Is America a Christian Nation? More Quotes From Our Founders
A Florida school district is being accused in a lawsuit of making a deal with the ACLU to criminalize “protected religious expression,” banning students from saying “God bless” and forcing teachers to “hide in closets to pray.”
Two students originally complained that staff or faculty members were expressing their religious views off-campus at events such as off-campus dinners to honor school workers.
“The school district decided instead to shake hands with the ACLU, pay the ACLU $200,000 in legal fees, and voluntarily enter into the Consent Decree that obliterates religious freedom and makes a mockery of the First Amendment,” Liberty Counsel said in its description of the conflict.
“Students can no longer say ‘God Bless,’ teachers must hide in closets to pray, parents cannot communicate frankly with teachers, volunteers cannot answer any questions regarding religion, Christian groups cannot rent school facilities for private religious functions benefiting students, and pastors are dictated how they can and cannot seat their audiences at private, religious baccalaureate services held inside their own houses of worship,” Liberty Counsel said.[i]
On April 15, a federal district court in Wisconsin ruled that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.
Can you believe this is happening in America? Take a look at the statements below from America’s founders. Considering the rise of secular humanism and its militant attack against Christianity, the future of America is in jeopardy. Political action is important, but prayer is our only hope.
If you are unable to join a gathering tomorrow for the National Day of Prayer, I encourage you to set time aside to pray for this great nation, its people and leaders. In these dark days, Christians should view every day as a national day of prayer. We should be praying daily for our nation – not just talking about the importance of prayer but actually praying.
Quotes From Our Founders
George Washington – first President of the United States of America
In his speech on May 12, 1779, George Washington claimed that what children needed to learn “above all” was the “religion of Jesus Christ,” and that to learn this would make them “greater and happier than they already are.”
- George Washington, speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs, May 12, 1779.
“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”
- George Washington
“It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”
- George Washington
“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable.”
- George Washington, Thanksgiving Proclamation 1789
“Oh, eternal and everlasting God, direct my thoughts, words and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the Lamb and purge my heart by Thy Holy Spirit. Daily, frame me more and more in the likeness of Thy son, Jesus Christ, that living in Thy fear, and dying in Thy favor, I may in thy appointed time obtain the resurrection of the justified unto eternal life. Bless, O Lord, the whole race of mankind and let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy son, Jesus Christ.”
- George Washington, Prayer
“True religion affords to government its surest support.”
- George Washington
Samuel Adams, Signer of the Declaration of Independence
“I … [rely] upon the merits of Jesus Christ for a pardon of all my sins.” - Samuel Adams
“We have this day [Fourth of July] restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven, and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His Kingdom come.”
- Samuel Adams
“The name of the Lord (says the Scripture) is a strong tower; thither the righteous flee and are safe (Proverbs 18:10). Let us secure His favor and He will lead us through the journey of this life and at length receive us to a better.”
- Samuel Adams
United States Congressional Endorsement of the Bible and God
Congress printed a Bible for America and said:
“The United States in Congress assembled … recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States … a neat edition of the Holy Scriptures for the use of schools.”
- United States Congress 1782
“Congress passed this resolution: “The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools.”
- United States Congress 1782
“By Law the United States Congress adds to US coinage:”
“In God We Trust”- United States Congress 1864
John Adams, President of the United States of America, First Vice President, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Signer of the Bill of Rights, and Signer of First Amendment
“We recognize no sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus.”
- John Adams and John Hancock
“The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.” – John Adams
“The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”
- John Adams
“The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”
- John Adams
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
- John Adams
“I have examined all religions, and the result is that the Bible is the best book in the world.” – John Adams
“The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity.”
- John Adams
“[The Fourth of July] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.” – John Adams
“As the safety and prosperity of nations ultimately and essentially depend on the protection and the blessing of Almighty God, and the national acknowledgment of this truth is not only an indispensable duty which the people owe to Him.” - John Adams
Abigail Adams, Wife of John Adams
“The Scriptures tell us righteousness exalteth a Nation.”
