Fourth of July Celebration at Log College Press

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If your cause is just — you may look with confidence to the Lord and intreat him to plead it as his own. You are all my witnesses, that this is the first time of my introducing any political subject into the pulpit. At this season however, it is not only lawful but necessary, and I willingly embrace the opportunity of declaring my opinion without any hesitation, that the cause in which America is now in arms, is the cause of justice, of liberty, and of human nature. — John Witherspoon, The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men: A Sermon, Preached at Princeton, on the 17th of May, 1776. Being the General Fast Appointed by the Congress Through the United Colonies (1777)

It was five years ago today that Log College Press was founded on July 4, 2017. (See what this site looked like early on [as of January 19, 2018] via the Wayback Machine here.) Thanks to the support and encouragement of our dear readers, we have come a long way since then.

We have now published 7 books, and 10 booklets. Log College Press now has over 15,000 works by over 1,900 authors available to read on the site.

On this date in past years we have highlighted men who served the cause of civil and religious liberty, as well as books by our authors which celebrate the cause.

This year we take note of our authors which share a birthday with Log College Press and the United States of America:

At Log College Press we have much cause to celebrate, and we give thanks to God for the labors of godly men and women who have gone before in service to the cause of Christ and freedom. We also recognize how far this country has fallen from its ideal as epitomized in John Winthrop’s “City on a Hill” (1630).

Our national sins are great. It was in 1778 that Jacob Green famously said: “Can it be believed that a people contending for liberty should, at the same time, be promoting and supporting slavery?” And it was in 1832 that James R. Willson pointed out our great need as a nation to acknowledge our dependence upon and submission to God, and to kiss Son specifically, alluding to Ps. 2:12 and quoting Ps. 9:17, when took note of the great omission by our Constitutional Founding Fathers who chose not to honor God in our national charter: “Was it a mere omission? Did the convention that framed the constitution forget to name the living God? Was this an omission in some moment of national phrenzy, when the nation forgot God? That, indeed, were a great sin. God says, ‘the nations that forget God, shall be turned into hell’” (Prince Messiah).

Though far from where we as a nation ought to be, yet there is cause for remembrance of and thanksgiving for the blessings of the past as well as the mercies of today. As William B. Sprague once said, “LET THE DAY BE OBSERVED, BUT LET IT BE OBSERVED RELIGIOUSLY” (Religious Celebration of Independence: A Discourse Delivered at Northampton, on the Fourth of July, 1827 (1827)). That is to say, with respect to this civil holiday (as distinct from a religious holy day), we ought to celebrate its noblest ideals, exemplified in America’s fight for freedom and independence, with proper solemnities, in an appropriate Christian manner, but in humble acknowledgment of how far we as a people have still to go, by the grace of God, to arrive at those ideals.

To understand civil and religious freedom aright, we believe it is important to study God’s Word first, but not to neglect the study of history as well. Primary sources from the past are a valuable tool in promoting reformation and revival in the present. Our topical page on Church and State is one particular relevant resource. We thank our readers for their interest in and support of this project by Log College Press to make accessible what Presbyterians who have gone before had to say on this and other important matters. To God be the glory, as we we celebrate another Independence Day, and a birthday besides.

J.F. Tuttle's search for the lost writings of Jacob and Ashbel Green

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There is a certain fascination with lost literary treasures. Thus the jubilation when such a manuscript or publication, seemingly lost to history, is re-discovered, is exhilarating. Such was the experience of the Joseph Farrand Tuttle — Presbyterian minister, President of Wabash College, and noted historian of Morris County, New Jersey — when he commenced a search for the lost writings of Jacob and Ashbel Green. Jacob Green was a colonial-era Presbyterian minister (who governed Princeton as Vice-President between the administrations of President Jonathan Edwards and President Samuel Davies) and his son, Ashbel Green, later served as President of Princeton. Tuttle first wrote about Jacob Green extensively in Rev. Jacob Green, of Hanover, N.J., as an Author, Statesman and Patriot (1893). A later account that Tuttle, an early biographer of Jacob Green, wrote about his search for the New Jersey Historical Society in 1896 is a fascinating read.

Known to Tuttle from his boyhood, “Parson (Jacob) Green” was an intriguing figure in history in part because of his role in the American War of Independence (a patriot who supported freedom, including that for American slaves).

