Reading material on the background of Benjamin Franklin’s “Rebellion Against Tyrants is Obedience to God” motto?

[Seeking_Thy_Kingdom]

I recently learned that Benjamin Franklin had a seal that read “Rebellion Against Tyrants is Obedience to God” and displayed Moses and a pillar of fire. I ashamedly admit I do not know much of American history, especially the period of the Revolutionary War. Since I am locked down with nowhere to go now would be a good time to learn about that period, and specifically the theology of the Founders. Any recommend reading?

 

[jwithnell]

He is an intriguing character and one that I'd like to study more directly. In other readings from the era, I find you can't overlook the influence of France, particularly among the Americans who lived there any length of time. The ambassador was there for roughly ten years and appears to have famously adopted the Parisian ideal of partying as diplomacy, including writing love letters to a married woman. He somehow bowed both to the disciplines of the puritans (minus weekly church attendance) and the intellectual appeal of the enlightenment.

 

[Logan]

Sadly, Franklin was a pretty confirmed deist (if anything) and while he "worshiped" morality and even tried to create his own religion around it, he had no belief in a personal God. George Whitefield visited and stayed with him multiple times and prayed for his salvation as Franklin says in his intended whimsical way: "He us'd, indeed, sometimes to pray for my conversion, but never had the satisfaction of believing that his prayers were heard."

However, he was greatly in tune with the people and recognized they needed "something" to believe in, so supported religion for others. The motto would be something that would sound good to the pious, but he would attach no Christian meaning to it whatsoever.

I've read Franklin's autobiography, Cal Van Doren's biography of Franklin, and am currently reading through the three-volume Lemay biography, and some of his collected essays and writings. He was a fascinating, creative, industrious and intelligent human being. His autobiography is informative and interesting to be sure, and you can easily find it online, although it doesn't cover the revolution.

If you're looking for books about the faith of the founders, I'm afraid you'll be sadly disappointed. The founders were not Christians that I can think of, even Adams became a Unitarian. Certainly Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, or Hamilton had no religion to speak of. Not sure about Madison.

 

[Jake]

I tend to agree with @Logan above, but you will find those who argue that the Founding Fathers were, well, Christian. These arguments tend to be strained but are popular in modern Evangelicalism. Peter Lilliback (President of Westminster Theological Seminary) has written several books on this topic, including George Washington's Sacred Fire.

 

[Logan]

"Founding Sins" is a good book, and our friend Daniel Ritchie even gets a mention in that book. It talks about the Covenanters and their attempts to get Jesus explicitly acknowledged in the constitution, as well as their anti-slavery stance.

 

[Seeking_Thy_Kingdom]

"Founding Sins" is a good book, and our friend Daniel Ritchie even gets a mention in that book. It talks about the Covenanters and their attempts to get Jesus explicitly acknowledged in the constitution, as well as their anti-slavery stance.

Thank you for reminding me! Founding Sins has been on my list of must reads for almost 2 years now, time to put the order in.