In my last article, “Silence is Agreement: Part 1- Apathy and Civic Detachment,” I examined the responsibility of the American Church toward our culture and our government. I stressed the vacuum created when the church fails to be salt and light in every facet of our national life, which I believe leads to the dire consequences we now face. It seems to me that too often the church body hides behind the false premise that the church should not be involved in government because politics are of the world, unclean, and impure. So, what! The church is impure. It is filled with sinful, broken people. Additionally, some Christians use Romans 13 as their excuse to accept ungodly and unbiblical laws, which fail to follow God’s moral law. This should never be said about the true church. The true church follows the Lord Jesus Christ and never bows to ungodly men who stray from God’s truth.
To help support my position on the unquestionable need for the church to be involved in every facet of American life, it is important to understand the history of the American Church and the involvement of its leadership in the founding of the United States. If I wrote about every example, this article would turn into a book. However, I will provide a few exemplars that should undoubtedly prove America’s birth started in American pulpits by way of pastors who preached biblical truth concerning liberty, self-government, equality, and equal justice for all as far back as the 17th century.
John Locke
Born in England in 1632, John Locke stands as one of the most influential and most often quoted writer and theologian in American history. During the years between 1652 and 1667, Locke was a student and lecturer at Christ Church in Oxford devoting much of his time to theology. While at Oxford, he also studied medicine and served as personal physician to the Earl of Shaftsbury (Anthony Ashley Cooper) for 20 years. During Locke’s period of service to Shaftesbury, the Earl served as leading minister to King Charles II and later formed the Whig Party in resistance to King Charles II’s successor, King James II.
Locke’s writings were heavily influenced by his exposure to the arrogance of King James II and the political upheaval caused by Shaftesbury’s skirmishes with the king. In his book the Two Treatises of Government (1690), Locke offered political theories unfamiliar to the English people in that age such as the rejection of the “divine right of kings.” Locke believed that societies form governments by mutual agreement through the consent of the governed. Further, Locke insisted that when a king loses the consent of the governed, the people may remove him. Thomas Jefferson used Locke’s words almost verbatim in our Declaration of Independence. Locke developed a definition of property as the product of a person’s labor, which would become foundational to the idea of capitalism in American constitutionalism. Locke famously wrote that man has three natural rights: life, liberty, and property, or better known as the pursuit of happiness. 1
In other writings, Locke articulated his beliefs in the right of the people to have religious freedom, the separation of powers in government, restrictions on the power of the state, individual liberty and the purpose of government being created to protect that liberty, and that all people are created equal. 2 All of these ideas came out of his knowledge and comprehension of Scripture. It is important to note that in his book Two Treatise of Government, Locke quoted the Bible 1500 times for an average of nearly four Scripture references per page. Based on their writings we can study, there is little doubt that Locke’s belief in God and his ideas of government being grounded on God’s word heavily influenced our forefathers America’s founding era (1760 – 1805).
John Wise
In early American political circles, John Wise became known as the man who inspired Thomas Jefferson’s writing of the Declaration of independence. Born in 1652, Wise served as pastor of the Congregational Church in Ipswich, MA for most of his ministry life. Being an exceptionally large and strong man, Wise’s reputation as a wrestler proved his tenacious approach to everything he undertook. That tenaciousness spilled over into his ministry. He was a staunch opponent of King James’ overreach in matters of government and spoke out loudly stirring up colonialists against the multiple taxes proposed by New England’s Royal Governor, Sir Edmund Andros. One tax revolt Wise led in 1688 resulted in him being arrested, suspended as a pastor, fined, and threatened with slavery. This, however, did not stop his preaching. Wise persisted in preaching and doing what God called him to do under extreme pressure, but a year later, King James removed Andros from office and vindicated Wise by cancelling several taxes levied against the colonies.
