1996 issue 8 - history study: fruits of independence - counsel of chalcedon

8/12/2019 1996 Issue 8 - History Study: Fruits of Independence - Counsel of Chalcedon

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Fruits of Independence (I)

Contrary to the thoughts

and dreams

of oOr

modem

radicals

(in church and state

as

well as the university) this

continent was

founded

by men

who were driven by a desire ti>

see the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

honored and His

kingdom

come . Columbus,.

Cortez,

.

Balboa, and any number

of

the

early explorers

to

cross

the

perilous ocean

to

this land in

the late 15th and

early

16th

centuries had this in

common.

These men

were

followed

by Englishmen of

similar

.

vision.

The settlers of

Jamestown came (in 1607) fot

the

purp

ose

of

establishing a

society where

men

might live

freely

to the glory of Ood. The

pilgrims of Plymouth

came

for

the same reason thirteen

years

later. These two groups

of

early

settlers,

set

the tone

for all

that

would follow

in this

nation.

This would

be

a place

dominated by nothing

so much

as the gospel and faith

in

Christ.

The most important fact

about any nation or people ,

is its

faith.

Ood, as the Ruler

of

the

universe has determined to rule

over people

and nations in

terms

of

His

covenant. This

means

that those who honor

Him will be honored and those

who despise Him will

be

lightly

esteemed.

He has told

us

in Proverbs

14:34 that

"Righteousness

exalts

a nation

but sin

is a

reproach

to any

people." In saying this Ood

tells

us

the rule by which we

shall

have prosperity and

blessing

or cursing

and

misery.

If

we

adhere

(as

a

nation)

to

the

rule

of righteousness (His

Word) we will

be

exalted. If

we depart from

this rule

, we

will

be destroyed.

Ood

watches over men and

nations

to this

end . One may

trace

the

progress or

decline

of

6 * HE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t October,

996

our nation in terms

of

its

faithfulness or

unfaithfulness to

the Word.

And, throughout

history there has been

something of an ebb and flow

in

regard

to

faithfulness.

At

the close of the 17th century

the

faith

had

suffered

significant

decline

North and

South but most severely

perhaps in New England.

It

is

thus, not too

surprising

that

the

sad

events

at Sa em

took place

at this

time

.

B1 It

Ood in the

midst of the 18th cenrury

wrought a great work in

bringing about a revival of the

faith

through the preaching of

His Word. Men

like

Jonathan

Edwards,

Oilbert Tennant,

and

Oeorge

Whitefield, were used

mightily to revive the faith of

those

who founded this

country.

That revival

in

many ways,

prepared this

nation

for

the

struggle

for independence

which came in 1775-1783

with Oreat Britain. Many

have noted

that

apart from the

Oreat Awakening,

there

would

never have

been

a war of

independence. Ood

granted

an

amazing victory through the

efforts

of

bold

men

like

Washington, Harry Lee,

P\l.trick Henry, a

rid

many

others. The Treaty of Paris

established the colonies

independent s ~ t s

unchallenged

.

Revolutions are

a

dime

a

dozen. Revolutions

that end in

true

liberty are

one

in a million .

The uniqueness

of

American

independence is

noted

by

Samuel Morison:

H ll modem history proves

thatit is easy

enough

for a ,


2/3

determined minority to pull Britain that (jeneral leaders of the Revolution

down a government, but Washington himself toasted wanted only a redress of

exceedingly difficult to the King nightly at his grievances, not a revolution of

reconstruct, to re-establish law headquarters until January

of

government. (M. E. Bradford,

and order on new foundations. 1776. (Ibid.,

pp.

5-6) John Original Intentions, p. 16) and

And in

no

other great Adams would confess after the this stands in stark contrast to

revolution have the initial War that at any time during

the French Revolution.

agitators long survived the war he would gladly have

liquidation by their

successors.

given

up

American Alexander Hamilton once told

Dozens

of

nations . . . have independence, could the a French visitor,

Our

won independence _ but how colonies but return to their separation

from

the mother

many have secured liberty? happy situation in 1763 before country cannot be called a

(The Oxford History

of

the the successive British ministers revolution, [j.e. like that of the

American People,

p.

270) began to push one scheme after Frenchl. There have been no

One ofthe reasons this was another

of

American taxation. changes in the laws, no one's

so was the distinctly limited (Ibid., p.1) interests have been interfered

goal ofthe patriots of 1776. Patrick Henry stated the with, everyone remains in his

Their great concern Was to debt the citizens

of

this country place, and all that is altered is

preserve the basic order r--------------- hat the seat of

which the people

of

this government

is

changed.

counhy had come to '''Ciod, as the Ruler of the universe has (Morison, The

identify with liberty delermined 10 rule over people and , Conservative American

nations in terms of

His

covenant This

rather than to subvert

or

Revolution, p. 17) That

means that those

who

honor Him will .

overthrow that order. was only a slight

f h

h

be honored and those who despise

Most

ate

people w

0

exaggeration.

came

to this country Him will be lightly esteemed, ,

cherished the English , The founders (and the

constl

tutl'on and the

basl'c

people of the country in

had

10

their English forbearers

liberties which had been in these words, We

are

general) revolted in horror from

enshrined in the Magna Carta the terrors of the French

descended from a people whose

--

this,

to

the people

of

this Revolution and the efforts togovernment was founded on

land, defined liberty. This liberty; our glorious forefathers bring about equality. Patrick

opinion did not change even of Cireat Britain made liberty Henry did not hide his distaste

after the abuses and usurpations the foundation of everything . .

for

the Revolution in France.

of

the Parliament and King. . We drew the spirit

of

liberty The French, he said, have a

(Ibid.,

p.

