"Give me Liberty, or give me Death!"

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Andrew P.C.

Andrew P.C.

Puritan Board Junior
Upon reading about our founding fathers, I came across Patrick Henry's famous speech.

Here's the problem:
the text of this speech did not appear in print until 1817, in the biography Life and Character of Patrick Henry by William Wirt.
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Here are the two different texts:

"An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."
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And then compare it to this:

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
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Basically, I'm trying to figure out if Patrick Henry was a Christian. Can anyone help me out?

Here and here for the different sites.
 
Yes, he was a Christian. Patrick Henry said:

The rising greatness of our country...is greatly tarnished by the general prevalence of deism, which, with me, is but another name for vice and depravity....I hear it is said by the deists that I am one of their number; and indeed that some good people think I am no Christian. This thought gives me much more pain than the appellation of Tory (being called a traitor), because I think religion of infinitely higher importance than politics....Being a Christian...is a character which I prize far above all this world has or can boast.
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VirginiaHuguenot said:
Yes, he was a Christian. Patrick Henry said:

The rising greatness of our country...is greatly tarnished by the general prevalence of deism, which, with me, is but another name for vice and depravity....I hear it is said by the deists that I am one of their number; and indeed that some good people think I am no Christian. This thought gives me much more pain than the appellation of Tory (being called a traitor), because I think religion of infinitely higher importance than politics....Being a Christian...is a character which I prize far above all this world has or can boast.
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If I remember correctly I read about him in one of my Banner of Truth books concerning Presbyterians in America. He grew up under Samuel Davies Preaching. He became a lawyer and defender of the non established church. Presbyterians and Baptists were arrested if they were not licensed because the Kings religion was the one true authorized religion.
 
Notice he and Madison and Witherspoon are downplayed and Washington is usually revised into an Illuminati deist when speaking about the founding fathers.

It is always Thomas Paine this or Thomas Jefferson that, yes Jefferson and Paine wrote some important documents but they were not the lynch pins of the operation.
 
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