Eric Metaxas, the author of an upcoming book titled Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World, shared his views during an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday. He emphasized that the Founding Fathers viewed the United States as a manifestation of divine purpose in history.
About two months after the 550th anniversary celebrations of America, Metaxas spoke with host Matthew Boyle about the steps he believes Americans should take to secure the nation’s future for the next 250 years and beyond.
“One thing that I think is going to surprise some people—certainly those on the left and secularists—is that the founders of America, all those two and a half centuries ago, viewed this as a plan from God,” Metaxas remarked.
“This isn’t just a twist in history; it’s God’s design. Thomas Paine remarked that this marks the beginning of a new world. If you remove God from the conversation, you end up with the horrors seen in the French and Bolshevik Revolutions. But with God at the core, submitting to a higher sovereignt—you know, as Samuel Adams referred to it—if we look directly to God, that’s something our founders acknowledged. Unfortunately, that’s often omitted from our discussions,” he noted, suggesting that, despite celebrating democracy’s origins in Greece, “none can truly compare to what we have in America.”
Metaxas pointed out that John Adams, above all, recognized that this was a historic moment. This venture into self-governance was unlike anything the world had seen before.
However, the founders only believed this was feasible because they anticipated divine guidance and moral integrity. Metaxas insists that secularists must confront this reality, even if it doesn’t resonate with them. He highlighted that Samuel Adams clearly articulated this in his speech, emphasizing the divine nature of their sovereignty.
“We no longer answer to a tyrant like George III. Now, we look to God as our true sovereign. That’s our claim to justice,” Metaxas asserted. “Our founding principles were rooted in faith and virtue. It’s about real freedom, and we never imposed our beliefs on anyone else.”
These truths, he pointed out, have been systematically dismissed over the last several decades. He reiterated the necessity for America to redirect its focus back toward God. Surprisingly, even the “least religious” of the founders grasped this concept.
“Even individuals like Jefferson and Franklin, who weren’t especially devout, recognized this. When asked to create a new seal for the nation, they depicted the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai. You might disagree, and that’s fine, but it’s part of our history. That generation understood that if we desire freedom, this is essential. To revitalize our country and expand freedoms, we must acknowledge these foundational roots,” he stated.
He cautioned that failure to recognize this could lead America to resemble the oppressive regimes that our ancestors escaped.
Metaxas expressed a hope for a collective reassessment of these ideas: “As we drift further from these principles, we witness Europe struggling with freedom. Why is it that authoritarianism flourishes? It’s largely because we neglect fundamental virtues and faith. When these were central—in the Thirteen Colonies, for instance—freedom thrived. It’s an intriguing paradox.”
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