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HISTORY: unwrapped – January 2007

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During the reign of Henry III’s young son, Edward VI (1547–1553), England made long strides toward Protestantism. Protestant tutors were put in charge of Edward’s education, and at an early age Edward became familiar with the works of John Calvin and those of the Strasbourg Reformer Martin Bucer. At Edward’s coronation, Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556) referred to him as the second Josiah, as a king who would restore England to the true religion. (It was under Josiah’s reign in Judah that the “book of the law” was found in the temple—2 Kings 22). Under Edward’s leadership, a number of important changes took place: religious services were conducted in English; the Catholic Mass was abolished; clergy were permitted to marry; and English Bibles were freely printed. Not everyone was happy with these changes, however. Henry’s brand of Catholicism was still very popular, as future Reformers soon discovered. Edward, sickly and frail from birth with chronic tuberculosis, reigned for only six years. On July 6, 1553, the young king died, praying, “My Lord and God, save this realm from popery, and maintain it in true religion.” He was sixteen.

January 30, 2007– Rome Comes to Washington

Buildings in Washington D.C., with their columns and facades, are reminiscent of Classical architecture. In addition, some American political writers called themselves by Latin names like Cato and Publius. The authors of The Federalist, a collection of essays written in favor of the Constitution, did not use their real names. The 85 essays were attributed to the pseudonym “Publius,” but in actuality were written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. Publius Valerius Publicola (“friend of the people”) was a Roman consul. George Washington was known as “Cincinnatus,” a Roman general and patriot (519–439 B.C.) who gave up supreme power and went home to his farm after rescuing the Roman army which had been besieged by hill tribes. You can even see an enormous marble sculpture of our first president—wearing a toga! Our early constitutional framers looked to some elements of the Roman Republic and its form of civil government—not to the Roman Empire and its pagan religious practices—as a model for their political ideas. The word “Senate” is also borrowed from the Romans.

January 29, 2007– The Successful Storyteller

The man, who co-founded Walt Disney Productions, arrived in California with $40 in his pocket and an unfinished cartoon in his suitcase. Walt Disney developed his love for drawing as a child while living on a farm. When his family moved to Chicago, he took art courses at night. At 16, Disney joined the Red Cross during World War II and drove an ambulance covered with his imaginative characters. While working for art studios, Disney learned animation and film techniques and read books on anatomy and mechanics. After arriving in Los Angeles, Disney started his own art studio, and his brother Roy oversaw the finances. The company that would become known for Mickey Mouse and animated hits like Pinnochio and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was on the way to making its mark in the entertainment industry.

January 26, 2007– America's Greatest Mind

Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758) is best remembered for his masterful sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” In addition to his achievements as a pastor, Edwards was a father to eight daughters and three sons, missionary to the Housatonic Indians, revivalist, philosopher, and accomplished scientist. From a very early age, Jonathan was mesmerized by the beauty and order of God’s world. In fact, he was especially fond of studying spiders. So much so that his accurate observations have been preserved and are acknowledged in the scientific community today. Even more remarkable is that these observations were made when he was a boy with no tools, training or body of knowledge with which to compare and test his findings. In his childhood work, “Of Insects,” Jonathan wrote “Multitudes of time I have beheld with wonderment and pleasure the spiders marching in the air from one tree to another… their little shining webs and Glistening Strings of a Great Length and at such a height as that one would think they were tack’d to the Sky by one end were it not that they were moving and floating.” As a young man, Jonathan wrote seventy resolutions. One of these resolutions was, “To live with all my might, while I do live.” That he did. Blessed with a brilliant mind, Jonathan Edwards used his brief 55 years to advance the Kingdom of Christ. Many believe Jonathan Edwards was the greatest mind in American history.

January 25, 2007– The Constitution and the Bible

Using celebrities to endorse products is common practice today. Find some famous sports or movie stars, put them in front of a camera, and watch them do their magic with the new product. Before radio and television, the only way to communicate was through oratory and print media. Then there’s the issue of what’s worth pitching and how to pay for it. In colonial America, British law prohibited Bibles from being printed without permission of the crown. Editions of the Bible in the Indian and German languages were permitted, but English translations were verboten. All printing had to take place in England. This all changed after the success of the War for Independence. In 1791, the year the Bill of Rights was adopted and ratified, John Brown’s Self-Interpreting Bible was published in New York. Editions of Brown’s Bible had sold well in England. It was only natural to bring its publication to America. Brown, a Scottish Presbyterian minister, selected portions from several well-known commentaries, including those of Matthew Henry’s multi-volume set, to help the general reader better understand the text.

