Sup guys, I am a fellow RP supporter. Browsing through these forums I always notice some individual boosting about how we were founded on Christian Principle's.(We all know who he is=D) Reading G Edwards essay, it seems otherwise... that we were founded on the principles of logic=D. I thought this was an interesting read so I decided to share.
"An excellent example of this difference can be seen by comparing the U.S Declaration of Independence with the U.S. Constitution. The Declaration was an expression of the personal convictions of its signers, and it recognized God by stating that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. However, when it came to writing the Constitution, which was the binding law for a government of all citizens, regardless of their religious convictions, they chose a different course. There is no mention of God in the Constitution. This was not an accident and it certainly was not because the Founding Fathers believed that theology was not important. It was because they understood that one cannot legislate morality. It springs, not from constitutions or laws, but from the hearts and minds of the people. They also understood the necessity of building a social order that was tolerant of all religious persuasions and which, in fact, was dedicated to protecting the right to hold diverse views – exactly as we do in Freedom Force.
This issue was well understood at the time of drafting the United States Constitution. Although there were some who felt that the new government should be officially established as a Christian nation, the dominant view of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention was expressed by James Madison, who said:
Who does not see that the same authority that can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other sects? ... Whilst we assert for ourselves a freedom to embrace, to profess, and to observe the Religion which we believe to be of divine origin, we cannot deny an equal freedom to those whose minds have not yet yielded to the evidence which has convinced us. [1]
The majority of the Founding Fathers believed that, whenever the powers of church and state are combined, and religion becomes law, religious persecution would be the inevitable result. Thomas Paine, the man whose powerful essays helped to spark the American Revolution, was one of the most powerful advocates of this view. Although he was not present at the creation of the Constitution, his views were representative of the majority opinion at that time. He wrote:
By engendering the church with the state, a sort of mule-animal, capable only of destroying, and not of breeding up, is produced, called, The Church established by Law. ... The Inquisition in Spain does not proceed from the religion originally professed, but from this mule-animal, engendered between the church and the state. The burnings [of alleged witches] in Smithfield proceeded from the same heterogeneous production; and it was the regeneration of this strange animal in England afterwards, that renewed rancor and irreligion among the inhabitants, and that drove the people called Quakers and Dissenters to America. Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature of all law-religions, or religions established by law. Take away the law-establishment, and every religion reassumes its original benignity. [2]
It is curious that, in our present day, people of deep religious convictions can work tirelessly for a corporation, giving the largest single portion of their lives to its purposes, without feeling concern over the fact that its bylaws and mission statement do not mention God. They do not hesitate to sign a long-term loan contract for a home or an automobile or a business venture with no mention of God in the documents. They willingly place their life savings into investment programs that make no mention of God anywhere in their literature. They eagerly take an oath to uphold and defend the constitution of their country even though there is no mention of God anywhere in the text of that document. Yet, when it comes to joining with others for the defense of their own freedom, they insist that God must be proclaimed, and they shun any movement that does not resemble their church.
Imagine that we are in the trenches of a battlefield with bullets whizzing overhead – and a man jumps into the trench and begins shooting back at the enemy. How absurd it would be to say: “Excuse me, are you of my faith? If not, we cannot cooperate. You must leave.” And yet, we see this sort of thing all the time in the battle trenches for freedom. As one man wrote to us recently:
I cannot support your organization…. The United States of America was founded on Biblical teachings, and the only way to bring this country back to greatness is by obeying God's word and His commands.… The motto of the American Revolution was: "No King but King Jesus!"
I replied that, in truth, this was not everyone’s motto. In fact, it was not the motto even of the majority. Christians outnumbered any other religious group in colonial America, but there were many others as well, including a large segment of the leaders who did not identify with any particular faith at all. Many of the Founding Fathers were deists, which means they believed in a supreme creator of the Universe but did not subscribe to a particular religion. Here are a few notable examples.
