Fire At The Founding

Chapter One: The Fire, The Proper Influence of Clergy Liberty for common people was rare throughout history until Christians came to the understanding, based on careful study of the Bible, that God created all mankind free and accountable to Him, and defined and limited the purpose and powers of civil and church authorities. . . . Christians, led by clergy, persevered for centuries to secure religious and civil liberties to every person, not just the elite, through righteous and peaceful struggle. Through careful Bible study, John Calvin (1509-64), John Knox (1505-72), Martin Luther (1483-1546), and other clergy developed well-reasoned theories about the purpose and limits of authority, of both civil government and the church. Building upon their understanding that every person is created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27) – and thus has inherent and equal worth, and is first and foremost accountable to Him – came the recognition of religious and civil liberties given by God to every person. To secure these liberties required self-government and civil government. Self-government was understood to mean properly governing oneself under the authority of God according to His will, and according to the dictates of conscience and the Law of God written on every person’s heart, without the necessity or interference of civil or other authorities (Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-19; Psalm 40:8; Jeremiah 31:33; Romans 2:1-16; Hebrews 8:10; 10:16). The purpose, identity, and authority of civil government will be discussed in later chapters. Clergy and Christian leaders understood that to protect the religious and civil liberties of every person (including clergy) from abuses of power required the limiting of civil government and state church powers. These revelations led to the Reformation that transformed Europe, the migration of settlers to the American Colonies to create Christian societies, and culminated in the American Revolution. In the American Colonies, pastors, priests, and Christian leaders were on the front lines of efforts to secure liberty and free forms of government based on the Biblical model of ancient Israel. They had the greatest impact on the minds of present and future generations, both leaders and laity. Apart from their courage and influence, the colonists would not have taken the necessary peaceful, and then self-defense, measures to secure liberty for all Americans. Nor would they have had the wisdom to know how to establish new systems of free government based on self-government and the consent of the people, with defined and limited powers. Within the last quarter of the 1700s, the Americans won their independence, wrote and ratified State constitutions and the United States Constitution, and added the Bill of Rights, all protecting religious and civil liberties. Clergymen were the most well-educated men in the American Colonies. At their core, they were Biblical scholars, teaching doctrines of the Christian faith and morality. But they usually had the best libraries in the community, and their knowledge extended to history, cultures, and even law. Through their pulpits and writings, or by traveling as itinerant preachers throughout the colonies, they taught what the Bible said about any area of concern, thus igniting the hearts and minds of the people with the knowledge of the truth. Through them, the Spirit of God set ablaze an unquenchable FIRE for Truth, liberty, Godly societies, and limited and lawful government, from New England to Georgia. . . . In 1750, Rev. Jonathan Mayhew, D.D., of Boston delivered a sermon, titled, A Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission and Non-Resistance to the Higher Powers. “It is hoped that but few will think the subject of it an improper one to be discoursed on in the pulpit, under a notion that this is preaching politics, instead of Christ. However, to remove all prejudices of this sort, I beg it may be remembered that “all Scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Why, then, should not those parts of Scripture which relate to civil government be examined and explained from the desk, as well as others? Obedience to the civil magistrate is a Christian duty; and if so, why should not the nature, grounds, and extent of it be considered in a Christian assembly? Besides, if it be said that it is out of character for a Christian minister to meddle with such a subject, this censure will at last fall upon the holy apostles. They write upon it in their epistles to Christian churches; and surely it cannot be deemed either criminal or impertinent to attempt an explanation of their doctrine.” A quarter century later, in 1776, only five weeks before members of the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, Rev. Samuel West (1730-1807) preached a sermon to public officials of Massachusetts. He concluded with the following exhortation to his fellow gospel ministers, some of whom must have been present. “(I)t is part of the work and business of a gospel minister to teach his hearers the duty they owe to magistrates. Let us, then, endeavor to explain the nature of their duty faithfully, and show them the difference between liberty and licentiousness; and, while we are animating them to oppose tyranny and arbitrary power, let us inculcate upon them the duty of yielding due obedience to lawful authority. In order to the right and faithful discharge of this part of our ministry, it is necessary that we should thoroughly study the law of nature, the rights of mankind, and the reciprocal duties of governors and governed. By this means we shall be able to guard them against the extremes of slavish submission to tyrants on one hand, and of sedition and licentiousness on the other. We may, I apprehend, attain a thorough acquaintance with the law of nature and the rights of mankind, while we remain ignorant of many technical terms of law.”