I know there are dire things in the world but on Friday afternoon of a long weekend, I want to bring you hot church history facts for Hamilton (the musical) b/c a) my family is obsessed b) I love church history c) I was offline this summer when it debuted on Disney+ d) why not?**

1. "My grandfather was a fire and brimstone preacher" (preacha, preacha...) -Aaron Burr

His grandfather was none other than Jonathan Edwards.

2. The guy that sings "Heed not the rabble that scream revolution" is Samuel Seabury, the first Episcopal Bishop in America. His anti-revolutionary impulse came from his Christian convictions (whether you agree or not, this was his argument). And he paid dearly for it.

He even got kidnapped by the Sons of Liberty, a group committed to revolution who held him for ransom. (Things in the USA have always been crazy).
And he also was a big advocate for weekly Eucharist, which was not practiced by Anglicans at the time.

3. Aaron Burr wasn't just Jonathan Edwards's grandson. His dad, Aaron Burr, Sr. was the 2nd president of Princeton & a presbyterian minister. Aaron Jr. also studied theology & thought about following in his family's footsteps, but decided against it (ooh boy, did he ever).

But it is really interesting to think of how history would have played out differently if he had made a different choice of life and vocation.

4. Eliza Hamilton (my fave) was an evangelical Christian. Her orphanage was formed as an evangelical ministry by "prominent evangelical women." This makes her the most popular evangelical on Broadway*

* cuing @CTmagazine for a E. Ham, "darling evangelical of broadway" piece

5. After Philip's death, Alexander sings, "I take the children to church on Sunday / A sign of the cross at the door / And I pray / That never used to happen before.”
IRL, after his son's tragic death, it does seem that A. Ham had something like a conversion experience....

...or something like it. Whatever the case, it seems his faith became far more alive & personal to him and he seems to have in some ways adopted his wife's more evangelical beliefs (and fervor).

Bonus one:
Hamilton was rejected for an accelerated pace at Princeton (so he went to King's College). The person who rejected him was the famous Presbyterian minister John Witherspoon...

** I'm not a history scholar (I'm married to one, but sadly the PhD doesn't become shared property in marriage:-)), so all provisos and limitations apply. This is just for fun. Don't put this in your college research paper without more research. But I think it'll check out.