- Abigail Adams
Patrick Henry, Early America Leader
There is a book [the Bible] worth all the other books ever printed.- Patrick Henry
It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.- Patrick Henry
John Jay, First Chief-Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is their duty – as well as privilege and interest – of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.
- John Jay
The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts.
- John Jay
John Hancock, Signer of the Declaration of Independence
We recognize no sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus.
- John Adams and John Hancock
Benjamin Rush, Signer of the Declaration of Independence
“The only foundation for . . . a republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments.”
- Benjamin Rush
John Witherspoon, Continental Congress
“He is the best friend to American liberty, who is most sincere and active in promoting true and undefiled religion, and who sets himself with the greatest firmness to bear down on profanity and immorality of every kind. Whoever is an avowed enemy of God, I scruple not to call him an enemy to his country.”
- John Witherspoon
John Dickinson, Signer Constitution of the USA, Continental Congress
“The rights essential to happiness. . . . We claim them from a higher source — from the King of kings and Lord of all the earth.”
- John Dickinson
Benjamin Franklin
“Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.”
- Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Jefferson, President
God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.
- Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson Memorial
The Christian religion is the best religion that has ever been given to man
- Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson Memorial
Daniel Webster, Early American Politician
Education is useless without the Bible.
- Daniel Webster
Noah Webster, American Schoolmaster
Education is useless without the Bible. The Bible was America’s basic text book in all fields. God’s Word, contained in the Bible, has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct.
- Noah Webster
In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed … No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.
- Noah Webster, Preface Noah Webster Dictionary, 1828
Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story
“I verily believe Christianity necessary to the support of civil society. One of the beautiful boasts of our municipal jurisprudence is that Christianity is a part of the Common Law … There never has been a period in which the Common Law did not recognize Christianity as lying its foundations.”
- Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, Harvard Speech, 1829
National Anthem of the United States of America, Francis Scott Key
“And this be our motto, ‘In God is our trust’” - USA National Anthem, Third Verse
Andrew Jackson, President of the United States of America
“[The Bible] is the rock on which our Republic rests.”
- Andrew Jackson
Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America
“In regards to this great Book [the Bible], I have but to say it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this Book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man’s welfare, here and hereafter, are found portrayed in it.”
- Abraham Lincoln
“I am busily engaged in study of the Bible.” - Abraham Lincoln
“I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had absolutely no other place to go.” – Abraham Lincoln
“This nation under God”
- Abraham Lincoln, Gettysberg Address and inscribed on Lincoln Memorial
“And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God … and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.”
- Abraham Lincoln
“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”
- Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Memorial
“Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation…”
- Abraham Lincoln
United States Supreme Court
“This is a Christian nation”
- United States Supreme Court Decision in Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 1892
“Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of The Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian…This is a Christian nation”
- United States Supreme Court Decision in Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 1892
Washington Monument
“Holiness to the Lord” (Exodus 28:26, 30:30, Isaiah 23:18, Zechariah 14:20)
- Washington Monument
“Search the Scriptures” (John 5:39)
- Washington Monument
“The memory of the just is blessed” (Proverbs 10:7)
- Washington Monument
“May Heaven to this Union continue its beneficence”
– Washington Monument
“In God We Trust”
– Washington Monument
“Praise be to God” (engraved on the monument’s capstone in Latin as “Laus Deo”)
- Washington Monument
James Madison, A Primary Author of the Constitution of the United States of America
“We have staked the whole future of our new nation, not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.”
- James Madison
“Religion [is] the basis and foundation of Government”
- James Madison
“Cursed be all that learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ.”
- James Madison
Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States of America
“The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country.”
- Calvin Coolidge
Prayers by American Presidents
In September 1789, Congress asked President George Washington to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a Constitution of government for their safety and happiness.”
