Originally posted by Steve
You need go no further than the first paragraph in the declaration of independence. Most of its signers were Christain. There was a motion to substitute "Jesus Christ" for "God" but it was wisely struck down, in spite of the vast Christian majority because:
In otherwords, while mostly Christian, they didn't want to force their religion on anyone.
Interestingly enough, although the majority of the signer were, the author of the Declaration was not necessarily a Christian. It is an ongoing dipute. What is clear is that Jefferson valued civil rights above anything else and did not want them dependent on religious opinions.
Additionally, osme States had religious declarations in their individual constitutions. Massachusetts:
All of those who particpated in the debates about the constitution(of Mass) were Christian, though of differing churches.
OKAY. here we go.
quick rebuttal.
a. i dont think that you read the attached article (written by a priest) which clearly details many of the reasons why america was not founded using christian values.
b. massachussetts is one state out of 13.
c. i would like to see a list of the affilated religions of all of the founding fathers who signed the constitution.
proof of that please.
d. if you had read the article you would have found that it was in fact Benjamin Franklin, a known athiest/agnostic who finally suggested that it be added to quell a few folks who wouldnt let the subject drop. those folks wanted to use the word JESUS...but they used GOD instead. GOD does not imply christianity and was applicable to several monotheisitic affiliations...as there were few polytheistic hindus about...this was not a problem.
e. I would argue that it is not christian values, but rather modified european values that the country rested upon.
f. democracy, or demos kratos, meaning "people power" originated in greece. they were polytheistic,
g. the magna carta was a political document not a spiritual one. our constitution relied heavilly upon the magna carta as a guide.
h. to say that it was founded upon christian values assumes that governments are founded on religious principles. we have clearly accepted the separation of church and state since the late 1700's
i. it was a puritanical mindset that existed in many of the early colonial establishments, but in the larger communities it was not, by the time of the american revolution, cities like boston were not exactly what one might consider hives of purity.
j. the country was founded upon individual liberty and the right to fair representation. it was a struggle against a foriegn power and against the church of england which brought it about.
end. part I
respectfully,
88
