Virtue and the Virus

On August 20, 1775, George Washington wrote a letter to Major General Philip Schuyler. Two months earlier Washington had been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army by the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia. In addition to the details of military strategy included in his letter, Washington included these words: “I am sure you will not let difficulties damp your ardour. Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages” (founders.archives.gov).

   This statement from the man whom the late Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, called “the greatest American of them all” implies qualities needed for such a time as this. Perseverance and spirit have done wonders throughout the ages and certainly throughout the history of America. This is a different time, with different details, but it remains a time for the qualities of perseverance and spirit to work wonders again.

   True wisdom (cf. Proverbs 1:7) knows there is also something far more basic to America’s foundation than platitudes, or even these qualities of perseverance and the spirit of true grit. To overcome crises such as we are facing from a deadly destructive pandemic virus is going to take much more than overused platitudes, mere human words, and phrases that have little substance except in the passing fashion of current culture. Let’s be assured there are words that provide comfort and strength (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). However, such are not mere human words. We need power beyond our own strength. By the millions, we show our weakness and limitations evidenced by the fact we are vulnerable to a tiny, unseen virus.

   I am at this point reminded of a high school graduation speech delivered by the aforementioned Supreme Court Justice in 1988. He was talking about the tendency of public speakers, especially at graduations, to overuse platitudes. One such platitude he referenced was “We face unprecedented challenges.” Scalia explained:

The challenges faced by societies at different times take different forms . . . but in substance they are always the same: (1) the forces of nature (how to ensure a continuing supply of food, fuel, shelter, and clothing); and (2) the forces of man (how to get along with one another or defend against those we cannot get along with).
. . [D]o not believe that you face unprecedented challenges. Much closer to the truth is a different platitude: There is nothing new under the sun [cf. Ecclesiastes 1:9]. (98-99)

   Certainly it is the case that there is the sense in which challenges differ from one period to another. The details concerning the form in which the challenges of life confront humanity, as Scalia argued, differ from time to time and place to place. However, challenges do have precedents concerning such things as ravaging disease, epidemics, pandemics, extreme losses of life and possessions, sorrow, bereavement, fear, worry, anxiety, disappointment, discouragement, despair, death, et al.

   Benjamin Rush (1745-1813), according to distinguished American historian David McCullough, was “the most famous American doctor of his time” (45). Rush was “ahead of his time. . . . [H]e insisted on better sanitation and hygiene among the troops . . . as a way to check the spread of disease” (47). He is venerated as a signer of The Declaration of Independence, but he also was a leading physician in the battle against the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, which saw 5,000 die between August and November. Thousands fled the city in terror, but Rush remained and ministered to “the sick and dying, without letup, with little or no sleep, seeing as many as a hundred patients a day . . . until he, too, took ill and collapsed” (48).

Benjamin Rush was a powerful voice among America’s Founders addressing the essentiality of religion in order for a society to maintain virtue. In his Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers, American Founding Scholar, Daniel Dreisbach, writes, “The notion that religion and morality are indispensable to civic virtue . . . was commonplace in the literature of the founding” (268). Dreisbach offers numerous statements uncovered from his thorough research that evidence the preceding conclusion. He includes the following from Dr. Rush: “The only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in RELIGION. Without this, there can be no virtue, and without virtue, there can be no liberty. . . . [T]he religion I mean to recommend in this place, is the religion of Jesus Christ. . .” (269).

   Dreisbach’s fascinating book, which is recommended as a great read during this time of being homebound because of the virus, demonstrates how powerfully the Bible influenced the writings, speeches, and ideas of the Founders. Calling physician David Ramsay, who was a delegate to the Continental Congress, “the first major historian of the American Revolution,” Dreisbach summarizes the basic argument of the Founders from the words of this physician-historian: “Remember that there can be no political happiness without liberty . . . there can be no liberty without morality, . . there can be no morality without religion” (268). These words were written six years before Washington wrote his eloquent Farewell Address dated September 19, 1796. Some call this Washington’s greatest piece of writing. In the address he called religion and morality the indispensable supports of political prosperity. He argued that morality cannot prevail in any society without religious principle (cf. Proverbs 29:18).

