CNSNews.com – At the close of the American Revolution in 1783, Gen. George Washington composed a circular letter to the governors of all the states urging them to imitate “that Charity, humility and pacific temper of mind, which were the Characteristicks of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion.”

He was, in fact, asking the governors of the nascent United States to imitate Jesus Christ.  Indeed, Washington told the governors that if Americans failed to imitate Christ’s “example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation.”

In “Washington’s God: Religion, Liberty, and the Father of Our Country,” scholar Michael Novak and his daughter Jana Novak have illuminated the religious life and sentiments of America’s first president and preeminent Founding Father.

The book is based on a careful and thorough reading of Washington’s own writings, both personal and public. These words, consistent the length of Washington’s life, paint an unmistakable picture of a quiet, reserved, yet steadfast Christian.

Novak, who won the 1994 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, visited CNSNews.com recently to discuss “Washington’s God” in an episode of “Online with Terry Jeffrey.” Here is a transcript of the conversation.

via CNSNews.com – Q&A with Michael Novak: George Washington Urged American Governors to Imitate Christ .