• Mission: An Informed Independence Day
• 50% off the New York Times #1 Best-Seller 1776
• 50% off the Best Patrick Henry Library in Print
• Special Offer Ends June 30

History is an antidote to the hubris of the present. We think we’re so terrific. We think we know so much. We think we have such genius. Well, think again. (David McCullough, quoted by Associated Press, May 29, 2005)

Dear Friends:

Once upon a time, when you were still a child, somebody told you a story about the nobility and courage of the men who waged the war for America’s independence. Perhaps you heard that they were Christian heroes of faith, principle, and character, or that they were able to accomplish the seemingly impossible because God was on their side.

But then you grew up. You went to high school and, after that, college. There you learned that the Founding Fathers were hypocrites, and that there was little difference between the American War for Independence and the French Revolution. Most of all, you learned that history is a collection of meaningless and unintelligible facts, that Christians are behind the majority of the world’s problems, and that, when it comes to historical interpretation, intelligence and cynicism are synonyms.

In the back of your mind, you hoped it was not true, but who were you to challenge the emperors of academia or to suggest that their philosophies were illusory?

Then, one day, a seventy-one-year-old boy with a Ph.D. and a simple love for our country let the world know that the emperors of the academy have no clothes. But he did it in the nicest way imaginable — he told a story ... a wonderful, compelling, beautiful story full of complexity, intrigue, and humanity. It is a story that concludes with the remarkable revelation that the greatest events in the history of the West were accomplished by a handful of home-educated, inexperienced, highly imperfect men who simply would not quit and who were blessed and preserved by what they described as “the hand of providence.”

That “boy” is David McCullough, and his book is 1776, currently ranked #1 on the New York Times best-seller list for hardcover non-fiction.

Mission: An Informed Independence Day

What will you say to your children this Independence Day? What stories will you tell? How will you interpret the events of the past to give hope to the present generation? With the Fourth of July approximately two weeks away, my goal with this e-mail is to help equip you with three tremendous tools: First, a book I have just hungrily devoured — David McCullough’s optimistic and grateful homage to the toughest year in American history: 1776. Second, the best library on our favorite Gospel-loving, tyranny-hating, evangelical Christian patriot: Mr. Patrick Henry. And finally, an apologetic tool designed to equip you and your children with answers to some of the great controversial questions in American history: Was there a biblical justification for the War for Independence? Were the Founding Fathers enlightenment deists? Were the Pilgrims genocidal murderers? What are the real lessons of the Salem Witch Trial? Etc.

Lessons from ‘1776’

In 1776, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with George Washington in the tumultuous year of our nation’s birth. It is the story of men with real shortcomings, but an indefatigable spirit of perseverance in the face of impossible odds who are the recipients of numerous unusual providences of God — without which all hope for independence would have been dashed, and the noble ideas of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper.

Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is a powerful drama written with extraordinary narrative vitality. It is the story of Americans in the ranks: men of every shape, size, and color — farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the King’s men, the British commander, William Howe, and his highly disciplined Redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known. But it is the American commander-in-chief who stands foremost — Washington, who had never before led an army in battle.

The book begins in London on October 26, 1775, when His Majesty King George III went before Parliament to declare America in rebellion and to affirm his resolve to crush it. From there the story moves to the Siege of Boston and its astonishing outcome, then to New York, where British ships and British troops appear in numbers never imagined, and the newly proclaimed Continental Army confronts the enemy for the first time. David McCullough’s vivid rendering of the Battle of Brooklyn and the daring American escape that followed is a part of the book few readers will ever forget. As the crucial weeks pass, defeat follows defeat, and in the long retreat across New Jersey, all hope seems gone, until Washington launches the “brilliant stroke” that will change history. The darkest hours of that tumultuous year were as dark as any Americans have known. Especially in our own tumultuous time, 1776 is powerful testimony to how much is owed to a rare few in that brave founding epoch, and what a miracle it was that things turned out as they did.

In 2002, as an advocate for a distinctively providential view of history, I offered praise and criticism for McCullough’s brilliant work, John Adams (click here to read the review). Those sentiments remain the same for 1776. In my view, however, 1776 offers the discerning Christian reader a broad range of rich insights into the significance of character and relationships in American history. For example, though McCullough repeatedly falls short of formally giving glory to God for what he acknowledges is a barrage of seemingly miraculous providences of God favoring the patriots, he repeatedly quotes the patriots acknowledging God and interpreting events accordingly.

