From the Pastor’s Study
(2/21/16)
“The Spiritual Founding Father”
The title of Thomas Kidd’s recent biography, George Whitefield:
America’s Spiritual Founding Father, makes a bold claim regarding
someone who today is largely unknown. Whitefield was a British
evangelist who crossed the Atlantic ocean thirteen times in the early
to mid 1700’s, preaching the gospel. Along with John Wesley,
Jonathan Edwards, and others, he was a leading light in a widespread revival known as the Great Awakening. Crowds of thousands
would flock to hear him preach, often in the open air, always without
the aid of modern voice amplification devices. Benjamin Franklin
printed Whitefield’s sermons and counted him among his friends.
George Whitefield died in Massachusetts in 1773, just three
years prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Many
historians believe the American Revolution would not have taken
place - or at least it would not have had the same character - had it not
been for the profound influence of the ministry of George Whitefield.
History is not simply the record of the political. There are
economic, military, social, and religious considerations that all weave
together to create the fabric of the past and present. Fundamental
thoughts such as individual soul liberty, and all men being equally
the creation of God are not just American political theories. These are
theological ideals found in the Bible. They are the soil from which the
American Revolution sprang. They are the foundation upon which
the United States Constitution was built. Thus it was that while he
was aggressively evangelizing the colonies, George Whitefield was
inadvertently planting seeds that would germinate into a new nation
conceived in liberty.
In October, 1922, a few years after the closing of the First World
War, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George spoke at an event
dedicated to Whitefield’s memory. He claimed that no man had done
more for Anglo-American relations than the great 18th century
evangelist. Because of the influence of Whitfield’s preaching, “the
moral training of America... is identical with ours.” He maintained
that the principles of Whitefield’s preaching nearly two centuries
prior moved America to come to Britain’s aid in the war. The ripple
effects of Whitfield’s ministry contributed to Allied victory over the
Central powers in the Great War. Yes, Britain was indebted for
America’s intervention in the war, but the scales were actually
balanced, Lloyd George suggested. America is forever in debt to
Britain for the spiritual and moral legacy of George Whitefield. (Kidd,
p. 259)
The founding of America. The shaping of Europe. We live in
a nation and a world that still bears the imprint of Whitefield and the
Great Awakening. The question is, for how long? George Whitefield
is largely unknown today. The message he preached is also becoming
less and less familiar. Men have forgotten Whitefield. Now they are
forgetting Whitefield’s God.
“What are you reading?” I was asked as I was sitting, waiting
for a little league baseball game to begin. I showed the inquiring
mother of a young player a biography of a great American president.
“Oh,” she said, “History is too much for me.” I then challenged her
with a comment, “How can you know where you are going if you
don’t know where you’ve been?” She thought for a moment, and then
admitted, “That is a very good question.”
President Calvin Coolidge said, “The authority of law, the
right to equality, liberty, and property under American institutions,
have for their foundation reverence for God. If we could imagine that
to be swept away, these institutions of our American government
could not long survive.”
I am afraid that in our nation many have no idea where they
are headed, knowing little or nothing of that place from which they
have come.