Blog Tour: Patriot at the River and a Guest Post with Jayna Baas!

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I am seriously so excited about this book. I haven't had the pleasure of reading Jayna Baas' works yet, but I've heard wonderful things about her books and can't wait to read hem myself.

About the Book:

Title: Patriot at the River (A Novel of the American Revolution)

Series: For Liberty and Conscience #2

About the series: Patriot at the River is the second book of the For Liberty and Conscience trilogy, which combines early American history with Christ-centered fiction. Though Patriot at the River can be read as a standalone, readers will enjoy the return of several characters from the first book in the series, Preacher on the Run.

Genre: Christian historical fiction

Length: 322 pages

Release date: September 25, 2024

THE FIGHT HE GOT WASN’T THE FIGHT HE WANTED.

It’s 1780, and North Carolina is a battleground. Backcountry scout Benjamin Woodbridge is guarding a Patriot camp when he sees the king’s men pursuing a civilian. Never one to stand by while someone is in trouble, Benjamin steps in to help the stranger and finds an unexpected ally.

But the same British officer who targeted the stranger is also targeting Benjamin’s settlement. After Benjamin is wounded on a lonely mountain trail, he watches Sunrising fall to the man who crushed his father’s cause nine years earlier. Benjamin’s fight has come home to the very people he wanted to protect—his shy younger sister and the woman who has given them both a home.

Now, with the help of some unlikely comrades and the indomitable Aunt Kate, Benjamin must fight for what he loves before Sunrising goes up in flames. But only if he can fight himself first.

Perfect for fans of Christian historical fiction and tales of bravery and redemption, Patriot at the River combines engaging characters, daring action, and biblical truth. Read now and step into an adventure of faith and freedom.

About the Author:

Jayna Baas (pronounced as in “baa, baa, black sheep”) is the author of Preacher on the Run and director of The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network. She writes and edits from beautiful northern Michigan, where she strives to give readers faith-filled adventures bursting with relatable characters and biblical truth.

When she’s not writing her own books or editing other people’s books, Jayna seeks out new adventures on the screen, on the page, and in the kitchen. She also loves to spend time with her great family of real people and the family of pretend people who live in her head. (Yes, she does know her characters are not real. No, she does not want you to tell them she said so.)

Although her love of words extends to multiple genres, Jayna’s favorite story is this: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Learn more at booksbyjayna.com, join her newsletter, or connect with her on Goodreads.

Why the American Revolution Was Not a Rebellion

Some people claim that honoring God means complete obedience to civil government. Maybe you’ve wondered if the American Revolution was such a good thing after all, or if it was just a rebellion and loyalty to the king was actually more biblical. Maybe you’ve never wondered that, but you’ve heard someone else wonder it and wished you had an answer.

Patriot at the River is set toward the end of the American Revolution, and its characters have a lot to say about the choices they’ve made. But more than that, let’s look at the reasons historical figures made the choices they made and why the American Revolution was not a rebellion.

1. The American Revolution fought for law, not against it.

From the distance of nearly 250 years, it’s hard for us to see English law as clearly as early Americans saw it. We tend to assume the king was the law, and that defying the king was defying biblical authority.

But that assumption would be incorrect. Writers like John Locke, Samuel Rutherford, and Sir Edward Coke made it clear that in England the law, not the king, was the true authority. If the king disregarded the law, he should be resisted. Sir William Blackstone, Roger Williams, and other legal and religious minds went even further: God was the final authority. Neither king nor law should be obeyed if contrary to God’s law (the “law of nature and of nature’s God,” as the Declaration of Independence put it).

Early American preachers, especially those who faced persecution from the established church, emphasized that Scripture tells us to “obey every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake,” implying that civil obedience should be limited to laws that align with God’s law. Others rejected the interference of the British government in religious matters, not out of personal rebellion, but because of Christ’s command to “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”

This legal and religious heritage led early Americans to hold the king and his officials responsible for their actions. This meant resisting edicts that ran contrary to the established laws of England and the law of God. In the words of Thomas Jefferson’s favorite motto, “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.”

2. The American Revolution acknowledged authority instead of rejecting it.

Since we easily assume the king was the primary authority in both England and the Colonies, we also tend to assume the Revolution was a wholesale rejection of authority. We’ve already seen how the Revolution prioritized true authority (God’s law and the laws of England). Now let’s look at a philosophy commonly called “the law of the lesser magistrates.”

This principle teaches that when authorities (such as the king) make unbiblical or illegal demands, the cause of right should be taken up by the next rightful authorities in line. This prevents anarchy or mob rule. The law of the lesser magistrates is seen in biblical cases like the story of Athaliah, whose evil rule was overthrown by the high priest, or the book of Judges, where God raised up new leadership to resist oppression.

The Continental Congress and other early American leadership clearly enacted this principle, avoiding mob rule while leading the colonists against misused power. Instead of rejecting all authority, Patriots shifted their allegiance to a different source of rightful authority.

3. The American Revolution began with inward change rather than outward revolt.

In stark contrast to movements like the French Revolution, which worshipped “reason” and cast off all “religion,” the American Revolution began with the Great Awakening. Thousands of early Americans came to understand that they were personally responsible to God for their consciences.

This inward revival quickly spread to the political world. As a recent Shiloh Films documentary explains, people who are spiritually free are much less willing to submit to political bondage. Just as they learned that formal religion could not stand between them and God, they learned that the political elite could not stand between them and the law.

As early American believers stood for religious freedom, willing to suffer for what they believed, that freedom took root in the hearts and minds of men. Revolutionary indeed.

4. The American Revolution has stood the test of time.

No nation is perfect, and no nation can stand forever. The farther a nation gets from honoring God’s principles (whether or not they personally know the Lord), the worse that nation will become. But America has over two centuries of some of the greatest freedom ever known in the history of the world. Christianity flourished here.

This is not true of any of the world’s rebellions. The French Revolution brought the Reign of Terror and eventually Napoleon, not lasting peace, prosperity, or biblical principles. Communist rebellions brought anarchy and worse tyranny than before.

Was the American Revolution perfect? No. Wrongs were committed on the American side as well as the British. Not everyone fought for the right reasons. Not everyone believed in a biblical view of God. But this revolution, founded on law, led by rightful authority, and built on inward revival, changed the course of the world.

If you’re interested in the legal and religious influences that shaped the American Revolution, grab your copy of Patriot at the River before October 17 and forward your receipt to info(at)booksbyjayna(dot)com to get an ebook of selected readings from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, plus some other fun bonuses as well.

Giveaway:

Time: 12:00 AM September 30 – 12:00 AM October 14

Prize: One signed paperback copy each of Preacher on the Run and Patriot at the River, the first two books in the For Liberty and Conscience trilogy. All entrants will receive a promo code for Jayna Baas’s online store.

Notes: US mailing addresses only, 18 and up or with parental consent. No purchase necessary. All entrants agree to join Jayna Baas’s email list.

Giveaway link: https://kingsumo.com/g/1v9v4zm/patriot-at-the-river-release-tour-series-giveaway

Giveaway winner will be announced on Monday, October 14.