Francis a. Mcani professor from notre dame. Hes the author of many books including god and race, a short history, published in 2008. The civil war as a theological crisis, 2006. And americas god from Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln which appeared in 2002. Recent essays are treatment of the bible in candidate, the 300th anniversary celebrations of the King James Version of the bible and catholic uses of scripture in 19th century america. Today he will be speaking on his new book which is available outside after our seminar. In the beginning was the word, the bible in American Public life, 1492 to 1783. Mark noll. Thanks for the opportunity of being here, and thanks especially to the Woodrow Wilson center, the american association, the National History seminar, its a pleasure to be in washington on a warm winter day. Images you have on the screen is is of the first english language complete english language bible published in north america. Once the break had been made with britain where the monopoly for publishing the King James David had been held by the printers, there was the opportunity to publish in english the bible and now the new United States of america. What will be indicative of the history im going to talk about today is the procedure that led to the printing of this bible. Robert aiken petitioned congress for permission to publish the bible. The Continental Congress men didnt know what to do in response to that petition, but they did authorize two clergymen to check the proof sheet to make sure that aikens bible was a completely certified and a good representation of what had come from britain. That was a moment looking to the past, looking to the future was something quite different. During the era of the American Revolution, the bible became a nearly indispensable resource for almost everyone who wanted to venture any kind of an opinion on the great controversies of the day. So it was in 1765 when john adams published the dissertation on the canon and feudal law. He talked about the priests who abuse their power throughout history and as he did that, he drew on a biblical vocabulary long known to protestants to explain this tendency to power to aggrandize. He said it personified the man of sin. The whore of babylon and the inequities. A few years later on march 23, 1775, Patrick Henry riveted the delegates who gathered as they considered whether to join massachusetts in the fight against parliament. In his speech, memorably concluded give me liberty or give me death included at least ten distinct bible echos in the 20 clipped sentences that eclipsed the final declaration. Tom paynes influential tract common sense said that the problem with british rule was not simply mistakes of parliament, but the very principle of governance by a king. At the heart of paynes argument was his exposition of first samuel chapter 8 with the lord god and these prophet samuel had chastised for asking by a king like the nations around him. The heart of his argument as the scholars have shown quite rec t recently convinced many that scripture can be posed against rule. Rebuttals followed. William smith an anglican wrote about paynes argument from first samuel. There never was a greater perversion of scripture. Charles english from new york city, and later the first anglican bishop of nova scotia said i would have to renounce my bible if i were to believe this republican. In 1776, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were asked to propose images for the official seal of the new nation coming into existence. As everyone here knows, neither franklin or jefferson could be considered orthodox paragons. They were not highly regarded by the religious establishment of their day. Yet, their proposal for the official seal of the new United States depicted the israelites safe crossing of the red sea guided by a pillar of cloud and fire as described in the book of exodus. After the revolution, there was a same kind of memorializing what had taken place. Mercy otis warren in verse described britains commercial empire as a pharaoh who plagued israels race and taxed them by a law. Demanding brick when destitute of new law. The era influenced the history of the bible and indeed to this present day, but the book itself is devoted to showing a much longer history going back to the start of the protestant reformation and that led to what happened in the revolutionary era. For almost all of colonial history and in colonial america, its imperative to view what happened in two angles. It was a british story and it was a protestant story. Keeping these two angles in view, im able to speak today about three carry away points from the book. First, concerning the strong connection between private religion and public life, second concerning the thoroughly political role that scripture played in colonial society. And then, concerning the intriguing instances when scripture escaped the direct force of political pressure. Colonial American History was protestant because almost all colonists who had all influence were selfconscious decendants who saw it as an important authority for every aspect of life in the world. And actually, in chronological terms, the bible in American History begins with catholics. In the 1490s, Christopher Columbus put together a large compendium of mostly religious research, some from the pa trystic period aimed at showing isabel what and ferdinand that he was gods person for the new world. His expertise was considerable. He looked like a puritan except he took his cues from medieval catholics rather than what would come from the later periods. And those who spoke favorably of the native americans did the same thing. Looking at the scriptures at length to defend his positions in opposition to much of the Spanish Colonial activity with native americans. The