiping together. This should not be surprising, for in a genuine spiritual awakening, the Holy Spirit breaks down racial and cultural barriers, and this occurred in the Great Awakening. Mark Noll, professor of church history at Wheaton College, confirms this, saying, "It was under the impulse of the revival that the chasm between white and black cultures was breached."
Whitefield's impact among the black populace of Colonial America is indicated by the moving tribute that a young black woman, Phillis Wheatley, wrote at the time of his death in 1770. Wheatley, who became America's first published black poet, was 17 years old when she wrote the poem about Whitefield.
Wheatley heard Whitefield preach in Boston on more than one occasion and was profoundly impacted by his ministry. The words of her poem express the strains of equality she heard in the gospel he preached. It reads in part.
Thou didst in strains of eloquence refined,/ Inflame the heart and captivate the mind.
The greatest gift that even God can give,/ He freely offered to the numerous throng.
Take him, ye Africans, he longs for you,/ Impartial Savior is his title due.
Wheatley obviously quoted directly from Whitefield's preaching in her poem. Knowing Whitefield's passionate form of preaching, one can picture him crying out to the blacks in his audience, "Take him, ye Africans, he longs for you."
Other Revivalists Target Blacks in Their Outreaches
Further south, Samuel Davies, who was a colleague of Gilbert Tennent, gave special attention to blacks, including slaves, during his time of ministry in Virginia. Davies not only preached to blacks but invited them to share in regular church observances including the Lord's Supper. In 1757, he wrote:
What little success I have lately had, has been chiefly among the extremes of Gentlemen and Negroes. Indeed, God has been remarkably working among the latter. I have baptized 150 adults; and at the last sacramental solemnity, I had the pleasure of seeing the table graced with sixty black faces.
Further north, Gilbert Tennent was delighted that during a preaching tour in Massachusetts, "multitudes were awakened, and several received great consolation, especially among the young people, children, and Negroes." Jonathan Edwards, in his account of the Awakening in his hometown of Northampton, mentions "several Negroes" who appeared to have been truly born again.
Anti-Slavery Sentiments Are Aroused
The revivalists' emphasis on the eternal bliss of those in Christ and the eternal damnation of those outside of Christ had the ironic result of many a converted slave feeling pity for his poor, hell-bound master, and praying for his conversion. Although some of the revivalists have been criticized for not being more outright in their opposition to the institution of slavery, we must remember that they were preoccupied with getting people ready for the next world, not improving their lot in this one. In their thinking, a slave on his way to heaven was far better off than a slavemaster on his way to hell.
Nonetheless, as historian Benjamin Hart has noted, "Among the most ardent opponents of slavery were ministers, particularly the Puritan and revivalist preachers." These "ardent opponents of slavery" included the followers of Jonathan Edwards, who expanded on his idea of the essential dignity of all created beings and applied it to the blacks of Colonial America.
Samuel Hopkins, for example, who had been personally tutored by Edwards, sent a pamphlet to every member of the Continental Congress asking how they could complain about "enslavement" to Great Britain and overlook the enslavement of so many blacks in the colonies. Noll says,
"In this attack on slavery Hopkins was joined by other followers of Edwards, including Levi Hart in Connecticut, Jacob Green in New Jersey and Edwards' own son, Jonathan, Jr., who was also a minister in Connecticut."
Blacks Join the Patriotic Protests
The Awakening thus led to the humanizing of blacks and an awakening to the evils of slavery. It also led to the emergence of new, black congregations, among those who were enslaved and those who were free. This led to many blacks identifying with the struggle for freedom from Great Britain and becoming part of the patriotic protests, especially in New England.
For example, at the time of the Boston Massacre in April of 1770, a large black man, Crispus Attucks, was one of the leaders in the protests against the occupation of Boston by British troops. An escaped slave who had settled in Boston, he was one of those of those killed that day by British soldiers. A poem written in his honor refers to him as,
"Leader and voice that day;/ the first to defy and the first to die."
The positive ripples from the Awakening also opened the way for blacks to later serve in the Revolutionary War. David Barton has provided documentation showing that numbers of blacks were given honorable discharges and pensions, and some were honored with complete military funerals for their service in the war.
The anti-slavery sentiments unleashed by the Awakening were so strong in the North that when separation with Great Britain came in 1776, several states, including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York, immediately took steps to abolish slavery, something they could not do under King George III.
Although there was more resistance in the South, where a monetary motive prevailed, the anti-slavery sentiments released by the Great Awakening flowered into the abolition movement of the next century, which, as Dr. Timothy Smith has shown, had its roots in American revivalism, starting with the First Great Awakening.
Concluding Thought
Yes, the Great Awakening was an important healing balm for race relations in Colonial America, and only another great, national awakening will bring the racial healing that is needed in our land today.
Indeed, the original American vision was for a land of individual liberty and a place from which the gospel would be spread to the ends of the earth. (Public Domain)
In a meeting with Delaware Indian chiefs in 1779, George Washington commended them for their request that their youth be trained in American schools. He assured the chiefs that America would look upon them "as their own children" and then said,
You do well to wish to learn our arts and our ways of life and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do everything they can to assist you in this wise intention.
Washington's freedom in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with this Indian tribe was normal for the founding generation, for such freedom was rooted in the original American vision. This original vision was brought here by the Jamestown settlers of Virginia, the Pilgrims and Puritans of New England, the Baptists of Rhode Island, the Quakers of Pennsylvania and other Christian reform groups who were drawn to this land with a proactive vision burning in their hearts.
