whom so much has been entrusted have not been the stewards we should have been. We who
are rich in possessing have not been equally profuse in dispersing, We who are mighty have
not always tempered our might with mercy. We have mistaken success as the proof of our
goodness. Forgive us Lord God, and create in us clean hearts and right spirits, that we may
become the people you would have us be.
Amen
Writing the Declaration of Independence, 1776 (video - 14:09)
http://usconstitutionalfreepress.wordpress.com/2013/07/02/video-writing-the-declaration-of-independence-1776/
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
Psalm 33:12 KJV
4th of July
Patriot Pastors And Stalwart Statesmen !!!
A Tribute To America’s Patriot Pastors And Stalwart Statesmen
by Chuck Baldwin
In honor of Independence Day, I want to
devote this column to the brave men of colonial America who
were most responsible for our country’s successful
separation from Great Britain, namely, the patriot pastors
and stalwart statesmen of 1775 and 1776. It was the pulpit
as much as the politician and soldier that birthed this
great country. Without the Black Regiment--the mostly
Protestant pulpits of colonial America--there would never
have been a Lexington Green, Concord Bridge, or Bunker Hill.
Of course, the moniker Black Regiment or Black Robed
Regiment was given by the British Crown, which demonstrated
how important and effective the Crown believed the pulpits
of colonial America were to the cause of independence.
During the Springfield (New Jersey) engagement, the colonial militia ran out of wadding for their muskets. Quickly, Caldwell galloped to the Presbyterian church, and returning with an armload of hymnals, threw them to the ground, and hollered, “Now, boys, give ’em Watts!” He was referring to the famous hymn writer, Isaac Watts, of course. The British hated Caldwell so much, they murdered his wife, Hannah, in her own home, as she sat with her children on her bed. Later, a fellow American was bribed by the British to assassinate Pastor Caldwell--which is exactly what he did. Americans loyal to the Crown burned both his house and church. No less than three cities and two public schools in the State of New Jersey bear his name.
Muhlenberg later was promoted to brigadier-general in the Continental Army, and later, major general. He participated in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and Yorktown. He went on to serve in both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.
So many Baptist preachers participated in America’s War for Independence that, at the conclusion of the war, President George Washington wrote a personal letter to the Baptist people saying, “I recollect with satisfaction that the religious societies of which you are a member have been, throughout America, uniformly and almost unanimously, the firm friends to civil liberty, and the preserving promoters of our glorious Revolution.” It also explains how Thomas Jefferson could write to a Baptist congregation and say, “We have acted together from the origin to the end of a memorable Revolution.” (McDaniel, George White. The People Called Baptists. The Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1918. Print.) Without question, the courageous preaching and example of colonial America’s patriot-pastors provided the colonists with the inspiration and resolve to resist the tyranny of the Crown and win America’s freedom and independence.
I invite readers to visit my Black Regiment web page to learn more about my attempt to resurrect America’s Black-Robed Regiment. Go to: The Black Regiment
This is the fighting heritage of America’s pastors and preachers. So, what has happened? What has happened to that fighting spirit that once existed, almost universally, throughout America’s Christian denominations? How have preachers become so timid, so shy, and so cowardly that they will stand apathetic and mute as America faces the destruction of its liberties? Where are the preachers today to explain, expound, and extrapolate the principles of liberty from Holy Writ?
President John F. Kennedy once held a dinner at the White House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: “This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” He was probably right.
The names John Witherspoon, John Leland, Jonathan
Mayhew, Isaac Backus, Samuel Cooper, and Ebenezer Baldwin
are as important to the success of the American Revolution
as are the names of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Josiah
Quincy, Dr. Joseph Warren, John Hancock, and Richard Henry
Lee.
On the occasion of tomorrow’s celebration of Independence
Day, I want to honor these great men by sharing with readers
some examples of their nobility and sacrifice.
Patriot
Pastors
James Caldwell
James Caldwell was called “The Rebel High Priest” or
“The Fighting Chaplain.” Caldwell is most famous for the
“Give ’em Watts!” story.During the Springfield (New Jersey) engagement, the colonial militia ran out of wadding for their muskets. Quickly, Caldwell galloped to the Presbyterian church, and returning with an armload of hymnals, threw them to the ground, and hollered, “Now, boys, give ’em Watts!” He was referring to the famous hymn writer, Isaac Watts, of course. The British hated Caldwell so much, they murdered his wife, Hannah, in her own home, as she sat with her children on her bed. Later, a fellow American was bribed by the British to assassinate Pastor Caldwell--which is exactly what he did. Americans loyal to the Crown burned both his house and church. No less than three cities and two public schools in the State of New Jersey bear his name.
