Forged in Faith: How Faith Shaped the Birth of the Nation 1607-1776

Written by Rod Gragg

Narrated by Maurice England

It motivated America's founding fathers, influenced national independence, and inspired our foundational documents. Wars raged over it. Men died for it. All for faith. And out of the smoke and grit, a nation was born. From the founding of Jamestown in 1607 to the passage of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Forged in Faith traces the epic colonization of America, the instrumental impact of the Great Awakening revival, and reveals the foundational faith that inspired American independence. With a compelling mix of dramatized story and action-driven narrative, award-winning historian Rod Gragg chronicles the pivotal and often-overlooked influence of Biblical faith on the making of America. Insightful and historically accurate, Forged in Faith recounts how faith motivated Pilgrims, Puritans, Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers, Catholics, and Anglicans alike in a unique and fascinating history of early America and the faith that forged a nation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Oasis Audio
• Release date: Jun 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781608146789

Rod Gragg

A former journalist, historian Rod Gragg is director of the Center for Military and Veterans Studies at  Coastal Carolina University, where he also serves as an adjunct professor of history.  His works have earned the Fletcher Pratt Award, the James I. Robertson Award and other honors, and have been selected for the Book-of-the-Month Club, the History Book Club and the Military History Book Club.

Reviews for Forged in Faith

[russwhite · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the common myths of our time is that the founders of America were deist, so America is not a Christian nation. The problem, of course, is the dual assumptions that the personal religion of the men who fought for independence, and built the original government of this country necessarily reflects the foundation on which they wrote those documents, and that the term “Christian nation,” means a country that is explicitly Christian in public religion. Neither of these assumptions are grounded in reality.Gragg tells the story of the American founding from the perspective of pulpits and religious movements, a story that clearly shows the United States to be founded on Judeo-Christian ideas because the founders believed those ideas best described human nature, human rights, and human aspirations. That doesn’t make America an explicitly Christian nation in the sense that all America was expected to be Christian, but it does mean that when you undercut the Judeo-Christian vision of man that underlies American law, you undercut America itself. The author begins at the beginning, with the first settlers to cross the ocean to the American continent, the first successful colonies to be built, maintained, and expanded. Each of these colonies — every colony chartered, financed, and peopled — had a religious foundation. Most were founded by religious dissidents fleeing from persecution (or fear of future persecution). All of them built churches first, and placed their pastors at the center of their life. The ease with which pastors moved between politics, law, and religion should be a clear sign that the meaning of “separation of church and state,” had nowhere near the meaning that is has since obtained. While working through the founding of the various colonies, and showing how they are founded by thoroughly religious people, the author looks at the government instituted in each one. Here he finds that each government was founded on principles informed from a Christian worldview. The next major chapter in United States history the author moves through is the Great Awakening. He shows how this huge religious revival laid the foundation for the American Revolution by grounding the general population in a very Judeo-Christian worldview that led them to believe what England was doing violated their rights, gave them the moral strength to fight through the coming war to gain independence, and embedded the ideas that grounded the nation in its founding documents.Overall, this is a fine overview of the history of America, blending religious belief and secular events into a stream that brings the ideas and events into perspective. The research is thorough, but the text itself is easy to read — this is not a “technical” book by nature.

[Andrew Fordham · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing book on the Christian foundation of The US.I wish we would recover the faith that our nation was founded on.

[Iska George · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book on a topic I have to dive more into. My one problem is the "judeo Christian" meme. I didn't hear the founding father's mention the talmud even once.

