He wrote this a few months before he died...."As to Jesus of Nazareth, my Opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the System of Morals and his Religion, as he left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is likely to see; but I apprehend it has received various corrupt changes, and I have, with most of the present Dissenters in England, some Doubts as to his divinity; tho' it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and I think it needless to busy myself with it now, when I expect soon an Opportunity of knowing the Truth with less Trouble...."
Wow. A man and an event (the resurrection) that effected world history to such a great degree, and IF Christian claims are true, would have to at least adjust your outlook on life and maybe the way you live, not to mention how you view eternity.....and Franklin never bothered to even gave the matter so much as a cursory glance? Am I the only one who believes this to be incredibly foolish on Franklin's part?
2007-11-24 06:20:24 · 6 answers · asked by diamond_kursed 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Gazoo,
By his own admission, he never studied the matter. By his own admission, he rejected the claims on the surface alone, but never took a hard stance either way.
2007-11-24 06:25:07 · update #1
LJAY,
So former supreme court nominee Robert Bork called the resurrection "...The most proveable question in all of human history" because there was no evidence?
2007-11-24 06:34:33 · update #2
Benjamin Franklin was a Deist like several other of our founding fathers.
Deist is not a synonym for theist. A deist rejects revelation or authority as a source of belief, believing in God purely on rational grounds. The deists of the 17th and 18th century generally viewed God as the original creator of the universe and its laws but rejected the concept of God’s continuing involvement in creation.
With lovein Christ.
2007-12-01 11:31:23 · answer #1 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I guess you are the only one who thinks he was foolish. I think he was way ahead of his time.
This man was one of the founders of America, and similar attitudes we present in many of the founders. So please stop saying this is a Christian country.
edit:
Exactly how much study of Christianity do you need to do to reject it? It doesn't take years of reading to figure out there is no evidence to support it.
edit: Show me some proof of the resurrection. THERE IS NONE. Bork was one of the worst Justices to serve on the court. He was obviously very influenced by his own bias.
2007-11-24 06:29:19 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. Ben Franklin the humorist. His definition of "having never studied it", gave the matter far more thought than you typical Fundamentalist lobotomite who decides and declares himself "saved" as a license to misrepresent.
If you look at Franklin's writings on religion as a whole, you will see that he was far more informed than you imply in this quote out of context. Of course, taking quotes out of context is a typical Fundamentalist deception. Apparently, Fundamentalism seems to involve exempting oneself from the moral requirements of Christianity regarding deception.
2007-11-24 06:39:46 · answer #3 · answered by novangelis 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why would I consider that foolish?
And you are misunderstanding his position altogether. He actually admits to having contemplated the issue in some depth, but admits also that he had not taken the years required to accurately research the matter.
2007-11-24 06:27:17 · answer #4 · answered by NONAME 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, Franklin's point was that he shouldn't worry himself about whether or not Christianity was true because he would find out after dying and could not confirm or disconfirm it before then.
2007-11-24 06:26:08 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You just asked this. Repeated posting is spam and against the TOS.
2007-11-24 06:23:12 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