Even in my boyhood I heard of “Parson Green , of Hanover.” My father's great-grandfather, “Timothy Tuttle, Esq.," as he is named in the “Morristown Bill of Mortality" and in Whitehead's “Combined Register of First Presbyterian Church of Morristown," was a resident with in the bounds of the Hanover Church. He owned a farm in Whippany, and, presumably from his title, was a Justice of the Peace. His brother Joseph, named as “Deacon Tuttle” and “Colonel Joseph Tuttle,” settled on land on Hanover Neck. He was a leading man in Parson Green's Church. He was distinguished as the man who had married five wives, “one at a time.” In this way it came to pass that I can scarcely remember the time when I had not heard the name of “Parson Green, of Hanover," occasionally mentioned as a remarkable one, a sort of universal genius, who could preach, or teach, or prescribe for a sick man, or write his will, or settle his estate, or perform any social function for his parishioners, in or out of the church, in this life or that which is to come. In after years it was my good fortune to secure as my wife the daughter of a lady whom Parson Green had baptized, and to find a home several years with a lady who was a native of Hanover, and who spent her life there previous to her marriage. In addition to these influences for several years it was my good fortune to be an associate pastor of the venerable Presbyterian Church of Rockaway, which antedated the Revolutionary War.

As time progressed, even after Rev. Tuttle moved west to Indiana, his passion for further knowledge of the life and work of Parson Green continued to motivate him. As he collected certain documents related to that history, he began to seek more. Some, known by reference, were no longer thought to be extant.

He spent time in libraries of private historical societies and public institutions, including the library of the Princeton Theological Seminary. He corresponded with many private holders of antiquities. He traveled up and down the East Coast, following clues, hints and leads. Over time, some of the particular works by Jacob Green which Tuttle acquired include:

The full account of his search is a fascinating read. Here he recounts the lessons learned:

And so I found "A Vision of Hell," which, whatever other good qualities it may have, was this — an encouragement to poor souls who have sought long and in vain for documents apparently lost hopelessly, not to be discouraged! “Hope on! Hope ever!" The “Vision of Hell” has taught me this, which, added to the finding of Parson Green's political tracts, as already related, is very encouraging to the despondent hunter after apparently lost literature!

Meanwhile, ironically, to us, those particular finds are not accessible on the Jacob Green page currently due to modern copyright restrictions.

Rev. Tuttle also made another exciting discovery. He located (and republished) the 1783 valedictory address delivered by Ashbel Green on the occasion of the thirty-sixth commencement at Princeton. It is mentioned in Ashbel Green’s autobiography that he never saved a copy of his oration but instead “carelessly” gave the original to another who published it in a local New Jersey newspaper in October 1783. But the text had seemingly been lost to history before Rev. Tuttle was able to locate it. It can be read (along with the details of Tuttle’s search) on the Ashbel Green page.

What a blessing to the church and to future generations when writings thought to be lost are re-discovered. We are thankful for Rev. Tuttle’s perseverance and passion for history. Read the full account of his remarkable search here.

Presbyterians and the Revolution

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In 1876, on the centennial anniversary of America’s birth as a nation, William Pratt Breed published a volume titled Presbyterians and the Revolution, which examined the historic connection between Presbyterianism and resistance to tyranny.

As Breed notes, Calvinism has imbued a spirit of civil and ecclesiastical liberty into the freedom-loving peoples of Switzerland, France, Scotland, England, the Netherlands, and the American colonies, not to mention the Waldenses and others. Presbyterians have long stood at the forefront of the struggle for “lex rex,” or limited, just government, in opposition to tyranny both in the state and in the church. The heritage of the Scottish Covenanters and French Huguenots in this regard contributed much to the American Presbyterian witness on behalf of Biblical liberty.

Here is the Table of Contents for Breed’s work:

  1. Presbyterians and the Centennial

  2. Presbyterianism A Representative Republican Form of Government

  3. Presbyterianism Odious to Tyrants

  4. Presbyterians Spirit in Harmony With That of the Revolution

  5. The Westmoreland County Resolutions

  6. The Mecklenburg Declaration

  7. Presbyterian Zeal and Suffering

  8. Formal Action of the Presbyterian Church

  9. Declaration of Independence and Dr. John Witherspoon

  10. Organization of the Confederacy

  11. Monument to Witherspoon

Breed quotes from a classic work by Ezra H. Gillett (History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States) to show how closely allied Presbyterianism and the cause of American liberty were:

To the privations, hardships and cruelties of the war the Presbyterians were pre-eminsntly exposed. In them the very essence of rebellion was supposed to be concentrated, and by the wanton plunderings and excesses of the marauding parties they suffered severely. Their Presbyterianism was prima facie evidence of guilt. A house that had a large Bible and David's Psalms in metre in it was supposed, as a matter of course, to be tenanted by rebels. To sing "Old Rouse" was almost as criminal as to have leveled a loaded musket at a British grenadier.