Funds were raised for the project through private “subscriptions” (contributions), and the names of the subscribers were listed alphabetically at the beginning of the volume, along with their occupation and the town where they lived. They came from all walks of life: shoemaker, baker, tailor, butcher, minister, lawyer, and many others. The name heading the list is “GEORGE WASHINGTON, Esq. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” The prestige of Washington’s name associated with the Bible’s publication was a fat endorsement that was sure to attract other subscribes and buyers. Also listed as “subscribers” are Henry Knox (Secretary of War), Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury), and John Jay (Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), and numerous other notable founders. The Frontispiece offers a perspective on how the Constitution was viewed in light of the Bible. There is an engraving of a female figure holding an open Bible illuminating another female the Constitution rolled up in her hand. Between them stands a woman holding a pole with a Liberty Cap. In the background, the façade of a building includes these words: “Sacred to Liberty, Justice, and Peace.”

January 24, 2007– The First Modern World Series

In an attempt to end a bitter rivalry, the National League and the American League came together in a post-season championship. In 1903, the Boston Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates competed in the first official World Series. The Pirates of the veteran National League and Boston, representing the American League, met in a best-of-nine series. The Pirates had just won their third consecutive pennant. The Americans were still trying to establish themselves as a worthy competitor. After 4 games, Pittsburgh led the series 3 games to 1. Boston’s veteran Cy Young took the mound in game 5, and Pittsburgh never knew what hit them. Even with the help of National Batting League champion Honus Wagner, Pittsburgh never regained dominance. The Boston Americans, now called the Boston Red Sox, became the first champion of the First American League vs. National League World Series.

January 23, 2007– The Mysterious Penman of the Constitution

Thirty-seven-year-old Jacob Shallus had been assistant clerk for the Pennsylvania legislature and recorded minutes for the state’s general assembly. Shallus participated in the War for  Independence, was a skilled calligrapher and a father struggling to support a family of ten. Though Shallus’ fine hand penned the original parchment of the U.S. Constitution, he rates only a one-line credit on its display case. He is so obscure a figure in history that there is no known portrait of him, and historians have difficulty naming him. On Saturday evening, September 15, 1787, the delegates, according to George Washington’s journal, “adjourned until Monday that the Constitution which it was proposed to offer to the people might be engrossed, and a number of copies struck off.” Stopping only to eat and sleep, Shallus “engrossed” (penned) the document with goose quill and iron-gall ink to meet the deadline on Monday. The Constitutional Convention paid Shallus thirty dollars for his efforts. He was arrested only five months later for a debt of twelve pounds and a few shillings. Shallus died in 1793 and probably never realized the importance of his contribution on that September weekend in Philadelphia.

January 22, 2007– Georgia on His Mind

General James Oglethorpe (1696–1785) conceived a plan to provide a refuge for persecuted Protestants of Europe. On June 9, 1732, he was granted a charter by George II to establish a new colony. Oglethorpe named his colony Georgia. He was motivated primarily from strong Christian principles, which are evident in his denouncement of slavery. In London, in 1734, he praised Georgia for its anti-slavery policy:

Slavery, the misfortune, if not the dishonor, of other plantations, is absolutely proscribed. Let avarice defend it as it will, there is an honest reluctance in humanity against buying and selling, and regarding those of our species as our wealth and possessions. . . . The name of slavery is here unheard, and every inhabitant is free from unchosen masters and oppression. . . . Slavery is against the gospel as well as the fundamental law of England. We refused, as trustees, to make a law permitting such a horrid crime. But, Oglethorpe’s words were not heeded. The “horrid crime” of slavery was soon introduced to Georgia. “In 1750 the law prohibiting slavery was repealed and Georgia became a slave-worked plantation colony like its neighbor, South Carolina.”

