No, our founding fathers were not Christians, they were Deists.
The Christian Nation Myth
The Christian Nation Myth
Farrell Till
Whenever the Supreme Court makes a decision that in any way restricts the intrusion of religion into the affairs of government, a flood of editorials, articles, and letters protesting the ruling is sure to appear in the newspapers. Many protesters decry these decisions on the grounds that they conflict with the wishes and intents of the "founding fathers."
Such a view of American history is completely contrary to known facts. The primary leaders of the so-called founding fathers of our nation were not Bible-believing Christians; they were deists. Deism was a philosophical belief that was widely accepted by the colonial intelligentsia at the time of the American Revolution. Its major tenets included belief in human reason as a reliable means of solving social and political problems and belief in a supreme deity who created the universe to operate solely by natural laws. The supreme God of the Deists removed himself entirely from the universe after creating it. They believed that he assumed no control over it, exerted no influence on natural phenomena, and gave no supernatural revelation to man. A necessary consequence of these beliefs was a rejection of many doctrines central to the Christian religion. Deists did not believe in the virgin birth, divinity, or resurrection of Jesus, the efficacy of prayer, the miracles of the Bible, or even the divine inspiration of the Bible.
These beliefs were forcefully articulated by Thomas Paine in
Age of Reason, a book that so outraged his contemporaries that he died rejected and despised by the nation that had once revered him as "the father of the American Revolution." To this day, many mistakenly consider him an atheist, even though he was an out spoken defender of the Deistic view of God. Other important founding fathers who espoused Deism were George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Ethan Allen, James Madison, and James Monroe.
No, you dunce....they were fundamentalist Christians.
Lesson for today:
1. As there is far, far too much evidence for the Judeo-Christian basis of our nation, those on the Left....desiring to adhere to Marx's doctrines....attempt to call the Founders 'deists' to attempt to pry them from being called 'religious.'
2. de•ism
noun
belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of
a creator who does not intervene in the universe. The term is used chiefly of an intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries that accepted the existence of a creator on the basis of reason but rejected belief in
a supernatural deity who interacts with humankind. Google
3.
"The notion that any of the Founders believed in an impersonal deity who merely created the universe and then left it to itself is false. All of them believed in a God who, as Franklin said at the Constitutional Convention, “governs in the affairs of men.”
4. Let’s start with George Washington.
Washington’s writings, both public and private, are full of references to the Bible. This is certainly true during his eight years as the first President of the United States.
Here is Washington at his first Inaugural:
“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.”
In all likelihood, Washington was an orthodox Christian.
5. Like Washington, Benjamin Franklin also referenced Bible verses, stories, and metaphors throughout his life. His calls for prayer at the Constitutional Convention were typical of his attitude. Franklin, who had his own unorthodox views, summed up his faith this way: “
That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this.”
Clearly not a view of God ignoring his creations.
6. When it comes to John Adams, the Leftwing sophists have a field day!
"
Adams referred to himself as a Christian throughout his life, but did not believe in traditional Christian doctrines such as the trinity or the divinity of Jesus.... [but] before, during and after his tenure as President, Adams repeatedly asserted his admiration for the Christian faith... Adams spoke of his great respect for the Bible. “[T]he Bible is the best book in the world. It contains more of my… philosophy than all the libraries I have seen…”
a. Those who suggest that Adams was in any way against religion like to quote from a letter he wrote to Thomas Jefferson in which he said,
“This would be the best of all possible worlds if there was no religion in it.”
Seems to be a perfect spokesman for Marx or Lenin, no?
Definitely, no.
Unfortunately, those who cite this line never quote
the lines that immediately follow “But in this exclamation, I should have been as fanatical as [the skeptics of religion]. Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company—I mean hell.”
So, those who quote the first line without quoting the subsequent lines are either unaware of the full comment or are
deliberately misleading people as to Adams’s beliefs."
Ibid.
7. "Like Adams, Thomas Jefferson did not adhere to orthodox doctrine. Yet he often declared himself to be a Christian. “I am a Christian, he said, “in the only sense he [Jesus] wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to his doctrines...”
As one of the leaders of the American Revolution, his views are well known. After all, this is the man who wrote in the Declaration of Independence that “all men… are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” You can’t get a much more explicit statement of belief than that.
8. These four founders – Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Franklin – were practical men with a sober view of human nature. They understood that man is morally weak and that religion provides the best encouragement and incentive to be good.
It does so, first and foremost, by teaching that
choices have consequences. Not necessarily in the here and now, but most certainly in the hereafter – meted out by a just God.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Jefferson, in his second inaugural, asked for, “The favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our forefathers, as Israel of old, from their native land.”
Were the Founders Religious?
And all of them were rooted in the Judeo-Christian values found in the Bible.
“52 of the 56 signers of the declaration and 50 to 52 of the 55 signers of the Constitution were orthodox Trinitarian Christians.”
David Limbaugh
Why is it sooooo very important for Leftist to disparage religon?
Because it is essential to their central doctrine to do so.
9. "The concept of atheism is an essential element of Marxism. As Lenin stated:
"Atheism is a natural and inseparable portion of Marxism, of the theory and practice of Scientific Socialism." If God exists and is in supreme command of the universe, He possesses discretionary power, and His actions cannot always be calculated accurately in advance.
The whole edifice of Marxism collapses.
When Marx and the Communists deny the existence of God, they simultaneously deny the authority of the Ten Commandments, the existence of absolute standards of right and wrong, of good and evil; and man is left on the playing fields of the universe without a referee, without a book of rules. The winning side in any conflict can decide on what rules of conduct to apply.
Morality is the creation of the victor." The Schwarz Report | Essays
10. The Founders memorialized the very opposite in our founding documents.
There are four references to ‘Divine’ in Declaration of Independence
1)in first paragraph ‘Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God,’ 2) next paragraph ‘endowed by their Creator,” 3) Supreme Judge of the world, and 4) ‘divine’ Providence, last paragraph.
This is important because
our historic documents memorialize a government based on individuals born with inalienable rights, by, in various references, by the Divine, or Nature’s God, or their Creator, or the Supreme Judge, or divine Providence.
Since these rights are associated with each individual, they cannot be withdrawn, or subjugated to the will of a governing body.
And...despite the secular nature of our national government, there is one unambiguous reference to Christ in the Constitution. Article VII dates the Constitution in "the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven."
"The Year of Our Lord" and separation.
This leaves Leftists with only two choices....deny, or ignore.
Maybe three: lie.