Breed quotes Gillett further to list the heroic sacrifices of Presbyterian clergymen who served and suffered during the war. Among the names listed are John Rodgers, Azel Roe, Jacob Green, Henry Pattillo, David Caldwell, William Tennent III, Hugh McAden, Alexander MacWhorter and many others. We shared an honor roll of Presbyterians who served the cause of American liberty last year as well.

Breed pays special attention to the role of John Witherspoon, who was the only clergyman to sign the 1776 Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.

The Calder statue of John Witherspoon at the Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (photo by R. Andrew Myers).

The Calder statue of John Witherspoon at the Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (photo by R. Andrew Myers).

All of these names — their stories, their service, their sacrifices — recalled to mind by Breed, are worthy of remembrance today, just as they were in 1876. The cause of freedom, both civil and ecclesiastical, is always linked to the right honor of Christ the King, who rules the nations. The record of American Presbyterian contributions to civil liberty constitutes a noble history, though filled with flaws and inconsistencies, but that history is sometimes shrouded in mist, and is in danger of being forgotten. Presbyterians and the Revolution is book worth reading, especially on this Independence Day.

Pre-Eminent American Presbyterians of the 18th and 19th Centuries: A List

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The question is sometimes asked, “Who are the important or significant early American Presbyterians to know historically?” Another question that is often posed to Log College Press is ”Where should someone unfamiliar with this time period start?” These are difficult question to answer because the period of which we are speaking — primarily the 18th and 19th centuries — was so diverse and there are so many representative authors. But in an attempt to respond helpfully, as well as to introduce readers of Log College Press to some of the pre-eminent authors on our site, we have developed a list - or actually a set of lists. Lists are both subject to scrutiny and often have a subjective element, and this one can certainly be modified or adjusted as needed. But lists provide a starting point for discussion. Consider the following as our contribution in response to some excellent questions that challenge with their simplicity.

17th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

  • Francis Makemie (1658-1708) - Although Makemie was not the first Presbyterian minister to serve in the American colonies, because of his pioneering labors along the Eastern Seaboard, particularly in the establishment of the first Presbytery in America, he is often credited as “the Father of American Presbyterianism.”

18th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

  • David Brainerd (1718-1747) - A pioneer Presbyterian missionary who died young, his diary was reprinted by Jonathan Edwards and remains a spiritual classic.

  • Samuel Davies (1723-1761) - Davies accomplished much in a short life, contributing significantly to the Great Awakening as a pioneer minister in Virginia and as President of the College of New Jersey (Princeton).

  • Jonathan Dickinson (1688-1747) - Dickinson was the first President of the College of New Jersey and an important voice in American colonial Presbyterianism.

  • John Mitchell Mason (1770-1829) - Mason was a leading figure in the Associate Reformed Church.

  • David Rice (1733-1816) - An early Presbyterian opponent of slavery, “Father Rice” helped to build the Presbyterian Church in Virginia and Kentucky.

  • John Rodgers (1727-1811) - An early colleague of Samuel Davies, Rodgers went on to play a very influential role in the establishment of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.

  • Archibald Stobo (c. 1670-1741) - Stobo helped to found the first Presbytery in the New World (Panama) and the first Presbytery in the Southern United States (South Carolina).

  • Gilbert Tennent (1703-1764) - The son of the founder of the original Log College, Gilbert Tennent was also known as the “Son of Thunder.” A New-Side adherent, he was involved in both the 1741 split of the Presbyterian church and the 1758 reunion.

  • William Tennent, Sr. (1673-1746) - The Founder of the original Log College seminary was a major force in the early American Presbyterian Church who left a legacy of well-educated ministers and many academies and schools which trace their roots to his labors.

  • John Thomson (1690-1753) - The architect of the Adopting Act of 1729, which influenced the course of the American Presbyterian Church tremendously, Thomson was an Old Side minister who served different pastorates throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

  • John Knox Witherspoon (1723-1794) - President of the College of New Jersey, Witherspoon was also the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence, and he signed the Articles of Confederation as well.