Some of the insights I took away from 1776 included:

• Friendships are central to coalition-building
• Honorable young men can accomplish great things
• Perseverance and faith are more important than experience and brilliance
• Godly loyalty yields dividends
• Providence was on the side of the patriots

Of course, an obvious lesson of 1776 is that character matters. True, there were scoundrels and honorable men on both sides of the war, but not evenly distributed. A preponderance of the British military high command were adulterers who kept mistresses. A preponderance of the American high command were God-fearing men and faithful husbands.

McCullough’s Own Argument for ‘1776’

In a June 2005 interview with Bookreporter.com, McCullough stated:

Abigail Adams once wrote, “Posterity, who are to reap the blessings, will scarcely be able to conceive the hardships and sufferings of their ancestors.” Regrettably she was right. We have far too little appreciation for what her generation went through and how indebted we are to them, not because they were perfect, or superhuman, but because they were fellow human beings who didn’t know themselves what they were capable of until put to the test.... I think a lot of people will be surprised that at one point the fate of this country hung on the determination and physical stamina of just a few thousand men. We’re often told, and we know, that we’re living in a very difficult, dangerous and uncertain time. But that’s not a new experience in American life. Some have said, in the aftermath of 9/11, that this is the darkest, most perilous hour in our history. But we’ve been through worse and we’ve come through it. Further, we need to be reminded always of the ideas and ideals that this country was founded on, and never take our blessings for granted. Ingratitude is a shabby human failing. And to have no gratitude for what our forbearers went through would be a dreadful mark against us. We have a serious problem just now. We’re raising kids who are historically illiterate. The more we can make our history known, and the more we ourselves can know and understand who we are and how we got to where we are, the better off the country will be in the long run.

America’s Greatest Christian Patriot?

It is in vain, sir, to extentuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! (Patrick Henry)

Most people do not know that the single most famous public speaker in American history learned oratory sitting under the preaching ministry of Samuel Davies (leader in the Great Awakening), that he was virtually self-taught at home for most of his life, that he was the father of seventeen children, and that he was a passionate, Gospel-affirming advocate for Jesus Christ who declared to his family that he would rather be known as a Christian than anything else. Most people do not know these facts, because the legacy of Patrick Henry, the “trumpet of the revolution,” has been all but obscured to modern students. This, despite the fact that the life of Patrick Henry the Christian and the cause of the War for Independence are intertwined.

Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry

Vision Forum is pleased to offer a one-time special on Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence, and Speeches. Through a special arrangement, Vision Forum was able to obtain the last remaining sets in stock of this complete work for a special one-time offering. Professionally reproduced from the original manuscript written by Henry’s grandson William Wirt Henry, Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence, and Speeches is well known for its animated style, providing insight into Patrick Henry’s life and oratory. The work re-creates many of Henry’s previously unrecorded speeches, and it is from this work that we know the famous “Give Me Liberty” speech. Volumes 1 and 2 comprise the biography of his life, while volume 3 contains his correspondence and speeches. Transcribed in these volumes are Henry’s actual correspondence from the likes of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, the Marquis de La Fayette, Richard Henry Lee, and many, many others. This is a scholarly work for the truly serious student, with rich, accurate history. A three-volume set bound in matching hardback covers, smythe-sewn, and professionally reproduced. 1,984 total pgs.

Christian Controversies in American History

Many Christians will boldly proclaim their appreciation for the faith of our American spiritual fathers and the hand of God in our history, but when confronted by skeptics and humanists, the same Christians will sheepishly retreat, unable to answer the most basic questions concerning our nation’s past. How can we defend our liberty if we are ignorant of its origins and unable to refute the theologically flimsy and historically dishonest arguments of those who would minimize our Christian heritage? Enter the Vision Forum Christian Controversies in American History Collection — five recordings (60-90 minutes each) addressing some of the most hotly debated topics in our history from a biblical and scholarly perspective. Presented by Christian historians, experts in their fields, message titles included in the set are: Pilgrims vs. Indians (Doug Phillips), Puritans vs. Witches (Dr. Paul Jehle), Patriots vs. Tories (Dr. Joseph Morecraft III), Christians vs. Deist (Dr. Joseph Morecraft III), and Yankees vs. Rebels (William Potter). 5 CDs.

Save 50% on the Liberty or Death Collection

For ten days only, today through June 30, we are making the complete Liberty or Death Collection available for $99 — over 50% off the regular retail value of $202. This collection includes the Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence, and Speeches, David McCullough’s new best-seller 1776, and Vision Forum’s Christian Controversies in American History collection on CD. This is a limited availability offer. Sale prices end at midnight, June 30 (CDT), or while supplies last.

Click here for more information or to purchase online.

	The Biblical Family Now and Forever,
	Doug Phillips President, The Vision Forum, Inc.