This blog post summarizes my thoughts about a recent New York Times article, How Christian Were the Founders? It’s a long article, but definitely worth the read.
There is a battle going on in the state of Texas that may shape the Church/State/Classroom relationship across the country for decades to come. Texas sets the educational guidelines for most of the states in the US. Their Board of Education sets the direction of the content that is printed in textbooks that are adopted by 46 other states. And right now there is a huge fight going on about how Christianity fits into the historical context of our country.
Christian Conservatives, myself included, believe that because our country was founded as “One Nation Under God” we should work to merge Christian beliefs into our educational system. We believe that the Bible and Mosaic law provide foundations for American law and therefore should be taught as such.
David Barton, leader of WallBuilders, continues the argument and suggests that the following points are derived directly from the Declaration of Independence, and therefore should be included in American history lessons.
- There is a fixed moral law derived from God and nature.
- There is a Creator.
- The Creator gives to man certain unalienable rights.
- Government exists primarily to protect God-given rights to every individual.
- Below God-given rights and moral laws, government is directed by the consent of the governed.
Liberals will argue that the First Amendment clearly strong arms a separation between church and state, but I agree with David Barton. The founders were all Christians, and the purpose of the First Amendment was merely to ensure that no single Christian denomination be elevated to the role of state church.
I believe that every American is free to choose their own religion and their own God (or none at all). It’s not my place to tell you what to believe. But I think we would be overlooking a very important part of our history if we ignored the forefathers beliefs in our understanding of the framework of our democracy.
“Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.”
- William Penn
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Tags: Christianity, David Barton, Declaration of Independence, Separation of church and state, The New York Times, United States, United States Declaration of Independence
But you make the mistake of thinking that the founding fathers self-identified as Christians – they did not.
The majority were Deists, which is far different.
The idea of “one nation, under God” mentions not the God of Moses, nor does it mention Jesus Christ.
As a Christian, I share some, but not all of your beliefs, and I do believe that God gave us intelligence for a reason – to not use it is an insult to the Creator.
BTW, do you see your point of view as a dis-invitation to all who are not sharers of your faith? Should the exporting of non-believers soon begin?
Marc,
I appreciate your feedback and insights. And although the founding documents don’t reference Jesus or the God of Moses, it’s apparent that their beliefs are based on biblical principals and Mosiac law. That said, I can’t claim to know the exact religious beliefs of every founder.
“The underlying authority for our constitutional form of government stems directly from biblical precedents,” writes Cynthia Dunbar in her book called “One Nation Under God,” “Hence, the only accurate method of ascertaining the intent of the Founding Fathers at the time of our government’s inception comes from a biblical worldview.”
I’m not trying to dis-invite any beliefs or force my thoughts on anyone else. I’m simply using this opportunity to share what I believe. From the time Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit we have created a separation from our Creator. Day in and day out we (the human race) rationalize and theorize our supreme existence. We convince ourselves that we know all and that we can use science to prove it.
Look at the shape our world is in and the direction it’s headed for our children’s generation. We continue to move God out of the center of our lives and our problems continue to worsen.
As I stated above, I’m not forcing my beliefs on you. I have faith in my God and in His infinite wisdom. I believe that this country was founded on this shared belief. And I believe that our children need to be taught these basic principles in this historical context.
Ultimately, because of the vagueness of our founding documents, everyone in our great country is free to believe whatever they choose. And I couldn’t support any other system. I’m thrilled that because of this freedom, I can believe in my God. Jesus Christ.
To agree with Marc, yes there was a significant group of Deists in our roster of “founding fathers”. It’s also interesting to note that Benjamin Franklin (my favorite) was rumored to be a member of the Hellfire Club in England, and Thomas Jefferson took it upon himself to re-write the New Testament to keep the teachings of Jesus but to remove all of the miracle and divinity accounts.