first archbishop of mexico also had a plan for translating the bible into native languages. A plan that had gone some distance before in the middle decades of the 16th century the spread of protestant attachment tightened the dissemination of the language of the bible in vernacular languages. So by the time the settlements began in north america, catholic use of scripture is present, but highly contained in the institutional hierarchies of the church and its a protestant story. Protestant character of early American History leads me to the first carry away point. The bible plays a very large role in American Public life, but only because its so consistently and constantly shaped the private lives of many, many individuals. With this connection in mind, its obvious why Martin Luther should be regarded as a hugely important figure in American History. He energized a form of christianity in which the individuals attention to words from scripture became a literal matter of life and death and thereby he said a pattern with great influence wherever protestantism was spread. This is Columbus Book of excerpts know translated. Here is an older and a younger Martin Luther. As an old man, writing in the early 1540s, luther detailed the religious break through that occurred in his life 30 years before. He reported that he had been perplexed, confused and driven almost to despair by one phrase from the first chapter of pauls epistle to the romans. That phrase was in it, in the gospel t righteousness of god is revealed. Luther was transfixed by the text because he took it to be an authoritative description of how far short sinful human beings fell from gods perfect standard of righteousness. Hence came luthers anguish statement that i hated that word righteousness of god. But then luther reported that he experienced the mercy of god, which overturned his previous understanding of this one particular biblical passage. Now he saw that the gospel meant god giving his righteousness to needy centers of the gift. So as luther wrote, here i felt i was altogether born again and i had entered paradise through open gates. Then came the sentences that made luthers experience paradig mattic including the history of the american colonies. He wrote, there are totally other face of the entire scripture showed itself to me. Thereupon i ran through the scriptures in memories. I found an analogy as the work of god that is what god does in us. The power of god with which he makes us strong. The wisdom of god with which he makes us strong. The salvation of god, the glory of god. The sacred book which had been a puzzle and an obsession, and an academic challenge and a distress had now become the pathway to life. For luther, very soon thereafter the bible became also a political book when the peasants revolted against the masters and quoted a lot of the bible and quoted a lot of Martin Luther to justify their rebellion, luther said youve quoted the bible incorrectly. You have applied the text wrongly in this situation. And after actually fairly seriously chastising the princes in principle, backed the serious violent crackdown that took many lives of the peasants. This connection between a book that was alive in personal Spiritual Life and then used also to determine Public Policy would continue through the history of britain in the 16th and 17th century and early American History and passing through important and interesting things for how the bible came to new england and had such an influence on the society there. But the 18th century, the continuing influence of the bible read for personal religion explains why it always remained ready to hand in the american colonies for public purposes. For many number of examples, here is one particularly telling example. The year was 1755. Sarah osbourne, a much respected middle aged woman in new port, rhode island, published a book. Perhaps the first publication by a woman in colonial america. It was entitled the nature, certainty and evidence of true christianity. As documented in the splendid recent study, susan osborns book presented to the public what she had penned throughout her life in extensive diaries in a far flung correspondence. Osborn had been a participant, and had attracted such widespread attention. Her book fleshed out in practice what revival preachers had proclaimed in their sermons. It recorded a long and difficult spiritual journey. But a journey that eventually took her from a place of despair about her personal sinfulness to grateful trust in gods mercy. The way she described her personal journey was characteristic of almost everything she ever expressed in public. Spiritual rest cues she reported came after she in despair as a young widow opened the bible at random and then read these words from the prophet isaiah. Thou shall forget the shame of their youth and not remember the widowhood anymore. The lord of host is his name and thy redeemer the holy one of israel. The god of the whole earth shall he be called. The same text from isaiah is what whitfield preached in scotland in the summer of 1742 after a festive scottish communion season, crowds reliably estimated at 25,000 to 30,000 hanging on every word of whitfield the preacher as he proclaimed thy maker is thy husband. For sarah osborn, she remains though thoroughly immersed in the King James David that hardly a sentenced passed in anything she wrote or uttered without a scriptual phrase or allusion. It was exemplary. Her life fleshed out in practice what was in the bible drenched language of the sermons. Her personal religion based so securely on the bible seemed so perfectly to fulfill the ideal of evangelical devotion. So Sarah Osborne held meetings of the religious nature at home and then attracted men as well as women. There were meetings in which black people and white people met