John Peter
Muhlenberg
John Peter Muhlenberg was pastor of a Lutheran church in
Woodstock, Virginia, when hostilities erupted between
Great Britain and the American colonies. When news of
Bunker Hill reached Virginia, Muhlenberg preached a sermon
from Ecclesiastes 3 to his congregation. He reminded his
parishioners that there was a time to preach and a time to
fight. He said that, for him, the time to preach was past
and it was time to fight. He then threw off his vestments
and stood before his congregants in the uniform of a
Virginia colonel.Muhlenberg later was promoted to brigadier-general in the Continental Army, and later, major general. He participated in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and Yorktown. He went on to serve in both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.
Joab Houghton
Joab Houghton was in the Hopewell (New Jersey) Baptist
Meeting House at worship when he received the first
information regarding the battles at Lexington and Concord.
His great-grandson gives the following eloquent description
of the way he treated the tidings:
“[M]ounting the great stone block in front of the
meeting-house, he beckoned the people to stop. Men and
women paused to hear, curious to know what so unusual a
sequel to the service of the day could mean. At the first,
words a silence, stern as death, fell over all. The
Sabbath quiet of the hour and of the place was deepened
into a terrible solemnity. He told them all the story of
the cowardly murder at Lexington by the royal troops; the
heroic vengeance following hard upon it; the retreat of
Percy; the gathering of the children of the Pilgrims round
the beleaguered hills of Boston; then pausing, and looking
over the silent throng, he said slowly, ‘Men of New
Jersey, the red coats are murdering our brethren of New
England! Who follows me to Boston?’ And every man in that
audience stepped out of line, and answered, ‘I!’ There was
not a coward or a traitor in old Hopewell Baptist
Meeting-House that day.” (Cathcart, William. Baptists and
the American Revolution. Philadelphia: S.A. George, 1876,
rev. 1976. Print.)
Jonas Clark
Jonas Clark was pastor of the Church of Lexington,
Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775, the day that British
troops marched on Concord with orders to arrest Sam Adams
and John Hancock, and to seize a cache of firearms. It was
Pastor Clark’s male congregants who were the first ones to
face-off against the British troops as they marched
through Lexington. When you hear the story of the
Minutemen at the Battle of Lexington, remember those
Minutemen were Pastor Jonas Clark and the men of his
congregation.
On the one year anniversary of the Battle of Lexington,
Clark preached a sermon based upon his eyewitness testimony
of the event. He called his sermon, “The Fate of
Blood-Thirsty Oppressors and God’s Tender Care of His
Distressed People.” His sermon has been republished by
Nordskog Publishing under the title, “The Battle of
Lexington, A Sermon and Eyewitness Narrative, Jonas Clark,
Pastor, Church of Lexington.”
Order the book containing Clark’s sermon at:
"The
Battle of Lexington, A Sermon and Eyewitness Narrative,
Jonas Clark, Pastor, Church of Lexington"
Of course, these four brave preachers were not the only
ones to participate in America’s fight for independence.
There were Episcopalian ministers such as Dr. Samuel
Provost of New York, Dr. John Croes of New Jersey, and
Robert Smith of South Carolina. Presbyterian ministers
such as Adam Boyd of North Carolina and James Armstrong of
Maryland, along with many others, also took part.So many Baptist preachers participated in America’s War for Independence that, at the conclusion of the war, President George Washington wrote a personal letter to the Baptist people saying, “I recollect with satisfaction that the religious societies of which you are a member have been, throughout America, uniformly and almost unanimously, the firm friends to civil liberty, and the preserving promoters of our glorious Revolution.” It also explains how Thomas Jefferson could write to a Baptist congregation and say, “We have acted together from the origin to the end of a memorable Revolution.” (McDaniel, George White. The People Called Baptists. The Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1918. Print.) Without question, the courageous preaching and example of colonial America’s patriot-pastors provided the colonists with the inspiration and resolve to resist the tyranny of the Crown and win America’s freedom and independence.
I invite readers to visit my Black Regiment web page to learn more about my attempt to resurrect America’s Black-Robed Regiment. Go to: The Black Regiment
This is the fighting heritage of America’s pastors and preachers. So, what has happened? What has happened to that fighting spirit that once existed, almost universally, throughout America’s Christian denominations? How have preachers become so timid, so shy, and so cowardly that they will stand apathetic and mute as America faces the destruction of its liberties? Where are the preachers today to explain, expound, and extrapolate the principles of liberty from Holy Writ?
Stalwart
Statesmen
George
Washington
Called “The Father of His Country,” George Washington
was, perhaps, the most important man of the founding era.
Supernaturally spared during the American Indian Wars,
Washington became the military leader who held the
Continental Army together when it was virtually impossible
for any man to do so. Without his leadership at Valley
Forge and elsewhere, there is absolutely no doubt that the
Continental Army would have fallen apart and the fight for
independence would have been lost.