19th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

  • John Bailey Adger (1810-1899) - Adger served the church as a widely-respected and influential pastor, missionary, seminary professor and author.

  • Archibald Alexander (1772-1851) - Pastor, author and first professor of the Princeton Theological Seminary, Alexander was a major force in American Presbyterianism in the first half of the 19th century. He also served as President of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia for 9 years.

  • James Waddel Alexander, Sr. (1804-1859) - Son of Archibald Alexander, J.W. was, like his father, an eminent pastor, professor and author.

  • Daniel Baker (1791-1857) - The founder of Austin College was a pioneer missionary and noted preacher who did much to bring Presbyterianism to the Western United States.

  • Robert Lewis Dabney (1820-1898) - A leading voice of Southern Presbyterianism, Dabney was a noted preacher, seminary professor, author and architect. His 5 volumes of Discussions remain in print today.

  • John Lafayette Girardeau (1825-1898) - A pastor with a heart for ministering to former slaves, as well as author and seminary professor, Girardeau became one of America’s greatest theologians.

  • Ashbel Green (1762-1848) - President of the College of New Jersey, Green authored lectures on the Westminster Shorter Catechism and was an influential voice within the Presbyterian Church in the first half of the 19th century.

  • Francis James Grimké (1850-1937) - A former slave of French Huguenot descent, Grimké was a leading African-American Presbyterian during his lengthy ministry, mostly based in Washington, D.C.

  • Archibald Alexander Hodge (1823-1886) - Son of Charles Hodge, A.A. Hodge was the author of a well-respected commentary on the Westminister Confession of Faith, and followed in his father’s footsteps as a leader at Princeton.

  • Charles Hodge (1797-1878) - One of the most important leaders of the Presbyterian Church in the 19th century, Hodge authored a 3-volume Systematic Theology, served as principal of Princeton Theological Seminary, and wrote numerous articles as editor various theological journals.

  • Moses Drury Hoge (1818-1899) - Hoge served as a minister of the Second Presbyterian Church of Richmond, Virginia for almost 54 years, during which time he was a widely-respected leader throughout the Presbyterian Church.

  • Jacob Jones Janeway (1774-1858) - Janeway served the Second Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1799 to 1828, and also authored sermons, articles and other works for the advancement of missions, both foreign and domestic.

  • Alexander McLeod (1774-1833) - McLeod was an important leader both in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, influencing its institutional opposition to slavery, and within the broader Presbyterian Church, by means of his evangelistic efforts and concerns for the welfare of society.

  • Samuel Miller (1769-1850) - The second professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, Miller was a prolific writer, and diligent minster of the gospel, who was widely recognized as a leader in 19th century American Presbyterianism. Many of his works remain in print today.

  • Benjamin Morgan Palmer (1818-1902) - Palmer was a leader in the Southern Presbyterian Church because of his pastoral ministry, and his role as a seminary professor and author.

  • Thomas Ephraim Peck (1822-1893) - Peck was an important Southern Presbyterian minister, author and seminary professor whose 3 volumes of Miscellanies remain in print today.

  • William Swan Plumer (1802-1880) - Plumer was an Old School minister, seminary professor and prolific writer with a heart for teaching God’s Word to as many as possible, young and old.

  • John Holt Rice (1777-1831) - Rice did much to preach the gospel and promote education in the South as a minister, seminary professor and editor.

  • Stuart Robinson (1814-1881) - Robinson’s advocacy of the spiritual independence of the church during a time of civil conflict made him a controversial but respected figure in the Presbyterian Church.

  • Thomas Smyth (1808-1873) - Minister, scholar, seminary professor, author - Smyth’s 10 volumes of Works reveal his prolific output and influential voice within the 19th century Presbyterian Church.

  • William Buell Sprague (1795-1876) - A prolific preacher and author, Sprague is also known as the “Patriarch of American Collectors,” for his collection of autographs, including those of every signer of the Declaration of Independence, pamphlets and other materials. He authored the Annals of the American Pulpit, an important collection of biographical sketches.

  • James Henley Thornwell (1812-1862) - Thornwell wrote and accomplished much in a short lifetime, helping to found The Southern Presbyterian Review, and representing the Southern Presbyterian perspective on matters of ecclesiology in debates with Charles Hodge.

  • Cortlandt Van Rensselaer, Sr. (1808-1860) - Van Rensselaer served the church as a pastor, missionary, editor and as the first President of the Presbyterian Historical Society.