Benjamin Franklin:
I was scarce fifteen, when, ... some books against Deism fell into my hands; ... It happened that they wrought an effect on me quite contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a thorough Deist. [3]
Thomas Paine:
I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy. But ... I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. [4]
Thomas Jefferson occasionally was accused by his critics of being an atheist, but he was a classic deist. Gene Garman, tells us: "Jefferson says he was a ... "Unitarian" (letter to Waterhouse, Jan. 8, 1825). Jefferson rejected the Christian doctrine of the "Trinity" (letter to Derieux, Jul. 25, 1788), as well as the doctrine of an eternal Hell (letter to Van der Kemp, May 1, 1817). Further, Jefferson specifically named Joseph Priestly (English Unitarian who moved to America) and Conyers Middleton (English Deist) and said: "I rest on them ... as the basis of my own faith" (letter to Adams, Aug. 22, 1813). Therefore, without using the actual words, Jefferson issued an authentic statement claiming Deism as his faith. The 1971 (ninth edition) Encyclopedia Britannica, 7:183, states the following: "By the end of the 18th century deism had become a dominant religious attitude among upper-class Americans, and the first three presidents of the United States held this conviction, as is amply evidenced in their correspondence." [5]
George Washington was, of course, the first president of the United States, and to learn that the Encyclopedia says he was a deist is surprising in light of the stories circulated in later years claiming he was a Christian. This can be traced back to the 19th Century writings of Mason Locke Weems, a Christian preacher who created the fable of George Washington and the cherry tree. However, a careful reading of the historical record shows that Washington often referred to "Providence" (implying a divine power directing the affairs of men) but never espoused a specific religion.
In the book Washington and Religion by Paul F. Boller, Jr., we read on page 92, "Washington was no infidel, if by infidel is meant unbeliever. Washington had an unquestioning faith in Providence and, as we have seen, he voiced this faith publicly on numerous occasions. That this was no mere rhetorical flourish on his part, designed for public consumption, is apparent from his constant allusions to Providence in his personal letters."
On page 82 of the same book, Boller includes a quote from a Presbyterian minister, Arthur B. Bradford, who was an associate of Ashbel Green, another Presbyterian minister who had known George Washington personally. Bradford wrote that Green, "often said in my hearing, though sorrowfully, of course, that while Washington was very deferential to religion and its ceremonies, like nearly all the founders of the Republic, he was not a Christian, but a Deist." [6]
Many of the Founding Fathers, like Washington, were deferential to religion even though not professing a specific faith, but some of them, were quite hostile to religion. Let us re-phrase that. They were not hostile to religion but what they perceived to be the exploitation of religion by religious leaders and their earthly organizations. Here are a few examples.
Thomas Jefferson:
Nothing can be more exactly and seriously true than ... that but a short time elapsed after the death of the great reformer of the Jewish religion before his principles were departed from by those who professed to be his special servants, and perverted into an engine for enslaving mankind, and aggrandizing their aggressors in church and state; that the purest system of morals ever before preached to man has been adulterated and sophisticated by artificial constructions, into a mere contrivance to filch wealth and power to themselves, that rational men, not being able to swallow their impious heresies, in order to force them down their throats, they raise the hue and cry of infidelity, while themselves are the greatest obstacles to the advancement of the real doctrines of Jesus, and do in fact constitute the real Anti-Christ. [7]
I have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one-half the world fools and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth. [8]
Thomas Paine:
The Church has set up a system of religion very contradictory to the character of the person whose name it bears. It has set up a religion of pomp and revenue, in pretended imitation of a person whose life was humility and poverty. [9]
James Madison:
Ecclesiastical establishments, instead of maintaining the purity and efficacy of Religion, have had a contrary operation. During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution. [10]
John Adams:
Where do we find a praecept in the Gospel requiring Ecclesiastical Synods, Convocations, Councils, Decrees, Confessions, Oaths, Subscriptions and whole Cartloads of other trumpery that we find Religion incumbered with in these days? [11]
Major Greene this Evening fell into some conversation with me about the Divinity and Satisfaction of Jesus Christ. All the Argument he advanced was, "that a mere creature, or finite Being, could not make Satisfaction to infinite justice, for any Crimes," and that "these things are very misterious." [The following sentence appears in the margin.] Thus mystery is made a convenient Cover for absurdity. [12]
President Adams, along with the unanimous vote of the Senate, signed the Treaty of Tripoli on June 7, 1797. Article 11 states: "The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."
It is clear from this sampling that our friend who said the motto of the American Revolution was "No king but King Jesus" had an incomplete view of American history. It is true that Christianity was the most populous religion in colonial America and that many of the mores that became a part of the American political system can be traced to the Christian ethic, yet there were deep divisions between the various sects. Some groups even felt that the others were not really Christian at all but heresies instead. More important, however, is the fact that religion was not the motivator of the American Revolution. It was not a religious crusade but a struggle for personal and economic liberty. General Washington was wise not to quiz them on their theology. He needed every able bodied man who was willing to fight regardless of their religious convictions. Freedom Force is following his example. (Incidentally, I am happy to report that, after reading the first draft of this reply, this gentleman reconsidered his position and became a member!!)"
