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AND THEN THERE WERE NONE
We started this thread almost a month ago on 13 January 2020. The premise for this thread is that America was FOUNDED as a Christian nation. Although I started this thread, one poster, NOTFOOLEDBYW, decided he would co-opt, derail and run this thread. He failed to get any support. If you are dedicated to finding the truth, every objection that NOTFOOLEDBYW has been refuted. He may have posted a lot of bluster, but he did not stop the truth.
While I never got to explain exactly what is meant by FOUNDED as a Christian nation, we got to expose the secularists, deists, humanists, atheists, and others who try to silence the truth and expose them for who and what they are.
America was founded as a Christian nation. Some consider the genesis of the founding as synonymous with the Declaration of Independence. That is inaccurate. Our nation had over 150 years of development behind it before the Declaration of Independence was penned. We had become our own people. And, America was, by and large, Christian. Culturally, the people were Christian. Of this there is no substantial denial. The men who signed their names to the Declaration of Independence, on the day they signed that document, acknowledged a Christian God. This is beyond dispute.
Each of the signatories signed that document "with a firm reliance on Divine Providence" which was synonymous with a Christian God. As evidence of this, I go back to my original post (Post # 1.) John Winthrop, a Protestant, gave a sermon in the language of those times. Winthrop's sermon begins with "GOD ALMIGHTY in His most holy and wise providence" and Winthrop uses He and His without any references to Jesus Christ. On the very first page of the sermon, this sentence jumps out: "From hence it appears plainly that no man is made more honorable than another or more wealthy etc., out of any particular and singular respect to himself, but for the glory of his Creator and the common good of the creature..." and by page 2 of Winthrop's sermon we find this: "Honor the Lord with thy riches," etc. --- All men being thus (by divine providence)" showing, unequivocally that when the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence were fully cognizant that when they pledged their Lives, Fortunes and sacred Honor, it was before a Christian God. Divine Providence is an acknowledgment of the Trinity.
While these men did not create a theocracy, the first contribution that they made was a commitment to Liberty. They understood Liberty from a Christian concept. The fact that so many meetings took place in homes, churches, and in barns for years prior to the Declaration of Independence and had a difficult time separating from the rule of King George, especially reconciling Independence with the admonitions in Romans 13 fill many pages of historical texts.
In the end, the founders adopted the common law the colonists and founders came here with. Its basis is Christianity. When we pass a statute, we then interpret that statute based upon a line of reasoning. That reasoning is predicated upon how we handled previous cases. Since we had no starting point on legal reasoning - we used the reasoning of the English law... which was based on a Christian perspective. Consequently, our concept of right and wrong; good and bad; evil versus acceptable stem from a Christian perspective. So, the first contribution of the Christians to our form of government is the commitment to Liberty and the second contribution would be the common law.
But, due to the ego of one man, our incessant troll, with a holier than thou attitude, (AND NOT ONE POSTER SUPPORTED HIS ERRONEOUS OPINIONS) we were prevented from having this discussion. While there may be no more new material being discussed on this thread, I will continue to oppose this childish troll because he CAN be defeated. He cannot silence the truth forever.
Addendum: The sockpuppet accounts are damnable. All one has to do is see WHEN the sockpuppet begins posting and what they were posting about. And, yes, the constant attempts to derail this thread and make this personal DID prevent a credible and civil discussion of the OP - (the first post) which has not been addressed. And if the board troll, under any of his assumed names, is posting off topic attacks every day, it detracts from the OP and discourages posters from addressing the real issue
#1200 reply to #513.I have stated many many times that America is not now a Christian nation.
Going by the majority, America is still a Christian country.
But Porter Rockwell obnoxiously regards today’s America to be “a morally bankrupt third world cesspool barely fit to take a dump in.”
- The proportion of US adults who describe themselves as Christian has fallen to two-thirds, a drop of 12 percentage points over the past decade, according to data from the Pew Research Center. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/17/americans-less-christian-religion-survey-p
In think it’s quite shitty for a Christian to talk this way about a 2/3 majority Christian nation,
I’ll never understand why he said this.
it makes no sense at all and does not enhance his argument.
Your strawman arguments will not advance your position. You have been proven to be a liar, a troll and now using sockpuppets to insinuate you have some support.
Trump-allied pastor tells worshippers "America is a Christian nation"
America was FOUNDED as a Christian nation.
