What do you think about these founding father's quotes?

Question

"Is uniformity attainable? Millions of innocent men, women, and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth."(Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, 1782; from George Seldes, ed., The Great Quotations, Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press, 1983, p. 363.)

"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my church. " Thomas Paine

Answer 1

I think it further illustrates, beyond reading the constitution, that America was not founded on Christian values and is not a Christian nation.

Answer 2

Many of the founding fathers were deist. God set the world in motion and left it to run its own course. This jaded their outlook on Traditonal Christianity. They had seen some of the abuses in Europe over the religous wars and wanted to avoid that here. It didn't work. The colonies were in a state of religous war of their own. The Anglican Established Church and the Puritan Established Church commanded and demanded pew rents, etc from their followers.
But are you sure religion is to blame? You focus on the negative aspects of Christianity yet it was the Roman Catholic Church that built Western Civilization. It helped develop its technology, music, art, and general culture. Condeming the chuches outright is a very simplistic outlook. People are people and there will always be problems with any form of anything.
Americans are united in many ways, but not like Hitler's Germany. Freedom gives us the ability to choose. We have more uniformity than meets the eye.
Do most Americans believe the following? Everyone has the right to vote! Everyone has the right to pick their religion or no religion at all! Everyone has the right to file a grevance with the government! Everyone must be treated with certain rights based on the United States Constitution! Everyone has the right to a free public education!
The country used to be: White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, landowners- had all the rights. Alot has changed in 200 years.
I take issue with Thomas Paine and Mark Twain. They were both anti-Catholic bigots. The country would have moved along faster if these two people weren't part of it. There prejudices amplified and made life hard for millions of Catholic immigrants.
Most of the founding fathers had enough sense to build a government that put their personal prejudices aside. The country has done well under George Washington and other men like him. He was so liked by all that many blacks after the revolution took his name as their last name.
Religion is not the culprit. Human greed is.

Answer 3

Accurate.

And so are these:

John Adams and John Hancock:

"We Recognize No Sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus!" [April 18, 1775]

John Adams:

“ The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”

“[July 4th] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”
–John Adams in a letter written to Abigail on the day the Declaration was approved by Congress

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." --October 11, 1798

"I have examined all religions, as well as my narrow sphere, my straightened means, and my busy life, would allow; and the result is that the Bible is the best Book in the world. It contains more philosophy than all the libraries I have seen." December 25, 1813 letter to Thomas Jefferson

"Without Religion this World would be Something not fit to be mentioned in polite Company, I mean Hell." [John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, April 19, 1817] |

Answer 4

I think this quote fits right in - and they all come a ways to disproving that America was founded by Christians per say. Belief in god, yes, but not Christian in the traditional sense.


"If we look back into history for the character of the present sects in Christianity, we shall find few that have not in their turns been persecutors, and complainers of persecution. The primitive Christians thought persecution extremely wrong in the Pagans, but practiced it on one another. The first Protestants of the Church of England blamed persecution in the Romish Church, but practiced it upon the Puritans. They found it wrong in Bishops, but fell into the practice themselves both there (England) and in New England."--- Benjamin Franklin

Answer 5

Uniformity- the quality of lacking diversity or variation (even to the point of boredom)
God gave us free will. So uniformity would be impossible to attain and foolish at that.
So what do you want all christians, muslims, pagans, methodists etc... to conform to YOUR BRAND OF NON-BELIEF so that we could be "uniform"

Everyone is a hypocrite. Some christians say I dont sin but their just fooling themselves. Everyone sins even the Pope so get over yourself. Atheist preach tolerance yet many (not all) are hateful to christians and other beliefs/religions.
The same goes for every other belief/religion there is always going to be some kind of hypocritical thing that we say or do. We are human it is our nature.

And can we please stop pinning this whole people dying thing on christians. It was not all christians it was Catholics who did the Crusades, going around killing people because they wouldnt convert. So please dont speak for the whole of Christians when it was only the Catholics behind these acts. Get your facts right.

