Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1903-07-28
WASHINGTON'S RELIGIOUS

CREED.

press. What important purpose can the
reopening of this silly dispute serve now,
we would like to know, when that great
man has been lying in his grave for
more than century
The mission of Washington, which
seems to have been divinely appointed,
was accomplished with ability, honor and
integrity. His long and faithful public
service to his country, first as leader of
the continental armies to a success
full issue, and next as the first
chief magistrate of the infant republic,
was a faithful fulfilment Of the great
trust which the American people reposed
in him, and the confidence they had in
him that he would direct their public
affairs with judgm ent and prudence.
No person was more instrumental IN
the work of bringing about the indepen-
ence of the colonies. The knowledge
of this fact alone ought, we think, to be
consideration sufficient to restrain any
one from meddling with his religious
relations with his God. For this pur-
pose he gave freely his money ard de-
voted his best life years in the face
of a persistent opposition of bitter
iealousies, dishonorable rivaries, base
intrigues and slanderOus deia-
nations. How he comported himself in
the church-whether he was in the habit
Of getting to service late, or leaving
before the service was finished
whether he "partook," of the commun-
ion, or abstained from it; whether he
acknowledge the divinity Of Jesus the
Christ or was like Jefferson purely
Deist, does rot in the least dttract
from his great fame as heneiactor
and philanthropist, now does it in the
least invalidate his great usefulness as a
soldier, statesman and patriot, and moe
than this, is Dobodv's business. In this
particular, all we have to say is, and we
say it as a mention only, without refer
ence to the merits of either side Of Il e
controversy, that in his many letters
to the various religious societies in
the United States, there is but one in
stance of his allusion to "Christ." D."
But in every letter he emphatically
and unqualifedly by recognizesthe i'm
portance of continual dependence upon
the care of Supreme Being and Prov
idence.
That he was a member in good stand
ing of the Established Church in Vir-
ginia, and belonged to the yestry of two
of the parishes there is no doubt His
duties, as a vestry man in conjunction
with his fellows, embraced not only re-
ligious matters, hut also many secular
neighborhood affairs requiring the judg-
ment of just such practical man as
Washington. Under the direction Of
the vestry, the tax collector went forth
to levy tithes upon every land owner
Under their authority, the procession
ers" surveyed and established all land
boundaries. To the church wardens it
pertained to bind apprentices to their
masters-record of indentures being
duly made in the vestry book. Upon
the vestry, also, devolved the relief of
the poor, the medical care of the sick,
the charge for the burial of the dead,
maintenance of the blind, the lame, the
manned, and also of foundlings and
vagrants.
1t was the custom of all Virginians,
members of the Established Church,
in the preambles to their wills, to men
ton before making any devises of their
effects their religious faith in the divinity
of Christ. This Washington omitted in
his will written by his own hand and in
the last year of his life. Religious
ouarrels are of all others the most abb
surd. They have been the prolific source
of woes and calamities to mankind, and
in this age of more enlightened educa-
ton and calmer judgments, they ought
to cease.
Christ was the great pattern and ex-
emplar for right living in the world:
He had no creed but that of doing good
to those around him, and enjOined none
other upon his followers. His sermon
on the mount embodied the call in all
of religious duty for all men of all times
| ali ldOtS. uC NiNtu VI Oiaii wee
the creed of our Washington. A man :
religious opinions and religious usages
ought of all things else to be free from
adverse criticism and animadversiOn;
and they would be, if the fact that We
are all the creatures of education and
accidental circumstances was generally
taken into consideration and respected
by those who happen to differ in belize
with their fellows. The catholic is a
catholic because his parents in early
teachings and surroundings were of thai
belief. So with the mahometan. Sc
J with all protestant denominations anC
the spirit of charity and magnanimity
demands that each individual before ht
INDUCES in inyidious criticism of hi:
: neighbor's way of religious thinking
should reflect, that he himself would
have had the same views, if he had beer
born the same. If a mans house be hi
castle, surely his religious opinions
ought TO be safe from assailants.