Customer Reviews

Faith and Freedom: The Christian Roots of American Liberty

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Faith and Freedom is an excellent history of the ideological roots of American Government. Mr. Hart has done a masterful job of identifying the sources of those ideas that influenced the Founding Fathers and the charters which they wrote. This book defuses the revisionist's arguements that posit that America is a child of the Enlightenment in the same vein as France. Mr. Hart shows that America, unlike France, adopted the Protestant Christian principle that freedoms came from God and not government. Government within this structure was charged with the protection of those God given freedoms. France on the other hand virtually excluded God from discourses that proceeded their revolution, and by doing so, put government in the position to give and take freedoms as it saw fit. Our war for Independence was successful while France's was a bloodbath that failed by all measures. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in an accurate, concise history of this very important episode of the American story.

Ben Hart's vision of the American founding is supported by American historical scholarship, viz. Diggins or Kloppenberg etc. For those who don't have access to this scholarship, Hart's book is a very good substitute. It will enlighten those who have a murky or very restricted notion of American history.
Any book that stretches horizons can be worth reading. Hart's book stretches us in a very much needed direction.

Gives a top rate chronology of England's struggle to control and guide the destiny of Christian colonial America.The path to, and the reasons for the "Decloration of Independence" is cogently and methodically reasearched as to the truth the founding fathers understood to be the foundation for freedom, to wit: " The delegates understood very well that liberty has a price, that a people which is immodest, extravagant, and frivolous will not remain free for long.". The conclusion: A free people must have a controling authority and only God fits that bill, for without Him the tyranny of the base passion of human selfishness will in the end have the same result as the worst despot that history can ever recall. It is evident from these early documents to be the very thoughts of our founding fathers. However the editing of printing leaves a lot to be desired.

This should be required reading for each and every high school senior before graduation. Hart has complied the facts and stories that no longer appear in the mainstream media.

Mr. Hart's development of the thesis and the transitions from chapter to chapter run smoothly, are well thought-out, and make the presentation of the material and the ideas easily followable. The material facts and quotes are easily corroborated in any of several other well-known and reliable sources. Mr. Hart shows the reader that without the people of the US holding a ubiquitous similar faith in the basic tenants of Christianity, that the revolution would either not have happened, been quickly lost, or even if won, would have simply resulted in a new tyrannical regime taking power. Although some may find the conclusions to be hard to swallow - that without an underlying wide-spread societal belief in some source other than the government (or man) as being that which the society trusts in (e.g. a Supreme Being), the society will not survive long outside of a tyranny of the few (be they Nobles, or the Dictator class, etc.) over the many, or even the many over the few, the facts speak for themselves. It is not surprising in this day of Newspeak, and humanist ideation that some will seek to discredit the work here with false arguments. Dr. Hart shows however, that the American Revolution stood on the shoulders of a people who held an internal wide-spread belief in the basic tenets of the Christian faith. He also presents well the facts of the post-revolution period - a period being that of a rather peaceful time with people getting on with their lives and not experiencing the typical post-revolution trials and hangings and eliminations seen in non-Christian revolutions previously, or since. The facts are irrefutable to all but the most anti-Christian, who, although may argue against the facts presented (or the conclusions), will have nothing but false arguments to present. For example, Mr. Hart presents the facts that the French revolution (a humanist anti-religious revolution by all standards) has at its most famous symbol, the guillotine, while in stark contrast, the American post-revolution period completely lacked a post-revolution "cleansing" of the enemy supporters, but rather would be better pictured as a get-down-to-business Puritan work ethic scene. The debate, which is often so sophomorically presented when some attempt to deny the fact that the general widespread religious faith of the fathers was Christianity, and through that faith, they were able to come up with the Constitution we have at present, (by erroneously stating Franklin or Jefferson were deist rather than Christians) is moot (as Mr. Hart essentially presents) when considering the facts of the case at hand which Mr. Hart has succinctly gathered and written of here in this book.

What was surprisingly odd to me, was the significant number of typos in the book - most all were clearly not author driven but editor or publisher manufactured, and then not caught. Many made no sense at all, and clearly had to be computer software driven, but nevertheless are present in my 1997 copy. I do not know if these have been corrected on newer versions, but given the plethora of them, I could not give a full five stars to the book which is otherwise a very-well researched, written and thought-out presentation of the issues and facts leading up to and surrounding the US political scene from the Pilgrims through to the initial post-revolution time period. I will offer it to my students, and would hope parents read it to their children - that is if they have any desire for the next generation to do anything but become the sheep to the slaughter of tyrants.

