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Many myths surround George Washington's boyhood and presidency, including the young Virginian's famed confession of chopping down a cherry tree and his infamous wooden teeth.
Neither tales are true, according to historians at Mount Vernon, Washington's estate near Alexandria.
Washington's religious beliefs are more disputed, and were the subject of a lecture this week at Mount Vernon by the Rev. Peter A. Lillback, who argues that Washington was a devout Christian.
Lillback, president of Westminster Theological Seminary in Glenside, Pa., wrote "George Washington's Sacred Fire," in which he disputes claims of the first president's Deist beliefs and presents evidence of Christian values in Washington's speeches and writings.
Historians mistakenly have characterized Washington, like many of his co-revolutionaries, as a Deist who believed that God created the universe but thereafter disassociated himself from his creation, according to Lillback, who serves as senior pastor at Proclamation Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr, Pa.
Lillback cited Christian symbols at Mount Vernon, such as a bird with an olive branch, a biblical symbol of peace.
Washington's tombstone, Lillback said, is inscribed with a passage from John 11:25-26: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
Washington identified himself as a Christian in personal letters, writing, "On my honor as a Christian," Lillback said.
In his first inaugural address as president, Washington spoke of "America's duty to honor God" and "the sacred fire of liberty in the hands of the people," said Lillback, president of the nonprofit Providence Forum, whose mission is to promote a Judeo-Christian worldview in American culture.
Lillback stressed Washington's choice of a sacred versus secular view of liberty.
"Washington is the embodiment of the Constitution," he said to the audience of about 150 people. "The Constitution is faith-friendly."
Phil Chase, senior editor of the Papers of George Washington at the University of Virginia, said Washington did not explain his religious beliefs in great detail, although it's clear from his writings that Washington did consider himself a Christian.
Over the past 35 years, historians with the Papers of George Washington have published 55 volumes of Washington's journals, letters written and letters received, Chase said. Officials expect a total of 90 volumes upon completion of the project, he said.
"Washington definitely believed that divine providence intervenes in daily affairs," Chase said, adding that there's little evidence in Washington's writings to support the argument that he was a Deist.
There's also little evidence to support the theory that Washington was a very devout Christian, Chase said.
Washington seldom wrote the words "God" or "Jesus Christ." As president, he purposefully attended services at churches of different Christian denominations to illustrate his support of religious liberty, Chase said.
Washington wrote in a 1785 letter, "No man's sentiments are more opposed to any kind of restrain upon religious principles than mine are," Chase said.
Washington attended an Anglican church with his family, and often would leave after taking Communion before the end of the service. He seldom knelt in prayer, Chase said.
Lillback, who based his research on 37 volumes of Washington's writings, refuted common arguments against Washington's Christianity.
"Washington avoided the name of Jesus Christ not because he didn't believe, but because he knew it was a term of great reverence," Lillback said.
Instead, Washington would refer to Jesus as "the divine author of our blessed religion," Lillback said.
Washington owned slaves, but decided to free them in his will.
"He regretted that he owned slaves," Lillback said. "In his lifetime he realized, 'How can I have slaves if I don't want to be a slave to the king?' He was the vanguard of doing the right thing."
Lillback also acknowledged that Washington had "a strong emotional attachment" to family friend Sally Fairfax, but said there's no evidence of further impropriety.
"To prove a person is a Christian doesn't mean they can't sin," Lillback said.
To reach NATASHA ALTAMIRANO:
Email: naltamirano@freelancestar.com
