Please Help keep FR Independent!!
Posted on 07/07/2013 8:47:39 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Holy war can seem like something that happened long ago or that happens far away — the Crusades of medieval Europe, for example, or jihadists fighting secular forces today. But since their country’s founding, Americans have often thought of their wars as sacred, even when the primary objectives have been political.
This began with the American Revolution. When colonists declared their independence on July 4, 1776, religious conviction inspired them. Because they believed that their cause had divine support, many patriots’ ardor was both political and religious. They saw the conflict as a just, secular war, but they fought it with religious resolve, believing that God endorsed the cause. As Connecticut minister Samuel Sherwood preached in 1776: “God Almighty, with all the powers of heaven, are on our side. Great numbers of angels, no doubt, are encamping round our coast, for our defense and protection.”
Several founding fathers were more theologically liberal than the typical evangelical Protestant of their day. Still, few were anti-religious, and the nation’s architects often stated that religion supported virtue, which was essential to patriotism.....
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The Constitution, sir, had nothing to do with the American Revolution, except as a byproduct, an effort to put into practical terms the natural and fundamentally “religious” statements of our true founding document, The Declaration of Independence, after that independence was won through battle.
I believe the Declaration to be a profoundly “religious” statement in it’s opening paragraphs, although with a decidedly “Enlightenment” view of religious issues, not a denominational one. The rest of the Declaration is, as is aptly said elsewhere on this thread, the more proximate, practical cataloguing of crap, up with which the Colonists were no longer able to put, and over which about 3% ultimately went to war, with the backing of about a third of the population.
I thought I remember tea being thrown off the ships in Boston Harbor, not KJV bibles.
Well said. This whole thing is nothing but a bunch of crapola aimed at demeaning the American Revolution and religion all in one easy swipe. I'll not be joining this movement.
Exactly! The DoI contains a long list of grievances and attempts to find solutions that were all rejected or ignored. Reading that it becomes obvious that there was virtually no aspect of life that the Brits were not trying to control and being insufferable pricks doing it.
I came across this blog yesterday.I found it interesting
http://faithandamericanhistory.wordpress.com/2013/06/21/summer-reading-on-faith-and-the-founding/
Also
http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2013/06/30/new-great-awakening-america-is-not-a-christian-nation/2/
John Locke
His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence
William Blackstone
Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-1769)
Adam Smith
The latter, usually abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. Smith is cited as the "father of modern economics" and is still among the most influential thinkers in the field of economics today
(All combined in the Pilgrims)
Without whom USA would not exist. None of these would have been allowed to draw breath under Romanism or Islamism.
Some have said that another Civil War is brewing, but I'm beginning to believe that another Revolution is needed to underscore the fact that this nation was founded
UNDER GOD!
AND THE LIBERALS BE DAMNED!
Government is religion applied to economics. A truism.
Item 6:
6 the backbone of new england's economy during the colonial period. ships from new england sailed first to africa, exchanging new england rum for slaves. the slaves were shipped from africa to the caribbean (this was known as the middle passage, when many slaves died on the ships). in the caribbean, the slaves were traded for sugar and molasses. then the ships returned to new england, where the molasses were used to make rum.
Was this a holy basis for a war?
(Remember, at this time alcoholic beverages were not generally seen as being a debilitating influence in society by religionists)
Last Sunday I spoke at my Lutheran church, and I said that the reason the American Revolution succeeded in securing liberty for the people when all other revolutions, from the French Revolution on, have resulted in chaos, followed by a tyranny worse than before, is that the American Revolution was not a revolution: it was a Reformation, a desire to bring Britain back to its original Protestant-based popular-liberty ideals, just as Luther's Reformation was a desire to bring Christianity back to its original salvation-through-Christ's-merit ideal. In both cases, there was a list of grievances, the 95 Theses that Luther wanted to discuss, and the list in our D. of I. that the colonists had tried to discuss. In both cases, there was no desire at first to break off the relationship: the colonists didn't want to leave Britain until the King's reactions made it imperative, just as Luther didn't want to leave the Catholic Church until the Pope's reactions made it imperative. In both cases, the ultimate result was a reformation and reconciliation on both sides: the American government became a popular republic, as did the British government, and the Anglo-American friendship (Obama's actions notwithstanding) is as strong today as ever; the Reformation led to the Counter-Reformation which dealt with the more egregious issues, and the Catholic-Lutheran friendship (the action of theological liberals not withstanding) is as strong today as ever. Revolutions always fail; reformations always have a chance of success.
Religious freedom won.
That is...refutation of state sponsored religion which always devolves to anti Christian mores.
Freedom of religion will always lead to a thriving Church.
it was in the same sense the magna carta and other rebellions against the king were up to that point. they bsically asserted rights came from GOD, the king was human,’co dn’t take them away, and had legitimate power so long as he acted in acordancce ith Godly righteousness, and if he didn’t the people had various levels of remedy they coud use against the king up to removal - or in the colonies’ case, parting ways.
the american revolution was a christian revolution, they tried for decades to work with the king for representation, many officers were preachers who had their uniforms under their robes and they called up men right in their churches. it wasn’t a get even revolution. the french had a godless revolution based in secular reasoning and revenge, and anyone who wasn’t enough on their side was guillotined, including some of their own’leaders who after awhile said they were going too far.
our documents and charters have lasted 240 years. the french have gone through at least 20 constitutions since the 1790s.
Okay, so now the American Revolution was a religious war. And when activist justices were deciding the constitutonality of constitutionally indefensible Obamacare in 2012, it was being said that the Boston Tea party as it concerned unfair taxes is what triggered the American Revolution.
So which is it where the American Revolution is concerned, religious issues or tax issues or both?
A thriving Church will want more freedom from the state i.e. less taxes.
The Great Awakening in which Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield were so instrumental set the stage for the united 13 colonies which would fight for freedom.
Good points about the contrast with the French revolution.
Can you recommend any good books on the topic?
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