The question of being a “Christian Nation” has always been a difficult one. I feel the founding fathers relied more on their Masonic principles rather than rigid church doctrine. Masonic principles recognize that there is one God, however any person with a monotheistic religion may join the fraternity. While many of the founding fathers were members of the Church of Englad (Anglican/Episcopalian) on paper, I feel they held their fraternal bonds in much higher regard. In fact, some speculate that the founding fathers wanted to form the nation partly to get further away from the Church of England and it’s politics.
Jayson, you are right in saying that there is some clear Biblical foundation in our constitution. But, I’m willing to bet that our constitution will stand up to the moral codes of many other religions. Not just the Judeo-Christian sets.
Now, shifting gears. As a Christian minister, I think the the moral and religious education should be happening at home, not in the classroom. Teaching the background of the constitution and foundation of our country is great, but it needs to be done subjectively. We as Christians can’t even agree on whether the founding fathers were that pious in their motives, so how could the rest of the country accept it?
And if we want to discuss the shape our world is in, I blame us. Darkness can only exist where light is not shone. Perhaps if we were out building relationships with people rather than fighting it out at textbook companies we would begin to build the world we want to see. I believe it is time to stop arguing about forcing our religion into the state and it is time to start doing what Christ told us to do, love God and love our neighbor as ourself.
Though we disagree, you wrote a great blog. Grace and Peace to you my brother!
Dear Jayson Manship,
Hello cousin or kin… J. R. Manship here…
The men who have responded above recite the all too common pablum so many Americans, myself included, were taught – wrongly – in government schools in the past 50 to 80 years.
For example, Jefferson wrote to another Founding Father saying, “My opinions are very different from that anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions…” and later in the same letter writes, “I am a Christian…”
The much maligned, and much misnamed “Jefferson Bible” was actually a Bible Study and “Gospel Tract” created by President Jefferson IN THE WHITE HOUSE, so much for so-called “Separation of Church and State”, created in response to Christian Missionary Rev. Dowse to help in the evangelization of Indians to Christianity.
Jefferson wrote that if the Gospel had been taught as pure as it came from His lips (Jesus) the whole civilized world would now be Christian. That is the theme of the so-called Jefferson Bible — it is a “Just Jesus” version of the Bible, sort of a “Red Letter” New Testament, just what Jesus is reported to have spoken.
THAT IS WHY the Virgin Birth does not appear and the Miracles are not described. Jesus NEVER described His Virgin birth, and never described the miracles, BUT DID list the Miracles in one verse that Jefferson INCLUDED, so did not “Deny the Miracles”.
For a whole lot more go to JeffersonTestament.blogspot.com.
I have a copy of a letter from Benjamin Franklin to his daughter saying not to miss Prayer Services. It is a classic, profound, respectful to the Prayer Book service, and yet funny about the foibles of clergy.
Other Founding Fathers were more clearly “Christian”. James Madison in a.d. 1788 composed words for the base of the Houdon statue of George Washington that said not the “ambiguous” Year of Our Lord, but the very specific Year of Christ.
I could go on and on, for this is my area of expertise, but this should be ’nuff for now.
Blessings to you “Cousin Jayson” Manship…
James Renwick Manship, Sr.
Everything Barton says should be taken with a grain of salt. As revealed by Chris Rodda’s meticulous analysis, zealotry more than fact shapes his work, which is riddled with shoddy scholarship and downright dishonesty. See Chris Rodda, Liars for Jesus: The Religious Right’s Alternate Version of American History (2006) and http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/glenn-becks-new-bff—-da_b_458515.html
Here’s an interesting take on the symbolism in Mosaic law:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_as_symbol_in_American_history
It looks like a handful of Wikipedia editors who don’t like or understand the article, are trying to get it removed (see link at top of article). It’s interesting that some of those editors are not in or from the U.S. and proclaim their atheism.
That the founding leaders of the Republic made public gestures toward local religious sentiments does not in the least mean they were literalist christians. You would have to ignore their letters, diaries, and their biographies to say that they were “all” literalist christians. Some were literalist believers, no doubt, but many were not. You are picking and choosing what founding leaders to read. In the interest of honesty, you should make a point to read the writings of the founding leaders, not just pick and choose their public statements. All politicians say what is expected of them in public, and the founders were no different.