ACKNOWLEDGING THE TROLL 11 Feb 2020 Update
I made no such claims. NONE OF NOTFOOLEDBYW'S CRITICISMS REFLECT MY VIEWS; NOTHING HE SAYS IS TRUE This list of NOTFOOLEDBYW updated today and an addendum follows in the next post...
NOTFOOLEDBYW - YOU ARE A FILTHY LIAR. SEE THE UPDATES THAT PROVE SAME. Bolded for everyone's convenience
NOTFOOLEDBYW'S FINAL RESPONSE
This thread is now 1158 posts long as I begin this response. Of those, NOTFOOLEDBYW has made a total of 213 posts. They are posts # 78, 80, 111, 113, 118, 126, 140, 154, 157, 158, 159, 162, 172, 174, 179, 189, 192, 195, 196, 197, 203, 204, 205, 212, 220, 224, 225, 232, 233, 234, 235, 240, 240, 241, 242, 243, 246, 247, 254, 255, 256, 267, 279, 280, 285, 290, 296, 297, 302, 307, 309, 318, 321, 328, 330, 335, 339, 340, 341, 345, 347, 350, 350, 351, 352, 367, 370, 373, 381, 393, 394, 399, 401, 404, 411, 412, 413, 420, 421, 425, 426, 429, 430, 431, 432, 468, 485, 500, 504, 508, 512, 516, 519, 525, 527, 537, 539, 541, 546, 549, 551, 554, 557, 559, 561, 563, 565, 566, 569, 570, 574, 577, 581, 582, 587, 589, 606, 607, 610, 626, 630, 636, 642, 644, 646, 684, 688, 699, 700, 703, 704, 707, 708, 709, 715, 716, 718, 724, 725, 730, 740, 744, 746, 747, 750, 753, 754, 755, 761, 762, 769, 774, 782, 7998, 800, ... that is 155 posts out of 805, 807, 812, 824, 827, 830, 831, 832, 844, 847, 860, 872, 899, 904,913, 929, 936, 943, 946, 951, 965, 973, 986, 999, 1011, 1018,1033, 1037, 1039, 1040, 1047, 1049, 1052, 1063, 1074, 1076, 1079, 1080, 1083, 1090, 1096, 1097, 1108, 1111, 1124, 1132, 1140, 1146, 1147, 1152, 1153, 1154
In virtually every post NOTFOOLEDBYW has insulted posters, called them liars, misrepresented people, and NOBODY has defended his positions.
By contrast, NOTFOOLEDBYW has been challenged by numerous posters to whom NOTFOOLEDBYW has called liars, fools, morons, and accused them of all manner of wrongdoing. Those posters responded a total of 137 times in posts: #120, 130, 134, 167, 169,174, 176, 175, 176, 180, 185, 206, 207, 250, 282, 299, 346, 346, 354, 396, 397, 403, 405, 406, 407, 414, 415, 416, 424, 427, 428, 433, 434, 438, 439, 440, 445, 446, 447, 448, 450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456, 457, 458, 460, 461, 464, 465, 466, 467, 469, 470, 472, 474, 476, 483, 484, 490, 491, 492, 493, 494, 496, 497, 498, 499, 501, 502, 517, 518, 521, 526, 528, 531, 558, 562, 564, 567, 568, 571, 573, 576, 578, 579, 588, 591, 593, 594, 595, 596, 598, 599, 600, 603, 608, 612, 613, 615, 618, 627, 628, 629, 633, 645, 648, 653, 658, 665, 668, 698, 701, 705, 706, 711, 722, 723, 726, 751, 764, 765, 779, 834, 837, 839, 954, 971, 974, 976, 1002, 1016, 1019 - and I have not recorded the people who have disagreed with him past this point
I have been obliged to respond to NOTFOOLEDBYW more than 100 times personally. There are roughly 500 posts that have revolved around this one poster. TO DATE NOBODY IS SUPPORTING HIS CRAP AND HE'S EVEN SUNK SO LOW AS TO HAVE SOCKPUPPET ACCOUNTS.
One poster or another has successfully defeated each and every argument he brings to the table. He is now remaining, claiming I lied about Thomas Jefferson - as if that would change the balance of this discussion. Here is my position:
1) When other posters began discussing this as a conversation rather than a point by point, let's prove everything, I got conversational. I quoted Thomas Jefferson from an unnamed source in an online general conversation.
