Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Toto · 07-03-2013, 11:58 PM

Happy July 4, when Americans celebrate the overthrow of the doctrine of the divine right of kings. We all know that the American Revolution was inspired by Bible critics such as Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, and that we have a godless Constitution, based on Enlightenment principles derived from pagan classical political theory.

But there is more to the story.

Sacred Scripture, Sacred War: The Bible and the American Revolution (or via: amazon.co.uk) by James P. Byrd

Quote:

In Sacred Scripture, Sacred War, James Byrd offers the first comprehensive analysis of how American revolutionaries defended their patriotic convictions through scripture. Byrd shows that the Bible was a key text of the American Revolution. Indeed, many colonists saw the Bible as primarily a book about war. They viewed God as not merely sanctioning violence but actively participating in combat, playing a decisive role on the battlefield. When war came, preachers and patriots alike turned to scripture not only for solace but for exhortations to fight. Such scripture helped amateur soldiers overcome their natural aversion to killing, conferred on those who died for the Revolution the halo of martyrdom, and gave Americans a sense of the divine providence of their cause. Many histories of the Revolution have noted the connection between religion and war, but Sacred Scripture, Sacred War is the first to provide a detailed analysis of specific biblical texts and how they were used, especially in making the patriotic case for war.

The reviewer for Christianity Today is sorely troubled by the way political factors shaped biblical interpretation, and by the embrace of violence.

Preaching liberty

Quote:

Americans found in Scripture "a vast assemblage of war stories" relevant to their own struggle with England. From the Old Testament, ministers drew inspiration especially from the story of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt (Exodus 14-15), from the Song of Deborah in Judges 5, and from the example of David, the man of war who was also the "man after God's own heart." ....

... God championed the cause of independence. A warrior who liberated his people by means of war, the Lord clearly sanctioned violence in the pursuit of freedom. Furthermore, he would intervene on their behalf, and with God on their side, the ill-trained and poorly equipped patriots would be victorious. This meant that loyalty to Britain was rebellion against God, and pacifism was "sinful cowardice." Had not the angel of the Lord cursed the people of Meroz because they did not come "to the help of the Lord against the mighty" (Judges 5:23)? Had not the prophet Jeremiah thundered, "Cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood" (Jer. 48:10)?

If the biblical argument in support of the Revolution was to succeed, of course, patriot ministers knew that they must buttress these arguments with support from the New Testament. This was no simple task, inasmuch as the apostles Peter and Paul both seemed to condemn rebellion and teach submission to rulers as a Christian's duty. Paul enjoined the church at Rome to "be subject to the governing authorities" (Romans 13:1); Peter commanded Christians to "honor the king" (I Peter 2:17b). Neither admonition seemed to leave much room for righteous resistance to civil authority.

Advocates of independence countered that these passages in no way required submission to tyrants. Following a line of argument fashioned by Jonathan Mayhew during the Stamp Act crisis, patriotic ministers noted that in Romans 13 Paul had also referred to the ruler as "God's minister to you for good." Mayhew had concluded from this portion of a single verse that the purpose of civil government was to support "the good of civil society," and if a ruler were not doing that, Paul's instructions to submit to the governing authorities did not apply.

Also reviewed here

Quote:

Whereas the Bible had previously been marshaled to justify war against Catholic imperial rivals France and Spain and non-Christian American Indians (as recently as the French and Indian War of the 1750s and 60s), the predominantly Protestant colonists of North America were now facing off against the British Crown they’d previously held up as the standard and protector of the English-speaking Protestant Empire. Individual chapters focus on prominent biblical passages and themes and the ways in which the colonists skillfully employed them. Some of these are predictable—the American Israelites sought freedom from the oppressive bondage of a wicked Pharaoh (chapter 2); Peter and Paul became preachers of “apostolic patriotism” (chapter 5); and the Revolution and the book of Revelation combined to usher in a new age of American millennialism (chapter 6). Others are perhaps less so—the “prophetic violence” of Deborah and Jeremiah “pushed the limits of just war theory and gave patriots biblical license to endorse the atrocities of war” (chapter 3). Chapter 4’s consideration of “David’s revolutionary heroism” typifies the complexities of biblical interpretation during wartime. For American patriots, David simultaneously served a multitude of roles. His youthful courage personified the patriotic cause (wielding his sling and stone against the British Goliath) and in his Psalms could be found inspiration for wartime violence, “uniting military heroism and spiritual devotion.” He also came to typify the dangers of royal authority, as revolutionaries like Thomas Paine linked his spiritual and moral corruption to his monarchical abuses.

steve_bnk · 07-04-2013, 12:47 AM

I'd say of course the revolutionaries would have justified themselves by looking at scripture, our illustrious conservative Christian politicians do it today.

The current Christian revisionist history that has sprang up is that the nation was founded on the bible...not the enlightenment.

Jefferson was a Deist who believed in an afterlife.

Iskander · 07-04-2013, 03:09 AM

The British fought a revolutionary war of independence against the divine right of the monarch and executed the stubborn king. We later exported our ideas to the colonies and the locals translated them into a stable political philosophy.

The Bible was used because the political conflict was staged on a Christian theatre. The first act of the play was the revolutionary war of independence against the divine right of the pope. The American Revolution was the 3rd act.

The Bible is a great human story of hope, error and glory. It is so much more interesting than the Koran and the servile religious books of the East.

