The fundamental theme of the Faith and Freedom Tour is the unusual providence of God in American history. To examine this theme, we will be tracing not only theological trends and philosophical movements in American history, but examining the art, architecture, painting, family life, and law of the nation as cultural reflections of the eclectic worldview influences on American history.

Last week’s mission to the Colonial Middle States in preparation for the 2005 Faith and Freedom Tour brought us to some truly picturesque locations. The image above is of Elfreth’s Street in Philadelphia, which claims to be the oldest continuously occupied street in America. Named after the village blacksmith, and first built in 1713, it is a charming example of colonial and federal style architecture.

A few blocks away from Elfreth’s Street is the ancient colonial tavern where patriots met to plan that great act of covenant enforcement called the American War for Independence. I snapped this shot of the room where Faith and Freedom Tour participants will enjoy a meal, fellowship, and some historic tunes.

Before Starbucks became a ubiquitous feature in the American landscape, Philadelphians gathered on this location on the site one of our nation’s first and most significant coffee houses. Philadelphians came to barter, negotiate, attend auctions, debate politics, read newspapers, or grab a snack meal they called an “ordinary.” By the presidency of Andrew Jackson, Americans were experiencing an economic boom with Philadelphia emerging as the new national center for business, complete with a burgeoning number of wealthy industrialists. These industrialists became the social and business aristocracy of the city and commissioned a building to serve as an exchange for merchants. They commissioned a rising local architect called William Strickland who had designed the steeple on Independence Hall, the U.S. Naval Asylum, and the U.S. Mint. The building is pleasing to the eye, but because of its eclectic influences is among the most unusual in Philadelphia. In 1832, Solicitor John Kane looked 150 years into the future and declared, “the building which we have founded shall stand among the relics of antiquities, another memorial to posterity of the skill of its architect — and proof of the liberal spirit, and cultivated taste, which, in our days, distinguish the mercantile community.” For the record — the building is abandoned, empty, and inaccessible to the public today.

I shot this in front of the First Bank of the United States, the site of America’s initial foray into usurpatious and constitutionally questionable manipulation of the monetary system. First conceived by Alexander Hamilton as a means of paying the war debt and creating a unified national currency, the bank’s charter was abandoned in 1811 when Congress voted to set it aside. The Bank was originally housed in Carpenter’s Hall from 1791-1795 but was replaced by this structure and given a distinctively Greek design by the Federalists who wanted to compare their efforts to the splendor of ancient Hellenistic civilization.

Eighteenth century Americans were far from perfect, but the generation which gave us the American experiment in liberty emerged in a culture that largely respected and encouraged biblical principles of patriarchy (multi-generational vision, honor first to God and then to mothers and fathers, father-directed leadership of the home, male leadership in the church the state and the home, men as defenders of women and children, etc.), and enjoyed the influence of generations of Reformation thinking on law and culture. This carpenter’s guild seal placed in the floor of Carpenter’s Hall in the 1770s reflects the Christian notion that the biblical doctrine of work points first and foremost to our dominion duties as servants who must “honor God.”

Joshua Phillips stands in front of Constitution Hall, holding an American Federal Reserve note which bears the image of the great building. Note the time on the clock.

This grave marker for a woman named Charlotte is located near the final burying spot of Benjamin Franklin, and just a few blocks from Constitution Hall. Under the markers of this graveyard are some unusual catacomb-ish tombs, each with their own passageways to underground family burial sepulchers.