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t h e Pulpit and the War from the vain philosophies of thefor bidependence day: a pure rationalism might have

declared the independence of theMen do ,,"ot fight against

American people, but it could neveroverwhelming odds for money have insphed them to figh t for it. To(greed will only take you so far). do what the men of this country didAnger and frustration melt away in 1775 we need far more thanwhen the foe is seen as virtually abst rac t philosophi cal concepts.indomitable. Even fame and power This kInd of action is motivated

have their limits when it comes to onlybyfaithinacausethatisviewedtheir power to motivate men to do as essential to life itself an d whichwhat to all the world seems cannot fail. Such a cause wasimpossible. This JJeingthe case, what declared to the people of this countrywas t that moti va ted the patriots of by the colonial pulpit.the 18th century to take on the most Histor ian]. Wingate Thornton ,powerful military force in the world in his book, The Pulpit oftheAmericanofthat day? This is a question that evolution (1860), draws thishas liot been asked frequently conclusion, "To the pulpit, theeno ugh.Ifyouhaveth eo p portumty Puritan pulpit, we owe the moralto ask o e of our m ode m secular force which won our independence."experts, you normally get a blank ' James Adams has observed, "The

stare . political leaders may have declaredindependence, but the ministerWhat was it that moved farmers, turned the revolt into a holy war."

merchants, artisans, shopkeepers, (Yankee Doodle Went to Church, p.teachers, and even pastors to take 152) What were these men like?up arms (and sometimes farmimplements) and engage the The Pastors of the Warmightiest army in the world on th e of Independencefield of battle? Perry Miller has noted There are at least two thingsthat the motivation did not come which are notable aboUl these men:

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These were men who not onlyspoke well but lived wel l. Theirlivesmightily confirmed their words.They often backed . up theirpreaching with astounding works.These were not men who calledupon others to fight while hiding

themselvesins

afety. TheSe men didnot hesitate to put their own lives onthe line. During the battles ofLexington and Concord, Chelsea'sminister, Philips Payson , cap turedtwo British supply wagonssingle-handedly.

John Craighead raised a companyof militia from his parish and himselfled them off to join Washington inNew Jerse y , where it was recordedthat he fought and preachedalternately. So numerou s, in fact,were the fighting pastors that theTories referred to them as the blackregiment, and blamed them formuch of the resurgent zeal of theColonial troops. (Marshall andManuel, op. cit., p. 290)

One of the most colorfulexamples ~ om sfrom th e Lutheranpastor Peter Muhlenberg. He waspreaching on the text, For everythingthere is a season, and a time or everymatter under heaven." (Ecd. : 1 . Ashe reached the end of his sermon hesaid , " In the language of th e Hol yWrit, there is a time for all things .There is a time to preach and a timeto fight ' . . . And now is the time tofight . . . Roll the drums for recruits "That same afternoon, PeterMuhlenberg marched off at the headof a regiment of three-hundred men .

(Ibid ., p. 291)Muhlenbergs brother Fred eric k

(who was also a minister) oncecriticized him for actually taking uparms. Muhlenberg replied, "I am aclergyman , it is true , but 1 am amember of society as we ll as the 'poorestlayrnan, and my liberty is asdear to me as any man. Shall I then

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sit still, and enjoy myself at home,when the best blood of the continentis spilling? Hea ven forbid it "(Adams , op. cit., pp. 162-163)

James Hall of North Carolina(Presbyterian minister who wouldlater be the pioneer missionary in

the valley of the Miss issippi) wasselected as leader, and accepted thecommand of a company fannedmainly from his own congregation.Such was his ability and reputationthat he was offered the commissionof brigadier-general. Dr. AshbelGreen, who would later become aleading figure and theologian in thePresbyterian Church (authOling oneof the few commentaries on the

Westminster Assembly's LargerCatechism), obtained the distinctionof orderl y sergeant in the mili tia ofthe Revolutionary army.

Another example is JamesCaldwell pastor of the Presbyterianchutch of Elizabethtown, NewJersey. Caldwell 's church was ahothouse ofpatriotic sentiment. Theleading patriots of the colony weremembers of his church. When the

news arrived on July 15,1776 , thatthe leade rs of the colonies haddeclared Independence, the localmilitia celebrated the news with abarrel of grog , wi t h ChaplainCaldwell giving the opening toast.Caldwell always carried s id eannsand boasted that no four men couldtake him alive. Often beforebeginning his sermon, he wouldunbuckle his holster and place hispistols in front of him on the pulpitand then begin to preach (Adams,op. cit., p. 164) Historian]. THeadley wrote that Caldwellbelieved himself engaged in . . . "thecause of God and that cause be didnot consider would be advanced byyielding himself unresistingly intothe hands of a skulking Tory to bedragged to the scaffold." (Ibid.)

The British, vexed over hisinfluence and outspoken patriotism,offered large rewards for his capture.When Caldwell was gone from homeon orie of his frequent forays withthe colonial forces, the British forcesunder the command of the Hessianmercenary, General Wilhelm vonKnyphausen entered the town tocapture him and began to sack it.One of the redcoats jumped thefence surrounding his house andfired through the front window,killing his wife who was in the housewith hernine children. The soldiersthen setthe house on fire . Neighborscollected the children and draggedMrs. Caldwell 's bod y out of thehouse but had to flee for their own

safety. Caldwell received the newsin camp , secured a flag of truce andreturned back to his home only tofind the village in ruins. He foundhis wife's body outside the houseand his terrified children at aneighbor'S house nearby. Caldwellburied his wife , placed his childrenunder the care of one of his neighborsand returned to the army inSpringfield.