Washington complied, and in early October sent a proclamation to the governors of the states.The proclamation asked the governors to make Thursday, November 26 a day of Thanksgiving, saying:
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor–and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be–That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war–for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions–to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually–to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed–to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord–To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us–and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.[ii] [iii] [iv]
George Washington, an undated prayer for guidance from Washington’s prayer journal, Mount Vernon:
O eternal and everlasting God, I presume to present myself this morning before thy Divine majesty, beseeching thee to accept of my humble and hearty thanks, that it hath pleased thy great goodness to keep and preserve me the night past from all the dangers poor mortals are subject to, and has given me sweet and pleasant sleep, whereby I find my body refreshed and comforted for performing the duties of this day, in which I beseech thee to defend me from all perils of body and soul…. Increase my faith in the sweet promises of the gospel; give me repentance from dead works; pardon my wanderings, and direct my thoughts unto thyself, the God of my salvation; teach me how to live in thy fear, labor in thy service, and ever to run in the ways of thy commandments; make me always watchful over my heart, that neither the terrors of conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love of sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast me into a spiritual slumber, but daily frame me more and more into the likeness of thy son Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy appointed time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life bless my family, friends, and kindred.
Thomas Jefferson; a prayer for the Nation (Washington D.C., March 4, 1801):
Almighty God, Who has given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people, the multitude brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endow with Thy spirit of wisdom those whom in Thy name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to Thy law, we may show forth Thy praise among the nations of the earth. In time of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Abraham Lincoln; a prayer for peace (Second Inaugural address, March 4, 1865):
Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet if God wills that it continues… until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid another drawn with the sword… so still it must be said that the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and for his orphans, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
Ronald Reagan; a prayer for healing (from a speech to the American people, February 6, 1986):
To preserve our blessed land we must look to God… It is time to realize that we need God more than He needs us… We also have His promise that we could take to heart with regard to our country, that “If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” Let us, young and old, join together, as did the First Continental Congress, in the first step, in humble heartfelt prayer. Let us do so for the love of God and His great goodness, in search of His guidance and the grace of repentance, in seeking His blessings, His peace, and the resting of His kind and holy hands on ourselves, our nation, our friends in the defense of freedom, and all mankind, now and always. The time has come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him for the healing of America… Our country is in need of and ready for a spiritual renewal. Today, we utter no prayer more fervently than the ancient prayer for peace on Earth. If I had a prayer for you today, among those that have all been uttered, it is that one we’re so familiar with: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace….” And God bless you all.
George H. W. Bush; a prayer to help others (Inaugural address, January 20, 1989):
My first act as President is a prayer. I ask you to bow your heads. Heavenly Father, we bow our heads and thank You for Your love. Accept our thanks for the peace that yields this day and the shared faith that makes its continuance likely. Make us strong to do Your work, willing to heed and hear Your will, and write on our hearts these words: “Use power to help people.” For we are given power not to advance our own purposes, nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people. Help us to remember it, Lord. The Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us; so that He may incline our hearts to Him, to walk in all His ways… that all peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.
Question: What quote most surprised you and why?
Part 1: America’s Founders and Presidents: Proclamations for Public Fasting & Prayer
[i] http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=149873
[ii] The Massachusetts Centinel, Wednesday, October 14, 1789
[iii] http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=40032
[iv] Thanksgiving Proclamation – The Original
You're WRONG! Benjamin Franklin was a DEIST and Abraham Lincoln was an ATHEIST.
UNDER GOD was not added into the Pledge of Allegiance until 1953. It was only added to fight the imagined threat of COMMUNISM. DO your research and try again.
@@Reverend Fox….Thats Rude.
Reverend Fox,
I have a 2 part reply:
#1:
This view stems from revisionist history, which has vacated study of the original documents and the founders own words and actions.
Over the past sixty years, many groups, exploiting a general lack of public knowledge about particular movements or events, have urged upon the public various revisionist views in order to justify their particular agenda.
