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Do you think this country was founded upon Christianity?

Do you think the U.S. was intended to be a Christian Nation?

  • Yes

    Votes: 28 19.4%
  • No

    Votes: 99 68.8%
  • other

    Votes: 17 11.8%

  • Total voters
    144
I do not recall saying none were X-tians. Care to point out where I said that? Do not waste your time because you cannot. It is clear that the majority of them were not. That pretty much sums it up. The End:)

A clear majority were indeed Christian, not the other way around. Of course this has nothing to do with the fact that America is a predominantly Christian nation with a secular government as they intended.
 
Please do not try to claim I am anxious about anything, ok?

I find it pretty arrogant of you to assume I wish that my founding fathers are/were like me. Look save your shrink crap for someone else as you do not know me. Got it.

You are being condesending and do not doubt my ability to pick up on it.

And your proof that most of our Founders weren't Christian...................?
 
It is to my understanding that most of the founding fathers were not Christians i think Adams was the only one, most were either Deists or some other form of that although many still attended church since it was the "socially except able" thing to do back then but if you read a lot of Jefferson and Franklin 's quotes you will see that they were not Christians. ( especially Jefferson he hated the clergy and saw them as "oppressors of liberty") and of course many can agree that Thomas Paine was a hard core Deist.
 
It is to my understanding that most of the founding fathers were not Christians i think Adams was the only one, most were either Deists or some other form of that although many still attended church since it was the "socially except able" thing to do back then but if you read a lot of Jefferson and Franklin 's quotes you will see that they were not Christians. ( especially Jefferson he hated the clergy and saw them as "oppressors of liberty") and of course many can agree that Thomas Paine was a hard core Deist.

Wrong on so many counts. Oy!
 
Read the thread.
 
It is to my understanding that most of the founding fathers were not Christians i think Adams was the only one, most were either Deists or some other form of that although many still attended church since it was the "socially except able" thing to do back then but if you read a lot of Jefferson and Franklin 's quotes you will see that they were not Christians. ( especially Jefferson he hated the clergy and saw them as "oppressors of liberty") and of course many can agree that Thomas Paine was a hard core Deist.

And you would be wrong...

Religious Affiliation of the Delegates to the
Constitutional Convention of 1787, including the
Signers of the Constitution of the United States of America


Daniel Carroll Maryland Catholic
Thomas Fitzsimons Pennsylvania Catholic
Roger Sherman Connecticut Congregationalist
Nathaniel Gorham Massachusetts Congregationalist
John Langdon New Hampshire Congregationalist
Nicholas Gilman New Hampshire Congregationalist
Abraham Baldwin Georgia Congregationalist; Episcopalian
William Samuel Johnson Connecticut Episcopalian; Presbyterian
James Madison Jr. Virginia Episcopalian
George Read Delaware Episcopalian
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Maryland Episcopalian
David Brearly New Jersey Episcopalian
Richard Dobbs Spaight, Sr. North Carolina Episcopalian
Robert Morris Pennsylvania Episcopalian
Gouverneur Morris Pennsylvania Episcopalian
John Rutledge South Carolina Episcopalian
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney South Carolina Episcopalian
Charles Pinckney South Carolina Episcopalian
Pierce Butler South Carolina Episcopalian
George Washington Virginia Episcopalian
Benjamin Franklin Pennsylvania Episcopalian (Deist)
William Blount North Carolina Episcopalian; Presbyterian
James Wilson Pennsylvania Episcopalian; Presbyteran
Rufus King Massachusetts Episcopalian; Congregationalist
Jacob Broom Delaware Lutheran
William Few Georgia Methodist
Richard Bassett Delaware Methodist
Gunning Bedford Jr. Delaware Presbyterian
James McHenry Maryland Presbyterian
William Livingston New Jersey Presbyterian
William Paterson New Jersey Presbyterian
Hugh Williamson North Carolina Presbyterian
Jared Ingersoll Pennsylvania Presbyterian
Alexander Hamilton New York Huguenot; Presbyterian; Episcopalian
Jonathan Dayton New Jersey Presbyterian; Episcopalian
John Blair Virginia Presbyterian; Episcopalian
John Dickinson Delaware Quaker; Episcopalian
George Clymer Pennsylvania Quaker; Episcopalian
Thomas Mifflin Pennsylvania Quaker; Lutheran


Name of Non-Signing Delegate State Religious Affiliation

Oliver Ellsworth Connecticut Congregationalist
Caleb Strong Massachusetts Congregationalist
John Lansing, Jr. New York Dutch Reformed
Robert Yates New York Dutch Reformed
William Houstoun Georgia Episcopalian
William Leigh Pierce Georgia Episcopalian
Luther Martin Maryland Episcopalian
John F. Mercer Maryland Episcopalian
Elbridge Gerry Massachusetts Episcopalian
George Mason Virginia Episcopalian
Edmund J. Randolph Virginia Episcopalian
George Wythe Virginia Episcopalian
James McClurg Virginia Presbyterian
William C. Houston New Jersey Presbyterian
William R. Davie North Carolina Presbyterian
Alexander Martin North Carolina Presbyterian
- Religion of the Founding Fathers of America
 
Where did this myth that "the majority of our Founders weren't Christian" come from?
 
