You are familiar with the charges. If you engage in any conversation about the role of Christianity in the generation of the Founding Fathers, you will inevitably hear it said, "Most of the Founders were deists, not Christians."

There is a reason that this view is so widely held. It has been the standard historical interpretation for at least two generations. For decades, school children have heard their teachers and texts recite this mantra in the same way their teachers had been instructed in college.

Most friends of Patrick Henry College are also familiar with the pioneering work of Christian writers who have thoroughly researched America's past to paint a more accurate picture of the generation that laid the cornerstone of our nation. But if you ever try to use such sources in an open debate, the charge will be made (regardless of any sense of fairness) that our sources are the writings of activists, not historians.

You can imagine my excitement upon finding an incredible book documenting the religious history of the early years of the American republic that cannot be criticized using the standard establishment party line that it is a biased or unprofessional source.

James Hutson (B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in history -- all from Yale University) is the Chief of the Manuscript Division for the Library of Congress. Dr. Hutson is the author of Religion and the Founding of the American Republic. His scholarship is thorough and unbiased. His analysis is fresh and insightful. And his commitment to truth is apparent to all who read this fine work.

So what does an author with those credentials say about the role of deism in the generation of the Founders?

He accurately describes Benjamin Franklin as a deist. Thomas Jefferson is portrayed in depth, and there were periods of his life when he was essentially a deist. But Hutson notes that during his presidency, Jefferson called himself a Christian (even though I've never heard anyone claim he was born again), and he faithfully attended church -- church held in government buildings, I might add. Regarding George Washington, Hutson finds little evidence of deism and says, "Judging from his public conduct, he was a loyal Episcopalian." Hutson's conclusion: "Evangelism demolished deism in eighteenth-century America."

As I read through Dr. Hutson's book, I repeatedly felt affirmed in the mission and goals of Patrick Henry College. We have deliberately sought to adopt much of the thinking and many of the good characteristics of the Founding Fathers as we chart a course for training national and cultural leaders for the twenty-first century.

In fact, there are remarkable parallels between the Founder's generation and the goals and practices of Patrick Henry College. To demonstrate these similarities, I want to share several excerpts from Dr. Hutson's book that inspired me, followed by comments from a number of our students to gain their perspectives.

1. THE PRESENT VALUE OF ETERNAL THINKING

Hutson writes:
 

Republican virtue had, for many of the Founders, s special connotation of participation in public service. They did not, of course, expect every citizen to be ready or able to drop the plow and save the republic, but they did expect their fellow Americans, however humble their station, to be virtuous in the more modest sense of acting in socially responsible ways, and they counted on religion to create a basic level of good behavior in the body politic...The Christian doctrine of the future state of rewards and punishments. When internalized by believers, was considered by the revolutionary generation to be a far more effective source of social behavior than human laws..

Some states went so far, Hutson notes, as to require voters and officeholders to profess a belief in heaven or hell before they could be trusted with the privileges of citizenship. While I would not embrace the details of that requirement today, it is a remarkable statement of the value that was placed on Christian conviction as a key to national success.

2. THE ROLE OF SCRIPTURAL THINKING IN MAJOR POLITICAL DECISIONS

Another of Hutson's remarkable pieces of scholarship is his analysis of the role of Christianity in the American Revolution. Some have claimed it was irrelevant. Others have claimed religion caused the American Revolution. The author is more careful. He writes:
 

The plain fact is that, had American clergymen of all denominations not assured their pious countrymen, from the beginning of the conflict with Britain. That the resistance movement was right in God's sight and had His blessing, it could not have been sustained and independence could not have been achieved. Here is the fundamental, the indispensable, contribution of religion and its spokesmen to the coming of the American Revolution.
 

Concerning the Continental Congress, Hutson says:
 

It is difficult to overemphasize Congress's concern for the spiritual condition of the armed forces, for the covenant mentality convinced it that irreligion in the ranks was, of all places, the most dangerous, for God might directly punish a backsliding military with defeat, extinguishing in the process American independence.
 

