1. Ben Franklin - Interested in the morality of religion, not the theology. His letters contain polytheistic claims, but he also wrote extensively on a Providential God. He never attended any church with constancy but he tried to be friends of all of them. He thought Jesus was a great person who set a great example, but he was unsure of his divinity (although he never really studied the matter in depth).
2. Thomas Jefferson - Mixed between deistic and Unitarian, he believed the Bible was corrupted but Jesus was a great person, all claims of divinity hogwash. He was silent about his religious views except in private letters to friends, in public he was much more respectful. He only really spoke about religion to like-minded people, and less to people who might disagree.
3. Thomas Paine - You despise the Bible and are eager to let everyone know about it. But you claim you are respectful.
(Note: I know they were not atheists but oh well)
2007-12-06
11:18:57
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11 answers
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Anonymous