[maryjeanadams · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Forged in Faith was good, but it fell a bit short of my expectations — or at least what I was looking for. It started out by focusing on the various faith-based influences on the founding of specific settlements and colonies. I could have listened to an entire book based on this.There were also interesting tidbits on the role of key religious leaders like George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards. I wish there had been more time spent on the influence of these people, but given the relatively short length of the book, I can understand why they got the limited focus they did.The book really started to fall apart for me when it hit the years leading up to the American Revolution. The focus narrowed to the influence of a handful of founding fathers, and it was viewed through a somewhat glossy lense. I mean, Patrick Henry came across as a moderate and Sam Adams sounded like a martyr to the cause instead of a rabble-rouser with a questionable success rate at anything he tried. (Don't get me wrong. I love Sam Adams, but...)One-sided views of the founding fathers aside, the book kept losing its focus on faith to focus more on events. OK, there was the occasional reference to John Adams' thoughts, but does anyone doubt he was heavily steeped in his religion? The storyline also swung back from time to time to talk about Congress calling for national days of prayer and fasting. That was interesting, but I would have liked to hear more about the church's role and the role played by specific religious influences in the course of events.There were also times when I thought the author tried too hard. For example, he went to great lengths to discount Deism's influence on the Declaration of Independence, but there is no doubt in my mind that Deism was an influence. I don't think Christians, left to their own devices, would come up with the phrase "the laws of nature and nature's God." That one always sounded to me like a compromise between Christian and Deist influences, with a little more leaning toward the Deists. In my opinion, the influence of Christianity on our founding is strong enough to stand on its own. We don't need to downplay other influences to make the case.The author also made rather specific claims, such as Thomas Jefferson considered himself a Christian, without backing these up with evidence. Perhaps Jefferson did make that claim, but for it to be credible I really would like to have heard it in Jefferson's own words and understand the context. Again, I really wanted the author to make the case, not simply make statements and expect his audience to take them at face value. Believers will, but it's the skeptics who need to be convinced.Quick note: I listened to the unabridged version of the book from Audible. It is possible that the print version contained footnotes and references that an audio format obviously could not capture effectively.Finally, the "founding" stopped at the beginning of the Revolution. How could the author not touch on the concept of "separation of church and state" and what Jefferson really meant when he proposed it as a central tenant? It is probably one of the most misunderstood beliefs of the founding fathers.Finally, there was no discussion of the Constitution. Granted, the Constitution is more of a structural document whereas the Declaration is more emotional, for lack of a better word. (If you've not read the two, I encourage you to do so and you'll see what I mean.) That said, the Constitution was not constructed out of thin air. Many of its principles were also founded on faith and I would have like to see the case made.Forged in Faith is still an interesting and well-crafted book, despite all my reservations. For anyone who doesn't have the background, I would highly recommend it, just don't stop here. You'll come away with a basic understanding, just not a very clear picture of the founding let alone of the nuanced yet vital role faith played.

[waltersgn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Took it with a "grain of salt" in that author's seems to have a southern evangelical background and confuses laissez faire economics with the mechantilist economy of the early colonial period.

[hermit_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is a excellent introduction to the English colonization of North America by Christians. Though this book focuses on the English colonies that would become the foundation of the United States of America (USA), the author does give reference that the first Thanksgiving was not observed by the Pilgrims. For history records that the first Successful Colony in the North America that would become part of the USA was the Catholic City of Saint Augustine where the first Thanksgiving in America was observed. Rod Gragg has written a history that is easy to read and concise with a lot of supporting documentation that shows how the Christian faith shaped the birth of the nation during the period from 1607 to 1776. The strong desire to worship the Holy Bible as the various Christian sects thought and a chance to earn success was the main factors in the finding of most of the colonies. Which worked well in England as they wanted these dissenters to the State Church out of England. The author covers the religious persecution that was transpiring in England and parts of Europe. Mr. Gragg also documents both the physical and the religious conditions faced by the colonies as they sought to survive and form their colonies. All colonies formed were founded on Christian principles and believed that Christians were biblically obligated to submit to the ruling authority as long as that obedience did not lead them away from God's Law. The first was the exodus of the Puritans from England that agreed to abide by the Christian based Mayflower Compact. Each colony was formed by different protestant sects and a Catholic colony. The profusion of Christian denominations was the driving force of faith that lead to Religious tolerance to all. Religious Liberty is a corner stone in the foundation of the USA. The forming documents of the original colonies all express a common faith in the Christian religion.As the colonies started to expand and grow self-interest and secularism started to seep into the fabric of the colonies extremities and sections of large cities. In the 1700's preachers like George Whitefield attracted thousand with their preaching and awoke an evangelical fervor for Christ. This period is known as the Great Awakening and is what brought the colonies back to its Christian based foundations. The foundation that would unit in faith the thirteen original colonies.John Adams wrote that when the Continental Congress was formed among them was an occasional Universalist or even one or two Deists and Atheist; but they were the tiny minority. The majority of the delegates consisted of Catholics, Quakers, and various Protestants denominations. The philosophical foundations of the Continental Congress was a Bible-based faith. The country consisted of Christians and a some Jews whose faith permeated their lives and allowed the USA to be founded.The author shares with us some of the founding fathers fears and one was that someday America's historic faith might be diminished -- along with the freedom it inspired. " 'While the People are virtuous they cannot be subdued,' Samuel Adams wrote, 'but when once they lose their Virtue, they will be ready to surrender their Liberties....' " It seems that the minority who have gain control of the USA have forgotten these principles.