Washington's God: Religion, Liberty, and the Father of Our Country

by Michael Novak and Jana Novak

Book Overview

Washington has long been viewed as the patron saint of secular government, but in Washington's God, Michael Novak and his daughter, Jana, reveal that it was Washington's strong faith in divine Providence that gave meaning and force to his monumental life. Narrowly escaping a British trap during the Battle of Brooklyn, Washington didn't credit his survival to courage or tactical expertise; he blamed himself for marching his men into certain...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0465051278
• ISBN13: 9780465051274
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.5" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

fascinating and uplifting

This book was perfect for us. I got a lot out of it and would recommend it to friends.

George Washington, the Father of the Nation, a Statesman and True Christian

This is a well-written book about George Washington's life and religious beliefs. The authors start the book by positing some of the 20th century interpretations about George Washington beliefs, which claim that he was deist. These interpretations also scoff at Washington's oft-expressed views about Providence and Christian beliefs as mere platitudes and window dressing expressed primarily to satisfy the political needs of the day. The authors refute and rebut these interpretations based on a careful study of Washington's life starting with his formative years, growing up, early experiences in the French Indian war, participation in the pre-independence colonial state-politics, acceptance of the command of the Continental army and his leadership throughout the war of Independence, his public life thereafter and presidency and ultimately his late years and death. The authors pursue a professional study of the subject matter. They cite hagiographical writing about George Washington such as Parson Weems famous story about the young man cutting the cherry tree and discount its authenticity. They cite the views of those who doubted Washington's Christian beliefs both ancient and modern and provide adequate reasoned rebuttals supported by extant historical evidence. Throughout his life George Washington showed himself to have been a man of very high integrity. What Washington said he also practiced. Thus the post-modernist interpretation of political expediency as a motive for Washington's expressions of his religious views, attendance for religious services and life-long participation and support of his local Anglican church are refuted and laid to rest. However Washington was also a statesman, who did not wish to impose his religious views upon others, and he diligently used a langauge accepatble to the sensibilities of the vast majority of people in his time. The authors further review the historical evidence about George Washington as a Christian both pro and con. They cite numerous testimonies of his contemporaries, such as the Reverend Alexander MacWhorter of New Jersey on December 27, 1799 that General Washington was a uniform professor of the Christian faith, and the Reverend Eliab Stone of Massachusetts who proffered proofs that Washington had lived and died a Christian. Throughout his life Washington acknowledged the interpositions of Providence and gave thanks to the LORD for his manifested grace, such as his Thanksgiving proclamation of 1789, in which he beseeched the Lord to pardon our national and other transgressions and asserted the duty of all nations in regard to God. I highly recommend this book for use by parents to educate and inspire their children. I further recommend it for high school and college students.

Mixed Review? Look Again

In quoting the thoughtful review by Al Zambone in Christianity Today, David Vinzant leaves out the favorable parts. Read a sample for yourself: "The Novaks' central argument, following several chapters recapitulating Washington's life, is based upon Washington's incessant appeals to and observations of the ways of Providence. This is something ignored or dismissed by many biographers, which is foolish; Washington used 'Providence' so often that it can be characterized as one of his three ruling ideas of how the world works or should work (the other two, I believe, are 'West' and 'Union'). His idea of Providence was that it was the intervention of an all-powerful and all-merciful God in the events of mankind. This Providence was often seen as working the near-miraculous, such as in the Continental Army's escape through night and fog from Brooklyn past the British fleet. Washington's 'Providence,' the Novaks convincingly demonstrate, is not impersonal fate; moreover, Washington does not view Providence as always being on his side. While he often describes Providence as benevolent and God as merciful, his favorite description of Providence is 'inscrutable.' Providence is not the leader of America's team; It does what It does, and is not always understood by a humanity that is being done unto. In the face of Providence, Washington is both thankful and resigned. Indeed, Washington's very last words as he died, 'Tis well,' reflect the most important belief of his life." "For Washington, Providence had a personality. Thus it is difficult, as the Novaks further argue, to describe Washington as a Deist in the classic 18th-century sense. Many if not all Deists would accept the concept of Providence in general terms, as the overarching care of the Creator-God for the world that He had established. However they would be quick to deride any idea that this God would intervene in the world using anything that seemed even vaguely miraculous; in theological terms, they denied the need for special providence. Washington, however, often appeals precisely to special Providence. Moreover, as in his letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Savannah, Washington identifies that special Providence as being none other than Jehovah, 'who long since delivered the Hebrews from their Egyptian oppressors' and whose 'agency has lately been conspicuous, in establishing these United States as an independent nation.'" The small dissent in Zambone's review that Vinzant does quote, on the portraits of the Virgin Mary and St. John in Mount Vernon and Washington's unusually active work as a vestryman, occur on but three pages in WASHINGTON'S GOD (pp. 168-170). In fact, the review slightly misstates the points the Novaks made on those pages. Check it out yourself.

WASHINGTON'S GOD: 'THE REAL DEAL'

"Washington's God", by Mr. Novak & his Daughter, is a commendable contribution to our understanding of this first American President's character. He was indeed a noble man in both demeanor and action. Noble in the sense of being notably virtuous. Herein lies the rub which so troubles our contemporary biographers of the man George Washington. It is fallacious to "re-invent" Washington outside the social context of his moral environment--- and his was more demanding of virtue... The secular argument descries that there is no written evidence that Washington was a Christian. While their premise appears to be appealing, it fails to be neither logical nor supportable. The Believers' argument in contrast, is both logical and well-evidenced. Even the simplest common sense logically reveals through the tomes of Washington's own writings, speeches, & his behaviour that he firmly and deeply believed in a personal God. The first-hand accounts of Washington by his own contemporaries who personally observed and knew him over the years, poignantly confirm Washington's spiritual lifestyle in their own diaries, notes, and journals. It is vitally imperative that we restrain ourselves from being caught up in the comtemporary cultural warfare in such a manner that we would distort the factual, witness evidence of history by introducing our own inferences and innuendoes apart from the facts and then rewrite our distortions as "fact". It is clear in "Washington's God" that the authors have well- researched and referenced their document-supported narrative biography. The agnostic prolific historians Will and Ariel Durant would acknowledge this book's meticulous accuracy, as would contemporary history research expert David Barton.

Thorough and balanced treatment of a great leader's faith

Michael and Jana Novak do the nation a great service, providing a careful and nuanced examination of the faith of our first, and perhaps greatest, president. Secularists know the power of Washington's reputation, and so have sought to rewrite history, falsely portraying Washington as a non-Christian and a practical atheist. Instead, Washington was an exceedingly polite and reserved man, who did not wish his particular Christian beliefs to become a source of division to our new nation. He focused in public on religious common ground -- using terms like "Providence" that were acceptable to Christians, Deists and other theists. Because of Washington's public reserve, the specifics of his personal belief system have been a challenge to reconstruct. The Novaks do an amazingly good job of piecing the clues together.