Minimalist · 07-04-2013, 11:33 PM

The Confederacy used the bible to justify slavery, too. Poorly written books can be twisted to say whatever anyone needs them to say.

Toto · 07-05-2013, 01:25 AM

You don't have to twist what the bible says to show how it justifies slavery.

mountainman · 07-05-2013, 06:03 PM

May the fourth of July be with you always.

Was Jesus a Jedi?

εὐδαιμονία | eudaimonia

ideologyhunter · 07-06-2013, 07:29 AM

Actually you have to twist, contort, bitch-slap and throttle the Bible to make it into an abolitionist text. Exodus 21:20-1 are the classic Simon Legree verses -- primitive as hell. I wonder how abolitionists like Beecher and Garrison interpreted such verses -- but I've never come across any instance of them commenting on the Bible's teachings that are specific to slavery, none of which call for an end to bondage or label it as evil. It's a weird phenomenon of the faithful that they can ignore the scriptures that make them uncomfortable (other classic examples are Jesus's near-total condemnation of divorce, the business about giving to beggars whatever they ask of you, the notice that the faithful will have the power to heal all manner of disease by faith, and handle serpents, etc., and the passage in Romans 13 that teaches you it's your duty to pay your taxes and not oppose them.)

Jaybees · 07-06-2013, 08:17 AM

Ugh! Now I have to rethink the factors contributing to the American Revolution. It used to be that Paine's Common Sense was the main inspiration for the rebels, but now it's the OT.

Sheesh!

Iskander · 07-06-2013, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iskander

The British fought a revolutionary war of independence against the divine right of the monarch and executed the stubborn king. We later exported our ideas to the colonies and the locals translated them into a stable political philosophy.

The Bible was used because the political conflict was staged on a Christian theatre. The first act of the play was the revolutionary war of independence against the divine right of the pope. The American Revolution was the 3rd act.

The Bible is a great human story of hope, error and glory. It is so much more interesting than the Koran and the servile religious books of the East.

The American Revolution was the 3rd act, the revolutionary war of independence against the divine right of god.

As Thomas Paine wrote in Common Sense,“The cause of America is, in a great measure, the cause of all mankind.”

James The Least · 07-07-2013, 11:02 AM

"Bible critics such as Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson" represented the religious views of about .0001% of the population. John Wesley, John Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards were the real representatives of America's religious soul. The Bible was 100% true, historical, and relevant to the present time, Americans thought, and a large portion of the population still thinks that's true. It follows that anything Americans did, whether it was killing troops in war or enslaving Africans, God approved of it.

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07-04-2013, 12:47 AM	#2
steve_bnk Contributor Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,602	I'd say of course the revolutionaries would have justified themselves by looking at scripture, our illustrious conservative Christian politicians do it today. The current Christian revisionist history that has sprang up is that the nation was founded on the bible...not the enlightenment. Jefferson was a Deist who believed in an afterlife.

07-04-2013, 03:09 AM	#3
Iskander Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 3,619	The British fought a revolutionary war of independence against the divine right of the monarch and executed the stubborn king. We later exported our ideas to the colonies and the locals translated them into a stable political philosophy. The Bible was used because the political conflict was staged on a Christian theatre. The first act of the play was the revolutionary war of independence against the divine right of the pope. The American Revolution was the 3rd act. The Bible is a great human story of hope, error and glory. It is so much more interesting than the Koran and the servile religious books of the East.

07-04-2013, 11:33 PM	#4
Minimalist Veteran Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 1,808	The Confederacy used the bible to justify slavery, too. Poorly written books can be twisted to say whatever anyone needs them to say.

07-05-2013, 01:25 AM	#5
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	You don't have to twist what the bible says to show how it justifies slavery.

07-05-2013, 06:03 PM	#6
mountainman Contributor Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Falls Creek, Oz. Posts: 11,192	May the fourth of July be with you always. Was Jesus a Jedi? εὐδαιμονία \| eudaimonia

07-06-2013, 07:29 AM	#7
ideologyhunter Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Port Clinton, Ohio Posts: 591	Actually you have to twist, contort, bitch-slap and throttle the Bible to make it into an abolitionist text. Exodus 21:20-1 are the classic Simon Legree verses -- primitive as hell. I wonder how abolitionists like Beecher and Garrison interpreted such verses -- but I've never come across any instance of them commenting on the Bible's teachings that are specific to slavery, none of which call for an end to bondage or label it as evil. It's a weird phenomenon of the faithful that they can ignore the scriptures that make them uncomfortable (other classic examples are Jesus's near-total condemnation of divorce, the business about giving to beggars whatever they ask of you, the notice that the faithful will have the power to heal all manner of disease by faith, and handle serpents, etc., and the passage in Romans 13 that teaches you it's your duty to pay your taxes and not oppose them.)

07-06-2013, 08:17 AM	#8
Jaybees Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Hawaii Posts: 9,233	Ugh! Now I have to rethink the factors contributing to the American Revolution. It used to be that Paine's Common Sense was the main inspiration for the rebels, but now it's the OT. Sheesh!

07-07-2013, 11:02 AM	#10
James The Least Regular Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: USA Posts: 393	"Bible critics such as Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson" represented the religious views of about .0001% of the population. John Wesley, John Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards were the real representatives of America's religious soul. The Bible was 100% true, historical, and relevant to the present time, Americans thought, and a large portion of the population still thinks that's true. It follows that anything Americans did, whether it was killing troops in war or enslaving Africans, God approved of it.

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