Everything below is taken from
Matt Thorntons Blog which can be found at
http://www.straightblastgym.com/blog/index.html. It has some serious food for thought on many topics.
Are we really a 'Christian Nation'?
I know that the modern conservatives like to drive home their belief that this Country, the USA, was founded on Biblical Christian ethics. And since my family has been in this Country since signing the declaration of independence, and prior to that if you count my children's native American heritage, I was curious about the validity of this claim. And although I may not agree with them on many points, their view was pretty clear.
Here is what our Founding Fathers wrote about Bible-based Christianity:
Thomas Jefferson:
"I have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth."
SIX HISTORIC AMERICANS,
by John E. Remsburg, letter to William Short
I recently read a very interesting article in Harper's magazine that was written by Bill McKibben. The article is called the Christian paradox.
Depending on which poll you look at, close to 85% of Americans call themselves Christians. By way of comparison Israel is 77% Jewish.
However, only about 20% can cite any of the four gospels.
Twelve percent believe Joan of Arc was Noah's wife.
And three quarters of Americans believe the Bible teaches that:
"God helps those that help themselves."
This statement was in fact uttered by Ben Franklin. And it appears nowhere in the scriptures.
More Jefferson:
"The clergy converted the simple teachings of Jesus into an engine for enslaving mankind and adulterated by artificial constructions into a contrivance to filch wealth and power to themselves...these clergy, in fact, constitute the real Anti-Christ."
From John Adams:
"Where do we find a precept in the Bible for Creeds, Confessions, Doctrines and Oaths, and whole carloads of other trumpery that we find religion encumbered with in these days?"
Also Adams:
"The doctrine of the divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity."
Adams signed the Treaty of Tripoli. Article 11 states:
The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion.
Here's Thomas Paine:
The Christian church has set up a religion of pomp and revenue in pretended imitation of a person (Jesus) who lived a life of poverty.
Finally, let's hear from James Madison:
"What influence in fact have Christian ecclesiastical establishments had on civil society? In many instances they have been upholding the thrones of political tyranny. In no instance have they been seen as the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wished to subvert the public liberty have found in the clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate liberty, does not need the clergy."
Madison objected to state-supported chaplains in Congress and to the exemption of churches from taxation. He wrote:
Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together.
Cam