The First President -- Deist or Disciple?
by Randall Murphree
October 16, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Dr. Peter Lillback begins his new volume on George Washington's faith with a cursory review of a few recent authors describing our first president as a "lukewarm Episcopalian," a "warm Deist," "not a deeply religious man," "not particularly ardent in his faith," and "one who avoided, as was the Deist custom, the word 'God.'" Lillback aims to set the record straight in his comprehensive study titled George Washington's Sacred Fire. In more than 1,000 pages -- about one-third of them appendices to the main text -- he explores every aspect of the president's faith in order to verify that he was, indeed, a devout man who practiced his Christian faith.
How does he so verify? The Providence Forum says most other books about Washington's faith are based on anecdotal evidence that often either cannot be substantiated, or which possesses questionable authenticity.
George Washington's Sacred Fire, however, relies on extensive primary source documents, illustrations and quotes from Washington's own papers and those of his closest colleagues and family that will help clarify why the faith of our founding father matters in 21st century America and beyond.
The author is president of The Providence Forum, president of Westminster Theological Seminary and senior pastor at Proclamation Presbyterian Church, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
"The mission of The Providence Forum is to 'retheistify' our nation," said Dr. Ralf Augstroze, "reestablishing the spirit of the faith and values of our founding fathers -- a spirit that acknowledged and actively professed the providence of God in the affairs and history of our nation." Augstroze is executive director of The Providence Forum.
Lillback defends the Christian perspective of our nation's founding, history, documents and values as reflected in earlier days of government and the courts. Fifteen years of research went into the book. It critiques and debunks the evidence used by 20th century scholars to "prove" that Washington was a deist.
While the thick volume could be intimidating, a look at the Table of Contents suggests a very basic look at a very human Washington. Lillback begins with a section titled "The Controversy," including a definition of deism. Subsequent sections address Washington's childhood, his Christian education, his personality, his military record and his family life.
The book has earned a great deal of media attention, and it has stirred-up the status-quo historical community across the nation. Understandably so. The purpose of George Washington's Sacred Fire is to prove definitively that George Washington was indeed a devout, practicing Christian, and that quickly puts revisionist historians on the defensive.
The book builds a compelling case for the Christian faith of Washington by relying on the president's own thoughts, words and deeds. Lillback's evidence strongly supports his premise that Washington was not a deist, but a strong practitioner of the Christian faith. Further, he aptly illustrates that this fact is critical for understanding the founding of America and for insuring the future strength of America as "One Nation under God."
The title borrows a phrase from Washington's 1789 inaugural address: "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."
Randall Murphree, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is editor of AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association. This book can be purchased through The Providence Forum website. For more information on The Providence Forum:1-866-55-FORUM; P. O. Box 446, Bryn Mawr, PS 19010.