This book ought to be on the shelves of every high school and college student in America. Barring a reprint, I recommend purchasing a used copy as soon as one comes available. Hart reconstructs for the reader the American experience and explains events of history as they interceded with people of faith (and those whose faith has been in doubt or discredited). Hart understands, as our founders did, that character is in fact important in both the life of a laborer and the lives of those holding the public trust, and he uses uncanny insight to relay how that faith affected the actions of our forefathers. From Plymouth Rock and Jamestown to the Salem Witch Trials, the Declaration of Independence and beyond, Hart honestly tells the tale of America, and perhaps unknowingly provides the keys to rediscovering the qualities that made this nation at one time the most envied culture in the world.

As a Christian, I read with great interest "Faith And Freedom" by Benjamin Hart. While I already knew of the several points/assertions in the book, there were also ones I was not aware of.

The book's objective is to show how Christianity played a very important part in our nation's history. Among the topics covered include:

1. Christianity in the Middle Ages and Reformation.
2. Events leading up to people leaving Europe for America.
3. The Puritans - their contribution to American society and how they are often misunderstood.
4. Our nation's early history, especially at Jamestown and Plymouth.
5. The Great Awakening.
6. Developments leading up to the American Revolution.
7. Brief history of the American Revolution (would have liked to have seen more here).
8. Establishing the US Constitution.
9. The difference between the American and French Revolutions.
10. Summarization of founding fathers' beliefs (Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Thomas Paine, etc.).

As mentioned by an earlier reviewer, there were many, many typographical errors and proved to be distracting. While the narrative was good and informative, I was very disappointed in the several typos. I also mentioned that more could have been mentioned about Christianity's impact on the combatants (generals, officers, enlisted, militia, etc.).

Do a better job of editing and mention more about the American Revolution, and the title gets a 4 or 5-star rating.

Still, the book is an entertaining and informative read, whether or not you agree with the author's viewpoints.

Recommended.

Faith & Freedom provides the historical backdrop for the formation of our country that has been removed from contemporary textbooks by revisionist historians and secular scholars. In short, the book documents the role transcendent law played in establishing liberty, and counsels that secularism cannot guarantee the same freedom. Hart's thesis is well-documented and the narrative flows with illustrations and arguments that maintain the reader's interest. As a longtime public school teacher, I recommend this work as a classroom supplement both in Christian and secular settings.

This book is a readable and rambling argument that "freedom" in America can only be sustained when "Christian Faith" provides the foundation. Hart argues that this was the viewpoint of the Founders; that the intention of the founders is being forgotten; and the faith-foundation being subverted today by enemies of liberty. The book jacket contains recommendations from Chuck Colson, Bill Bright, William Buckley Jr, Robert Bork, and Richard John Neuhaus. Indeed, the book is a good example of history as understood by the political and religious Right in America. (For comparison/contrast, see "The Godless Constitution" by Kramnick and Moore.)

Unfortunately, the credentials of the author are nowhere indicated. The pages are packed with quotations, but there are no footnotes, nor any way to check historical accuracy. The logic of the rambling augument is sometimes confusing, even juvenile at times. Clearly, passion and ideology are as important to the author as verifiable historical accuracy. Yet the writing is lively, all the (predictable) arguments are included, and Hart,s views are forcefully presented. Such views are widespread, and call for response.

I read with great interest Mr Hart's contention that the founding fathers philosophy was essentially drawn from the Bible. Through select uses of quotations Mr. Hart leads the reader to believe that the American Revolution, Declaration of Independence, etc. are essentially a product of a Christian world view. His use of quotes to support his suppositions are not based in the context in which they were written. For example, he quotes from Thomas Jefferson extensively to support his position that the founding fathers used the bible to form their ideas of liberty and freedom for the individual. I am assuming that Mr. Hart is an Evangelical Christian who believes that the Bible should be the only source to inform the morals and laws for society. He ignores the fact that Thomas Jefferson was a deist, which is the very opposite of what he believes. He uses the term from Jefferson of "God's Nature." Mr Hart you need to know that Jefferson did not believe in the deity of Jesus Christ or the Bible as the Word of God. He draws parallels between the Old Testament and a supposed relationship to the Declaration of Independence. He fails to give hard evidence of this connection. This book is at best a diatribe against what Mr. Hart sees as the destruction of America's "Christian Roots." Check your sources Mr. Hart and admit that America's "Christian Roots" is at best laced with historical fabrications and misleading assertions.