On Washington’s 275th Birthday

Tomorrow (February 22nd) is President George Washington’s Birthday. I wrote an article earlier this week about President Washington on AGC. This is a follow-up to that article.

“George Washington’s Sacred Fire” is a new book written by Dr. Peter Lillback. According to one commentary, “George Washington, Founding Father of our nation, has been the subject of great confusion and debate about his faith, leading to the misconception that he was a deist. The purpose of this book is to prove definitively that George Washington was indeed a devout, practicing Christian. George Washington, Founding Father of our nation, has been the subject of great confusion and debate about his faith, leading to the misconception that he was a deist.”

I quoted the above comments on an internet forum recently and got the following reaction in return, “Would (Washington) have done anything differently if he was Jewish (or) Moslem (or) Atheist?" This struck me as an excellent, thought-provoking question.

WHAT WOULD GEORGE HAVE DONE IF HE WEREN'T A CHRISTIAN?

George Washington would have done everything differently had he not been the devout, practicing Christian that he was. Had not George Washington been a true believer in God here would be some of the consequences:

· He would have never endured the miserable Valley Forge experience. He more than likely would have cut and run without the courage and strength of his faith in his God.

· Since he presided over the formation of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, those documents may never have been created. There would have never been a Bill of Rights, because Washington and the vast majority of the Founding Fathers recognized that our rights ultimately come from God, not from the state.

· There would have never been a United States of America and the great blessing of God lavished upon her due to the great faith that made George Washington the great leader that he became.

In retrospect, God mightily used President George Washington to bring about this more perfect union. George Washington was God's chosen leader.

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S CHRISTIAN FAITH

A couple of quotes from a recent NewsMax.com article are apropos to this discussion. The first is a quote is from the notebook German Lutheran Rev. Henry Muhlenberg: "I heard a fine example today, namely that His Excellency General Washington rode among his army yesterday and admonished each and every one to fear God, to put away wickedness that has set in and become so general, and to practice Christian virtues. From all appearances General Washington does not belong to the so-called world of society, for he respects God's Word, believes in the atonement through Christ, and bears himself in humility and gentleness. Therefore, the Lord God has also singularly, yea, marvelously preserved him from harm in the midst of countless perils, and has hitherto graciously held him in his hand as a chosen vessel." ” [Emphasis added]

Another quote from the same excellent NewMax.com article nicely captures the sense of Washington’s faith, “Washington believed that the fires of reason and the fiery passions of a society without the presence of the sacred, refining fire of faith would always burn out of control. A fire lit by human passions alone would be a blaze without limits, without direction, and leave devastation and carnage behind. Washington's "sacred fire of liberty" was sacred, precisely because of his ardent Christian faith. As he said at his first inaugural address (April 30, 1789): "The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people." Or as the French political thinker and historian Alexis de Tocqueville wrote after visiting the United States in the 1830s: "America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."”

WE ARE NOT GEORGE WASHINGTON'S AMERICA TODAY

Could this be a part of the explanation of America’s failings today? If President George Washinton were to return today he would see all the technological advances , but he would see the absence of God, lack of faith and lack of morality. We need not only to return Presdient Washington to his deserved place of recognition in our history, but we need to emmulate him. He is a real Amercian Hero.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President!