American Government is Christian

I frequently encounter people who try to refute that the American form of republican government was founded upon the principles of the Bible – the Word of God. They insist many of the Founding Fathers were simple deists, and that they insisted upon a secular form of laws and institutions. That is a lie. It’s a simple fact that American government was – and still is – Christian in both character and function. Below is a response to what one person tried to (inaccurately) state regarding the ‘secular’ nature of some of the more famous Founding Fathers and, by implication, what they intended for our country;

“John Quincy Adams, Ethan Allen, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Thomas Paine, and George Washington were all deists. So now that we’re clear that they weren’t all “Christians” as you claimed, regardless of their own private religious views, the Founding Fathers explicitly rejected the establishment of Christianity as the preferred or natural religion of the United States.”

John Quincy Adams – “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.” Letter to an autograph collector (27 April 1837), published in The Historical Magazine (July 1860), pp. 193-194.

“In the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior. The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.” – An Oration Delivered Before the Inhabitants of the Town of Newburyport at Their Request on the Sixty-First Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1837 (Newburyport: Charles Whipple, 1837), pp. 5-6.

“The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the Divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made “bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” Life of John Quincy Adams, W. H. Seward, editor (Auburn, NY: Derby, Miller & Company, 1849), p. 248.

Ethan Allen – “In the name of the great Jehovah, and the Continental Congress!”  His reply as to by what authority he demanded the surrender of Fort Ticonderoga, as recounted in A Narrative of Colonel Ethan Allen’s Captivity (1779). Self-proclaimed deist (and avowed antagonist to Christianity), invoking the name of the God of the Bible.

Benjamin Franklin – “You express yourself as if you thought I was against Worshipping of God, and believed Good Works would merit Heaven; which are both Fancies of your own, I think, without Foundation. I am so far from thinking that God is not to be worshipped, that I have compos’d and wrote a whole Book of Devotions for my own Use: And I imagine there are few, if any, in the World, so weake as to imagine, that the little Good we can do here, can merit so vast a Reward hereafter. There are some Things in your New England Doctrines and Worship, which I do not agree with, but I do not therefore condemn them, or desire to shake your Belief or Practice of them. We may dislike things that are nevertheless right in themselves. I would only have you make me the same Allowances, and have a better Opinion both of Morality and your Brother. Read the Pages of Mr. Edward’s late Book entitled Some Thoughts concerning the present Revival of Religion in NE. from 367 to 375; and when you judge of others, if you can perceive the Fruit to be good, don’t terrify your self that the Tree may be evil, but be assur’d it is not so; for you know who has said, Men do not gather Grapes of Thorns or Figs of Thistles.” Response [quoting Scripture] to his sister’s letter of 1743 questioning his lack of Christian faith.

“We should remember the character which the Scripture requires in rulers.” Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, pp. 1284

Thomas Jefferson on Christian government –  “I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.” The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Albert Ellery Bergh, editor (Washington, D.C.: The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1904), Vol. XIV, p. 385, to Charles Thomson on January 9, 1816.

“I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others.” Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies from the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, editor (Boston: Grey & Bowen, 1830), Vol. III, p. 506, to Benjamin Rush, April 21, 1803.

James Madison on Christian government– ” I have sometimes thought there could not be a stronger testimony in favor of religion or against temporal enjoyments, even the most rational and manly, than for men who occupy the most honorable and gainful departments and [who] are rising in reputation and wealth, publicly to declare their unsatisfactoriness by becoming fervent advocates in the cause of Christ; and I wish you may give in your evidence in this way.” The Papers of James Madison, William T. Hutchinson, editor (Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 1962), Vol. I, p. 96, to William Bradford on September 25, 1773.

Thomas Paine – “[it] is the fool only, and not the philosopher, or even the prudent man, that would live as if there were no God.” Age of Reason, Part II, Section 21. While a self-proclaimed deist (and antagonist to Christianity), he frequently quoted and employed Scripture. In addition, the principles he espoused were the same principles found in both Old and New Testaments. Please reference his work Common Sense, in which he invoked Scripture repeatedly in his call for American independence.

George Washington on Chirstian government – “The blessing and protection of Heaven are at all times necessary but especially so in times of public distress and danger. The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier, defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country.” The Writings of George Washington, John C. Fitzpatrick, editor (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1932), Vol. 5, p. 245, July 9, 1776 Order.

“You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are.” The Writings of Washington, John C. Fitzpatrick, editor (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1932), Vol. XV, p. 55, from his speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs on May 12, 1779.

I find it interesting that only two of the people on your list of supposed ‘deists’ were, indeed, deists. I also find it interesting that the two self-proclaimed deists continued to use, invoke and/or quote Scripture or use Scriptural-based references. Which leads me to this question;

If these two men were indeed deists (which they were), then what do you think was the foundation they used to build their worldview of morality, virtue, decency and right-wrong comparisons?

You may also want to familiarize yourself with the following quotes regarding the fabled ‘separation of church and state’ which seems to be so prevalent in today’s thinking – because it definitely wasn’t the case when these documents were written. That faulty construct is a product of errant thinking and gross humanism trying to masquerade as ‘enlightenment’ and ‘education.’ Please consider these;

“Had the people, during the Revolution, had a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that Revolution would have been strangled in its cradle… In this age, there can be no substitute for Christianity… That was the religion of the founders of the republic and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants.” Reports of Committees of the House of Representatives Made During the First Session of the Thirty-Third Congress (Washington: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1854), pp. 6-9.

“The great, vital, and conservative element in our system is the belief of our people in the pure doctrines and the divine truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Journal of the House of the Representatives of the United States of America (Washington, DC: Cornelius Wendell, 1855), 34th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 354, January 23, 1856.