Posted by Drake on August 26, 1999 at 10:09:39:
In Reply to: Just a few breif comments. posted by Douglas... on August 25, 1999 at 17:57:15:
The Faith of our Founding Fathers by Dean Worbis
No one disputes the faith of our Founding
Fathers. To speak of unalienable Rights being
endowed by a Creator certainly shows a
sensitivity to our spiritual selves. What is
surprising is when fundamentalist Christians
think the Founding Fathers' faith had anything to do with the Bible. Without
exception, the faith of our Founding Fathers was deist, not theist. It was best
expressed earlier in the Declaration of Independence, when they spoke of "the Laws
of Nature" and of "Nature's God."
In a sermon of October 1831, Episcopalian minister Bird Wilson said,
"Among all of our Presidents, from Washington downward, not one was
a professor of religion, at least not of more than Unitarianism."
The Bible? Here is what our Founding Fathers wrote about Bible-based
Christianity:
Thomas Jefferson:
"I have examined all the known superstitions of the word, 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."
SIX HISTORIC AMERICANS,
by John E. Remsburg, letter to William Short
Jefferson again:
"Christianity...(has become) the most perverted system that ever shone
on man. ...Rogueries, absurdities and untruths were perpetrated upon
the teachings of Jesus by a large band of dupes and importers led by
Paul, the first great corrupter of the teaching of Jesus."
More Jefferson:
"The clergy converted the simple teachings of Jesus into an engine for
enslaving mankind and adulterated by artificial constructions into a
contrivance to filch wealth and power to themselves...these clergy, in
fact, constitute the real Anti-Christ.
Jefferson's word for the Bible? "Dunghill."
John Adams:
"Where do we find a precept in the Bible for Creeds, Confessions,
Doctrines and Oaths, and whole carloads of other trumpery that we find
religion encumbered with in these days?"
Also Adams:
"The doctrine of the divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for
absurdity."
Adams signed the Treaty of Tripoli. Article 11 states:
"The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on
the Christian religion."
Here's Thomas Paine:
"I would not dare to so dishonor my Creator God by attaching His
name to that book (the Bible)."
"Among the most detestable villains in history, you could not find one
worse than Moses. Here is an order, attributed to 'God' to butcher the
boys, to massacre the mothers and to debauch and rape the daughters. I
would not dare so dishonor my Creator's name by (attaching) it to this
filthy book (the Bible)."
"It is the duty of every true Deist to vindicate the moral justice of God
against the evils of the Bible."
"Accustom a people to believe that priests and clergy can forgive
sins...and you will have sins in abundance."
And; "The Christian church has set up a religion of pomp and revenue in
pretended imitation of a person (Jesus) who lived a life of poverty."
Finally let's hear from James Madison:
"What influence in fact have Christian ecclesiastical establishments had
on civil society? In many instances they have been upholding the thrones
of political tyranny. In no instance have they been seen as the guardians
of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wished to subvert the public
liberty have found in the clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just
government, instituted to secure and perpetuate liberty, does not need
the clergy."
Madison objected to state-supported chaplains in Congress and to the
exemption of churches from taxation. He wrote:
"Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they
are mixed together."
These founding fathers were a reflection of the American population. Having
escaped from the state-established religions of Europe, only 7% of the people in the
13 colonies belonged to a church when the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Among those who confuse Christianity with the founding of America, the rise of
conservative Baptists is one of the more interesting developments. The Baptists
believed God's authority came from the people, not the priesthood, and they had
been persecuted for this belief. It was they - the Baptists - who were instrumental in
securing the separation of church and state. They knew you can not have a "one-way
wall" that lets religion into government but that does not let it out. They knew no
religion is capable of handling political power without becoming corrupted by it. And,
perhaps, they knew it was Christ himself who first proposed the separation of church
and state: "Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and unto the Lord that which is
the Lord's."
In the last five years the Baptists have been taken over by a fundamentalist faction
that insists authority comes from the Bible and that the individual must accept the
interpretation of the Bible from a higher authority. These usurpers of the Baptist faith
are those who insist they should meddle in the affairs of the government and it is they
who insist the government should meddle in the beliefs of individuals.
The price of Liberty is constant vigilance. Religious fundamentalism and zealous
patriotism have always been the forces which require the greatest attention.