As a constitutional attorney, I value Hutson's in-depth analysis of the topic of religious liberty. Often, the generation of the Founders is treated as if they were all of one mind both in doctrine and in the concept of religious freedom. Moreover, it is often portrayed as if religious freedom, which was scarce at the landing of the Puritans in Massachusetts, was somehow frozen in time in the seventeenth century until the Enlightenment gradually took over and promoted it.

However, Hutson's rich and detailed descriptions of the various evangelists and denominations reveal that it was children of the Great Awakening, not the followers of the Enlightenment, who were most responsible for the advent of true religious freedom in America.

Hutson notes that the majority of the backers of Jefferson's famous Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom were Baptists and other evangelicals who had suffered persecution at the hands of the Virginia Anglicans and who believed that the best way for the government to promote the Christian faith was to leave it alone. He notes the disparity between the true motives of those who won the victory for Jefferson's bill and those of Jefferson himself.
 

A coalition led by Madison secured the passage of Jefferson's bill in January 1786. The majority of votes came from the evangelical camp, which agreed with the two statesmen on the necessity of preventing the state from subsidizing religion financially but which expected that the churches, once liberated from the state and unleashed, would rout deism.

He says of the Supreme Court's current use of Jefferson's words and views of the 1780's:
 

This interpretative strategy is itself eccentric, especially since Jefferson changed his views about religion and its relationship to public life during the 1790's and, during his presidency, offered powerful, heretofore overlooked symbolic support for the cause of religion.

Hutson is also careful to point out that although many Christians argued against government endorsement of an official religion, they did not advocate a separation of Christian morality from the legislative process. For example, a committee of various Baptist associations informed the General Assembly of Virginia in 1785 that:
 

The legislature will have sufficiently done its part in favor of Christianity when adequate provision is made for supporting those Laws of Morality, which are necessary for public and private happiness...

The evangelicals who opposed the established denominations on issues of government funding for religious institutions did so out of a conviction that the official organs of the institution of the church should be separate from those of the government. However, all denominations joined in the nearly universal belief that there should be a unity of religion and patriotism, Hutson notes.

This is a truly great book.

I asked a handful of PHC students to react to my impressions of Religion and the Founding of the American Republic.

John Vinci, a junior from Ohio, served as the legislative director for the Home Educators Association of Virginia during the recent legislative session in Richmond. Not only did he track bills of concern to home schoolers, but he also did an outstanding job for Patrick Henry College by monitoring a bill which could have given the State Council on Higher Education greater discretion in regulating private colleges. He wrote the following:
 

The Founders' concerns for the character of the military are just as valid today for the character of the army of young people God is raising up at Patrick Henry to impact the world for Christ. Satan would like nothing better than to destroy our testimony. For this reason, I'm very grateful for the godly influences of my professors and fellow students. The professors here show a genuine concern for us academically and spiritually -- both in and out of the classroom. Over and above the requirements of daily chapel services and church, there are student and professor-initiated Bible studies, accountability groups, prayer meetings, and ministry opportunities. By themselves, these activities do not produce godly character, but they reinforce the habit of seeking Christ on a daily basis. His grace is the source of all character.

Marianne Wasson, a junior from Lawrence, Kansas, was one of the student directors

of a recent performance of Shakespeare's As You Like It. Her academic performance matches her performance on the state -- Marianne is regularly on the list of Presidential Scholars with a GPA of over 3.75. She made this observation:
 

Too often today, Christians tend to compartmentalize their lives, placing profession in one category and faith in another. At Patrick Henry College, we are not only given excellent academic and professional training, but we are also taught how to offer up such gifts to Christ, making our love and service to Him first and foremost in life. This characteristic marked many men and women in the Founding generation. To them, Christianity was not simply a religion, it was a way of life; it affected -- determined -- the way they operated in the world. So it should be for Christians today, and such is the goal for which PHC is striving.

