So while they Founders were sometimes bitter rivals what did they believe? In the case of Jefferson it was quite radical. On the site Beliefnet you can find a version of Jefferson's Bible. A bible that he cut and pasted to assemble the teachings of Jesus without miracles and virgin birth. Jefferson said he wanted to separate the "diamonds from the dunghill." Exactly what did her remove from his version:
The virgin birth—gone.
Christ's bodily resurrection—gone.
The miracles of the loaves, walking on water, raising Lazarus—none of them made Jefferson's book
What about James Madison? Here are a few quotes:
"Ecclesiastical establishments tend to great ignorance and corruption, all of which facilitate the execution of mischievous projects."
and this
"What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical establishments had on society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the civil authority; on many instances they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny; in no instance have they been the guardians of the liberties of the people."
Jefferson and Madison are just two examples. Adams was a Unitarian and didn't believe in the concept of the Trinity or the Divinity of Jesus... To say these men were not christian would be a stretch but to say the wanted to establish the United States as a christian nation would also be a stretch.
I find the beliefs people have about our founding fathers to be rather amusing. The argument seems to be that since they were Christian, we are a Christian nation. The reality, of course, is that it really doesn't matter what the founding fathers believed. They set up the Constitution and a system of government that pretty much makes religion, with relation to the government, irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteConsidering what the colonists left behind in Europe, they knew any government based in religion would be unstable and tyrannical. What is sad is how few people today realize that the religion of the founding fathers would be considered irrelevant by the founding fathers themselves. They purposely set up a system of government based on the principles set forth in the Constitution so that it could not be influenced by the religion or opinions of any reigning governmental power.
The belief in the "Christian" nation took hold in the 1950s during the McCarthy and Cold War era as a fear of atheistic Communism spread through the United States. This is when things like "under God" were added to the Pledge of Allegience so good Americans could distinguish themselves from the pinko commies. While McCarthyism and the Red Scare vanished into history, they left a mark on the American psyche and we've somewhat lost part of our unique identity as a secular state.
Well said! It seems the Christianistas was to rewrite history. The funny thing is that they think they are going back to some hidden truth and there has been a liberal conspiracy to hide the beliefs of the founders...
ReplyDeletehmmm....what does that mean founding fathers....folks were already living here prior to whities coming across the pond.....was the county unfounded? And what about those beliefs.....
ReplyDeleteyou say whities I say crackers
ReplyDelete