America is a Christian nation.
This sentence leads to one of two probable reactions, a hearty amen, or a knee-jerk rejection of the statement. Yet, when a look at pre-revolutionary writings as well as those that were written after the Civil War is taken, they both have one thing in common—in-depth knowledge of the Bible and God. A look at the letters between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson are indicative of not only knowledge of the classical philosophers, but also of biblical knowledge and belief. Adams wrote to Jefferson in June 1813, “Now I will avow, that I then believed, and now believe, that those general Principles of Christianity, are as eternal and immutable, as the Existence and Attributes of God: and that those Principles of Liberty, are as unalterable as human Nature and our terrestrial, mundane System.” Liberty is the key word here. To an American, the word liberty conveys freedom, independence, it is one of the cornerstone words in American history. Such letters from two former Presidents of the United States are also indicative that as well-educated scholars in Greek and Latin, they were well capable of comprehending and interpreting the Bible. Equally, they were knowledgeable of Greek and Roman civilizations and how they were organized. As such, it was no accident that the founding documents contained language that referenced many Christian doctrines even without being overtly Christian in nature. The references to a creator, Supreme Judge of the world, and divine Providence[1] are just a few.
Unsurprisingly, many learned men would tackle the same topic—Christianity and America. James McFarlane Mathews, a well-respected clergyman and one of the founders of University of the City of New York (now New York University)[2] wrote The Bible and Civil Government: in a Course of Lectures in 1851. In it he studied the organization of the Hebrews in the Bible and makes several comparisons on their system of government to that of the United States. He wrote, “It teaches the doctrine ‘God hath made of one blood all nations that dwell on the face of the earth,’ and lays its command on every man to ‘love his neighbor as himself.’ From these two principles it enforces that safe equality which preserves the social fabric from dissolution, and at the same time renders the rights of the weakest and strongest equally secure.”[3] The subjective “it” being the Bible. Similarly, in 1864, January Searle,[4] wrote The American Republic and Human Liberty Foreshadowed in Scripture. It also follows the Hebrew system of government but dove into more detail and systematically compared point for point the Hebrew and American governments and their nearly identical properties which both authors pulled from Deut. 1:13-18.[5] Mathews and Searle both also reference specific verses in Ez. 21: 26-27, “Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” The significance of the verses related to prophecy against the Israelites. Bible commentators suggested the ruling lineage would no longer be of David’s line,[6] and warned that control is temporary in relation to an eternal king who will not lose his crown. It was the sins of the nation and their leaders for turning their back on God that prompted such prophecy against them. The warning conveyed from Searle and Mathews was as imperative for the United States as it was for the Israelites, especially in the context of the Civil War. The division of the country and the aftermath of the war offer explanation to why this particular verse was used by Searle in 1864, for Mathews it was ultimately prophetic in 1851.
Along with the similarities that caused them to use the same biblical passage to explore and explain the American government, they offered similar opinion on the necessity of the Bible to continued liberty. Mathews wrote, “The Bible, if we do not mistake its meaning, answers these inquiries in a way that may well render it increasingly valuable in the eyes of everyone who desires the present and future happiness of his race.”[7] Searle penned a more eloquent statement:
God having thus made known in the Bible, his will on the subject of government, we should expect to find its subsequent teachings in harmony with that revealed will. In this we are not disappointed. The very spirit of liberty breathes through its poetry and prose. Its voice is heard in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the writings of the prophets, evangelists, and apostles. Here are found the most lofty, burning, and indignant strains of invective against all forms of oppression and tyranny.[8]
The sentiment of both indicated belief that for America to continue the path of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness the American must rely on its biblical foundation.
Bibliography
“January Searle.” Monthly Chronicle of North-Country Lore and Legend 5, no. 51 (05, 1891): 2. (photograph of January Searle)
“John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, 28 June 1813,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-06-02-0208. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 6, 11 March to 27 November 1813, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009, pp. 236–239.
Mathews, James McFarlane. The Bible and Civil Government: in a Course of Lectures. New-York: Robert Carter & Bros., 1851, c1850. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926 (accessed February 4, 2021).
The Cyclopædia of American Biography; Being the History of the United States, Volume VI. New York: James T. White & Co., 1896, 279.
Searle, January. The American Republic and Human Liberty Foreshadowed in Scripture. Cincinnati: Poe & Hitchcock, for the author, 1864. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926 (accessed February 4, 2021).
[1] These words are found in the Declaration of Independence, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
[2] The Cyclopædia of American Biography; Being the History of the United States, Volume VI. (New York: James T. White & Co., 1896), p. 279.
[3] James McFarlane Mathews, The Bible and Civil Government: in a Course of Lectures, (New-York: Robert Carter & Bros., 1851, c1850., Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926), p.34.
[4] January Searle is the nom de plume of George S. Phillips.
[5] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical references employ the King James Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013).
[6] According to the Matthew Henry Complete Bible Commentary, https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/ezekiel/21.html
[7] Mathews, The Bible, p. 18.
[8] January Searle, The American Republic and Human Liberty Foreshadowed in Scripture, (Cincinnati: Poe & Hitchcock, for the author, 1864), p. 30.
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