The Light and the Glory

Did God Have a Plan for America?

by Peter Marshall and David Manuel

The Light and the Glory is a wonderful book for everyone who loves history, and a great book for those who don't.  It answers questions you have asked yourself for many years.

The portion about the Pilgrims should be read in every one of our households at Thanksgiving.  Yes, there are families in our church that do this and have done so since this book was first published in 1977, as a reminder of God's Grace and protection He afforded to us.

One excerpt gives us a view of the preaching of George Whitefield, one of the great preachers and evangelists of all time.  Speaking in Philadelphia to twenty-five thousand people, where the streets were jammed, but the people stood perfectly still.

"Father Abraham," cried Whitefield, "whom have you in heaven?  Any Episcopalians?"
"No!" Whitefield called out, answering his own query.
"Any Presbyterians?"
"No!"
"Any Independents or Seceders, New Sides, or Old Sides? Any Methodists?"
"No! No! No!"
"Whom have you there, then, Father Abraham?"
"We don't know those names here!  All who are here are Christians -- believers in Christ, men who have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of His testimony."
"Oh, is that the case? Then God help me, God help us all, to forget having names and to become Christians in deed and in truth!"

One of the co-writers of this book is Peter Marshall, whose father was the Chaplain of the United States Senate and a friend of our own Harry Chase.

Book review by Ken McKee