"An excellent example of this difference can be seen by comparing the U.S Declaration of Independence with the U.S. Constitution. The Declaration was an expression of the personal convictions of its signers, and it recognized God by stating that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. However, when it came to writing the Constitution, which was the binding law for a government of all citizens, regardless of their religious convictions, they chose a different course. There is no mention of God in the Constitution. This was not an accident and it certainly was not because the Founding Fathers believed that theology was not important. It was because they understood that one cannot legislate morality. It springs, not from constitutions or laws, but from the hearts and minds of the people. They also understood the necessity of building a social order that was tolerant of all religious persuasions and which, in fact, was dedicated to protecting the right to hold diverse views – exactly as we do in Freedom Force.
This issue was well understood at the time of drafting the United States Constitution. Although there were some who felt that the new government should be officially established as a Christian nation, the dominant view of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention was expressed by James Madison, who said:
Who does not see that the same authority that can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other sects? ... Whilst we assert for ourselves a freedom to embrace, to profess, and to observe the Religion which we believe to be of divine origin, we cannot deny an equal freedom to those whose minds have not yet yielded to the evidence which has convinced us. [1]
The majority of the Founding Fathers believed that, whenever the powers of church and state are combined, and religion becomes law, religious persecution would be the inevitable result. Thomas Paine, the man whose powerful essays helped to spark the American Revolution, was one of the most powerful advocates of this view. Although he was not present at the creation of the Constitution, his views were representative of the majority opinion at that time. He wrote:
By engendering the church with the state, a sort of mule-animal, capable only of destroying, and not of breeding up, is produced, called, The Church established by Law. ... The Inquisition in Spain does not proceed from the religion originally professed, but from this mule-animal, engendered between the church and the state. The burnings [of alleged witches] in Smithfield proceeded from the same heterogeneous production; and it was the regeneration of this strange animal in England afterwards, that renewed rancor and irreligion among the inhabitants, and that drove the people called Quakers and Dissenters to America. Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature of all law-religions, or religions established by law. Take away the law-establishment, and every religion reassumes its original benignity. [2]
It is curious that, in our present day, people of deep religious convictions can work tirelessly for a corporation, giving the largest single portion of their lives to its purposes, without feeling concern over the fact that its bylaws and mission statement do not mention God. They do not hesitate to sign a long-term loan contract for a home or an automobile or a business venture with no mention of God in the documents. They willingly place their life savings into investment programs that make no mention of God anywhere in their literature. They eagerly take an oath to uphold and defend the constitution of their country even though there is no mention of God anywhere in the text of that document. Yet, when it comes to joining with others for the defense of their own freedom, they insist that God must be proclaimed, and they shun any movement that does not resemble their church.
Imagine that we are in the trenches of a battlefield with bullets whizzing overhead – and a man jumps into the trench and begins shooting back at the enemy. How absurd it would be to say: “Excuse me, are you of my faith? If not, we cannot cooperate. You must leave.” And yet, we see this sort of thing all the time in the battle trenches for freedom. As one man wrote to us recently:
I cannot support your organization…. The United States of America was founded on Biblical teachings, and the only way to bring this country back to greatness is by obeying God's word and His commands.… The motto of the American Revolution was: "No King but King Jesus!"
I replied that, in truth, this was not everyone’s motto. In fact, it was not the motto even of the majority. Christians outnumbered any other religious group in colonial America, but there were many others as well, including a large segment of the leaders who did not identify with any particular faith at all. Many of the Founding Fathers were deists, which means they believed in a supreme creator of the Universe but did not subscribe to a particular religion. Here are a few notable examples.