The Original American Vision
Indeed, the original American vision was for a land of individual liberty and a place from which the gospel would be spread to the ends of the earth. America's Founding Fathers were not shy in expressing this vision for they believed, that in this world, real freedom could only be realized in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This link between freedom and the gospel was expressed by America's second president, John Adams, just two weeks before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. In a letter to his cousin, Zabdiel, a minister of the gospel, Adams wrote, "Statesmen, my dear sir, may plan and speculate for Liberty, but it is Religion [Christianity] and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles, upon which Freedom can securely stand."
Adams was not expressing anything new or novel for the idea of freedom rooted in the gospel of Christ was a common American belief brought here by the very first European immigrants to this land. Consider the following quotes.
"From these very shores the Gospel shall go forth, not only to this New World, but to all the world." —Rev. Robert Hunt, April 29, 1607, as he and the Jamestown settlers, who had just landed at Cape Henry, gathered in prayer around a large oak cross they had brought from England.
"Having undertaken for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith ... a voyage to plant the first colony in northern Virginia." —From the Mayflower Compact, the governing document of the Pilgrims who formulated it upon their arrival in the New World in November of 1620.
"Whereas we all came into these parts of America with one and the same end and aim, namely to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy the Liberties of the Gospel in purity and peace." —Opening statement of the Articles of Confederation for "The United Colonies of New England," dated May 29, 1643. This confederation of New England towns and colonies was formed for mutual security and to arbitrate land disputes among the growing population.
"Might it not greatly facilitate the introduction of pure religion among the heathen, if we could, by such a colony, show them a better sample of Christians than they commonly see." —Benjamin Franklin in a 1756 letter to George Whitefield, the most famous preacher of the Great Awakening, in which Franklin proposed that they partner together in founding a Christian colony on the Ohio frontier.
"Pray that the peaceful and glorious reign of our Divine Redeemer may be known throughout the whole family of mankind." —Samuel Adams, Founding Father and Governor of Massachusetts. This call to prayer was part of a proclamation for a Day of Prayer that he issued as governor of Massachusetts in 1795.
"Pray that all nations may bow to the scepter of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and that the whole earth may be filled with his glory." —John Hancock, Founding Father, President of the Continental Congress and Governor of Massachusetts. This statement was part of a call for prayer he issued while Governor.
"The policy of the bill is adverse to the diffusion of the light of Christianity. The first wish of those who enjoy this precious gift ought to be that it may be imparted to the whole race of mankind." —James Madison, chief architect of the Constitution and America's fourth president, voicing his opposition in 1785 to a bill that he perceived would have the unintended consequence of hindering the spread of the Gospel.
"The philosophy of Jesus is the most sublime and benevolent code of morals ever offered man. A more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen." —Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and America's third president, who took money from the federal treasury to send missionaries to an American Indian tribe and to build them a chapel in which to worship.
"Bless, O Lord, the whole race of mankind, and let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy Son, Jesus Christ." —from a public prayer prayed by George Washington, America's first president.
No Real Liberty Without the Gospel
It is obvious from the above quotes that America's founders believed freedom and Christianity to be inextricably linked. They believed so strongly in the gospel as the basis of human freedom that they unashamedly prayed and publicly expressed their desire to see it spread throughout the earth.
Recent presidents have sought to export American-style democracy to other nations apart from the gospel of Christ. Indeed, the entire Western world is seeking to secularize liberty and remove it from any association with faith.
America's founders would say that such efforts are futile since true liberty cannot be had apart from the gospel of Christ. Washington made this plain in his farewell address, where he warned the fledgling nation that two things must be guarded if they were to be a happy people—Christianity and morality, which he called "indispensable supports" for political prosperity.
Recovering the Truth About the First Amendment
The day after approving the First Amendment, which states, "Congress shall make no law concerning the establishment of religion or hindering the free exercise thereof," those same Founding Fathers issued a proclamation for a National Day of Prayer.
The First Amendment was merely their way of saying that America would never have an official, national church like the nations of Europe at that time. Instead of banning faith from the public square, as many moderns suppose, they created a free and open marketplace for religious ideas.
They were not concerned about false religion getting the upper hand in such an open setting, for they believed in the power of the gospel and were convinced that on an open and even playing field, truth would always prevail. They agreed with the Puritan, John Milton, who wrote,
Let truth and falsehood grapple; who ever knew truth put to the worse in free and open encounter? She needs no policies, nor strategems, nor licensings to make her victorious ... Give her but room.
By instituting the First Amendment, the Founders were rejecting the model begun by Constantine in which civil government sets forth and defends a certain church, religious expression or point of view. In their thinking, only those who do not have confidence in the message they proclaim would insist on such an alignment with the civil government.
The founders believed in the inherent power of Christian truth, which is why Jefferson wrote,
Truth can stand by itself ... If there be but one right religion and Christianity that one, we should wish to see the nine hundred and ninety-nine wandering sects gathered into the fold of truth. But against such a majority we cannot effect this by force. Reason and persuasion are the only practicable instruments. To make way for these, free inquiry must be indulged; and how can we wish others to indulge it while we refuse it ourselves.
It is Time to Recover the Vision
It is time for this generation to rise up and reject the lie of the left that the First Amendment bans expressions of faith in the marketplace. It is time to realize with the founders that true freedom and happiness can only be found in Jesus Christ. It is time to learn from the founders that faith and freedom go together like hand and glove, and the loss of one inevitably leads to the loss of the other. It is time for this generation to recover the original American vision.
This article is derived from Eddie Hyatt's book, Pilgrims and Patriots, available from Amazon and his website, www.eddiehyatt.com. At his website, you can also check out his vision for America and another Great Awakening.
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