The movement behind the American Revolution was not capricious or self-seeking. It emerged as the product of much soul-seeking, scripture searching and a quest for the satisfaction of biblical morality. As such it is rather unique in the history of revolutions. In contrast, the French Revolution, de-Christianized that nation and many even slipped into atheism, going to the lengths of altering the Christian calendar. But not so in America.
The American Revolution came with a conscience and much debate. Let’s start with the Great Awakening, a religious revival movement of the 1730s & 1740s. This is what set the stage. This challenged the rigidity of many of the traditional churches including the Church of England. The movement emphasized personal conversion – and therefore liberty. It stressed moral courage and responsibility for your actions. It offered an emotional faith. These ideas fed into the American psyche.
But the colonists at the time were keenly aware of Romans 13. Here it is in the King James Bible. “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same.” (Romans 13:1-3) Seems pretty cut and dried….Obedience without exception. But then there is this in verse 4. “For he is the minister of God to thee for good.” The way the colonists saw it, neither King George nor Parliament were acting as a force for good. But a number of Colonial Clergy pointed to Scripture that pointed to resistance to unjust laws. They pointed to passages like Acts 5:29. Peter and the other Apostles are faced with obeying the Sanhedrin, the Jewish governing body or obeying God’s laws. “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’” (NKJV)
Those that supported the revolutionary movement affirmed the institution of government but not the particular government in power. They argued they could not obey laws that were in direct conflict with God’s revealed will. They cited the Hebrew midwives that disobeyed Pharoah and refused to kill the male infants. Daniel and his companions wouldn’t bow to the king’s image.
And so, the fervor of the Great Awakening was fanned by many clergy into a fire of American independence. Jonathan Mayhew preached a powerful sermon – that was spread in pamphlet form – arguing that resisting a tyrant was a “glorious” duty incumbent on all Christians. Therefore military resistance was justified.[i] Abraham Keteltas called the American cause: “The cause of truth, against error and falsehood . . .the cause of pure and undefiled religion, against bigotry, superstition, and human invention . . .in short, it is the cause of heaven against hell–of the kind Parent of the Universe against the prince of darkness, and the destroyer of the human race.[ii]
And there were many ‘fighting parsons’ that took part in the war. In January 1776, Peter Muhlenbeg, concluded a sermon by throwing off his clerical robes and revealing that he wore the uniform of the Virginia Militia.. He fought all the way through to Yorktown. James Caldwell served as a chaplain to a New Jersey regiment. During the battle of Springfield, New Jersey, his regiment ran out of wadding for the cannons. They would not be able to fire. So Caldwell ran down to the Presbyterian Church, collected the Watts Hymnals and passed out the pages to be used as wadding. He told the gunners, “Put Watts into them boys.”
So many of those who fought in the Revolutionary War were convinced of the justice of their cause. We were a God fearing nation and those that the British considered rebels needed the assurance that they were fighting on God’s side. Justified or not – they fought in good conscience, convinced they were engaged in a worthy cause. They used the Bible as their proof text. What a great departure from where we are today.
[i] Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission and Non-Resistance to the Higher Powers. Jonathan Mayhew, D.D. Boston: D. Fowle and D. Gookin, 1750. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
[ii] God Arising And Pleading His People’s Cause; Or The American War . . . Shewn To Be The Cause Of God. Abraham Keteltas. Newbury-Port: John Mycall for Edmund Sawyer, 1777
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