George
Washington
1732-1799
—
1st President of the US (1789-1797) . . . At
age 16 helped survey Shenandoah lands for Thomas, Lord Fairfax . . . Fought in
the French and Indian War . . . Before the American Revolution, served in the
Virginia House of Burgesses . . . Elected Commander in Chief of the Continental
Army by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia in May 1775 . . . Served
in that capacity for six years . . . Prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional
Convention at Philadelphia in 1787 . . . He was unanimously elected president
after the new Constitution was ratified . . . Kept America neutral during war
between France and England after the French revolution . . . Wearied of politics,
he retired at the end of his second term and retired to Mount Vernon.[6]
He
issued this general order at New York on August 3, 1776 just prior to the battle
of Long Island:
"The
General is sorry to be informed that the foolish, and wicked practice, of profane
cursing and swearing (a Vice heretofore little known in an American Army) is growing
into fashion; he hopes the officers will, by example, as well as influence, endeavour
to check it, and that both they, and the men will reflect, that we can have little
hopes of the blessing of Heaven on our Arms, if we insult it by our impiety, and
folly; added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any temptation, that
every man of sense, and character, detests and despises it.[36]
By
1778, Washington had so often witnessed God's intervention that on August 20,
he wrote Thomas Nelson:
"The
Hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse
than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude
enough to acknowledge his obligations."[38]
As
commander in chief of the Army he believed strongly in religious disciplines.
He insisted on having military Chaplains. He wrote to the army in 1778:
"To the distinguished
character of a Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished
character of a Christian."[4,37]
After
the signing of the peace treaty between America and England, he resigned as Commander
in Chief and sent a circular letter to the 13 state legislatures informing them
of his resignation, ending with this prayer:
"I
now make it my earnest prayer that God will have you and the state over which
you preside in His holy protection, that He would incline the hearts of the citizens
to cultivate the spirit of subordination and obedience to government, to entertain
a brotherly affection and a love for one another, for their fellow citizens of
the United States and particularly for their brethren who have served in the field,
and finally that He would be most graciously pleased to dispose us all to do justice,
to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and peaceful
temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our Blessed
Religion and without an humble imitation in these things we can never hope to
be a happy nation."[9]
Washington
was for many years a vestryman at Truro Parish, his local Episcopal Church.
The
entry of June 5, 1772, shows Washington and his neighbor, George Mason, the author
of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, engaged in parish business, including making
arrangements for replacing the front steps of the church, painting its roof and
selling church pews to the members as a means of obtaining revenue. The minutes
of the meeting also reveal that Washington and George William Fairfax presented
the parish with gold leaf to be used to gild letters on "Carved Ornaments"
on the altar.[14]
When approached by Delaware Indian chiefs who desired that their youth be trained in American schools He advised them: "You do well to wish to learn our arts and our ways of life and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do everything they can to assist you in this wise intention."[9,38]
It is factual that President Washington knelt and prayed and read the Bible for one hour every day.[1] Washington's Prayer Journal
Excerpts
from his Farewell Speech on September 19, 1796:
"Of
all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and
morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute
of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness,
these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally
with the pious man, ought to respect and cherish them. A volume could not trace
all their connections with private and public felicity . . . And let us indulge
with caution the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion
. . . Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can
prevail to the exclusion of religious principle."[40]
Research
shows:
Washington
didn't wear Christianity on his sleeve; he was private in his beliefs. Mary Thompson,
Official research Specialist at Mt. Vernon did a 7-year study of Washington's
religious life and found he believed that God took an active part in the founding
of the US, that God took an active interest in people's lives, and the way a person
behaved in reference to God would influence the way God related to him. According
to Dr. Peter Lillback of the Providence Foundation, Washington spoke of "Providence"
(Divine care and guardianship [39])over 200 times
in private letters and speeches showing that the believed that Providence is all-knowing,
all wise, involved in what happens in the world.[37]
John
Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court described Washington:
"Without making ostentatious professions of religion, he was a sincere believer
in the Christian faith, and a truly devout man."[1]
Nellie
Custis, their adopted daughter, who lived with the Washingtons 20 years from childhood
to marriage, wrote to Jerod Sparks, a Chaplain of Congress:
"George Washington attended church in Virginia at Alexandria when
the weather and roads permitted a ride of ten miles. While serving as president
in New York and Philadelphia, he never omitted attendance of church in the morning
unless detained by sickness. No one in church attended to the services with more
reverential respect. I should have thought it the greatest heresy to doubt his
firm belief in Christianity. His life, his writings prove that he was a Christian
. . . Is it necessary that anyone should prove that General Washington claimed
to be a believer in Christianity? As well may we question his patriotism and his
devotion to his country."[10]
Sparks compiled George Washington's works and published
them in twelve volumes between 1834 and 1837. Based on his extensive research
into Washington's religious life, Sparks concluded:
"To
say that he [George Washington] was not a Christian would be to impeach his sincerity
and honesty. Of all men in the world, Washington was certainly the last whom any
one would charge with dissimulation or indirectness [hypocrisies and evasiveness];
and if he was so scrupulous in avoiding even a shadow of these faults in every
known act of his life, [regardless of] however unimportant, is it likely, is it
credible, that in a matter of the highest and most serious importance [his religious
faith, that] he should practice through a long series of years a deliberate deception
upon his friends and the public? It is neither credible nor possible."[38]
Inscribed
on Washington's tomb in Mount Vernon:
"I
am the resurrection and the life saith the Lord, he that believeth in me though
he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall
never die. St. John XI.25.26"[37]