Yesterday, Glenn announced the next phase of the movement that began at Restoring Honor. If you remember, Glenn ended that event with close to 300 faith leaders joining arm-in-arm as a new Black Robe Regiment. Since that day, the Black Robe Regiment has been quietly working and growing in the background, but now they are ready to stand and take action. David Barton has been a key organizational force in that group, and joined Glenn on radio to give an update on what they are doing next.
"Black Robe Regiment is what the British called the American pastors in the American Revolution. Because pastors back then -- black pastors, white pastors, Catholic and Protestant all wore black robes. And the British blamed the American Revolution on the pastors. On that Black Robe Regiment. Literally, they said that had it not been for those pastors, America would still be a happy British colony," David said.
David then told the story of how George Whitfield, a preacher, was influential in both American politics and the military.
"When we had the Stamp Act that really kind of started the whole process of moving toward the Revolution, when it came time to protest the Stamp Act in London, America sent two people to London to protest the Stamp Act. One was Ben Franklin, the other was George Whitfield. So there's a guy very involved in politics. Then when it comes time -- Whitfield is one of the first to tell the Americans, if you want to preserve your freedoms, you'll have to separate and become independent. Whitfield is the guy credited with starting the American military, the first military flag, and the first military motto. So when he died in 1770, which was the end of the Great Awakening, at his death, he was buried at a church in Newbury Port, Massachusetts. When George Washington sent the first expedition out to start the American Revolution, it was to Quebec in 1775. That expedition going out of Massachusetts stopped at the church at Newbury Port, where Whitfield was buried. They went inside. They had a sermon. After the sermon, they lifted the top the sepulcher, and the soldiers all reached in and cut off a piece of Whitfield's robe to take with them into battle. Because he's the father of the military. Now, how many preachers today would be accused of being the father of the military or are arguing economic policy in front of parliament or starting the military. That's the Black Robe Regiment back then."
Today, David says the Black Robed Regiment has grown to 40,000 preachers. These are men with character and backbone, who are standing up for Biblical principles and freedom of conscience.
"It's not only the time, but we're now seeing people respond," David said. "We're seeing pastors respond in a way we haven't seen. We have seen in the last few days, 40,000 pastors sign a petition that says, I will go to jail before I follow what the Supreme Court says if they get marriage wrong. They can do what they want to. 40,000 pastors, including one pastor with a 35,000-member church. And those are usually the guys that don't have the backbone, is the guys with the megachurches. We will not comprise on this. We will go to jail on this. But we're standing for the biblical definition of marriage."