  • Moses Waddel (1770-1840) - Founder of the “American Eton,” Waddel pioneered education in the South.

  • Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1851-1921) - An eminent Biblical scholar and seminary professor, Warfield was a prolific author. His Works were collected into 10 volumes.

  • James Renwick Willson (1780-1853) - A leader in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Willson was known as an opponent of slavery, and for his call to reform the United States Constitution.

  • John Leighton Wilson (1809-1886) - Wilson was a pioneer Southern Presbyterian missionary to West Africa, and the first to bring a skeleton of a gorilla back to the United States.

Early 20th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

  • John Gresham Machen (1881-1937) - A conservative minister and Princeton professor, Machen led a split from the increasingly liberal mainline Presbyterian Church to help form what became known as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

  • John McNaugher (1857-1847) - "Mister United Presbyterian," McNaugher served the United Presbyterian Church of North America as a pastor, professor of New Testament literature, seminary president and as a writer and teacher.

  • Geerhardus Vos (1862-1949) - A Dutch-American minister and seminary professor, Vos is known as a pioneer of Biblical Theology, and as an eminent expositor of Scripture. He was a also a poet.

Other Early American Presbyterian Worthies to Know

  • John Boyd (1679-1708) - Boyd was the first Presbyterian minister ordained in America (1706).

  • David Stewart Caldwell, Sr. (1725-1824) - Caldwell is known for many contributions to church and society, but especially as the founder of the “Southern Log College,” near Greensboro, North Carolina.

  • James Caldwell (1734-1781) - “The Fighting Parson” was a noted supporter of the colonists in the civil conflict with Great Britain.

  • John Chavis (1763-1838) - Chavis was the first African-American Presbyterian to be ordained as a minister (in 1801).

  • Alexander Craighead (1707-1766) - Craighead was the first Reformed Presbyterian minister in America, a member of Hanover Presbytery, and the Mecklenburg Declaration of Indpendence, although written after his death, may be his greatest legacy.

  • John Cuthbertson (1718-1791) - Cuthbertson was a pioneer Reformed Presbyterian (Covenanter) missionary in America, and helped to found the first RP Presbytery in America, and the Associate Reformed Church as well. He estimated that during his missionary labors he rode over 70,000 miles on horseback.

  • Theodore Ledyard Cuyler (1822-1909) - Pastor of the largest Presbyterian congregation in the United States in New York City, Cuyler was a leading minister and prolific writer, as well as a friend to many American Presidents.

  • Henry Highland Garnet (1815-1882) - Garnet was the first African-American to address Congress (in 1865), and later served as a diplomat to Liberia, where he died, as well as a minister of the gospel.

  • John Gloucester, Sr. (1776-1822) - An early African-American Presbyterian minister (ordained in 1811), he was a former slave who helped to found the First African Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

  • William Graham (1745-1799) - As principal of Liberty Hall Academy in Lexington, Virginia, Graham trained Archibald Alexander and John Chavis, among others.

  • Jacob Green (1722-1790) - Father of Ashbel Green, Jacob was a chaplain in the American War of Independence, and an early opponent of slavery.

  • John McMillan (1752-1833) - “The Apostle of Presbyterianism to the West,” McMillan’s great legacy was the pioneering educational institutions which he founded.

  • Samson Occom (1723-1792) - Occom was one of first Native American Presbyterian ministers whose writings were published in English.

  • James W.C. Pennington (1807-1870) - The former “Fugitive Slave”-turned-Presbyterian minister and author became the first African-American to receive a doctorate of divinity at a European university.

  • Thomas De Witt Talmage (1832-1902) - “The Spurgeon of America” was one of the most popular ministers in America during the last half of the 19th century with an estimated 30 million readers of his sermons in the newspapers, and elsewhere.

  • Marcus Whitman (1802-1847) - Whitman was a pioneer ruling elder and medical missionary whose tragic death in Oregon inspired others to travel westward and continue to spread the gospel.

  • Julia McNair Wright (1840-1903) - An important Presbyterian author, she wrote widely on various topics, but is known especially for her Christian biographies for young readers.

  • Theodore Sedgwick Wright (1797-1847) - Wright was the first African-American to attend a theological seminary in the United States (Princeton). He was a leader in the Underground Railroad, as well as a well-respected minister of the gospel.