Those who pursue a secular public square seek to justify their agenda by asserting that the Founding Fathers: (1) were atheists, agnostics, and deists, and (2) wrote into the Constitution a strict separation of church and state requiring the exclusion of religious expressions from the public arena. These claims are also easily rebuttable through the Founders’ own writings and public acts. (See WallBuilders.com book, "Original Intent." http://www.amazon.com/Original-Intent-Courts-Cons…
The standard assertion is that the Founders were deists. Deists? What is a deist? In dictionaries like Websters, Funk & Wagnalls, Century, and others, the terms “deist,” “agnostic,” and “atheist” appear as synonyms. Therefore, the range of a deist spans from those who believe there is no God, to those who believe in a distant, impersonal creator of the universe, to those who believe there is no way to know if God exists. Do the Founders fit any of these definitions?
None of the notable Founders fit this description. Thomas Paine, in his discourse on “The Study of God,” forcefully asserts that it is “the error of schools” to teach sciences without “reference to the Being who is author of them: for all the principles of science are of Divine origin.” He laments that “the evil that has resulted from the error of the schools in teaching [science without God] has been that of generating in the pupils a species of atheism.” Paine not only believed in God, he believed in a reality beyond the visible world.
In Benjamin Franklin's 1749 plan of education for public schools in Pennsylvania, he insisted that schools teach “the necessity of a public religion . . . and the excellency of the Christian religion above all others, ancient or modern.” Consider also the fact that Franklin proposed a Biblical inscription for the Seal of the United States; that he chose a New Testament verse for the motto of the Philadelphia Hospital; that he was one of the chief voices behind the establishment of a paid chaplain in Congress; and that when in 1787 when Franklin helped found the college which bore his name, it was dedicated as “a nursery of religion and learning” built “on Christ, the Corner-Stone.” Franklin certainly doesn't fit the definition of a deist.
As is typical with those who make this claim (founding fathers were deists), they name only a handful of Founders and then generalize the rest. This in itself is a mistake, for there are over two hundred Founders (fifty-five at the Constitutional Convention, ninety who framed the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights, and fifty-six who signed the Declaration) and any generalization of the Founders as deists is completely inaccurate.
The reason that such critics never mention any other Founders is evident. For example, consider what must be explained away if the following signers of the Constitution were to be mentioned: Charles Pinckney and John Langdon—founders of the American Bible Society; James McHenry—founder of the Baltimore Bible Society; Rufus King—helped found a Bible society for Anglicans; Abraham Baldwin—a chaplain in the Revolution and considered the youngest theologian in America; Roger Sherman, William Samuel Johnson, John Dickinson, and Jacob Broom—also theological writers; James Wilson and William Patterson—placed on the Supreme Court by President George Washington, they had prayer over juries in the U. S. Supreme Court room; and the list could go on. And this does not even include the huge number of thoroughly evangelical Christians who signed the Declaration or who helped frame the Bill of Rights.
Any portrayal of any handful of Founders as deists is inaccurate. (If this group had really wanted some irreligious Founders, they should have chosen Henry Dearborne, Charles Lee, or Ethan Allen). Perhaps critics should spend more time reading the writings of the Founders to discover their religious beliefs for themselves rather than making such sweeping accusations which are so easily disproven.
Benjamin Franklin admits in his own autobiography he is a Deist: Benjamin Franklin wrote in his autobiography, "Some books against Deism fell into my hands; they were said to be the substance of sermons preached at Boyle's lectures. 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."…..You need to do alot more research from an unbiased eye.
#2:
Confederate apologists frequently portray Abraham Lincoln as a dictator, tyrant, atheist, homosexual, incompetent, drunk, etc. To “prove” this view, they rely heavily on The Real Lincoln by Thomas Dilorenzo (2002), The Real Lincoln by Charles Minor (1901), and Herndon’s Lincoln by William H. Herndon (1888). These three books (and a few others) portray Lincoln in a negative light, but literally hundreds of other scholarly biographies written about Lincoln – including by Pulitzer Prize-winning historians such as Carl Sandburg, Ida Tarbell, Garry Wills, Merrill Peterson, Don Fehrenbacher, and others – reached an opposite conclusion. A similar corollary would be to study the life of Jesus only by reading The DaVinci Code or The Last Temptation of Christ, or to study the life of George Washington only by using W. E. Woodward’s George Washington: The Image and the Man. In both cases, those writings present a view of that person but hundreds of other writings present an opposite and more accurate view; so, too, with Lincoln. The view of Lincoln presented by Confederate apologists is indeed a view, but it is contradicted by scores of other writers who, after examining all the historical evidence, reached an opposite conclusion.