I really do not want to restart any conversations with THIS idiot about Thomas Jefferson and my quote. But, I cut and pasted the quote as I found it on the Internet:
http://peace2you.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Faith-of-Founding-Fathers1.pdf
If you look a few quotes down, you can see where I got it from. When that troll made a big deal out of my inadvertent faux pas of leaving out the link, I looked up the book from where the quote was obtained and put it in post #552. I DIDN'T LIE AND NOTFOOLEDBYW IS A ROTTEN, FILTHY, STINKING, LIAR. ALL of his posts were responded to honestly and openly. Check his posts... he's quoting me and it's there.
2) NOTFOOLEDBYW seized upon that accusing me of posting a lie; even claiming that I edited my source. I did not. I did, however, look at where my source got their material and I quoted where it could be found. I did not lie
3) Regardless of how that material reads, the bottom line is Thomas Jefferson said he was a Christian and I took him at his word as his early life indicates such. Jefferson states, and it was quoted on this thread, that his life experiences changed his outlook. Nothing has changed what Jefferson said at that point in his life
4) Regardless of how many times founders did or said one thing or another, I look at the bottom line and if over half the posts here are either one man arguing against those points compared to the scores of posts disagreeing with him, there is no point to prove. If this matters to you and you want to wade through who said what, you have each post - minus my own (which is unnecessary since all those people who agreed with me either quoted the relevant parts and / or the post itself. My point here is I did not lie and every time that troll posts, I will simply cut and paste this response (that took some hours to research just for him.)
If he still wants to call me a liar, he can do it to my face. Otherwise, he has been successfully defeated by other posters to the point that nothing I have to say would be relevant anyway. IF there are any other points to be addressed, I will be happy to entertain them, just not by the resident troll. The dumb ass needs to read. This post refutes his account of what happened.. I know because I'm the one who did it. I copied and pasted the fucking quote as it appeared and no amount of political jockeying will change that. It's over dumbass
AMERICA WAS FOUNDED AS A CHRISTIAN NATION III
As we continue on, I find that this may be a daily ritual until the troll is buried under a mountain of truth whilst he makes his case predicated on the words of a single founder - a conflicted man that contradicted his own writings, depending upon where he stood at any given moment.
We have examined the three most important documents: The Declaration of Independence, The Treaty of Paris 1783 that ended the American Revolutionary War and the Constitution, noting the Christian influence in each of these documents. We created a nation of Christians with Christian values as our measuring rod and a legal system that used biblical principles to differentiate right from wrong; good from evil; etc.
I also pointed out that the presidents that we count as founding fathers nominated men to the United States Supreme Court to interpret the law. the only thing more authoritative than their opinions about the law were actual court rulings. So, until we reach the time when an actual ruling is made, their opinions are more authoritative than even select quotes from the founders since they left the United States Supreme Court in charge of interpreting what the Constitution means. I've quoted the first United States Supreme Court Justice ever appointed. Let's do a couple more:
John Rutledge would be the second person to be nominated, but he doesn't count as he was not confirmed by the Senate. Then came Oliver Ellsworth. According to Wikipedia:
"Once the Judiciary Act was adopted by the Senate, Ellsworth sponsored the Senate's acceptance of the Bill of Rights promoted by Madison in the House of Representatives. Significantly, Madison sponsored the Judiciary Act in the House at the same time. Combined, the Judiciary Act and Bill of Rights gave the Constitution the "teeth" that had been missing in the Articles of Confederation. Judicial Review guaranteed the federal government's sovereignty, whereas the Bill of Rights guaranteed the protection of states and citizens from the misuse of this sovereignty by the federal government.
...However, with the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1865, seventy-five years later, the Bill of Rights could be brought to bear at all levels of government as interpreted by the judiciary with final appeal to the Supreme Court. Needless to say, this had not been the original intention of either Madison or Ellsworth.
Oliver Ellsworth - Wikipedia
This is important to note because before the illegal ratification of the 14th Amendment, many states required office holders to take an oath that they believed in the Christian faith. Since it was an oath and NOT a test, this was constitutional and the states remained culturally Christian; hence, we were a Christian nation.
The Fourth Chief Justice, nominated by John Adams was the very articulate John Marshall. He is the Justice who once said that "the power to tax is the power to destroy." He also said that "a legislative act contrary to the Constitution is not law." The quote I'm most impressed with relative to this conversation is:
“What are the maxims of Democracy? A strict observance of justice and public faith, and a steady adherence to virtue.”
