Fea on The Light and the Glory
Jonathan Rowe on Jun 29th 2008
After my last post on Peter Marshall, coauthor of “The Light and the Glory,” John Fea informs me of his article on the 30th anniversary of the book. Check it out. It’s a great article and offers a cautionary note to Christians historians. Here is a taste:
For example, Marshall and Manuel interpret the fog that rose in the East River on the morning of August 30, 1776, as God’s direct intervention to aid George Washington’s midnight retreat from the British assault on the Continental Army’s position on Brooklyn Heights. They describe the fog’s rising as “the most amazing episode of divine intervention in the Revolutionary War.” They believe this because Washington, members of his staff, and many Continental soldiers described this event in terms of God’s special protection of the army.
Was God’s providence evident in this event? American Christians certainly believed that it was, but I doubt whether an English Christian would have thought so. Who had the better insight into God’s purposes?
Filed in The Belfry, The Bureau
I recognize the conundrum. One could more comically say, “Does God care who wins the Super Bowl?” I tend not to think so.
But just for a moment, let me explain what Christians really mean when they point to some seemingly natural or coincidental event as a moment of providence, just to add/ deepen perspective.
It’s a matter of gratitude.
The fog on the East River is a dramatic story. And that fog came at just the right time. The Christian is taught, from the time he starts singing “Jesus Loves Me,” that we’re to be grateful for moments of providence. We’re also taught to rejoice in moments of trial.
The Continental Army Christian then should’ve praised God for special protection. The English Army Christian should’ve wondered if he was acting in a manner displeasing to God. It’s a moment of personal reflection — soul searching.
Now, I’m not going to suggest that I agree that this was such an event. I don’t know whether it is or not. But a theology is, in part (and perhaps its most valuable part), a way of viewing circumstances and responding to them. Gratitude is a healthy emotion. Reflection is a positive behavior that enables course correction.
I don’t know if that’s helpful or not. Modern American Christians have some very unhealthy, unattractive behaviors. This behavior can be one of them — Huckabee, for example, suggesting that God wanted him to win. But it’s also possible that it’s just gratitude.
I meant to say, “what SOME Christians really mean…”
Jim,
Those are great points. What I’d like folks like Marshall and Barton to appreciate is the following: Let’s say God did indeed “raise up” America. But let’s also concede that God didn’t choose men who were as Calvin would put it, the “elect,” but rather theistic and unitarian heretics. Men like Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Franklin who were, by no means, recognizably orthodox Trinitarian Christians, certainly not “born-again,” evangelical Christians. What does that say about American Providential history?