Paths and Directions Continued (3#)
Jul 23rd, 2012 by Randy Toman
I have been challenged; “This country was not founded on Calvinism.”
This individual quotes but a few historical figures and feels he has justified his claim and position. (See comments—Paths and Directions Continued (2#)—– I say rather then look at those few main characters his purpose would have been better served if he could have shown or proved the culture of the citizenship was of a Secular Humanist nature. If so, he would have proved the country was founded by nothing more then a bunch of “Pagans” with a pagan philosophy thereby making void the fact that the Colonies hinged and were founded on Calvinism and the Christian Faith.
First let me make it clear the period of History I am calling the founding and/or formulating years of the colonies are (1620-1776). History had already gone by John Wycliffe (Late 1300’s) John Hus (early 1400’s) John Calvin and Martin Luther (1500’s) with Calvin’s “Institutes of Christian Religion” having gone through its revisions and final printing, first published in 1536 and with the finished edition published in 1559, with French, Dutch, and Latin publishing by that time. It can not be stated to strongly that John Calvin’s “Institutes of Christian Religion” had a serious impact on Christianity in the late 1500’s and 1600’s on both Europe and England of that day.
In Ernest F. Kevan’s book “The Grace of Law” A study on Puritan Theology—Sol Deo Gloria reprint of 1993
One of the key points that Dr. Kevan makes of the Puritan’s is: The Puritans did not view God’s Law as legalism, as is the charge made today against Calvin. The Puritans delighted in the law of God and made the claim that sanctification can only be rescued from the realm of the merely subjective and emotionalism, if there is an accurate application of the law and the Holy Scriptures, with proper doctrine—-it guides both church and the individual saved soul. We had a culture coming together (1620-1776) in the new world whose heart and soul believed what Calvin and the Puritan’s preached. Also we had a large percentage of the people coming to the new world because of persecution in Europe and England with most having a strong Calvin, Puritan mind set.
They had the King James Bible (1611), The Westminster Confession (1643), The Puritan writings of (1600-1700) and Samuel Bolton book “The True Bounds of Christian Freedom” (1645), along with many other Puritan writers all contributing to the understanding of freedom and their Covenant with God. Samuel Bolton opened up the teachings of Jesus Christ in his book using the verse:
John 8:36 King James Bible:
“ If the son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
The Puritans as did the colonist knew:
(1) That every man by nature is a sinner and in a state of bondage.
(2) That some are set free from this bondage.
(3) That those who are set free are set free by Christ
(4) That such as Christ sets free are free indeed.
This 4 points were a powerful realization that came upon the people here in America with revivals in the mid-1700’s . Without the teaching of the Bible—–with Calvin, the Puritans and Godly men in the pulpit along with their Puritan writings we would have no “Declaration of Independence” the colonist understood freedom and would not be denied. It took those years 1620-1776 to formulate the direction we were to go, and the Godly path we by providence and His mercy placed us on—-these simple facts can not be questioned.
Fast forwarding to today, can it be said that our direction is in a Godly way and/or are we on the path God wants us to be?
Proverbs 1:24,25,26 King James Bible
(24) “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded.”
(25) “But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none my reproof.”
(26) “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.”
Is today’s path and direction right?
We Shall See—shortly—Don’t you think??????
Randy
There is no doubt that Calvinists played a great role in the founding of America! You may indeed be correct in stating there would be no Declaration Of Independence without them.
So intense, universal, and aggressive were the Presbyterians in their zeal for liberty that the Revolutionary war was spoken of in England as “The Presbyterian Rebellion.”
During the same period the age of Enlightenment or Age of Reason had developed. The American Enlightenment began during the 1690s but didn’t become fully realized until the 1730s. The origins of the American Enlightenment are predominantly European. However Puritan culture also contributed to the prominence of the Enlightenment in America. Small Puritan religious colleges were one of the few places where philosophy was discussed prior to the Enlightenment. During the American Enlightenment these colleges rapidly expanded and became the breeding grounds for the Enlightenment thinkers.
John Wise, a Puritan clergyman, supported the Roman, Plutarch’s, claim that “to follow God and obey Reason is the same thing.” Wise began to preach these ideals and immediately received praise from some of the best known enlightened thinkers. Wise’s “religion of reason” became very popular especially in the Calvinist and Anglican congregations in the colonies but found serious opposition when received by more orthodox communities.
America may have been largely founded by Calvinists but is was not found on Calvinism or any religion. The American Constitution is not theocracy!
Treaty of Tripoli
Unlike governments of the past, the American Fathers set up a government divorced from religion. The establishment of a secular government did not require a reflection to themselves about its origin; they knew this as an unspoken given. However, as the U.S. delved into international affairs, few foreign nations knew about the intentions of America. For this reason, an insight from at a little known but legal document written in the late 1700s explicitly reveals the secular nature of the United States to a foreign nation. Officially called the “Treaty of peace and friendship between the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli, of Barbary,” most refer to it as simply the Treaty of Tripoli. In Article 11, it states:
“As the Government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Musselmen; and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan (sic Muslim) nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”
The preliminary treaty began with a signing on 4 November, 1796 (the end of George Washington’s last term as president). Joel Barlow, the American diplomat served as counsel to Algiers and held responsibility for the treaty negotiations. Barlow had once served under Washington as a chaplain in the revolutionary army. He became good friends with Paine, Jefferson, and read Enlightenment literature. Later he abandoned Christian orthodoxy for rationalism and became an advocate of secular government. Barlow, along with his associate, Captain Richard O’Brien, et al, translated and modified the Arabic version of the treaty into English. From this came the added Amendment 11. Barlow forwarded the treaty to U.S. legislators for approval in 1797. Timothy Pickering, the secretary of state, endorsed it and John Adams concurred (now during his presidency), sending the document on to the Senate. The Senate approved the treaty on June 7, 1797, and officially ratified by the Senate with John Adams signature on 10 June, 1797. All during this multi-review process, the wording of Article 11 never raised the slightest concern. The treaty even became public through its publication in The Philadelphia Gazette on 17 June 1797.
So here we have a clear admission by the United States that our government did not found itself upon Christianity. Unlike the Declaration of Independence, this treaty represented U.S. law as all treaties do according to the Constitution (see Article VI, Sect. 2).