Source: Top 30 quotes of JOHN MARSHALL famous quotes and sayings | inspringquotes.us
John Marshall, appointed by founder and framer John Adams had this to say:
"No person, I believe, questions the importance of religion to the happiness of man even during his existence in this world. It has at all times employed his most serious meditation, and had a decided influence on his conduct.
The American population is entirely Christian, and with us, Christianity and Religion are identified. It would be strange, indeed, if with such a people, our institutions did not presuppose Christianity, and did not often refer to it, and exhibit relations with it."
John Marshall: The American population is entirely Christian, and with us, Christianity and Religion are identified » Sons of Liberty Media
I'm an anti-federalist, but there is no doubt that Marshall understood that, as a people, the United States IS a Christian nation.
We are not done.
MERICA WAS FOUNDED AS A CHRISTIAN NATION IV
In this summation of the founding of America as a Christian nation, we've been looking at the United States Supreme Court Justices. We covered the Chief Justices that the founders / framers appointed and now I'm starting with some of those that Washington appointed. The first one, William Cushing provides a counter balance to Jefferson, who was just one founder. According to Wikipedia about Cushing:
" He generally held a nationalist view typically in line with the views of the Federalist Party, and often disagreed with Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans."
William Cushing - Wikipedia
I found little about Cushing save of this in a very brief look into his background:
"American jurist who was the first appointee to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Cushing graduated from Harvard in 1751"
William Cushing | United States jurist
Harvard was founded as a Christian college. According to Wikipedia:
"The early motto of Harvard was Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae, meaning "Truth for Christ and the Church". In the early classes, half the graduates became ministers (though by the 1760s the proportion was down to 15%) and ten of Harvard's first twelve presidents were ministers. Systematic theological instruction was inaugurated in 1721 and by 1827 Harvard became a nucleus of theological teaching in New England"
History of Harvard University - Wikipedia
Safe to say Cushing was influenced by Christianity.
James Wilson, another Washington Supreme Court appointee:
"He changed his practicing religion from Presbyterian to Episcopalian"and in 1779 became the advocate general for France in America.
James Wilson | The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
Although John Blair received a Christian education, his grand uncle being the founder of William and Mary College, Blair was a Freemason, so score one for the "Deists."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Blair_Jr.
As we make this journey, we aren't so much concerned as to who was what so much as we are concerned with the final product. What did America become?
MERICA WAS FOUNDED AS A CHRISTIAN NATION IV
In this summation of the founding of America as a Christian nation, we've been looking at the United States Supreme Court Justices. We covered the Chief Justices that the founders / framers appointed and now I'm starting with some of those that Washington appointed. The first one, William Cushing provides a counter balance to Jefferson, who was just one founder. According to Wikipedia about Cushing:
" He generally held a nationalist view typically in line with the views of the Federalist Party, and often disagreed with Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans."
William Cushing - Wikipedia
I found little about Cushing save of this in a very brief look into his background:
"American jurist who was the first appointee to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Cushing graduated from Harvard in 1751"
William Cushing | United States jurist
Harvard was founded as a Christian college. According to Wikipedia:
"The early motto of Harvard was Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae, meaning "Truth for Christ and the Church". In the early classes, half the graduates became ministers (though by the 1760s the proportion was down to 15%) and ten of Harvard's first twelve presidents were ministers. Systematic theological instruction was inaugurated in 1721 and by 1827 Harvard became a nucleus of theological teaching in New England"
History of Harvard University - Wikipedia
Safe to say Cushing was influenced by Christianity.
James Wilson, another Washington Supreme Court appointee:
"He changed his practicing religion from Presbyterian to Episcopalian"and in 1779 became the advocate general for France in America.
James Wilson | The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
Although John Blair received a Christian education, his grand uncle being the founder of William and Mary College, Blair was a Freemason, so score one for the "Deists."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Blair_Jr.
As we make this journey, we aren't so much concerned as to who was what so much as we are concerned with the final product. What did America become?
are you saying that the founding fathers were tyrannical dictators who DEMANDED that every generation of Americans following them FOREVER MUST be the same religion as they were?
Are you saying that because some of them were christians then we ALL Must be christian?
or we ALL must follow christian law?
Divine Providence is an acknowledgment of the Trinity.
Divine Providence is an acknowledgment of the Trinity.