In keeping with the original charter which gave the colonists of Georgia “a liberty of conscience” to worship God, the 1777 Constitution retains its essential religious character. Article VI states that “The representatives shall be chosen out of the residents in each county . . . and they shall be of the Protestant religion.” Article LVI declares that “All persons whatever shall have the free exercise of their religion; provided it be not repugnant to the peace and safety of he State.” Like many of the state constitutions, the Georgia constitution prohibited clergymen from holding seats in the legislature.

January 19, 2007– The Bible and the Oath of Office

The Presidential oath of office is described in Article II, section 1 of the Constitution:

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation—“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

While the United States Constitution states that no religious test can be given to a political office holder, every president since George Washington (except Thomas Jefferson) has taken the oath of office with his hand on a Bible, promising to keep that oath by uttering “I swear, so help me God.” Even during the hurried swearing-in ceremony of Lyndon B. Johnson on Air Force One after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, the soon-to-be president took the oath with his hand on JFK's own leather-bound Bible.

January 18, 2007– Artist of Faith

Mention the name Michelangelo and frescoes of the Bible’s creation story on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel come to mind. Three million people a year flock to the Vatican to gaze at the famous masterpieces. The frescoes are a magnificent example of how a Christian artist interpreted Scripture through his art. Though it is one of the most studied and well known works of art, the Sistine Chapel is one of the least understood. It has become a temple to art, but Michelangelo intended it to be a place to worship God. In his later years, the artist concentrated on the free and priceless gift of salvation entirely dependent on God’s grace. Michelangelo emphasized God’s grace through his art, which was in contrast to the prevailing system of gaining salvation through indulgences and good works.

January 17, 2007– That's Pittsburgh—with an 'H'

Pittsburgh, named after William Pitt, became the largest urban area west of the Allegheny Mountains by 1815 with its plentiful raw materials, natural waterways for transportation, and abundance of laborers. The Industrial Revolution made a dramatic entrance into the city with the growth of the iron industry. The low cost of iron and coke and the abundance of coal in Western Pennsylvania encouraged the building of foundries which produced iron bars, nails, and farm equipment. The first rolling mill for iron powered by the steam engine was built in Pittsburgh. The city soon boasted glass factories, breweries, potteries, a grist mill, a steam engine factory, a nail mill, cotton and woolen factories, and printing offices. By 1830, Pittsburgh’s three rivers were crowded with steamboats transporting manufactured goods. The work ethic of its citizens and their passion for invention made Pittsburgh the richest city of its size by the mid 1800s. Don’t be confused by like-sounding cities. There’s a Pittsburg, California, a Pittsburg, Texas, a Pittsburg, Kansas, a Pittsburg, New Hampshire, a Pittsburg, New York, and even a West Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, but there’s only one Pittsburgh—with an “h”—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

January 16, 2007– The Real "Story" on the First Amendment

The First Amendment to the Constitution was not designed to disestablish the Christian religion as it found expression in the state constitutions. Justice Joseph Story (1779–1845), named to the Supreme Court in 1811 and the author of Commentaries of the Constitution of the United States published in 1833 in three volumes, offers the following commentary on the amendment's original meaning:

The real object of the First Amendment was not to countenance, much less to advance Mohammedanism, or Judaism, or infidelity, by prostrating Christianity, but to exclude all rivalry among Christian sects [denominations] and to prevent any national ecclesiastical establishment which would give to an hierarchy the exclusive patronage of the national government.

Story's comments are important. He states that the amendment's purpose was "to exclude all rivalry among Christian sects." This presupposes that Christianity was the accepted religion of the colonies but that no single denomination should be supported by the national government. The amendment was not designed to make all religions equal, only to make all Christian denominations (sects) equal in the eyes of the Constitution.

January 15, 2007– Education in Young America

A young colonist's education in New England was provided by a very limited curriculum, consisting of three books in addition to the Bible: the Hornbook, the New England Primer, and the Bay Psalm Book. The Hornbook consisted of a single piece of parchment, covered with a transparent substance attached to a paddle-shaped piece of wood. The alphabet, the Lord's Prayer, and religious doctrines were written or printed on the parchment.