together. Which was extraordinary for the period. And in disputes in her local Congregational Church as well as a social and religious institution, she and one or two other widows were the deciding factors though none had vote, because they were looked to for the sanctity of their lives. Throughout the colonial period and far beyond, the ideal of personal redemption experience in the close attention to the bible was a fixed element and a regular feature of the religion on the ground. Now shift attention to virginia in the same year that osborne published her results. In order to have a second one about colonial history. History was always also a british a british protestant story, because religious development and most developments not so explicitly religious took place in the Christian Dom. As difficult as its can be to imagine how you experience life before the separation of church and state, that imaginative leap is essential for understanding this earlier history. By Christian Dom i mean what is succinctly defined as a society where there are close ties between leaders of the church and secular elite, for the laws purport to be based on christian principles where apart from clearly defined outsider communities everyone is assumed to be christian. Christianity provides a common language for the devout and the lukewarm. Because the colonies represented an extension of british Christian Dom, religion remained in colonial life. With the interweaving of social, political and religious political concerns. In 1755, virginians quailed in their homes because of the seven years war and the colonies, the french and indian war. In july of that year, a force of british regulars led by general Edward Braddock with assistance in virginia militia by a young colonel, george washington, had been destroyed near present day pittsburgh by native americans allied with france, britains bitter imperial enemy. That defeat left the colonial frontier including the back country exposed to french troops and even more their indian thei. At the same time that revival impulses were deepening personal attachment to scripture military conflict once again turned the bible into a servant of empire. As one historian has written from the opening of the french and indian war with squirmishes on the virginia frontier to the treaty of paris in 1763 and sermon after sermon the new england clergy lifted up the standard of british liberty against the aggressive tyranny of Roman Catholic france. The noted sermons of a leading presbyterian indicates this contrasting of liberty and tyranny extended far beyond new england. Davies, delaware born and a product of a Presbyterian Academy in pennsylvania, played the key role in winning civil rights for his fellow presbyterians staunchly anglican virginia. He was also a moderate but determined promoter of evangelical revival. His successful advocacy for presbyterians in virginia came in large part because of his success at rallying public support for battle against france and their indian its indian allies. Beginning in august 1755, one month after the british disaster on the pennsylvania frontier, davies began a remarkable series of sermons that gave full scope to his renowned oratory. They also demonstrated the power of scriptural usage to repel threats against virginia in particular and britain as a whole. In the sermons davies did pause to drive home the same evangelical imperatives that filled his week by week preaching the need to confess sins before god, the eagerness of christ to welcome repet ent sinners and the righteous standards true believers should uphold. As davies quoted, paraphrased, mimicked and alluded to the scriptures he appealed to the mind in our own times. At most salient in this addresses and by a long mar begin, for political purposes the identification of britain and israel and complete absorption of specifically protestant theology into the ideals of british liberty. The text for davies sermons all came from the hebrew scriptures he then immediately applied to current events. For example, amos chapter 3, hear this word that lord has spoken against you o children of israel you only have i known of all the families of the earth therefore i will punish you for all your innic whichties, jeremiah 48. Cursed be here that do the work of the lord deceitfully and keep back his sword from blood and second samuel 10, 12, be of good courage and let us play the man for our people and for the cities of our god. And the lord do that which seem him good. Davies virginia auditors were first inserted into the story of David Fighting against the numerical superior ammites or beleagued israel oppressed by some other Old Testament narrative. Then they heard that turning to god offered the only hope of rescue. That rescue in turn secured treasures described almost exclusively in terms of British Colonial safety. Scripture came into the picture explicitly when davies spelled out the larger meaning of the conflict. Greedy vultures, indians, priests, friars, and hungry slaves stood poised against your religion the purest religion of jesus streaming uncorporated from the say cret fountain of the scriptures the most excellent rationale and divine religion that ever was made known to the sons of man. Mostly, the sermons moved from the biblical text to fervent imperial rhetoric. On one side stood the spirit of patriotism, the best of kings, and the blessings of liberty, british liberty. On the other were gathered the host of darknesses, these are all phrases from the sermons, the french, those eternal enemies of liberty, the powerful of france, merciless savages, the acts of indian torture, barbarians, blood thirsty savages, the scalps, clouded with gore, the mangled limbs, ripped up women, hearts and bowels still palpitating with life smoking on the ground, furries in human s