Reading just a few of Lincoln's speeches or proclamations gives clear evidence he was not an atheist. Take a look at his second inaugural address – a powerful speech which invokes God and scripture. – http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp…
During the Civil War, President Lincoln proclaimed three fasts, calling the nation to prayer and fasting. The wording of the original proclamations disproves the claim that he was an atheist: http://www.shadesofgrace.org/2010/05/04/americas-…
Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation also gives evidence as to the fact he was not an atheist: http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp…
Wow! Thank you so much for this list of quotes. I was trying to remember the quote about the constitution being made only for a moral people and being inadequate for anything else and got this AMAZING list of quotes from our founding fathers! Great job compiling them!
The very first quote from George Washington is not a true quotation. I love God and Jesus but we need to only use facts.
Josh, thank you for bringing this to my attention. The heart of the first quote was true, but I have now amended it to be more exact.
The context of the quote was an address given to the Delaware Nation by General George Washington on May 12, 1779. In the address to the Delaware Chiefs, Washington said:
"Brothers: I am glad you have brought three of the Children of your principal Chiefs to be educated with us… You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are."
Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." – Patrick Henry…Which means the "Good News",Patrick Henry's religion but he did make several refrences to the "God of Nature" which was and still is a common deist way of referring to the deity. By the way the Anonymous Coward is lying. Franklin originally believed in a xtian type god but later in life became a staunch deist/agnostic. His "Autobiography" was written comparatively early in life. Most of the other people we associate with the Founding (Jefferson, Washington, Adams, et al) were staunch deists/agnostics/we don't know because they weren't waving their religion at traffic.
I think as Natalie has shown, we can know fairly well what Jefferson, Washington, and Adams beliefs were based upon their own statements. From their statements, it is obvious that they were all strong believers in god and certainly not agnostics or uncertain of the existence of god. You accuse people of lying but then offer nothing in the way of supporting evidence to give credibility to your statements. That is unfortunate, but telling.
Cindy, thanks for sharing your comments and weighing in.
“If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it.”
― Stephen Colbert
People ought to help the poor, not the federal gov't where rampant corruption should not be mixed with such vast sums of wealth taken by force from those who have earned it. It is a problem. Charity is best dealt by individuals, churches, local community and other private organizations. Why don't people understand this?
Lincoln was an atheist? BWAHAHAHAHA!
Delusion is a contagion embraced by liberal progressives and atheists.
Thank you Natalie! Your hard work in compiling all this historic documentation and statements by our nation's founders is invaluable in helping to counter the bewildering effort by some to rewrite America's history. Your work is surely a blessing. I note with interest the obvious activist atheist attention your article here is generating. The truth that god the creator exists and loves us drives them nuts.
Hi Buell, you're very welcome! I appreciate your positive feedback and input!!
Thomas Jefferson was most likely an atheist, but definitely not Christian. He HATED Christianity. Benjamin Franklin was an ADMITTED deist, read his autobiography, it says so in his own book.
Here are some qutoes you conveniently left out:
"Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness with which more than half the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that we called it the word of a demon than the word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind." -Thomas Paine, 'The Age of Reason'
"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason. Lighthouses are more helpful than churches." -Benjamin Franklin
"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." -Thomas Jefferson
"What has been [Christianity's] 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." -James Madison
"There is nothing which can better deserve our patronage than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness." -George Washington
Thomas Jefferson- "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Musselmen; and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."