This list, it is hoped, will help to introduce readers to important figures in early American Presbyterianism. While not definitive or all-encompassing (it was difficult to leave off certain names from the approximately 900 authors that we have on Log College Press alone), it highlights some people very much worth getting to know. Their contributions to the Presbyterian Church, America and the world endure, and their memory is cherished.

Freedom For All

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Jacob Green once famously declared in a 1778 sermon delivered in the midst of America’s War of Independence: “Can it be believed that a people contending for liberty should, at the same time, be promoting and supporting slavery?” Not all American Presbyterians have shared his sentiment at all times, and few issues historically have divided the Presbyterian Church like the issue of slavery; but generally speaking, a review of the early deliverances of the Presbyterian Church in this country — including the Reformed Presbyterian of North America (RPCNA) in 1800 which barred membership to slaveholders — reveals a stand against slavery and in favor of freedom for all.

An overture by a committee of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia made this memorable statement in 1787:

The Creator of the world having made of one flesh all the children of men, it becomes them as members of the same family, to consult and promote each other's happiness. It is more especially the duty of those who maintain the rights of humanity, and who acknowledge and teach the obligations of Christianity, to use such means as are in their power to extend the blessings of equal freedom to every part of the human race.

The final approved version of the 1787 Synodical statement was worded differently - encouraging religious education and supporting the eventual abolition of slavery. This final 1787 statement was republished by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) in 1793. The following year, and for over two decades afterwards, an explanatory clause on the sin of man-stealing in connection with Question 142 (on the Eighth Commandment) in the Westminster Larger Catechism was published along with the Constitution of the PCUSA. For more details on this chapter in early American Presbyterian church history, see the relevant appendix in George Bourne’s Picture of Slavery in the United States of America, and Charles Hodge’s The Constitutional History of the Presbyterian Church, as well as this earlier Log College Press blog post about Bourne and RPCNA pastor Alexander McLeod regarding man-stealing. Also, the deliverances of Synod and the General Assembly on this subject may be consulted at our Minutes page.

Meanwhile, the profound and Biblical simplicity of the original 1787 statement on freedom for all remains worthy of remembrance. Even 155 years after ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the struggle for freedom for all in America and around the world continues in some respects, and as God “hath made of one blood all nations of men” (Acts 17:26), we need not ask, as the lawyer did in Luke 10, “Who is my neighbor?” - not only is all mankind our neighbor, but especially the oppressed and those in need, such as the one to whom the Good Samaritan rendered aid. May the words of a committee in 1787 ring in the ears of Christians today, which call us to “use such means as are in [our] power to extend the blessings of equal freedom to every part of the human race.”

Freedom's Cost

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That is which sometimes known as “the Presbyterian Rebellion” — the 1776 American War of Independence — had many actors who played their parts in leading the colonies to resist the actions of King George III and Parliament along Augustinian-Calvinistic principles of interposition by lesser civil magistrates against tyranny. The roll call listing heroes of the faith includes such as:

  • Alexander Craighead was the first Presbyterian minister to advocate the necessity to take up arms against the mother country back in 1743 (the tyrant-king then was Charles II). It was his patriotic influence (even after his death) that is largely credited for the May 1775 Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

  • John Craig was the “spiritual guide and minister” to 5 out of the 15 freeholders who wrote the January 20, 1775 Fincastle, Virginia Resolves, which stated in part: “We assure you, Gentlemen, and all our countrymen, that we are a people whose hearts overflow with love and duty to our lawful sovereign George III. whose illustrious house, for several successive reigns, have been the guardians of civil and religious rights and liberties of his subjects, as settled at the glorious Revolution; that we are willing to risk our lives in the service of his Majesty, for the support of the Protestant religion, and the rights and liberties of his subjects, as they have been established by compact, law, and ancient charters. We are heartily grieved at the differences which now subsist between the parent state and the colonies, and most ardently wish to see harmony restored, on an equitable basis, and by the most lenient measures that can be devised by the heart of men. Many of us, and our forefathers, left our native land, considering it as a kingdom subjected to inordinate power, and greatly abridged of its liberties. We crossed the Atlantick, and explored this then uncultivated wilderness, bordering on many nations of savages, and surrounded by mountains almost inaccessible to any but those very savages, who have incessantly been committing barbarities and depredations on us since our first seating the country. These fatigues and dangers we patiently encountered, supported by the pleasing hope of enjoying those rights and liberties which have been granted to Virginians and were denied us in our native country, and of transmitting them inviolate to our posterity. But even to these remote regions the land of unlimited and unconstitutional power hath pursued us, to strip us of that liberty and property with which God, nature, and the rights of humanity, have vested us. We are ready and willing to contribute all in our power for the support of his Majesty's government, if applied to constitutionally, and when the grants are made by our own representatives; but cannot think of submitting our liberty or property to the power of a venal British parliament, or to the will of a corrupt ministry. We by no means desire to shake off our duty or allegiance to our lawful sovereign, but on the contrary shall ever glory in being the loyal subjects of a Protestant prince, descended from such illustrious progenitors, so long as we can enjoy the free exercise of our religion, as Protestants, and our liberties and properties, as British subjects. But if no pacifick measures shall be proposed or adopted by Great Britain, and our enemies will attempt to dragoon us out of those inestimable privileges which we are entitled to as subjects, and to reduce us to a state of slavery, we declare, that we are deliberately and resolutely determined never to surrender them to any power upon earth, but at the expense of our lives. These are our real, though unpolished sentiments, of liberty and loyalty, and in them we are resolved to live and die.”

