On American Reason

[Artevelde]

On American Reason.

It’s hard to believe that many people in the world still give their faith to religion. Especially in this country. America, a nation founded on imagination, on philosophy, on rationality, and healthy skepticism. We are—or at least were—a nation with minds as free and wild and untamed as the land itself. What place does religion have in such a wide and untamed place? Surely, the belief or, more appropriately, the dry faith in religion should shrivel up and die in the hot sands of the American prairies. It doesn’t though. In fact, it thrives in the dry scrutiny of the desert like the burrobush. Growing thick and proud. It’s a weed with shallow roots.

We Americans are blessed with a great land. A land which stretches far and wide, and is plenty bountiful. Much of the land though, is rather arid. It’s difficult to farm the land in our country but, with hard work and perseverance, many people make it work. They forged for themselves a land that is fertile from land that was sterile. The same applies to the American mind. We are a country that is relatively new in the global macrocosm. Our forbearers came to this country with nothing. They came with no plan beyond escaping a life that didn’t work for them. Our country was planted in that infertile ground. From this arid rocky land, our forefathers forged a fertile nation. They created a place where we could grow free of the taint of forced thought, free of taxation without representation, free of the implications of institution. Free of the oppressive things that came with being European.

Our country has come to a point where we have forgotten those American ideals. Many Americans are allowing themselves to believe that this country was founded on the tenets of Christianity. Many would have you believe that our founding fathers were themselves God-fearing. This is certainly a powerful notion. But in actuality, these people are telling a counter-narrative, one in which they can’t be wrong. They are reading history in a way which sounds good and supports their own counter-narrative. They are backing it up with “irrefutable” facts based on their rigorous but ultimately erroneous readings of history. Should “circular logic” have a more precise definition, I haven’t heard it.

What these people don’t realize is that the earliest Americans had no fear of God. In fact, our founding fathers were quite outspoken in their non-Christian belief. Thomas Jefferson himself said: "Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man." Jefferson was of course a founding father, the chief author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States. And he was not alone in his sentiments. Surely, there’s a reason many people believe that we are a Christian nation. But that reason doesn’t exist in reality. Unfortunately for us, Jefferson is dead. But so is Abraham.

I implore my fellow Americans to realize that we are not living in a Christian nation. We are living in a nation where we are allowed to think freely. We are allowed to go beyond the crushing yoke of theology.

You can believe those stupid lies if you want too. That's freedom too.

 

[Youwerecreated]

What these people don’t realize is that the earliest Americans had no fear of God

In other words, the Pilgrims were atheists and only sailed to America for a vacation??

Well, to escape religious persecution and economic uncertainty. But you know, vacation works too.

Always a but with your views.

 

[Sunni Man]

What these people don’t realize is that the earliest Americans had no fear of God

In other words, the Pilgrims were atheists and only sailed to America for a vacation??

Well, to escape religious persecution and economic uncertainty. But you know, vacation works too.

They didn't flee Europe because they were persecuted for being atheists.

They left because they they were persecuted for their religion.

So that blows your whole OP of, first Americans didn't believe in God, right out of the water.

 

[peach174]

I think you need to read our Founders own words again JMJames

WallBuilders - Issues and Articles - The Founding Fathers on Jesus, Christianity and the Bible

Our Founder's were very outspoken in their belief in Christianity.
They were very much God fearing people.
All of Europe was Christian and when they came to America's shores they were Christian's.
The very 1st Amendment says freedom of religion,because Europe had an establishment of Christian religion.

Our Founder's believed that God hand a hand in helping us win the Revolutionary War and also had a hand in helping them write our Constitution.
They believed that America was the new nation to spread Christianity and the freedom to worship God and Jesus as to which religious way they choose to worship.

 

[Douger]

Yawn.........