In 1690 the first edition of the New England Primer appeared. By 1700 the Primer had replaced the Hornbook in a number of places. The Primer expanded the religious themes by including the names of the Old and New Testament books, the Lord's Prayer, "An Alphabet of Lessons for Youth," the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Westminster Assembly Shorter Catechism, and John Cotton's (1584-1652) "Spiritual Milk for American Babes." The Primer, developed by Benjamin Harris, included an ingenious way to learn the alphabet while mastering basic biblical truths and lessons about life.

A- In Adam's Fall, We sinned all

B- Thy Life to mend, This Book attend

C- The Cat doth play, And after slay

The Primer was later enlarged in 1777. Additional biblical material was added. The rhyming alphabet was updated and made more theological. For example, in the 1777 edition the letter C reads "Christ Crucified, For Sinners Died."

January 12, 2007– A War Hero Returns Home

Alvin C. York was born in 1887, and if it hadn’t been for the First World War—the “war to end all wars” as it was called—his name would have passed into oblivion. York grew up in Pall Mall, Tennessee, into a large family. When his father was killed in a farming accident, the sole responsibility of caring for his eight younger brothers and sisters fell on him. In 1915, Alvin dedicated his life to Christ and became a deacon in the small pacifist church pastored by Rosier C. Pile. The declaration of war by the United States against Germany in 1917 catapulted York into the limelight of history for a brief moment. His pacifist beliefs put him at odds with the draft board when he was denied conscientious objector status. While still holding to his pacifist beliefs, York headed for Camp Gordon, Georgia, for training. It’s at Camp Gordon that York displayed his extraordinary rifle skills. He continued to wrestle with his pacifist beliefs even as he was being shipped overseas to fight in France. During options in the Argonne sector, York killed twenty-five Germans, captured 132 prisoners, including a major and several lieutenants, and put out of commission thirty-five machine guns. He did this with no help from the group of men who had accompanied him since many of them had been killed by German machine-gun fire. Others were wounded or pinned down by enemy fire.

For his efforts, York received the American Distinguished Service Cross and the Congressional Medal of Honor. Word of York’s distinguished service reached America before he did. He received numerous paid offers to promote himself and tell his story to the American people. York refused all of them. He returned home to Tennessee, married Gracie Williams, and began to raise a family. It might have ended there if it hadn’t been for a man who saw the parade that had been given in honor of York in 1919. Show business producer Jesse Lasky spent 20 years trying to convince York to do a movie of his heroic exploits. For 20 years York refused, but with the outbreak of war with Germany, York finally relented. Still not wanting to profit from killing, even killing in time of war, York insisted that all the proceeds for the movie venture would go to religious works. In 1941, the movie Sergeant York hit movie theaters. It starred Gary Cooper, at the insistence of York, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, Noah Beery, Jr., Joan Leslie, and a very young June Lockhart (Timmy’s mother on the “Lassie” TV show). Cooper won the Best Actor Award for his portrayal of York.

January 11, 2007– A Pacifist Goes to War

In 1887, Alvin C. York was born into a large family in Tennessee. After his father was killed in a farming accident, Alvin was responsible for his eight younger siblings. At the age of twenty-eight, Alvin dedicated his life to Christ and became a deacon in a small pacifist church. Two years later, World War etched York’s name in the history books. Despite his pacifist beliefs, York was denied status as a conscientious objector and headed for training at Camp Gordon, Georgia. It was here that York displayed his extraordinary rifle skills. He continued to wrestle with his pacifist beliefs even as he was being shipped overseas to fight in France. York became instantly famous for killing twenty-five enemy soldiers, capturing 132 prisoners, including a major and several lieutenants, and taking out thirty-five machine guns. How did Sergeant York handle this fame? Find out during tomorrow’s program!

