The National “Tradition” of Belief in Jesus Christ

This is the final installment in a brief trilogy that has given thought to the American tradition of allowing religion a prominent place in the public square. There is a sense of incongruity in the order in which these three articles have been published. This is the case because the person (Jesus Christ), the object of belief referenced in the above title of this article, provided the initial motivation for the writing of this brief series. Specifically, this motivation rose from the wonder and awe of Jesus Christ implied in the last stanza of the great American hymn of hymns, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” sung acapella by the United States Armed Forces Chorus July 4, 2019, at Washington, D. C. As stated in the opening article in this series, this musical performance was breathtaking. The final stanza of “The Battle Hymn” reads as follows:

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea:
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me:
As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free.
While God is marching on.

   There is the sense in which belief in God (cf. Warren Center News July/August 2019) and belief in the Bible (cf. Warren Center News September/October 2019) are prior to belief in Jesus Christ. Such is the case because if God does not exist, then Jesus Christ is not the Son of God. Furthermore, if the Bible is not the word of God, then Jesus Christ is not the Son of God. The fact is the case for Christ, ultimately, must be made from the Bible. The integrity of the case for the incarnated word (Jesus Christ) rests upon the integrity of the case for the inscripturated word (the Bible). However, there is also a sense in which the biblical presentation of Jesus Christ itself is proof that (1) God exists, and (2) the Bible is the word of God (cf. 1 Peter 1:21; 2 Peter 1:16-21). This is the case because the biblical presentation of Jesus Christ is beyond human invention. Thomas B. Warren argued in this fashion as seen in the following: “We can know that the New Testament possesses [the] property . . . that Jesus was beyond mere human invention. . . . Jesus Christ is the greatest person this world has ever known. Not only is he great, he is so great that he is beyond human invention. He could not have simply been ‘thought up.’ You cannot invent anybody who can even compare with him” (The Warren-Barnhart Debate 96).

   America’s national tradition of belief in Jesus Christ is demonstrated in His influence through the power of the literary. Numerous are the leaders who could be cited as proof. Ronald Reagan, 40th president of the United States, held the position that there is no problem unable to be solved if we “simply followed the teachings of the man from Galilee,” and the answer to “each and every problem” is found in the “. . . words of Jesus of Nazareth” (Kengor, God and Ronald Reagan 121). Preceding Reagan, in similar fashion, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “[I]f men and nations would rule themselves according to the plain teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, every problem would find a solution” (Christian Herald, Sept. 1937, 37).

   In June 1783, George Washington wrote his letter of farewell to the army. In it he identifies ideas on which the new republic was built. He speaks of learning, commerce, refinement of manners, as well as other foundational principles. However, Washington says “above all” there was “the pure and benign light of Revelation.” In his 2019 book, Reason, Faith, and the Struggle for Western Civilization, Samuel Gregg identifies Washington’s “invocation of the pure and benign light of Revelation” as set in the context of “clearly a reference to the Jewish and Christian scriptures” (102). Dating back to the earliest times of the American Republic, here is the father of the nation linking the beginnings of the national traditions of belief in God, the Bible, and Jesus Christ. Here one sees what (to quote Washington) is “above all” else “the foundation of our Empire.” Washington’s “light of Revelation” asks: “[I]f the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3).

Charles C. Pugh III
Executive Director

See also:
- The National “Tradition” of Belief in God
- The National “Tradition” of Belief in the Bible