Freshman Kyle Pousson, originally from Louisiana, resides here in Loudoun County with his family. Kyle was a member of our moot court team, which performed exceptionally well at the national tournament at the University of Texas at Arlington. Kyle and his partner placed third in the nation. More importantly, they stood firm in refusing to argue in favor of homosexual rights even when pressured by the judges to do so. Kyle wrote:
 

At Patrick Henry College, the same biblical reasoning that impacted America's Founding Fathers is being taught to a new generation. As James Hutson points out, the Founders viewed true leadership as predicated on virtue. The College is dedicated to a mission of training up young people who will lead our nation and shape our culture. That is one reason that Patrick Henry College is committed to putting Christ at the center of everything that is done, inside as well as outside the classroom. In doing this, we arm ourselves with the same biblical world view which was visible in America's struggle for freedom. Like the leaders from our heritage, we engage the modern world to make an impact for Christ and for liberty.

Abigail Hackman, a sophomore from Michigan, was another director of Shakespeare's As
You Like It. Abigail has also engaged in several interesting apprenticeship projects. She
has investigated the results of government funding of cancer research projects and the
links between countries to various terrorist organization. About "The Present Value of
Eternal Thinking," she wrote:
 

It is difficult in our politically correct culture today to openly profess our Christian faith. Equally challenging is our behavior and the important decision that result from our faith. This is especially true in the political arena where we are confronted by the tension between our principles and the political necessity of compromise. This requires a steady hand, great wisdom, and a direct line to God. Most importantly it requires weighting the consequences, not just in the future earthly world, but also the weight our decisions bear in eternity. So many foolish decisions that cause our nation great pain could have been prevented had the leaders taken the time to consider the eternal value of their present decision. PHC is teaching me to consider the eternal consequences of my actions.

Daniel Chapin, a freshman from Oregon, was also a member of our successful moot court team. Daniel's current apprenticeship project is to develop an outline for a book on Government, written for high school students. He has already caught the vision for teaching others what he has learned. Daniel commented on the role of Scripture in political decision making:
 

Dr. Hutson's book shows that religion played a major role in the Founder's fight for independence. Today, however, many people act as though they think it is possible to solve the moral plaque that is destroying our nation on the basis of their own reason and morality. This is a tragic mistake and a major departure from the view of our Founders. That is why it is so important that, at Patrick Henry College. We are constantly reminded in chapel, in Bible studies, and by our faculty advisors, to depend on God and to build a strong, personal relationship with Him rather than relying on our own strength.
 

Sometimes we tend to focus on the objective evidence of achievement. And we are very glad for two recent strong indicators of our success:
 

Earlier this month, Laurie Wilson and Katie Jackson won the NEDA National Championship for College Debate on the Open (Senior) Division. Matthew de Mee and Nick Higgins won the NEDA National Championship for College Debate in the Novice Division at the same tournament. Matthew was also the number one speaker in the Novice Division at nationals.

All three of our 2002 graduates who have applied to law school have accepted.
Jeremy Purves has been admitted to George Mason University. David McKennett was admitted to the College of William & Mary. George Mason University, American University, and Regent University. Rebecca Durnell has also received acceptance to law school at the University of Indiana. Even before our accreditation has been finalized, these highly regarded schools of law have recognized the excellence of our students and our course of study..

I trust that you will catch a glimpse of my excitement as you read about these students. It is fairly easy to demonstrate that we have young people with a lot of God-given talent that has been nurtured by their parents and now by their professors. But we believe that the long-range success of Patrick Henry College will be demonstrated when these students graduate and take their convictions and a consistent life of faith into the public square.

John, Marianne, Kyle, Abigail, and Daniel are truly representative of the student body as a whole. They have vision. They have commitment. And they have tremendous potential so long as they remain faithful.

I hope that you are now excited about two things: Dr. Hutson's book, Religion and the Founding of the American Republic; and the potential impact (on our nation and our world) of dedicated young lives.