18) from our British ancestors; by liberal and destructive spirit,

Samuel Morison has noted, that spirit we have triumphed one of infidelity which under

the American Revolution over every

difficulty.

(Mr. E. the name of philosophy worked

began as a defensive movement Bradford, Against the

its

evil will

so

that everything

to

maintain the rights and Barbarians,

p. 97)

that ought to be dear

to

man is

liberties which the English covertly but successfully

I h d I d

The War of Independence

co

onists a a ways

n j o y

, assailed. French democracy

d h h h

f

' h was a defensive war rather

an to w ic t ey e t t ey was a bloody horror. It was

a

t

'tl

dOl

d h d than a revolution in any

were en Ie ur ea ers a new and quite different

no wish to scramble the modem sense of the word. It

ff

rt t

t

b k

' t revolution than was pursued

existing social structure and was an e

0 0

pu ac

0

re-structure it on some new place what had been lost by the here. (Against the Barbarians,

basis.

(The

Conservative tyrannies of King and pp. 98-99)

American Revolution, p. 5)

50

Parliament. Edmund Indeed there is precious little

strong was the attachment to Pendleton explained that the with which to identify the War

October, 996 f THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon f 7


3/3

of Independence and

its

aftermath with

the French

Revolution and

its reign of

terror.

Morison notes,

But

the

mere mention of the

French

and Latin-American

revolutions shows how

fundamentally

ours differed

from

theirs. Our

Revolution

may

be

said to have begun

with Washington and

Jefferson

in Virginia and

the

brace

of

Adamses in Massachusetts;

and ended with Washington,

John Adams, and

Jefferson as

the first three presidents under a

new federal constitution, with

Sam

Adams governor under a

conservative

State

Constitution

written by his cousin John. By

contrast, in no other important

revolution of modem times

did

the leaders who started the

revolution end it. (Ibid., p. 3

Opponents of the

revolution

here

suffered no atrocities

akin

to

what happened in

France.

There were

no

summary

executions

or purges

of

enemies of the

people.

Morison notes, Whilst

treatment of

the Loyalists

is

not

one of the things which we

view with pride, it was not

nearly so severe

as the

treatment of

counter-revolutionary

groups in

the great

revolutions

of our

time.

Thousands

in France,

hundred of thousands in

Russia, and

millions

in China

were arbitrarily killed by

revolutionaries

for no

other

reason

than that they were

opposed

to

the

new regime,

or

owned

property

that the new

regime wanted. By contrast,

in

this

country

there

were no

mass

expulsions, much

less

executions; and

the great

majority

of American

Loyalists

never left the

States

but

eventually became

good

American

citizens.

Also, a

surprisingly

large

number who

did leave,

drifted

back.

(Ibid.,

p.8

The

typical

revolutionary

of

modem times never gained

control or had influence

during

our revolution.

The eaily

agitators

like Tom Paine, left

soon after the war for

France

where

he

could gain

a

respectable hearing. The

rowdy Sons of Liberty in

Boston

and Philadelphia quietly

disappeared because, as

Morison notes, they had

nothing

constructive to offer,

and the people simply forgot

their existence:

(Ibid., p. 28)

Credit

for

this must

go

to the

restraining hand of Christianity

which held in the reins of the

revolutionary impulse. The

laws of Nature and Natures

(jod held sway over the minds

of the vast majority in this

country so

that lawlessness

could not gain a foothold. The

people here fought for the

principle that there were laws

that could not be annulled by

kings

or

parliaments and

were

not about to

fall

into the same

disrespect

for

divine, eternal

authority they had

observed

in

others.(TO E

CONTINVED)

8 f THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon I October,

996

In

Freedom

s

Cause

AStory

of

Wallace

and

Bruc

e

by

G.

A.

Henty. Preston/Speed

Publications,

RR

4,

Box

705,

Mill Hall, Pa. 17751. Ph.

(717) 726-7844 (c) 1996, hb.

$20 .00.

Liberty or death. This was

the stark choice the people of

thirteenth/fourteenth century

Scotland faced if they rose up

against their English rulers.

Many would say that it was no

choice at all. How could the

Scottish people ever hope to

gain their freedom

on

the

battlefield? Many of the nobles

were English supporters. Few

people could be expected to

rise up against the numerically

overwhelming English anny

that would assuredly invade

from the South. Edward I, the

king of England, would

qUickly and consistently resist

any and all attempts by

.

Scotland to rule itself. The

odds seemed insunnountable.

Yet with the right leader, with

a long tenn commitment and

above all

with

Gods good

providence it could be

accomplished.

Using Bums' masterful

historical work, The Scottish

War of Independence as his

basis, G.

A.

Henty penned this

thrilling account of Scotlands

1996 issue 8 - history study: fruits of independence - counsel of chalcedon

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