In 1710, Wise wrote The Churches Quarrel Espoused and in 1717, he wrote A Vindication of the Government of New England Churches. In these works, Wise championed the true foundation of both religion and civil government as being created by God, not man. His thoughts were extremely forward thinking and, after being reprinted in 1772, long after his death, Wise’s principles became the pivotal points for the Declaration of Independence. Wise demonstrated from God’s Word that:
- God created all men equal, and the state must recognize this God-ordained equality
- The purpose for any government is to promote man’s inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
- The only legitimate basis for good government is the consent of the governed
- Taxation without representation is tyranny
According to Cornell University historian Clinton Rossiter, Wise is listed as one of six of the most influential leaders of the American fight for independence. Incidentally, four of these six men on Rossiter’s list were ministers of the Gospel. Wise’s thoughts and ideas are at the roots of the very foundation of the American Republic. 3
The Black Robe Regiment
If you did not know for sure, you might think this title is a reference to a band of soldiers who fought the Revolutionary War wearing black uniforms or robes. That is not the case. This name was given to influential pastors and clergy members who supported America’s effort to win independence. These minsters mustered support among church members to resist the tyranny of the King of England and encouraged the entire freedom movement across the 13 colonies. In truth, the American people did not apply this name, but it was a derogatory epithet applied by the British. The power and effects of the message preached from the pulpits across the colonies was a thorn in the side of the king. The members of the Black Robe Regiment reassured their congregations week after week that their revolution was justified in the eyes of God. These pastors understood that maintaining the support of the people was critical to the glorious cause because General Washington relied solely on the support of volunteers for his army. 4 The best example of the impact and influence of the Black Robe Regiment on America was the Muhlenberg brothers
John Peter Gabriel (Peter) and Frederick Augustus Conrad (Frederick) were sons born to Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, a German born Lutheran clergyman and missionary. Answering the call from Pennsylvania Lutherans to come to fulfill missionary needs in the colony, Muhlenberg migrated with his family in 1742. He founded the first Lutheran synod in America. Peter and Frederick followed their father’s footsteps and entered full time ministry. When the Revolutionary War started, Peter was the pastor of a Lutheran church near Woodstock, Virginia. At the same time, Frederick was the pastor at Christ Church in New York. What was most significant about Peter Muhlenberg was his willingness to serve in the military even though he was a pastor. He served as a Brigadier General and commanded the infantry at the Battle of Yorktown. Peter’s military career started one Sunday as he preached a sermon from Ecclesiastes 3 wearing a military uniform underneath his robes. At the conclusion of his sermon, he removed his robe, stood in full uniform including sword, informed his church he was going to war, and asked for volunteers from his congregation to follow him. Many did follow their Pastor into battle. Standing resolutely against his brother’s actions, Frederick condemned Peter for leaving his call to preach to join the battle in what he considered to be an unjust war. Peter’s response to his brother is a great reminder to every American and every church member today. In response to Frederick condemnation, Peter proclaimed,
“I am a clergyman, it is true, but I am also a patriot, and my liberty is as dear to me as to any man. Shall I hide behind my robes, sitting still at home, while others spill their blood to protect my freedom? Heaven forbid it! I am called by my country to its defense. The cause is just and noble. I am convinced it is my duty to obey that call, a duty I owe to my God and my country. The Bible tells us there is a time for all things and there is a time to preach and a time to pray, but the time for me to preach has passed away, and there is a time to fight, and that time has come now. Now is the time to fight! Call for recruits! Sound the drums!” 5
As the war progressed, history tells us that Frederick reversed his opinion, grasped Peter’s perspective, and changed his mind about fighting a war. In fact, Frederick became increasingly involved in the founding of America by becoming a politician (God forbid!), being elected a US Representative from Pennsylvania, and serving as the first Speaker of the House in 1789 after the legislature was formed through Article I of the U.S. Constitution.
Alexis De Tocqueville
Many Americans may not recognize this name. Alexis De Tocqueville was a French historian, philosopher, and aristocrat who lived after the American founding period (1760 – 1805). Born in 1805, De Tocqueville spent much of his adult life traveling. In 1835 he received a commission from French King Louis Phillipe I to evaluate the American prison system. Although he did visit some prisons while in America, he spent most of his time observing and writing about American economic, political, and religious life. The key insights shared by De Tocqueville impacting this article the most were his comments about the role Christianity and the church played in American life. It was opposite of what he observed in France. The American revolution placed God and religious freedom at the forefront of the effort, but the French revolution was a bloody coup grounded in the belief that man was his own god. In his book entitled Democracy in America published in 1835, De Tocqueville marveled at the impact that American churches had on the people and on the government. He fell in love with the strength of American society and summed up his evaluation of America by saying,
Conclusion
It is evident by reading the historical accounts documented above, that the American Church and its leaders were vital in the development and creation of the United States of America during the 17th and 18th centuries. Our forefathers, most of whom were believers in Jesus Christ, despite current historical revisionist branding them as atheists and deists, lived out a biblical worldview and depended on the providence and grace of God as they debated ideas that fashioned our Republic. Sometimes called “The American Experiment,” our forefathers built a new kind of government never experienced previously in the world. We have neither a monarchy nor theocracy. We have a Republic where the people have the power of government in their hands. “We the People” can make our government good and accountable or rogue and unlawful based on who we choose to lead us. We did not create liberty, God did. It is a gift to us from God. We have a responsibility to use it and guard it as good stewards of His gift (Luke 19). How can we as the church say we should not “occupy until he returns?” If the Church in America does not stand up to safeguard truth, liberty, and justice for all, who will?
Like Peter Muhlenberg claimed for himself, we are all called to the defense of our country. None of us can afford to sit back and wait for someone else to make the difference. That is our job. We are the difference makers. Everyone who claims Jesus as Savior must stand even if we stand alone. Now is the time to fight!
1 https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/john-locke
2 https://www.worldhistory.org/John_Locke/
4 https://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/24635
5 https://i.pinimg.com/originals/52/b2/2e/52b22e13b15c6901044e629bfb92b4e8.jpg
6 https://www.azquotes.com/author/14691-Alexis_de_Tocqueville
Great history lesson!