Dr. Thomas S. Kidd, “‘An Appeal to Arms and to the God of Hosts’: Divine Blessing, the Bible, and the American Case for Revolution”
While the Declaration of Independence declares that such foundational rights as the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are self-evident, many scholars argue these “self-evident” truths are not as evident today as they once were. Behind these truths, these scholars argue, lies a biblical worldview, especially the ideas of a single, rational Creator and the inherent dignity of humans as bearers of the imago Dei, the “image of God.”
Join us for The Bible and America 250: These Truths Are Not Self-Evident Lecture Series, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States. This thought-provoking event brings together a host of renowned scholars and historians to explore the profound influence of the Bible on America's founding principles, values, and institutions.
In this lecture, Dr. Thomas S. Kidd looks at the ways American patriots justified their revolution.
Jun 7, 2026 - Jun 7, 2026
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
Scholars Initiative Conference Room, Floor 5R
Free Admission (Event Ticket Required)
In Person Event
Virtual Event
Abstract
Americans today may forget just how difficult it was for Patriots to justify the Revolutionary War and independence. Popular resistance against taxes was one thing. But rejecting monarchical authority and declaring legal separation from the British was an audacious step for which Americans could point to few historical parallels. Complaints about unfair tax and judicial policies were suitable rationales for framing petitions, but shedding British and American blood demanded more. A cause of the American Revolution’s magnitude required divine blessing.
In this lecture, Dr. Kidd considers several instances of appeals to divine sanction in the American Revolution in 1775 and ’76, when Americans made key decisions about resistance, war, and independence. These include appeals to God’s blessing and biblical warrant in Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death” speech, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, and the Declaration of Independence.
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Schedule
1:30 p.m. | Welcome & Check In
1:30–2:00 p.m. | Refreshments
2:00–3:00 p.m. | Lecture
3:00–3:30 p.m. | Panel Q&A
3:30–5:00 p.m. | Self-Guided Tour of the Bible in America Gallery
Lecturer
Dr. Thomas S. Kidd
Thomas S. Kidd is the research professor of Church History at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds the John and Sharon Yeats Endowed Chair of Baptist Studies. He earned his PhD from the University of Notre Dame and has authored numerous books on American religious history, including Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh and Who Is an Evangelical? The History of a Movement in Crisis; he also writes for major media outlets and teaches on colonial America, the American Revolution, and American religious history.
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