  • The freeholders who wrote the February 22, 1775 Augusta County, Virginia Declaration were also influenced by John Craig, when they wrote: “Placing our ultimate trust in the Supreme Disposer of every event, without whose gracious interposition the wisest schemes may fail of success, we desire you to move the Convention that some day, which may appear to them most convenient, be set apart for imploring the blessing of Almighty God on such plans as human wisdom and integrity may think necessary to adopt for preserving America happy, virtuous, and free.”

  • James Caldwell, the fighting parson who cried, “Give ‘em Watts, boys!” lost his wife to the British before being shot by an American sentry before the war ended.

  • Jacob Green, the father of Ashbel Green, was known as “Parson Green.” He authored Observations, on the Reconciliation of Great-Britain, and the Colonies by a friend of American Liberty in early 1776, and did much to both preach the gospel and defend the cause of civil liberty in colonial America. He also declared in a 1778 sermon: “Can it be believed that a people contending for liberty should, at the same time, be promoting and supporting slavery?” He saw American slavery as completely incompatible with the principles of freedom for which the colonists were then fighting.

  • Hezekiah James Balch, a leading architect of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, died just a year after its signing.

  • Ephraim Brevard - The reputed author of the 1775 Mecklenburg Resolutions and the scribe who penned the 1775 Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence spent time in British custody as a prisoner of war at Charleston, South Carolina, where the unwholesome air and diet crushed his health. After his release, he reached the home of his friend John McKnitt Alexander, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, only to breathe his last shortly thereafter in 1781.

  • John Witherspoon preached a sermon based on Psalm 76:10 on May 17, 1776 titled “The Dominion of God Over the Passions of Men” which is credited with helping to prepare the colonies to embrace the Declaration of Independence which he signed (making himself a marked man) later that year: “If your cause is just — you may look with confidence to the Lord and intreat him to plead it as his own. You are all my witnesses, that this is the first time of my introducing any political subject into the pulpit. At this season however, it is not only lawful but necessary, and I willingly embrace the opportunity of declaring my opinion without any hesitation, that the cause in which America is now in arms, is the cause of justice, of liberty, and of human nature.

    So far as we have hitherto proceeded, I am satisfied that the confederacy of the colonies, has not been the effect of pride, resentment, or sedition, but of a deep and general conviction, that our civil and religious liberties, and consequently in a great measure the temporal and eternal happiness of us and our posterity, depended on the issue. The knowledge of God and his truths have from the beginning of the world been chiefly, if not entirely, confined to those parts of the earth, where some degree of liberty and political justice were to be seen, and great were the difficulties with which they had to struggle from the imperfection of human society, and the unjust decisions of usurped authority.

    There is not a single instance in history in which civil liberty was lost, and religious liberty preserved entire. If therefore we yield up our temporal property, we at the same time deliver the conscience into bondage.”

Many more names could be added to the ranks of those colonial American Presbyterians who proclaimed by word and deed their devotion to the cause of religious and civil liberty, and who were willing to sacrifice all for the sake of God and liberty. But one of the more poignant testimonies is found on the tombstone of the unknown Revolutionary War soldier at the Presbyterian church in Alexandria, Virginia. This epitaph speaks volumes about freedom’s cost.

Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier, Old Presbyterian Meeting House, Alexandria, Virginia

Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier, Old Presbyterian Meeting House, Alexandria, Virginia