General Washington’s Christmas Hail Mary
And preceding Tim Tebow’s constant reminders of who he credits for his successes, George Washington was just as effusive with his praise of God, of His Divine Intervention, His Providential Aid, which he rendered unto the newborn nation of The United States of America. In fact, if anything, Tim Tebow is following the magnificent example of George Washington, by giving credit where credit’s due: to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Here are a couple of samples of his gratitude to God for His providential aid:
…it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official Act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe, who presides in the Councils of Nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the People of the United States, a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes: and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success, the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own; nor those of my fellow-citizens at large, less than either. No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency…
First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789
The reflection upon my situation, and that of this army, produces many an uneasy hour, when all around me are wrapped in sleep. Few people know the predicament we are in, on a thousand accounts; fewer still will believe, if any disaster happens to these lines, from what cause it flows. I have often thought how much happier I should have been, if instead of accepting of a command under such circumstances, I had taken my musket upon my shoulders and entered the rank, or if I could have justified the measure of posterity, and my own conscience, had retired to the back country, and lived in a wigwam. If I shall be able to rise superior to these, and many other difficulties which might be enumerated, I shall most religiously believe that the finger of Providence is in it, to blind the eyes of our enemies; for surely if we get well through this month, it must be for want of their knowing the disadvantages we labor under. Could I have foreseen the difficulties which have come upon us, could I have known that such a backwardness would have been discovered in the old soldiers to the service, all the generals upon earth should not have convinced me of the propriety of delaying an attack upon Boston till this time.
In a letter to Joseph Reed, during the siege of Boston (14 January 1776), quoted in History of the Siege of Boston, and of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill (1849) by Richard Frothingham, p. 286
Here’s the excellent opinion piece from the Washington Times that puts Tim Tebow’s public praise of God into perspective:
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General Washington’s Christmas Hail Mary
Father of our country was Te-bowing before it was called Te-bowing
By THE WASHINGTON TIMES | Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Long before there was Tim Tebow, there was George Washington. It is well documented that the act of Te-bowing (i.e., kneeling in prayer) was done by our nation’s first president. Painter Arnold Friberg’s “Prayer at Valley Forge” immortalized Gen. Washington in the snow-covered woods, bent down on one knee and praying for God’s assistance. In the grim days of America’s War for Independence, with weary soldiers up against long odds, the nation needed a come-from-behind fourth-quarter victory. Time and time again – when it really mattered – Washington (who did have his defeats) came through in the clutch.
Most Americans are familiar with Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze’s painting of Washington crossing the Delaware. Less known today is the spiritual backdrop to the story, mostly due to politically correct public schools’ animus toward religion. On Dec. 25, 1776 – the day Christians celebrate the birth of Christ – Gen. Washington set in motion a surprise attack that would help give birth to our great nation. The battle of Trenton began the day after Christmas. It followed a string of losses for the Continental Army, and Washington’s victory over the Hessian soldiers stationed there came at precisely the right moment. At the time, and by millions to this day, it was seen as divine intervention that an event so central to the birth of this nation was tied to the birth of Jesus.
Like Washington, Mr. Tebow is a “general” who isn’t supposed to win. Like Washington, Mr. Tebow is an optimist who fuses a fierce drive to succeed with unconventional tactics to secure victory. He motivates his “troops” with unwavering faith in the ability to overcome obstacles. And like Washington, Mr. Tebow is humble, fortified by belief in a power much higher than himself. The football star might only be an athlete, but he’s a warrior in the fight against rabid secularization in society. Today, however, there are Americans who mercilessly mock and fear champions of faith in the public sphere.
“My Tim Tebow Problem,” an article in Jewish Week Online by Rabbi Joshua Hammerman (conveniently pulled down after it caused an uproar), encapsulates that hostility. “If Tebow wins the Super Bowl, against all odds, it will buoy his faithful, and emboldened faithful can do insane things, like burning mosques, bashing gays and indiscriminately banishing immigrants,” he ridiculously claimed. “While America has become more inclusive since Jerry Falwell’s first political forays, a Tebow triumph could set those efforts back considerably.”
Washington’s specific religious beliefs are up for debate, with historian Larry Schweikart postulating that they were “well hidden” in “A Patriot’s History of the United States.” Washington, however, was not uncomfortable with faith, even citing in his famous Farewell Address that religion and morality were “indispensable supports” to the nation. We can only imagine the affront Washington would feel about America in 2011, where Mr. Tebow gets smeared by paranoid segments of the chattering class for giving thanks to the one responsible for our “certain unalienable rights.”
Despite the erosion of our freedoms, America is still the last great beacon of liberty for mankind. This Christmas, it’s appropriate to say a prayer of thanks that Washington was in charge of war efforts when our independence was on the line, and then we can thank God that we still live in a country where Mr. Tebow and Mr. Hammerman can both practice their religions freely.
