Washington, Lund 170, 218, 237, 260, 262, 266, 282, 315, 328, 332, 849, 861, 871, 887, 888, 895, 1023, 1024, 1037, 1122, 1125

Washington, Martha Custis 130, 136, 236, 246, 289, 366, 522, 525, 765, 873, 1029, 1032, 1036, 1045, 1092

Washington, Mary Ball 91, 98, 103, 105, 118, 131, 132, 133, 235, 239, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 680, 856, 872, 964, 984, 986, 988, 1024, 1027, 1030, 1031, 1140

Washington, Rev. Lawrence 83, 84, 470, 979

Washington, Richard 46, 667, 864, 873, 1138

Webster, Noah 37, 125, 531, 959, 960, 1015, 1084, 1095, 1110

Weems, Parson Mason 95, 97, 508, 512, 646, 658, 691, 692, 693, 695, 696, 697, 699, 701, 703, 705, 707, 708, 962, 980, 985, 1115

Wellington, Duke of 112, 929

White, Bishop William 137, 288, 303, 426, 438, 447, 449, 450, 454, 457, 459, 460, 461, 1082, 1127, 1128, 1157

Whiting, Bromley 117

Whitsuntide (Pentecost Sunday) 424, 964

Whittaker, Alexander 73, 976

Widman, Michael 629, 630, 631, 632, 633, 634

Wilbur, William 122

William and Mary College 290, 291, 536, 642, 1038, 1045, 1047, 1130

Williams, Roger 32, 482

Wilson, Bird 33, 34, 409, 1081

Winthrop, Rev. John 306

Witherspoon, Rev. Dr. John 265, 460, 593, 968, 1017, 1034, 1126, 1128

Woodford, Col. William 33, 882, 883

Woodward, W. E. 523

Writings Of George Washington 52, 488, 761, 845, 959, 963, 964, 991, 996, 1019, 1041, 1042, 1049, 1071, 1074, 1076, 1077, 1083, 1084, 1105, 1106, 1107, 1113, 1114, 1115, 1142, 1149, 1150, 1151, 1159, 1160, 1169

Y

Yale College 509, 536, 537, 542, 719, 922, 1039, 1098, 1126, 1151, 1162

Battle of Yorktown 143, 166, 238, 250, 575

Young Man’s Companion 126, 127, 128, 241, 988, 1160

Z

Zall, Paul M. 136, 989, 991

The doctrine of Providence declares that the world and our lives are not ruled by chance or by fate, but by God. The Providence Forum demonstrably acknowledges that the Providence of God continues to be at work, and calls us to action. It is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to reinstill and promote a Judeo-Christian worldview within our culture and to advance the faith, ethics, and moral values consistent with the spirit of our nation’s founding, emphasizing America’s historical Judeo-Christian roots. The Providence Forum reaches a broad, national audience using various means, including multimedia, radio, television and film, publications, conferences, and lectures among its many channels of communication. The Providence Forum has been raised up to help call our nation back to its historic dependence on what both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson called “an overruling Providence.” Our founding father, George Washington, spoke of, “That overruling Providence which has so often, and so remarkably interposed in our favor.” He wrote, “you will permit me to remind you, as an inexhaustible subject of consolation, that there is a good Providence which will never fail to take care of his Children.”

Providence Forum Press is the publishing arm of The Providence Forum. Its mission is to present the facts and opinions of scholarly and mainstream authors on topics relating to the Judeo-Christian heritage of the United States and divine Providence in America and around the world.

The “all-seeing eye of Providence” is a symbol that has needlessly been shrouded in mystery and controversy throughout US history, in spite of its clear message and meaning. It is found on the Great Seal of the United States, which was conceived by various committees of the US Congress beginning in 1776, but the final form we see today was proposed in the summer of 1782 by Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson, a Christian theologian. His design of the Great Seal of the United States displayed the “eye of Providence,” encased in a triangle representing the Trinity, signifying the historic Christian icon of God the Father, the first person of the Trinity, the Sovereign Agent of Providence. According to the records of the Continental Congress, “ . . . the eye . . . allude[s] to the many signal interpositions of providence in favour of the American cause.” Other organizations subsequently adopted similar symbolism as early as 1797 for purposes other than this original intent. Even The Masonic Service Association of North America confirms, “The eye on the [Great] Seal represents an active intervention of God in the affairs of men,” and, “When placed in a triangle, the eye went beyond a general representation of God to a strongly Trinitarian statement.” It goes on to conclude, referring to the back of the Great Seal, “The combining of the eye of Providence overlooking an unfinished pyramid is a uniquely American—not Masonic—icon, and must be interpreted as its designers intended. It has no Masonic context.” (Masonic Service Association of North America, “Eye in the Pyramid” at http://www.msana.com/stb_eyepyramid.htm)

This historic image is both an American and Christian symbol of our founding fathers, and, is thus most appropriate as the publisher’s mark of Providence Forum Press.

About the Authors

Peter A. Lillback, Ph.D., is the president of The Providence Forum, senior pastor at Proclamation Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and president of Westminster Theological Seminary, where he is also Professor of Historical Theology. He is the voice of Proclaiming The Word, a daily syndicated radio program, as well as The Proclamation Worship Hour. Dr. Lillback received a Ph.D. from Westminster Theological Seminary, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a B.A. from Cedarville University in Ohio. He is the author of The Binding of God: Calvin’s Role in the Development of Covenant Theology (Baker), Freedom’s Holy Light—With a Firm Reliance on Divine Providence (Providence Forum Press), and Proclaim Liberty: A Broken Bell Rings Freedom to the World (Providence Forum Press).

Dr. Lillback’s collaborator, Jerry Newcombe, is the co-author of several bestselling books, including What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (Nelson) and What If the Bible Had Never Been Written? (Nelson). He is senior producer of the nationally syndicated television program The Coral Ridge Hour and has produced or coproduced more than thirty documentaries, one of which won a silver medal at the International New York Film and Television Festival. Mr. Newcombe has a B.A. in history from Tulane University and an M.A. in communications from Wheaton Graduate School.