ment would also be limited . A government that heavily taxed its citizens was contrary to the vision of Micah 4:4 and the vision of the Founders . 6
After demonstrating that George Washington referenced this verse nearly fifty times , 7 Dreisbach turns his attention to the Declaration of Independence . The origin and meaning of Jefferson ’ s famous phrase “ the pursuit of happiness ” have long been debated . Dreisbach quotes a recent scholar who sees in it the shadow of Micah 4:4 .
For Jefferson and his contemporaries , happiness no doubt demanded safety or security , which would have been in keeping with the biblical phrase one colonist after another used to describe the good life — to be at peace under their vine and fig tree with none to make them afraid ( Mic . 4:4 ). 8
THE NEED FOR A VIRTUOUS PUBLIC The Founders understood that they were taking a great risk in establishing a republic . Tyrants use the whip to keep the people in line , but in a republic , the people bear rule ( through the representatives they choose ). For a republic to work , the people must be virtuous . They must fear to do evil even in the absence of a threatening government .
In expressing this point , many Founders appealed to Proverbs 14:34 : “ Righteousness exalts a nation , but sin is a reproach to any people .” Their purpose in citing this verse was to emphasize that true patriotism was not possible apart from religion and piety . Such a view is at odds with modern scholarship , but it was deeply embedded in the worldview of the founding generation . In a letter to a friend in April 1776 , Samuel Adams even claimed that the spreading of irreligion was a ploy used by Britain to defeat independence : “ I have long been convinced that our Enemies have made it an Object , to eradicate from the Minds of the People in general a Sense of true Religion and Virtue , in hopes thereby the more easily to carry their Point of enslaving them . . . Revelation assures us that ‘ Righteousness exalteth a Nation ’— Communities are dealt with in this World by the wise and just Ruler of the Universe . . . The diminution of publick Virtue is usually attended with that of publick Happiness , and the publick Liberty will not long survive the total Extinction of Morals .” 9
THE NEED FOR DIVINE FAVOR
One of the most frequently referenced verses by the Founders was Micah 6:8 : “ What does the Lord require of you but to do justice , and to love kindness , and to walk humbly with your God ?” Why was this verse so important ? Dreisbach observes that one reason has to do with the need
“ For a republic to work , the people must be virtuous . They must fear to do evil even in the absence of a threatening government .”
for divine favor . For a nation to enjoy peace and prosperity , it must have God ’ s blessing . In Micah 6:8 , the Founders saw a recipe for divine favor . If America would obey these admonitions , the Lord would pour out the national blessings needed for survival . 10
The most famous use of this verse among the Founders came from the pen of George Washington . In his Circular Letter to the States in June 1783 , Washington sought to shape the character of the new nation . These are the closing lines of the letter : “ I now make it my earnest pray [ er ], that God would . . . be pleased to dispose us all , to do Justice , to love mercy , and to demean ourselves with that Charity , humility and pacific temper of mind , which were the Characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion and without [ a ] humble imitation of whose example in these things , we can never hope to be a happy Nation .” 11
For Washington , the American experiment could not be successful without the religion of Jesus Christ .
CONCLUSION
The study of history is vitally important to the education of the young . We cannot understand who we are as a nation unless we understand where we have come from . We cannot understand where we came from without understanding the Founding Fathers . And we cannot understand the Founding Fathers unless we understand the Book most responsible for shaping them and their world . Here is where secular education fails us . In pushing religion to the margins of our history , it hides from students the most important parts of our history . Or , as Dreisbach puts it , “ The increasing biblical illiteracy of the modern age almost inevitably distorts the conception Americans have of themselves as a people , the nation , and their political experiment in self-government .” 12 ■
Dr . Bryan Smith has worked in Christian education for nearly thirty years . He has been a classroom teacher as well as a textbook author . Currently , he serves at BJU Press as the Senior Manager for Biblical Worldview Formation . He and his wife , Becky , have six children .
ENDNOTES 1 . Daniel L . Dreisbach , Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers ( New York : Oxford University Press , 2017 ). 2 . Ibid ., 6 . 3 . Ibid ., 34 . 4 . Ibid ., 5-6 . 5 . Ibid ., 4 . 6 . Ibid ., 222 . 7 . Ibid ., 225 . 8 . Ibid ., 226 . Dreisbach quotes from Pauline Maier ’ s American Scripture : Making the Declaration of Independence ( New York : Alfred A . Knopf , 1997 ), 134 . 9 . Ibid ., 146 . 10 . Ibid ., 101 . 11 . Ibid ., 100 . 12 . Ibid ., 9 .
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