Two weeks later when the forcesof Knyphausen returned, thecolonial forces engaged them withfierce tenacity. At the height of theshooting, the Patriots, taking coverbehind a fence that was adjacent to[the Presbyterian) church , ran outof the paper wadding needed fortheir muskets. Caldwell [ran intothe church house] gathered up allthe copies of Watts Psalms andHymns he could carry, and rushedout to the crouching riflemen.Tearing pages out of the hymnals,he passed them out shouting, "PutWatts into 'em, boys Give 'emWatts " (Ibid., p. 291)

Of course we cannot overlookthe influence ofJohn Witherspoon.Witherspoon was espeCiallyprominent in the independencemovement. One crown official in

the colonies wrote back to Englandthat, the labors of such clergymen asJohn Witherspoon so influenced theshape of (he conflict that it hadbecome at the bottom, very much areligious War. (quoted in MarkNoll,op. cit., p. 65) Witherspoon sinfluence was truly enormous.

He was elected as a delegate fromNew Jersey to the ContinentalCongress and served for five years.He was the only minister to sign theDeclaration of Independence.During his period of service inCongress he served on over 120committees.

It was his leadership andinfluence during his years at

Princeton which had even moreimpact on this nation:

Witherspoon s labors aspreSident of Princeton were perhapsas important for the Patriot cause ashis public office-holding and hispublic defense of Whiggery. Onehistorian of colonial Presbyterianismhas written that the British shouldhave called Princeton Witherspoon'sseminary of sedition in light of itsRevolutionary influence on ageneration of American ministersan public servants. James Madisonwas the most well known of themany prominent leaders of the earlyUnited States who learned statecraftas well as theolog y fromWitherspoon . (Mark Noll, hristiansintheAmeJicanRevolution, pp . 65,66)

Nine of the fifty-five delegates atthe Const itutional Convention wereformer students of Witherspoon.

His other students included aVice-President, ten cabinet officers,twenty-one senators, thirty-ninecongressmen , twelve governors, andnumerous ministers, lawyers,judges, and other publ ic officials.

Witherspoon was especiallyprominent in the debate over theDeclaration ofIndependence. There

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was strenuous opposition to theformal declaration by some of themost respected members of theAssembly. John Dickenson ofPennsylvania was most prominen tand outspoken in his opposition.Dickenson felt that the Declaration

would not help them in the struggleand might possibly hurt themseverely. It might serve to unite thevarious parties in Britain against thecolonial cause. Foreign powersmight be reluctant to slipport thecolonial cause with such aDeclaration made public. Thereought to be someagreement arguedDickenson, on the natureof the confederacy thatwill exist between thecolonies before any suchDeclaration by made.These were strongarguments in themselvesbut they carried peculiarweight coming fromDickenson .

n this crucial moment, JohnWitherspoon arose to respond ,

There is a tide in the affairs of me n ,

a nick of time . We perceive it nowbefore us. To hesitate is to consentto our own slavery . That nobleinstrument upon your table, . . .should be subscribed this verymorning by every pen in this house

For my own part , of property Ihave some, of reputat ion more. Thatreputation is staked, that propertyis pledged onthe issue of t is contest ;and althqugh these gra y hairs mustsoon descend into the sepulchre, Iwould infinitely rather that theydescend thither by the ha nd of theexeCutioner tban desert at this crisisthe sacred cause of my country:(Breed, op. cit., p. 166)

These men did not fear othermen. Their boldness is amazing.The boldness and courage . ofAmerican pastors is illustrated by

Samuel Davies (called the Apostleof Virginia and the pastor ,of PatrickHenry 's boyhood). Once, whenDavies was President of PrincetonCollege, he went to London to solicitfunds for the University:

King George III was attracted byhis reputation and went to hear himpreach. Greatly impressed by hiseloquence, the King arose [duringthe sermon] saying, This is a worthycause presented by a worthy man .. . But Mr. Davies fixed his eyes onHis Majesty and said: Whe n thelion roareth, the beasts of the forest

tremble; when the Lord speaketh,let the Kings of the earth keepsilence.

Time would fail us to speak ofpastors like Patrick Alison ofBaltimore, William Tennent inCharlestown, George Duffield inPhiladelphia, John Miller in Dover,James Waddel land John Blair Sm ithin Virginia, John Carmichael inLancaster, and Robert Davidson ofthe First Presbyterian Church ofPhiladelphia.

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courage and uncompromisingfaithfulness.

-- They believed their obligationwas to proclaim the whole counselof God and they sought diligently todo that.

- They believed that Christ was

the rightful King and ruler of this(and all other) nations. His wordwas Law and so it was proclaimed.

-- Their preaching settled thecountry in the conviction that theBible was the sole rule of faith andlife. It contained not only the lawfor the individual but was also thegreat political textbook.

-- Their lives confinned their,

words. Their instruction and theirexample were mightily used of Godto confinn men in the value ofstanding firmly for the cause of Godand truth.

It is in the light of the examplesof these men that we begin to seeone of the chief causes for the pitiableweakness of the modem church. fthe watchmen refuse to sound aloud and certain note, who willprepare themselves for the day ofbattle? We are in desperate need offaithful watchm en. Men who caremore for the truth of God than forthe opinions of experts. Men whodesire the good of their flocks morethan their own ease. Men who have

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