Equally significant is the leadership that George
Washington demonstrated in the Continental Congress. Without
question, Washington was the glue that held the political
bodies of the colonies together. Then, add the fact that
George Washington was America’s first President, whose
leadership solidified the colonies into a new United States,
and his value to the cause of American independence cannot
be in any way overstated.
Think of it: George Washington was the
commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. And he led
that inferior army to victory over the greatest military
force in the world at the time: Great Britain. Afterward,
Washington rebuffed a strong effort to inaugurate him as
America’s king, and led the fledgling nation to embrace
republican government instead. Washington presided over
the Constitutional Convention that drafted the US
Constitution. He was America’s first President.
Washington’s Farewell Address formed the compass and
rudder of America for at least the next 75 years, and in
many respects, its influence is felt even today. In my
opinion, this address is the greatest political
dissertation ever submitted to the American people.
Thomas
Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of America’s
birth certificate: the Declaration of Independence. In my
mind, there is no greater document of liberty ever written
by man. When it came to the understanding of human rights,
individual liberty, State rights, and Enlightenment
philosophy, Jefferson had no peer.President John F. Kennedy once held a dinner at the White House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: “This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” He was probably right.
Jefferson served in the Continental Congress; he was the
first Secretary of State; he was the third President of
the United States; he commissioned the Lewis and Clark
expedition; he was the author of the Virginia Statute For
Religious Freedom, which is regarded as one of the
greatest declarations of religious liberty ever written;
he spoke five languages and could read two others; he knew
and influenced virtually every man who would be regarded
as a Founding Father today; and he wrote nearly 16,000
personal letters. Had not the British burned much of it in
the War of 1812, his library would probably go down as the
greatest personal collection of literary works ever
collected by one man.
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry was the colonies’ most ardent advocate of
liberty--bar none! In oratorical genius, he has never had
an equal. Henry was a self-educated lawyer, successful
farmer, devoted father of 17 children, and five-term
governor of Virginia. Henry was the first Founding Father
to defy British taxes, and in so doing was the first who
was willing to risk death as a traitor.
Patrick Henry’s immortal speech at St. John’s Church in
Richmond to a gathering of the Virginia legislators in 1775
is regarded yet today as the most influential speech ever
delivered on American soil. Probably more people are
acquainted with that “Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Death!”
speech than any other public address ever delivered.
Henry’s contribution to the War for Independence cannot
be overestimated. As Governor of Virginia (the richest and
most populated of the 13 colonies), he supplied the
largest share of arms and munitions to the outnumbered and
poorly provisioned Continental Army. It was also Patrick
Henry and his fellow Anti-Federalists who were primarily
responsible for the first ten amendments to the
Constitution (the Bill of Rights) being drafted and
ratified.
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams is rightly called “The Father of the
American Revolution.” He was a cousin to President John
Adams and a graduate of Harvard. He was perhaps the most
influential member of the Massachusetts State legislature.
He succeeded John Hancock as Governor of Massachusetts. He
was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of
the Declaration of Independence. He, along with men such
as Dr. Joseph Warren, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson,
Richard Henry Lee, and Josiah Quincy, Jr., created the
“Committees of Correspondence,” which became the principal
conduit of articles and letters of pro-revolution,
pro-liberty, and pro-independence communication between
the colonies. Adams was also very influential in the
now-famous Boston Tea Party.
Sam Adams was so hated by the British government that they
used military force to try to apprehend him, which led to
both the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, and the “Shot
Fired Heard ’Round The World” at Lexington Green and Concord
Bridge on April 19, 1775.
James Madison
James Madison is properly called “The Father of The US
Constitution.” He was the fourth President of the United
States and was the principal author of the Bill of Rights.
Madison authored more than a third of the Federalist Papers.
Thomas Jefferson referred to the Federalist Papers as “The
best commentary on the principles of government, which ever
was written.” Madison served as US Representative from
Virginia and as Secretary of State under Jefferson. George
Washington considered Madison to be the preeminent authority
on the US Constitution in the entire country.
Madison was a fervent proponent of the principle of
divided power. He believed government (especially the
federal government) could not be trusted with too much
power and worked to ensure the separation of powers within
the federal government. He also was a major proponent of
State rights and sovereignty. Madison broke with Treasury
Secretary Alexander Hamilton over Hamilton’s promotion of
the State Bank, and together with Thomas Jefferson, formed
what became known as the Democrat-Republican Party.
Madison also co-authored with Jefferson two of the most
prominent documents of liberty: the Kentucky and Virginia
resolutions.
As we celebrate Independence Day tomorrow, I trust and
pray that each of us will reacquaint ourselves with the
principles upon which the Declaration of Independence was
written, and upon which the United States of America was
founded. And while we are doing that, let’s be sure we are
passing these principles on to our children and
grandchildren.
http://blackroberegiment.ning.com/
http://www.blackrobereg.org/
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