MERICA WAS FOUNDED AS A CHRISTIAN NATION IV
In this summation of the founding of America as a Christian nation, we've been looking at the United States Supreme Court Justices. We covered the Chief Justices that the founders / framers appointed and now I'm starting with some of those that Washington appointed. The first one, William Cushing provides a counter balance to Jefferson, who was just one founder. According to Wikipedia about Cushing:
" He generally held a nationalist view typically in line with the views of the Federalist Party, and often disagreed with Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans."
William Cushing - Wikipedia
I found little about Cushing save of this in a very brief look into his background:
"American jurist who was the first appointee to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Cushing graduated from Harvard in 1751"
William Cushing | United States jurist
Harvard was founded as a Christian college. According to Wikipedia:
"The early motto of Harvard was Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae, meaning "Truth for Christ and the Church". In the early classes, half the graduates became ministers (though by the 1760s the proportion was down to 15%) and ten of Harvard's first twelve presidents were ministers. Systematic theological instruction was inaugurated in 1721 and by 1827 Harvard became a nucleus of theological teaching in New England"
History of Harvard University - Wikipedia
Safe to say Cushing was influenced by Christianity.
James Wilson, another Washington Supreme Court appointee:
"He changed his practicing religion from Presbyterian to Episcopalian"and in 1779 became the advocate general for France in America.
James Wilson | The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
Although John Blair received a Christian education, his grand uncle being the founder of William and Mary College, Blair was a Freemason, so score one for the "Deists."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Blair_Jr.
As we make this journey, we aren't so much concerned as to who was what so much as we are concerned with the final product. What did America become?
are you saying that the founding fathers were tyrannical dictators who DEMANDED that every generation of Americans following them FOREVER MUST be the same religion as they were?
Are you saying that because some of them were christians then we ALL Must be christian?
or we ALL must follow christian law?
Give it up sockpuppet. NOTFOOLEDBYW, you are not fooling anyone. Do you really think that 1172 posts into this thread, some guy is really going to jump in the conversation, AFTER all that has been said and not have enough common sense to read the first freaking post? IF someone did exist like that, they would be a fucking idiot.
You're not fooling anyone with these posts. They have nothing to do with the OP NOR with the previous ten posts I've made. Try again troll. Still living in your head, rent free. How many accounts to you have here anyway?
At least try to be original and have something pertaining to the topic if you're going to post.
I want you to have access to some of the major Charters, Compacts, etc. that lead up to our values as a nation. So, I will list some more you can access to see that the colonies were founded on Christian principles consistent with the OP.
You may want to Google The Charter of Maryland of 1632, Grant Of The Province Of New Hampshire To Mr. Mason of 22 April 1635, Fundamental Orders of Connecticut 1638 – 1639, Agreement of the Settlers At Exeter in New Hampshire of 1639Fundamental Agreement Of The Colony Of New Haven june 4, 1639, Grant Of The Province Of Maine 1639, Massachusetts Body Of Liberties 1641, and I will quote some of the others in posts to come along with the language that unequivocally proves that the colonies were all based upon the Bible.
The earliest state constitutions made it clear as well that America was founded as a Christian nation. For example, the Constitution of Connecticut of 1776:
Art. 22. Every person who shall be chosen a member of either house, or appointed to any office or place of trust, before taking his seat, or entering upon the execution of his office, shall take the following oath, or affirmation, if conscientiously scrupulous of taking an oath, to wit:
” I, A B. will bear true allegiance to the Delaware State, submit to its constitution and laws, and do no act wittingly whereby the freedom thereof may be prejudiced.”
And also make and subscribe the following declaration, to wit:
” I, A B. do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore; and I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration.”
Similar language will be found in the state constitutions of Delaware (1776), Georgia (1777), Maryland (1776), Constitution or Form of Government for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1780), New Hampshire (1784), New Jersey (1776) New York (1777), North Carolina (1776) Pennsylvania (1776), South Carolina (1778) Vermont (1777), and Virginia (1777.) If you want the exact language of any of those state constitutions, let me know which one and I will post the applicable section(s.)
By the time we get to the United States Constitution, the atheists and unbelievers cannot find any Christian influence therein. I mentioned all the aforementioned state constitutions for a reason. ALL of them have sections requiring a person to take an oath in order to hold elective office. Now, let me quote from the Constitution of the United States:
“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” Article VI Paragraph III of the U.S. Constitution
There is a difference between an oath and a test. A religious test is prohibited. An oath is NOT prohibited and most state constitutions required one to be a Christian in order to hold public office. Feel free to Google any of the above earliest state constitutions to verify that. I will do more posts a little later showing you Christian principles in the Constitution and debunking the critics most oft used ruses.
