Reasons That Support The American Revolution As A Historical Event

The majority of Americans have never questioned and may never question if the American Revolution was a biblical event. Yet it is important to evaluate events in America’s past, rather than unconsciously accepting their appearance. After listening to the podcast by Dr. Smith and reading the essay on the revolution, the evidence points to the American Revolution as an event that was not biblical. As uncomfortable and strange as that may sound, the Bible simply does not validate it. The founding fathers were certainly trying to make America a better place, but they used more human reasoning than godly reasoning. A main argument used by those that support the American Revolution as a biblical event is that the war was purely self defense. Troops
Smith used scripture and historical verities to take a different stance. Britain only sent troops to America because the colonists were creating an uprising and misbehaving. The colonists were not truly defending their lives because the British did not kill many. For example, in the Boston Massacre, only five colonists were killed. Not to downplay the tragedy, but the colonists were the ones who started the dispute. They were angry about the soldiers’ occupation of their city, so they were actually defending liberty. In scripture, defense is only for the protection of life, family, and personal property. On the topics of reasons for war, many believe that it was a religious war. The Bible contains multiple examples of people being praised for disobeying the governing authorities. Daniel is a good example of this. He directly disobeyed the king by praying three times a day when he was given strict orders to pray only to King Darius. Yet he is still considered a hero of the Bible and regarded very highly. In fact, it is even thought that Hebrews 11:33, a verse in the Hebrews Hall of Faith, is a reference to Daniel’s experience in the lion’s den. Daniel was obviously in tune with
The key to understanding the disobedience is that it is only justified when the authorities restrict them from doing what they must do for Christ’s sake. Dr. Smith makes it clear that it was not a religious war because the colonists were free to practice their religion. If this were not the case, there would have been some grounds for rebellion. The only biblical reason to disobey government is because they are requiring one to sin. In the American Revolution, Britain was being unjust in taxes and other areas, but still not requiring the colonists to sin. From a human standpoint, the rebellion seems justified, but it doesn’t line up with the Bible. Jefferson, Locke, and the author of The American Revolution article all address the question of government’s purpose. They say government is put in place to secure citizens’ rights of life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. If the authorities fail to do this, they believed it was justified to rebel. This seems reasonable using human reasoning and feelings of entitlement to