Randall Murphree

AFA Journal editor

Editor’s Note: Ralf Augstroze recently visited the AFA Journal offices to talk about his work at Providence Forum, their Liberty Tree Project and the preservation of American history.

February 2007 – George Washington, Revolutionary War general, first U.S. president and revered “Father of our Country,” is arguably the nation’s most prominent early hero. A man of Christian faith, courage and conviction, Washington helped guide the U.S. through her birth and infancy. He was so highly regarded that his birthday was celebrated nationally as early as 1796, the last year of his presidency.

In 1968, Congress determined that most national holidays would shift to Mondays, including the celebration of Washington’s February 12 birthday. The third Monday in January has become popularly known across the nation as Presidents Day, a time to honor not only Washington, but also 16th president Abraham Lincoln.

Today’s revisionist historians freely tamper with truth, apparently bent on dislodging American history from its Christian foundation. Ralf Augstroze, executive director of Providence Forum, is one man who is dead set on restoring truth and shoring up our nation’s Christian underpinnings.

“I picked up my daughter’s 900-page high school American History book and there were only three mentions of Christianity in the book,” Augstroze said. “And all three of them had to do with how the Christians persecuted Indians and Native Americans, and in some cases put them to death because they wouldn’t ascribe to a Christian way of life.”

Fortunately, men like Augstroze and Dr. Peter Lillback, founder and president of Providence Forum, are among many who are working to keep America’s history accurately recorded for present and future generations.

Lillback’s book George Washington’s Sacred Fire is a fitting tribute to the first president. (See below.) Its 2006 release culminated 15 years of research. The 1,000+ page volume cites primary source documents, the president’s own papers and the words of those closest to him to verify that Washington’s faith was firmly Christian, not Deistic, as the current politically correct crowd claim.

The Providence Forum was founded in 2000 as a nonprofit organization committed to preserve, protect and defend the faith and values of our founding fathers. Augstroze contends that, whether the founding fathers were atheist, agnostic, Christian, Deist, Jewish or Muslim, history deserves a truthful and respectful record.

Forum literature says the organization exists to “educate Americans of all ages on how our fathers lived, and what they believed, using their records and statements to strengthen our knowledge of the values and beliefs of our founders.”

“We want to preserve the founding fathers’ legacy the way that history and their own writings, in fact, present them,” Augstroze said. “It just so happens that the vast majority of those founding fathers were practicing Christians. We’re non-partisan and we’re non-proselytizing. We present the facts in a scholarly and academic fashion.”

Wealth of resources
In addition to in-depth research such as Lillback’s Sacred Fire, the group offers other print resources of much less volume. Other creative resources also help bring attention to the principles the forum represents.

• For example, Freedom’s Holy Light, a 35-page booklet, was one of the first pieces the forum produced. It is a nutshell version of some Christian elements of U.S. history that have been purged from many public school textbooks. It focuses especially on the nation’s early history including brief sections on the First Continental Congress, the Constitution, the U.S. motto, the Pledge of Allegiance and other significant subjects.

• In 2001, the forum published Proclaim Liberty, a 123-page book telling the story of the Liberty Bell and the events leading up to its creation as a symbol of freedom in America.

• A stunning full-size replica of the Liberty Bell was cast in 2001, commissioned by the forum for use in traveling exhibits. Where the original bell has a crack and cannot be rung, this replica has an etched crack, which allows it to ring in the tone of the original. “In classrooms, museums and celebrations, children and adults are encouraged to ring the bell and experience the sound of liberty,” the forum says.

• The forum’s publication Letter From Birmingham Jail is a King Center-approved copy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s much-heralded letter. The forum booklet is enhanced with an introduction, an outline of the letter and selected quotes organized by topic.

• A Voter’s Guide For Americans: How to Vote From the Historic Judeo-Christian Perspective was released in 2004. It is a 16-page guide prepared by Lillback for voters who wish to be better prepared at the polls.

• The forum’s Liberty Tree Project is well under way after the first new Liberty Tree was planted in Hartford, Connecticut, in 2005. Liberty Trees will be planted in each of the 13 original colonies; they are seedlings rescued from the last original Liberty Tree which fell victim to Hurricane Floyd in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1999.

“We were able to salvage 14 seedlings from that tree,” Augstroze said, “the only seedlings that are of a direct lineage from an original Liberty Tree.” The most notable of the original trees was in Boston. (See below.) The 14th tree was designated for Mt. Vernon, a monument to President Washington.

The Maryland tree was a 600-year-old tulip poplar at St. John’s College. Taylor Guitars bought wood from the tree to craft 400 Limited Edition Liberty Tree Guitars. The Providence Forum used wood from the tree to commission Eagle in Flight, a majestic carving with six-foot wingspan, and the yoke for the Liberty Bell replica.

A few Bible Boxes were also fashioned to replicate the special box where many a colonial family protected their Bibles. One of the Bible Boxes was presented to President George W. Bush July 4, 2001, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

The forum publishes a newsletter, The Forum Gazette, and occasional white papers on specific topics. Two new print resources will be released soon – The Separation of Church and State and Lessons on Liberty: A Primer for Young Patriots. Lillback authored the latter, which also carries vivid illustrations by Judy Mitchell.

In addition to serving Providence Forum as president, Lillback is president of Westminster Theological Seminary and senior pastor of Proclamation Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. In the Winter 2006-07 Forum Gazette, he wrote about a youthful George Washington: “Consider what Washington learned of Christmas as a student. His school papers still exist and include [the copied poem “On Christmas Day” beginning with]: ‘Assist me Muse divine to sing the morn / On which the Saviour of mankind was born.’”

Lessons on Liberty uses an alphabet poem as the fun kickoff point for a freestyle format that serves up a countless number of facts about America. (“M is for military that keeps us from harm / N is for nature, our forests and farms / O is for opinions that we’re free to say / P is for patriots who pointed the way.”) Homeschoolers will likely find the volume a useful tool.

Augstroze is animated and passionate as he speaks about Providence Forum, and he’s optimistic about its future. With a six-foot eagle placed prominently in Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center, a Liberty Bell touring the nation, Liberty Trees being planted in public venues, and Dr. Lillback’s monumental book Sacred Fire, authentic American history is being strengthened in the public arena.

With almost 25,000 copies sold, Sacred Fire is already a best-seller. “We’re getting a lot of press and media coverage,” Augstroze said. “We’re getting the message out and the Lord is blessing us.”