George Washington’s Christian Beliefs Still Guide Our Nation

Often called the “indispensable man” of America, one thing is for certain: the United States as we know it today would not be the same without the influence of George Washington. Some consider the Founding Father to be one of the greatest to ever live, “but not as great as Jesus Christ, for absolute certain,” commented Washington scholar Peter Lillback on “Washington Watch” last week. And while Washington was only a mere mortal, his greatness is grounded in his remarkable faith in God.

“As we celebrate America’s historic 250th anniversary, it’s very important for us to remember our nation’s Christian roots and the faith of our Founding Fathers,” explained “Washington Watch” guest host Jody Hice. “George Washington was a leader, obviously, during the American Revolution and our nation’s first president. And he was known for his life of prayer and known for drawing inspiration from Scripture.”

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But in the increasingly secularized world of academia, some have claimed that our nation’s first president was a deist. “The first truth that we need to realize is that Washington grew up in a biblically literate culture,” Lillback remarked. “Our research into Washington shows that he knew the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. He quotes it over 200 times in different ways, through reference or through quotes, through allusions, [and] biblical language.”

Lillback, president emeritus at Westminster Theological Seminary as well as the author of “George Washington’s Sacred Fire,” has done extensive study on how Washington’s faith influenced both his private and public life. Lillback shared that a letter Washington penned about the Battle of the Monongahela proves the general’s Christian faith.

“[In the letter] he says, ‘Four bullet holes in my coat. Two horses shot out from under me.’ He was the only officer that was not wounded or killed in that battle. And he wrote home and said, ‘By a miracle of providence I have been spared.’ He came to love the doctrine of providence by experience,” Lillback asserted.

“He ends up using that word in his writings some 270-plus times. He believed that God was active in history. That’s why it’s impossible to identify him as a deist, because a deist believes that God is not active in history. George Washington believed that God was active in history and spared him in what was really a massacre.”

Washington also advocated for the army to have chaplains while he was active in the military during the 18th century. Lillback explained that the position of the chaplain was of the utmost importance to Washington when he was the leader of the army. In British military tradition, the ranking officer was a chaplain, Lillback added, which means that Washington was a chaplain himself before he joined the American army, and one with a vibrant prayer life.

“You can find at least 100 prayers that he wrote in his own hand. Sometimes they’re only a sentence long,” Lillback described. “It was known, in fact, by the enemy of the American army, the British newspapers, when they described Washington’s camp. They say it is known that every day in his tent he has prayers. So he would use the Book of Common Prayer and lead his men in prayer. He would pray with his chaplains. He prayed all the time. That’s the evidence.”

While at the Valley Forge encampment, Washington told his men that he wanted them to be Christian soldiers, Lillback went on. “‘Above all the things you’re seeking, the honor and glory of being a soldier, seek the greatest of all, the greatest honor of being a Christian,’” Lillback explained he encouraged them. “He says we must imitate the divine author of our blessed religion if we ever hope to be a happy nation. That spirit carries with him as he becomes the president.”

Despite Washington’s lack of higher education, he oversaw the Constitutional Convention, in which the evidence of his spiritual wisdom can be observed, said Lillback. Washington knew we were a selfish and sinful people.

Lillback commented that the most Christian thing in the Constitution is the creation of separated powers. “There’s multiple checks and balances because people are sinful. … [The Founders] were saying, ‘We’re setting up a new empire, but it’s in the midst of another empire that’s been around for 1787 years,’ and he is our Lord. They recognized that they were in the Christian era, following Christian truth. And the check and balance of power reflects that Federalist Paper principle that human beings are sinful and their power must be checked.”

While there are some scholars who teach that Washington was a deist, we must take his own words as truth; the man proclaimed to be a believer. “The evidence is everywhere that he was a Christian. In his context, in his family, in his own words,” Lillback underscored. “I think that trumps anything any scholar, any propagandist of a secular American can foist upon us.”

LifeNews Note: Quinn Delamater is a reporter for The Washington Stand.