January 10, 2007– Bones that Started a Reformation

England had a head start on the Reformation because of the work of John Wycliffe (c. 1324–1384). It was Wycliffe who held that the Bible alone (sola Scriptura) set forth the definition of true Christianity. Wycliffe’s efforts to translate the Bible into the language of the people prepared the way for a reform movement that would take England and the New World by storm. His hand written translations were based on Jerome’s Latin Vulgate, the only source text available to Wycliffe. Like Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and Tyndale, Wycliffe’s reform efforts did not go unopposed. Thirty-one years after his death, the Council of Constance condemned Wycliffe on 260 different counts, ordered his writings to be burned, and directed that his bones be exhumed and buried in unconsecrated ground. In 1428, on orders from the Pope, Wycliffe's remains were dug up and burned. His ashes were thrown in a nearby river. Wycliffe's followers, called Lollards,* carried on his work under severe persecution from Henry V (1413–1422). Because of continued opposition from the Crown and the outlawing of Bible reading in the English language, the Lollards worked in secret. But by the late fifteenth century, the activity of the Lollards began to grow more bold and effective. They brought the discussion of theological issues to the masses which in turn led some people to question certain aspects of Roman Catholic doctrine. In the end, Wycliffe’s views won out. His ashes became seed for a Reformation that transformed the world. “The sacred Scriptures,” Wycliffe wrote, “be the property of the people, and one which no party should be allowed to wrest from them.”

* The Lollards derived their name from the medieval Dutch word meaning “to mutter” (lollaerd), possibly a reference to their style of worship, which was based on reading the scriptures. The derivation may be of Latin origin, from lollen, “to sing softly” (cf. Eng. lull).

January 9, 2007– From Slave to Missionary

A revival on the Princeton College campus in 1815 changed the life of young Betsey Stockton, servant of the college president, Ashbel Green. As she matured in the faith, Betsey longed for missionary work but realized that an unmarried black woman had little chance of realizing such a goal. Betsey was treated with affection in the Greene household, where she was included in family prayers and homeschooled by Dr. Greene. Soon after her conversion, Betsey had the opportunity to join a missionary team going to Hawaii. She became the first documented single woman missionary sent beyond the borders of the United States. Betsey taught in the school she organized for lower class children on the islands. After returning to the States, Betsey established schools for Native Americans and black children, inspiring others to become involved in ministry at home and abroad.

January 8, 2007– Making Hebrew Writers Speak German

Martin Luther's main goal in translating the Bible into German was to make God's Word available in words that men and women use in everyday speech. He recognized that "God is in every syllable. No iota [the smallest Greek letter] is in vain." Luther's translation had the effect of making Germany the first modern nation to adopt a single language over a cluster of regional dialects. Translating the New Testament was relatively easy for Luther. He only needed eleven weeks to complete his German version. The Old Testament, written in Hebrew and some Aramaic, was a different matter. With the help of friends, the task of translation took nine years! At one point he considered giving up the task. "How hard it is to make these Hebrew writers talk German," he complained. For example, sixteenth-century Germans had no knowledge of the chameleon. The closest Luther could come was the weasel. His complete German Bible, with a thoroughly revised New Testament translation, was completed in 1534. Before Luther's death in 1546 more than 750,000 copies of his various Bible translations were on the market.

January 5, 2007– Shakespeare and the End of America

Some people believe that the translators of the King James Bible asked William Shakespeare (1564–1616) to help them put at least some of the Psalms into English verse. There does not seem to be hard empirical evidence to support the theory, but staunch believers think that Shakespeare left a hidden clue, a signature of sorts, in Psalm 46. Look at a KJV version of the psalm. Count 46 words from the beginning. Then count 46 words from the end. (Do not count the “Selahs.”) What do you come up with? “Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof” (46:3). . . . He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire” (46:9). Did you know that in 1611, the year the King James Bible was completed, Shakespeare would have been 46 years old? This brings us to the latest end-time prophecy, this time by an Islamic scholar who claims that America will be destroyed by a tsunami in 2007. By counting verses in the Koran, he contends that America has a lifespan of only 231 years. “Silwadi said that by combing a number of suras hinting at US sins he reached the numbers 1776 (the year the US achieved independence) and 231. He added the two numbers and the result was 2007, the year when the US is expected to disappear.” I suspect that with enough imagination the Bible can be made to say anything, and the Koran too. If William Shakespeare can be found in a Psalm, then maybe an American Armageddon can be found in a sura.