Benjamin Franklin:
I was scarce fifteen, when, ... some books against Deism fell into my hands; ... It happened that they wrought an effect on me quite contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a thorough Deist. [3]
Thomas Paine:
I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy. But ... I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. [4]
Thomas Jefferson occasionally was accused by his critics of being an atheist, but he was a classic deist. Gene Garman, tells us: "Jefferson says he was a ... "Unitarian" (letter to Waterhouse, Jan. 8, 1825). Jefferson rejected the Christian doctrine of the "Trinity" (letter to Derieux, Jul. 25, 1788), as well as the doctrine of an eternal Hell (letter to Van der Kemp, May 1, 1817). Further, Jefferson specifically named Joseph Priestly (English Unitarian who moved to America) and Conyers Middleton (English Deist) and said: "I rest on them ... as the basis of my own faith" (letter to Adams, Aug. 22, 1813). Therefore, without using the actual words, Jefferson issued an authentic statement claiming Deism as his faith. The 1971 (ninth edition) Encyclopedia Britannica, 7:183, states the following: "By the end of the 18th century deism had become a dominant religious attitude among upper-class Americans, and the first three presidents of the United States held this conviction, as is amply evidenced in their correspondence." [5]
George Washington was, of course, the first president of the United States, and to learn that the Encyclopedia says he was a deist is surprising in light of the stories circulated in later years claiming he was a Christian. This can be traced back to the 19th Century writings of Mason Locke Weems, a Christian preacher who created the fable of George Washington and the cherry tree. However, a careful reading of the historical record shows that Washington often referred to "Providence" (implying a divine power directing the affairs of men) but never espoused a specific religion.
In the book Washington and Religion by Paul F. Boller, Jr., we read on page 92, "Washington was no infidel, if by infidel is meant unbeliever. Washington had an unquestioning faith in Providence and, as we have seen, he voiced this faith publicly on numerous occasions. That this was no mere rhetorical flourish on his part, designed for public consumption, is apparent from his constant allusions to Providence in his personal letters."
On page 82 of the same book, Boller includes a quote from a Presbyterian minister, Arthur B. Bradford, who was an associate of Ashbel Green, another Presbyterian minister who had known George Washington personally. Bradford wrote that Green, "often said in my hearing, though sorrowfully, of course, that while Washington was very deferential to religion and its ceremonies, like nearly all the founders of the Republic, he was not a Christian, but a Deist." [6]
Many of the Founding Fathers, like Washington, were deferential to religion even though not professing a specific faith, but some of them, were quite hostile to religion. Let us re-phrase that. They were not hostile to religion but what they perceived to be the exploitation of religion by religious leaders and their earthly organizations. Here are a few examples.
Thomas Jefferson:
Nothing can be more exactly and seriously true than ... that but a short time elapsed after the death of the great reformer of the Jewish religion before his principles were departed from by those who professed to be his special servants, and perverted into an engine for enslaving mankind, and aggrandizing their aggressors in church and state; that the purest system of morals ever before preached to man has been adulterated and sophisticated by artificial constructions, into a mere contrivance to filch wealth and power to themselves, that rational men, not being able to swallow their impious heresies, in order to force them down their throats, they raise the hue and cry of infidelity, while themselves are the greatest obstacles to the advancement of the real doctrines of Jesus, and do in fact constitute the real Anti-Christ. [7]
I have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one-half the world fools and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth. [8]
Thomas Paine:
The Church has set up a system of religion very contradictory to the character of the person whose name it bears. It has set up a religion of pomp and revenue, in pretended imitation of a person whose life was humility and poverty. [9]
James Madison:
Ecclesiastical establishments, instead of maintaining the purity and efficacy of Religion, have had a contrary operation. During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution. [10]
John Adams:
Where do we find a praecept in the Gospel requiring Ecclesiastical Synods, Convocations, Councils, Decrees, Confessions, Oaths, Subscriptions and whole Cartloads of other trumpery that we find Religion incumbered with in these days? [11]
Major Greene this Evening fell into some conversation with me about the Divinity and Satisfaction of Jesus Christ. All the Argument he advanced was, "that a mere creature, or finite Being, could not make Satisfaction to infinite justice, for any Crimes," and that "these things are very misterious." [The following sentence appears in the margin.] Thus mystery is made a convenient Cover for absurdity. [12]
President Adams, along with the unanimous vote of the Senate, signed the Treaty of Tripoli on June 7, 1797. Article 11 states: "The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."
It is clear from this sampling that our friend who said the motto of the American Revolution was "No king but King Jesus" had an incomplete view of American history. It is true that Christianity was the most populous religion in colonial America and that many of the mores that became a part of the American political system can be traced to the Christian ethic, yet there were deep divisions between the various sects. Some groups even felt that the others were not really Christian at all but heresies instead. More important, however, is the fact that religion was not the motivator of the American Revolution. It was not a religious crusade but a struggle for personal and economic liberty. General Washington was wise not to quiz them on their theology. He needed every able bodied man who was willing to fight regardless of their religious convictions. Freedom Force is following his example. (Incidentally, I am happy to report that, after reading the first draft of this reply, this gentleman reconsidered his position and became a member!!)"