   Twenty years prior to Washington’s affirmation of religious faith as a crucial constituent element in virtue, social order, and political prosperity, John Adams had declared, “. . . [I]t is religion and morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue” (qtd. in Dreisbach 268).

   True liberty in a republic, such as America, requires virtue in the individual lives of its citizens. This is absolutely essential. It is logical and practical in order for freedom to be sustained. However, virtue cannot be sustained without religious faith (i.e. God). Civil government cannot require religious faith. The republic is not a theocracy. Civil government can and must protect the religious freedom that encourages the virtue necessary for liberty to be sustained in a free society. When civil government protects religious freedom it is encouraging the contrition, civility, compassion, comfort, and cooperation that will be practiced by people of God when they are confronted by challenges that threaten to overcome. Whether in the aisles of the local grocery store or in the Halls of Congress, people who truly understand the implications of liberty will be a virtuous people.

   Virtuous people, in the true sense, if they are sound intellectually and socially, will be a people of faith in God. They recognize the implications of their responsibility to both God and man that are intrinsic to freedom. These are moral absolutes. No Coronavirus or any other challenge will ever overcome, in the ultimate sense, a people who maintain true faith in God. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). There is the sense in which the basic foundational need of every responsible human being is virtue (moral courage). And, virtue has its foundation in God.

 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

   A portion of the above biblical text was quoted by President Ronald Reagan as he neared the end of what has become known as his “Evil Empire” speech (an allusion to Reagan’s strong stand against atheistic communism) delivered March 8, 1983, in Orlando, FL. Early in his remarks, Reagan thanked the audience for their prayers and expressed that he understood how Abraham Lincoln felt when he said he had been driven many times to his knees by the overwhelming conviction he had nowhere else to go. Respectfully, we are grateful that President Trump issued a proclamation for a national day of prayer on a recent Sunday. Americans need to be continuing urgently in prayer at this time (cf. Luke 18:1-8). “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12).

   I think of the following words from my departed friend, the late and lamented Johnny Ramsey:

One of the fullest verses in the Old Testament is that found in Psalm 62:8. . . . “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.”
  We need these principles in our lives today. Our trust in the Creator will cause us to pour out our hearts to Him. . . . The reality of Christianity is never more beautiful than in the hour of tribulation when one proclaims, “Oh Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the Earth!”
. . . The emphasis of the Hebrew language in Psalm 62:8 simply means to commit yourself wholly to God! The phrase under discussion includes prayer and spontaneous praise flowing from the created to the Creator. The natural response of the spiritual life whether in sadness or joy, is to let the Father in Heaven know (James 5:13-18). He knows; He cares; He blesses. Isn’t it thrilling to hear someone just talk with God when his heart is on fire with love for eternal verities? . . . We desperately need more fervent communion with our Maker in prayer. In sorrow and sickness, in pain and bereavement, in success, happiness and victory—He is our refuge, our solace, our balm, our strength! “Pour out your heart to God.”

   As President Reagan concluded the aforementioned speech he said, “The real crisis we face is a spiritual one; at root it is a test of moral will and faith.”

  The crisis we face today in the form of a deadly virus is much more than a challenge to have perseverance and spirit. It is this, but it is more. As in all of life’s challenges, what we are facing is the continuing challenge to be a virtuous people—a people of God.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:6-11)

 Charles C. Pugh III
Executive Director

Works Cited:

Dreisbach, Daniel L. Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers. Oxford/New York: Oxford UP, 2017.

McCullough, David. The American Spirit. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2017.

Reagan, Ronald. “Evil Empire Speech.” Voices of Democracy.UMD.edu. n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2020.

Scalia, Antonin. Scalia Speaks. New York: CrownForum, 2017.