January 4, 2007– The Real Columbus

Theories of the national heritage of Columbus abound. Columbus has been called an Islamic merchant from North Africa, a Jewish convert to Christianity, an Englishman, Portuguese, Corsican, a Spaniard, a French pirate named Coullon, a black from Africa, and even an American Indian who had stumbled across the ocean and wanted to return home. The best supported theory is that he was Italian, from the city of Genoa. As famous as Columbus is today, no one painted his portrait during his lifetime. Although we do not know exactly what Columbus looked like, some of his contemporaries described him as “A man of good size and appearance, taller than most . . . eyes lively and other features of the face in good proportion, the hair chestnut brown, and the face somewhat ruddy.” Columbus might have remained a footnote in history if Washington Irving, the author of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle,” had not published a three-volume biography (1828–1831) of the “Admiral of the Ocean Sea” as a later biographer described him. Although Irving established Columbus’ rightful place in history, he also told a few fibs about the explorer, the most egregious being the claim that Columbus wanted to prove the Earth was round when everyone believed it was flat. The truth is, all the scientists and cartographers in the fifteenth century believed the Earth was round. The dispute was how big around the Earth was. On this point, Columbus was wrong and his critics right. Columbus charted his way to the Indies partly using an ancient map of the world drawn by a Greek astronomer, Claudius Ptolemy. Ptolemy had drawn his map in the second century, and although he accounted for the world being round, he made the major mistake of leaving out a huge land mass that he did not know was there: today’s North and South America.

January 3, 2007– Explorer Finally Receives Recognition

Henry Hudson’s voyage came to be regarded as the start of European exploration of New York, but 85 years earlier, Giovanni da Verrazzano sailed into New York Bay. Born and educated in Italy, Verrazzano moved to France where the king provided two ships for the Italian explorer to discover the westward passage to Asia. In 1524, he arrived off the coast of North Carolina and continued northward. He was the first European explorer to name North American discoveries after people and places in the Old World. Verrazzano was raised from obscurity by the Italian Historical Society of America during the 1950s and 60s. Through the Society’s efforts, a number of landmarks have been named for Verrazzano, including a bridge and a ferry.

January 2, 2007– The Ten Commandments. . .

“Ladies and Gentlemen, young and old. This may seem an unusual procedure, speaking to you before the picture begins, but we have an unusual subject: the birth of freedom. The story of Moses.” Yes, it was an unusual way to begin a movie. The introductory words were spoken by Cecil B. DeMille, the director of The Ten Commandments (1956), before the movie was shown. If you’ve only seen The Ten Commandments on television, there’s a good possibility that you’ve never seen DeMille’s opening remarks. He considered his production to be so important that he came out on stage to deliver a short but powerful statement on the nature of freedom under the law of God:

The theme of this picture is whether men ought to be ruled by God's laws or whether they are to be ruled by the whims of a dictator like Rameses. Are men the property of the State or are they free souls under God? This same battle continues throughout the world today.

All law is a reflection of some worldview. It is impossible to avoid legislating morality. Laws against theft and murder are legislated, and they reflect some moral code. There are few people who would object to laws being made that would punish thieves and murderers. And yet, such laws impose a moral system on all of us. Although, thieves and murderers might object, no one is calling for these laws to be rescinded because they impose a moral code.

The belief in a Creator-God who is not personal and does not react with his creation was quite fashionable around the time of the War for Independence—but not nearly so fashionable as we have been told.  Many historians claim that the Founding Fathers were not Christians, but Deists.  Deists believed in a “God” who created all things but does not intervene in the workings of His creation.  Most of the Founding Fathers who are said to have been Deists were really what would later be called Unitarians. Unitarians, like Christians, believed in a “God” who both created all things and rules all things by His divine providence.  Like Deists, however, Unitarians denied the Trinity: denied that Jesus is God, the second person of the Trinity, and denied that the Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the Trinity.

It is true that Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and George Washington did dabble in Deism to varying degrees.  Franklin and Jefferson were what would later be called Unitarians, and John Adams later became a Unitarian. (Jefferson, of course, had no part in the framing or ratification of the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.) But most of these men thought and acted fairly consistently within a Christian worldview. Their view of man’s sinfulness and of the proper God-ordained role of government generally followed the Bible. Moreover, as historian M.E. Bradford discovered (to his surprise), very few of the statesmen who gave us our independence, the Articles of Confederation, and Constitution were Deists or Unitarians.  At least fifty-one, and probably fifty-three of the framers of the Constitution, and a similar proportion of the leaders of the state ratification conventions, were Christians, not Deists or Unitarians.