#1217 reply to #1199Divine Providence is an acknowledgment of the Trinity.
Non-Christian Deists such as Thomas Paine refused to use Judeo-Christian terminology and described God with such expressions as “Providence,”
MUSLIMS AND 5 US PRESIDENTS REJECTS TRINITY
Muslims and 5 US Presidents do not agree with the trinity
TV Evangelists claim that Allah, God of the Muslims, is not a real God and is not the same God of Christians. This is because the Christian god is the trinity. Muslims do not agree with the Christian doctrine of trinity or the divinity of Jesus. Millions of Christians reject this same doctrine. At least five Presidents of the USA: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore, and William Howard Taft did not believe that Jesus was the son of god. They were Unitarians that respected the teachings of Jesus and rejected his divinity. Moreover, Sir Isaac Newton, the greatest scientist in the history, Leo Tolstoy, the giant of the Russian literature, and Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, the greatest German writer (Goethe Institutes for teaching the German language exist in many parts of the world) did not agree with the trinity. Therefore, those TV Evangelists are either ignorant of their history or they do not tell the WHOLE TRUTH.
The following are the writings of the second US President John Adams:
"The divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity. Nowhere in the Gospels do we find a precept for Creeds, Confessions, Oaths, Doctrines, and whole carloads of other foolish trumpery that we find in Christianity." --John Adams
"I almost shudder at the thought of alluding to the most fatal example of the abuses of grief which the history of mankind has preserved--the Cross. Consider what calamities that engine of grief has produced!"--John Adams in a letter to Thomas Jefferson
"As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation. But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that has ever existed?" John Adams letter to F.A. Van der Kamp, Dec. 27, 1816.
The following are the writings of the third US President Thomas Jefferson (The writer of the US Declaration of Independence, and the signer of US Constitution):
The divine aspects of Christ were "the fabric of very inferior minds. It is as easy to separate those parts, as to pick out diamonds from dunghills." --Jefferson in a letter to John Adams, January, 24, 1814.
"Among the sayings and discourses imputed to [Jesus] by His biographers, I find many passages of fine imagination, correct morality, and of the most lovely benevolence; and others, again, of so much ignorance, so much absurdity, so much untruth, charlatanism and imposture, as to pronounce it impossible that such contradictions should have proceeded from the same Being. I separate, therefore, the gold from the dross; restore to Him the former, and leave the latter to the stupidity of some, and roguery of others of His disciples. Of this band of dupes and impostors, Paul was the great . . . corruptor of the doctrines of Jesus." --Jefferson in a letter William Short, April, 13, 1820.
Jefferson went so far as to produce a revised New Testament deleting all references to miracles and portraying Jesus as just an extraordinary man and a powerful moral leader.
It is very interesting that Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the US Constitution, purchased a copy of the Quran, and taught himself to read Arabic, and to know the basic Arabic grammars. It should be noted that Arabic is a Semitic language written from right to left as opposed to English which a Latin language written to left to right. It is suggested in this article that Thomas Jefferson went to all this work in the Quran and it language to study the Islamic Law to help him in his legal work! You be the judge!
Reference
Kane, Joseph Nathan. Facts About the Presidents (Fourth Edition). New York: The H. W. Wilson Co. (1981)
DeGregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents (Second Edition). New York: Dembner Books (1989)
Kevin Hayes, "How Thomas Jefferson Read the Quran" Early American Literature; June 2004, Vol.39 Issue 2, P. 247
#1199Divine Providence is an acknowledgment of the Trinity.
#1217. That is not true. You can argue all you want that Britannica scholars are all wrong and you are right.
- Non-Christian Deists such as Paine refused to use Judeo-Christian terminology and described God with such expressions as “Providence,” “the Creator,” “the Ruler of Great Events,” and “Nature’s God.”
Founders who fall into the category of Christian Deists used Deistic terms for God but sometimes added a Christian dimension—such as “Merciful Providence” or “Divine Goodness.” Yet these Founders did not move further into orthodoxy and employ the traditional language of Christian piety.
The Founding Fathers, Deism, and Christianity. WRITTEN BY: David L. Holmes.
The Founding Fathers, Deism, and Christianity
