|
Larkin Spivey suggests in the preface to Miracles of the American Revolution: Divine Intervention and the Birth of the Republic (Miracles) that readers will respond to the message with skepticism or with certainty. I read Miracles certain that God's hand was on the men and in the events of the American Revolution, but I did not understand how obvious and extensive was the evidence of that involvement.
Spivey successfully weaves evidence of God's hand on the birth of America with a fine explanation of the political, social, religious, and individual influences on the revolution. Miracles is no cheesy storybook. Spivey connects God's plan for America with His overarching plan for freedom for mankind and links that plan to current world events. Can anyone who believes that God's hand was on George Washington not believe that His hand is on George Bush? God's agenda for man includes freedom. Spivey successfully makes the case that the miraculous events of the revolution are key to God's plan for national and individual freedom and the redemption of mankind.
Spivey builds his case by examining God's hand in the philosophy of freedom, on the lives of the players in the revolutionary drama, and on the battlefield. The biographical sketches, especially of George Washington, are refreshing in their unashamed treatment of the founding fathers' faith. The descriptions of the battles are compelling, well written, and very readable.
What Miracles lacks is breadth. Spivey reviews the evidence of God's hand on six founding fathers and in six battles. I am sure that there is plenty of evidence that His hand was on more of the players and in more of the battles and I wish for a comprehensive history of the revolution from Spivey's perspective. I suggest Miracles as a prerequisite to any study of the American Revolution. Once we know the evidence of God is there, we can be on the lookout for it.
-- Product Review by: Tim Rice, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
| 
