The Bulletproof George Washington

David Barton wrote the 59-page booklet with the above title. He is convinced that God had a hand in keeping George Washington safe from his enemies during battle; in fact the subtitle is: "An Account of God's Providential Care." The material he presents is well worth the time spent reading it; it was actually difficult to put down. And it contains pictures and maps. It is not about the Revolution; it covers the time period known as The French and Indian War. The battle was a losing effort for the British and the Americans (who were allies in 1755). The Indians, fighting with the French, shot at Washington many times but always somehow managed to elude their target.

Well, they didn't miss entirely. They managed to shoot two of Washington's horses out from under him. And four times his coat was torn by musket balls (38). Yet, remarkably, he remained uninjured. Out of the 86 officers present at the Battle of the Monongahela, 26 were killed and 37 were wounded. Washington was definitely in the minority with 22 other men (39). One Indian leader said after the battle: "Washington was never born to be killed by a bullet!" (49). He personally had fired at him 17 times—without success. Another warrior quit firing at him after 11 misses (49). Years later a chief spoke to Washington through an interpreter. Observing how the battle was being fought, he singled out Washington as a target for all his men to shoot at. Although they were expert shots, they never were able to hit him. The chief pointed to Washington:

Listen! The Great Spirit protects that man and guides his destinies—he will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him as the founder of a mighty empire. I am come to pay homage to the man who is a particular favorite of Heaven, and who can never die in battle (50-51).

One of two things is true: Either the Indian chief was correct, or George Washington is one of the luckiest men who ever lived. He also survived the Revolutionary War to become our first President (1789 to 1797). But would God protect the life of one man for a special purpose? While not affirming that He did, we say that He could. Did not God lift up Nebuchadnezzar to be King of Babylon? Did He not raise up Cyrus, the King of Persia, in order to let Israel return to their land? King Nebuchadnezzar was not nearly so moral as George Washington. He had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego thrown into a fiery furnace for having the audacity to refuse to bow down and worship an image of himself made of gold. Even the lesson he learned at that time did not seem to stick; he was later punished for his pride. The fact that God uses a man for a specific purpose does not imply that individual is saved. All leaders, however, are responsible to God for the decisions they make.