Another view of the Founders faith


I like it
Somebody else gets it! From knab at POINT VS COUNTERPOINT.

Lastly, there is one very good reason why government can and should be completely removed from religion. Thomas Jefferson, drafter of the Declaration of Independence, was a self-acknowledged follower of John Locke. Locke himself had predicted that religion would flourish in the absence of government intervention. More than 200 years later, the United States has one of the most religious Christian societies in the world, bearing out his prediction.

As far as other religions besides Christianity go, one is presumptuous if one believes that the Founding Fathers were not well aware of them. Indeed, Thomas Jefferson in his presidency carried out a war against the Barbary Pirates of Northern Africa and knew intimately our customary and religious differences. Yet it would not even occur to Jefferson, as a child of the Enlightenment, to restrict the free flowing of thoughts and religions in society as a safeguard against such barbarism. Penting up the discourse inevitably leads to an aggregation of potential energy, to be unleashed whenever the will or capacity of government fails or the passions of men overwhelm them.

Stars above and Earth below, there are still people who think in the world. Sometimes I have to wonder, especially after times like this last weekend.

I won't kid you, this is one of my hot buttons. That's why I am excited to see it handled rationally. I like that guy.

Agreeing with me usually gets my attention. Here's what I wrote on a similar topic. As usual I get the technopagan green.

Why did they do it? Why did the Framers of the Constitution go out of the way NOT to acknowledge the Christian god, or indeed any god? They did it because they were among the best educated men of their time. The Framers knew their history. They knew about the English Civil War. They knew how some of the American Colonies required citizens to belong to a specific church, or at least to pay taxes to it. They knew that assumed moral certainty and governmental authority made a dangerous combination.

That doesn't mean that the Founders weren't men of faith. Most of them were, even the Deists. But they knew that faith had to be personal if it was to have any meaning at all. Otherwise religion becomes just another tyranny, forcing people to go through the motions without any reason of their own.

Matters of faith are a personal choice, they should never be public policy. Would you like me to tell you how to worship your god? Why should government have the power to dictate an individual's faith and practices?

So where does that leave us? Without an absolute moral standard revealed in a holy book or proclaimed by someone touched by the Divine, how should we decide which laws are good and which laws are bad?

We're left with a simple idea that has worked so far. If I don't want someone forcing me what to believe, it's in my best interests to make sure that no one forces you what to believe either. People can try to persuade you, but force is a big no-no.

There's hope for the human species yet.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Mon - November 24, 2008 at 04:34 PM  Tag


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