Overview

Historians have debated how the clergy's support for political resistance during the American Revolution should be understood, often looking to influence outside of the clergy's tradition. This book argues, however, that the position of the patriot clergy was in continuity with a long-standing tradition of Protestant resistance. Drawing from a wide range of sources, Justifying Revolution: The American Clergy's Argument for Political Resistance, 1750-1776 answers the question of why so many American clergyman found it morally and ethically right to support resistance to British political authority by exploring the theological background and rich Protestant history available to the American clergy as they considered political resistance and wrestled with the best course of action for them and their congregations. Gary L. Steward argues that, rather than deviating from their inherited modes of thought, the clergy who supported resistance did so in ways that were consistent with their own theological tradition.

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9780197565353

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Reviews

Steward gets kudos for engaging in a lot of research and arguably for making the case as well as it can be made. * Gregg Frazer, The Master's University, Santa Clarita, California, USA, Evangelical Quarterly * This book is highly recommended to any who are interested in the role of religion in the American Revolution. * Suzanne Geissler, William paterson Universitv, Anglican and Episcopal History * ustifying Revolution is a deeply researched volume that specialists in the American Revolution will find well worth reading. * Phillip Hamilton, Church History * Justifying Revolution is a valuable addition to the literature on American history and church history alike. Academic historians and casual history buffs will all learn new things. And pastors grappling with age-old questions about how far duties are owed to the government can read this book with profit too, as an introduction to an important line of Reformed thought about the duties owed by the citizen to the civil government. * Lael Weinberger, Themelios * Justifying Revolution makes a compelling case that pious Americans appropriated a resistance theology, with roots in the Protestant Reformation, to provide biblical support for their resistance to British colonial rule. This illuminating study of the religious controversies that contributed to the American Revolution and the arguments patriot preachers used to justify the fight for independence casts much needed light on the profound, yet often ignored, influence of Protestant thought on the Revolution. * Daniel L. Dreisbach, author of Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers * Students of the American founding have long recognized that ministers played an important role in advocating for independence. But far too many scholars contend that they did so because they had embraced radical political ideas that are at odds with the Bible and orthodox Christianity. Justifying Revolution is an excellent contribution to a growing body of literature arguing that the patriot clergy were in fact drawing from a long tradition of Protestant political reflection. Highly recommended. * Mark David Hall, Herbert Hoover Distinguished Professor of Politics, George Fox University * Gary L. Steward's Justifying Revolution represents an important intervention in the rich literature on religion, republicanism, and the American Revolution. Steward persuasively argues that Patriot clergy were not advancing novel arguments for resistance based on heterodox intellectual influences. Instead, they were drawing on a deep Protestant tradition of resistance against unjust political power. * Thomas S. Kidd, Vardaman Distinguished Professor of History, Baylor University *

Gary L. Steward's Justifying Revolution represents an important intervention in the rich literature on religion, republicanism, and the American Revolution. Steward persuasively argues that Patriot clergy were not advancing novel arguments for resistance based on heterodox intellectual influences. Instead, they were drawing on a deep Protestant tradition of resistance against unjust political power. * Thomas S. Kidd, Vardaman Distinguished Professor of History, Baylor University * Students of the American founding have long recognized that ministers played an important role in advocating for independence. But far too many scholars contend that they did so because they had embraced radical political ideas that are at odds with the Bible and orthodox Christianity. Justifying Revolution is an excellent contribution to a growing body of literature arguing that the patriot clergy were in fact drawing from a long tradition of Protestant political reflection. Highly recommended. * Mark David Hall, Herbert Hoover Distinguished Professor of Politics, George Fox University * Justifying Revolution makes a compelling case that pious Americans appropriated a resistance theology, with roots in the Protestant Reformation, to provide biblical support for their resistance to British colonial rule. This illuminating study of the religious controversies that contributed to the American Revolution and the arguments patriot preachers used to justify the fight for independence casts much needed light on the profound, yet often ignored, influence of Protestant thought on the Revolution. * Daniel L. Dreisbach, author of Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers *

Author Information

Gary L. Steward is Assistant Professor of History at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colorado. He received a BA in history from South Dakota State University, an MDiv from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and a ThM in historical theology from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He earned a PhD from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Church History and Historical Theology, focusing on American religious history. He previously served as the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, and currently lives in Arvada, Colorado with his wife and three kids.

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