July 4th -- Happy "Presbyterian Rebellion" Day!

Calvinism in America ^ | 1932 | Loraine Boettner

[Christian_Capitalist]

Happy Presbyterian Rebellion Day!!

[gusopol3]

No mention of Witherspoon ?

[gusopol3]

oops; I missed it :”When the news of “these extraordinary proceedings” reached England, Prime Minister Horace Walpole said in Parliament, “Cousin America has run off with a Presbyterian parson” (John Witherspoon, president of Princeton, signer of Declaration of Independence).”

[Christian_Capitalist]

Yep. Horace Walpole’s full quote was, “There no use crying about it — Cousin America has run off with a Presbyterian parson, and that is the end of it.”

[Christian_Capitalist]

Yep. Horace Walpole’s full quote was, “There’s no use crying about it — Cousin America has run off with a Presbyterian parson, and that is the end of it.”

[SeeSharp]

Though certainly Calvinist, most of the New England Puritans were Congregationalists, not Presbyterians. Furthermore, there was a profound ideological difference between the Calvinism of New England and that of the middle and southern colonies in that Puritan Congregationalism was deeply platonistic.

[Christian_Capitalist]

I think that Boettner's focusing more on the denomination which did most of the fighting and dying for American liberty, that being the Presbyterians.

So intense, universal, and aggressive were the Presbyterians in their zeal for liberty that the war was spoken of in England as "The Presbyterian Rebellion." An ardent colonial supporter of King George III wrote home: "I fix all the blame for these extraordinary proceedings upon the Presbyterians. They have been the chief and principal instruments in all these flaming measures. They always do and ever will act against government from that restless and turbulent anti-monarchial spirit which has always distinguished them everywhere." When the news of "these extraordinary proceedings" reached England, Prime Minister Horace Walpole said in Parliament, "Cousin America has run off with a Presbyterian parson" (John Witherspoon, president of Princeton, signer of Declaration of Independence).

J. R. Sizoo tells us: "When Cornwallis was driven back to ultimate retreat and surrender at Yorktown, all of the colonels of the Colonial Army but one were Presbyterian elders. More than one-half of all the soldiers and officers of the American Army during the Revolution were Presbyterians."

No doubt the Congregationalists helped; but in the main, it was a "Presbyterian Rebellion".

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Great thread, C_C. Bookmarked!

"Whatever the cause, the Calvinists were the only fighting Protestants. It was they whose faith gave them courage to stand up for the Reformation. In England, Scotland, France, Holland, they,... did the work, and but for them the Reformation would have been crushed... If it had not been for Calvinists,... and whatever you like to call them, the Pope and Philip would have won, and we should either be Papists or Socialists." ~ Sir John Skelton

As with the Reformation, so with the Revolution. No king but Christ!

Happy fireworks, saints!

[omega4412]

No doubt the Congregationalists helped...

Helped? The Boston Tea Party. Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, the evacuation of Boston...

As the hymn goes,

Let tyrants Shake their Iron rod
And slav'ry Clank her galling Chains
we fear them not we trust in God
New England's God for ever reigns

[Persevero]

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty!

I love Loraine Boettner. Tempted to name my son Loraine. I am afraid he would have hated me forever, though.

[Persevero]

True, Penn was hardly a Presbyterian, either. Calvinists are not necessarily Presbyterians (more’s the pity :) )

[hellbender]

Obviously the American Revolution did not spring out of nothing. Even a minimal study of history shows that it had precedents in Britain, where Puritans (Calvinists) had overthrown the king and established a republic over a century before the American Revolution. Some of the leaders of the English republic, like Algernon Sidney, had great influence on the Founders of our own Republic. Unfortunately, most Americans today are neither knowledgeable Calvinists nor republicans, and the Left is dedicated to populating the U.S. with people who haven’t the slightest allegiance to Reformation or republican ideals.

[Christian_Capitalist]

Well, like I said, they certainly helped! Wasn’t denying that, honest...

[Christian_Capitalist]

Thanks for your #12, good post.

[NoLibZone]

Who were the Catholic Founders ?

Where there many?

Or just Protestants?

[Christian_Capitalist]

I think that there were a few Catholics; but mainly it was Calvinists in general, and Presbyterians in particular.

[MondoQueen]

I think the Pilgrims were Congregationalist.
The Puritans who settled in Boston about l0 years after the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth had a different view of organized religion, and I believe they brought with them the Presbyterian Church.

Correct me if I’m wrong.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

I love Loraine Boettner. Tempted to name my son Loraine. I am afraid he would have hated me forever, though.

Our son says he's going to name his first son "Calvin."

(I agree about Loraine. Life is difficult enought without losing permanent teeth in grade school.)

[Alex Murphy]

Our own historian Bancroft says: "The Revolution of 1776, so far as it was affected by religion, was a Presbyterian measure. It was the natural outgrowth of the principles which the Presbyterianism of the Old World planted in her sons, the English Puritans, the Scotch Covenanters, the French Huguenots, the Dutch Calvinists, and the Presbyterians of Ulster." So intense, universal, and aggressive were the Presbyterians in their zeal for liberty that the war was spoken of in England as "The Presbyterian Rebellion." An ardent colonial supporter of King George III wrote home: "I fix all the blame for these extraordinary proceedings upon the Presbyterians. They have been the chief and principal instruments in all these flaming measures. They always do and ever will act against government from that restless and turbulent anti-monarchial spirit which has always distinguished them everywhere." When the news of "these extraordinary proceedings" reached England, Prime Minister Horace Walpole said in Parliament, "Cousin America has run off with a Presbyterian parson" (John Witherspoon, president of Princeton, signer of Declaration of Independence).

Happy Presbyterian Rebellion Day!!

And to you, Christian_Capitalist!

[BereanBrain]

I read somewhere a breakdown between Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians that were the founding fathers.

Note even close. Baptists over 90%.

Don’t try to claim Calvanism was the founding force it was Protestantism.