(letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814)
But I keep hearing knaves say this country was but founded by christians! What tom-foolery! Your thoughts?
2006-11-24 08:29:41 · 13 answers · asked by Laptop Jesus V. 2.0 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Not surprising at all. And glad to see others actually look into this sort of thing.
As for those who say there wouldn't be a law if Judaism and Christianity had not said so... that shows a lack of knowledge in this area. Hammurabi, a King of Babylon, wrote laws loooong before Moses was even born. The "thou shalt not kill" was written in many different lands before anyone even knew what a Jew was. I suggest they check out Code of Hammurabi and do some study before trying to state that there wouldn't be laws if not for Judaism and Christianity as "fact".
Amazing.
2006-11-24 08:55:23 · answer #1 · answered by riverstorm13 3 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Hey Tom,
Well, you are both right and wrong. You are right that not all of your friends, affectionately referred to as the "Founding Fathers," were not all Christian. You for example, were probably more of Deist or Theist than a Christian (though, in case you forgot, you did create an edited version of the New Testament which removed the miraculous elements). Oh, and your pal Ben Franklin was also not a Christian in traditional sense, though he did mention that religion may be a benefit to the common good, as did John Adams. James Madison was also a devout Anglican/Episcopalian, though he was a staunch advocate for the separation of church and state. Alexander Hamilton was an active Presbyterian, from which he derived many of his anti-slavery sentiments. Thus, while you and your colleagues may not all have been Christians, some were and were so to varying degrees.
Also, there is the question about this nation before it was officially "founded." The Pilgrims/Puritans were most definitely Christian, as were a great number of the first European settlers to arrive here. I would be hesitant to deny that the governments (which were tied to Christianity) that preceded the Constitution had no effect on the "common laws" which were brought about afterward. I will admit gladly that the United States proper has never truly been a theocracy, but to deny the Christian influences on the U.S. and its founding might be as naive as saying that it was founded only by Christians.
2006-11-24 09:04:49 · answer #2 · answered by Blake the Baptist 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually this country is founded in creationist theism. The declaration of independence states that all men have inalienable rights endowed by the CREATOR and the first settlers here were Christians.
2006-11-24 08:46:31 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Fathers of Our Country sought to brling liberty to the citizenry of our emerging nation specifically because of the official government sponsered Church of England. What///Whoever King was in power, the officially sanctioned church would and did change.
Religious freedom was one of the goals of our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
While Christianity was NOT the goal of our new nation, the Christian Faith of our forefathers DID help to mold their minds and intellect to provide for true freedom to all citizens.
While Christianity was not the goal, Christianity was the catalyst that lead to Freedom OF Religion (Not freedom FROM religion.), therefore, we have a melting pot of all religious beliefs within our borders.
2006-11-24 08:41:27 · answer #4 · answered by Bobby Jim 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Wow... in basic terms off the suitable of my head... he pronounced "priest". Thomas Jefferson substitute right into a protestant... so in the beginning up look it sounds like a defamation on Catholicism. yet, looking deeper, it variety of feels to be an opinion on how the Bible and the words of Jesus could be interpreted in any way that a guy desires to interpret them. because of the fact the Bible has been interpreted into various languages over 1000's of years.... nicely, guy tries to jot down his very own history, would not he? i'm going to would desire to look up the relationship with Minerve and the ideas of Jupiter.
2016-10-13 01:10:03 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most of our founding fathers were Deists, not Christians. If one is to believe that god makes the laws one must agree then that god should enforce them. Let's get rid of all military and police and see how good god is at enforcing his laws. No? I didn't think so.
2006-11-24 08:39:24 · answer #6 · answered by ChooseRealityPLEASE 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I know, it's just more Christian fundamentalist spin. I wish they would do their history research before they make such claims. They talk about pride in their country and they didn't even pay attention is civics class.
2006-11-24 08:33:46 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Many laws would not be in place had it not been for Judaism or Christianity. Think about it. If God didnt say it was wrong to kill, who would? It would not be a law.
2006-11-24 08:33:05 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 4⤋
You should listen to Lincoln's speeches more....
2006-11-24 08:44:40 · answer #9 · answered by Mandolyn Monkey Munch 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your right,it speaks nothing about it, so most of us got hoodwinked.
2006-11-24 08:32:24 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