Answer 6

"Even most Christians do not consider Jefferson a Christian. In many of his letters, he denounced the superstitions of Christianity. He did not believe in spiritual souls, angels or godly miracles. Although Jefferson did admire the morality of Jesus, Jefferson did not think him divine, nor did he believe in the Trinity or the miracles of Jesus. In a letter to Peter Carr, 10 August 1787, he wrote, "Question with boldness even the existence of a god." (earlyamerica.com--full text from "Notes on Virginia" are on this site.)

As for Thomas Paine, he believed in deism (link from Wikepedia provided below with a link to deism on that page...)

I do think it sad that people are so against things that are good. I mean, following Gods word leads to happiness and life. Despising and Denying Leads to death. (Romans 1:32, Proverbs 6:12-19, Romans 2:5-8 [below]...and SO MANY OTHERS.)

"But because of your stubborness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgement will be revealed. God "will give to each person according to what he has done." To those who by persistance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life. But for those who are self seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger." (Romans 2:5-8)

I would be bold enough to say that most of the people who murder innocent people, steal...etc... probably would not profess themselves Christians. Maybe have never had an opportunity to understand what exactly it is. Going by "religion" or "church doctorine" isn't always what it's about. People have taken their own opinions and dropped it in there... obviously, or there wouldn't be so many different sanctions, religions... etc.

So, for those that are truly interested in understanding this stuff, I would advise, to read the Bible yourself, and ask questions to people you feel are knowledgable... even if it is someone who may not believe what the Bible says. Talk about it. Find out for yourself what you believe. But, get opinions from pastors at local churches and ...well, from anyone else you want. Post on Yahoo answers. ...But, don't be taken in by misunderstood quotes and quips that are taken out of context. Understand what was going on at the time the quote was said.... where the person that said it is coming from, then you can discern whether or not you agree with it.

Look up the verses I gave and read them IN CONTEXT, even if that means reading the whole Bible... find out what you believe. Links provided below to full chapters from the Bible.

Answer 7

You forgot George Washingtons farewell address
"For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes"
He was saying that all Americans believed in God. directly from Yale law library
Tricia do your homework

Answer 8

During the Church age , there were some (very few) Churches that provided some knowledge as to God.

Today Satan sits in the Holy places ( the abomination of desolation.

Only the Bible is true and unchanging.

He who says there is no God is a fool

Answer 9

Thomas Jefferson also said:

“ The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend to all the happiness of man.”

“Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern which have come under my observation, none appears to me so pure as that of Jesus.”

"I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus."

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.” (excerpts are inscribed on the walls of the Jefferson Memorial in the nations capital) [Source: Merrill . D. Peterson, ed., Jefferson Writings, (New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984), Vol. IV, p. 289. From Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, 1781.]

Jefferson also excepted Christ as his savor late in his life and as an older man became very in trenched in the Gospel.

Thomas Paine also said:

“ It has been the error of the schools to teach astronomy, and all the other sciences, and subjects of natural philosophy, as accomplishments only; whereas they should be taught theologically, or with reference to the Being who is the author of them: for all the principles of science are of divine origin. Man cannot make, or invent, or contrive principles: he can only discover them; and he ought to look through the discovery to the Author.”
“ The evil that has resulted from the error of the schools, in teaching natural philosophy as an accomplishment only, has been that of generating in the pupils a species of atheism. Instead of looking through the works of creation to the Creator himself, they stop short, and employ the knowledge they acquire to create doubts of his existence. They labour with studied ingenuity to ascribe every thing they behold to innate properties of matter, and jump over all the rest by saying, that matter is eternal.” “The Existence of God--1810”

Answer 10

Jefferson's quote could have just as easily -- actually more easily -- applied to atheist communism.

And atheist communism has only been around as a political entity for about 85 years. It has slaughtered at least 150 million people, and counting.

Paine's quote is simply narcissistic.

.