Where did this myth that "the majority of our Founders weren't Christian" come from?

It came from the fact that Jefferson, Paine, and Franklin were not Christians and i wouldnt classify it soley as a myth since there is some truth in it.
 
And you would be wrong...

Religious Affiliation of the Delegates to the
Constitutional Convention of 1787, including the
Signers of the Constitution of the United States of America


Daniel Carroll Maryland Catholic
Thomas Fitzsimons Pennsylvania Catholic
Roger Sherman Connecticut Congregationalist
Nathaniel Gorham Massachusetts Congregationalist
John Langdon New Hampshire Congregationalist
Nicholas Gilman New Hampshire Congregationalist
Abraham Baldwin Georgia Congregationalist; Episcopalian
William Samuel Johnson Connecticut Episcopalian; Presbyterian
James Madison Jr. Virginia Episcopalian
George Read Delaware Episcopalian
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Maryland Episcopalian
David Brearly New Jersey Episcopalian
Richard Dobbs Spaight, Sr. North Carolina Episcopalian
Robert Morris Pennsylvania Episcopalian
Gouverneur Morris Pennsylvania Episcopalian
John Rutledge South Carolina Episcopalian
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney South Carolina Episcopalian
Charles Pinckney South Carolina Episcopalian
Pierce Butler South Carolina Episcopalian
George Washington Virginia Episcopalian
Benjamin Franklin Pennsylvania Episcopalian (Deist)
William Blount North Carolina Episcopalian; Presbyterian
James Wilson Pennsylvania Episcopalian; Presbyteran
Rufus King Massachusetts Episcopalian; Congregationalist
Jacob Broom Delaware Lutheran
William Few Georgia Methodist
Richard Bassett Delaware Methodist
Gunning Bedford Jr. Delaware Presbyterian
James McHenry Maryland Presbyterian
William Livingston New Jersey Presbyterian
William Paterson New Jersey Presbyterian
Hugh Williamson North Carolina Presbyterian
Jared Ingersoll Pennsylvania Presbyterian
Alexander Hamilton New York Huguenot; Presbyterian; Episcopalian
Jonathan Dayton New Jersey Presbyterian; Episcopalian
John Blair Virginia Presbyterian; Episcopalian
John Dickinson Delaware Quaker; Episcopalian
George Clymer Pennsylvania Quaker; Episcopalian
Thomas Mifflin Pennsylvania Quaker; Lutheran


Name of Non-Signing Delegate State Religious Affiliation

Oliver Ellsworth Connecticut Congregationalist
Caleb Strong Massachusetts Congregationalist
John Lansing, Jr. New York Dutch Reformed
Robert Yates New York Dutch Reformed
William Houstoun Georgia Episcopalian
William Leigh Pierce Georgia Episcopalian
Luther Martin Maryland Episcopalian
John F. Mercer Maryland Episcopalian
Elbridge Gerry Massachusetts Episcopalian
George Mason Virginia Episcopalian
Edmund J. Randolph Virginia Episcopalian
George Wythe Virginia Episcopalian
James McClurg Virginia Presbyterian
William C. Houston New Jersey Presbyterian
William R. Davie North Carolina Presbyterian
Alexander Martin North Carolina Presbyterian
- Religion of the Founding Fathers of America

Kudos sir i retrack my prevous statement..failure on my part for not reaserching it enough.
 
It came from the fact that Jefferson, Paine, and Franklin were not Christians and i wouldnt classify it soley as a myth since there is some truth in it.

Their is no truth to it as I have shown, none at all. The vast majority were indeed Christian.

All people have to do is actually look at history and not just assume based on the views of a vocal minority.

I understand though, I have made some bad claims on limited info myself, lol!
 
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It came from the fact that Jefferson, Paine, and Franklin were not Christians and i wouldnt classify it soley as a myth since there is some truth in it.

There is absolutely no truth in "the majority of our Founders weren't Christians".

And...

Thomas Jefferson


SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; DIPLOMAT; GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA; SECRETARY OF STATE; THIRD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man.64

The practice of morality being necessary for the well being of society, He [God] has taken care to impress its precepts so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the subtleties of our brain. We all agree in the obligation of the moral principles of Jesus and nowhere will they be found delivered in greater purity than in His discourses.65

I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others.66

I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.67


Benjamin Franklin


SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION; DIPLOMAT; PRINTER; SCIENTIST; SIGNER OF THE CONSTITUTION; GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA

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.30

The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and guilding, lies here, food for worms. Yet the work itself shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more beatiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author.31 (FRANKLIN’S EULOGY THAT HE WROTE FOR HIMSELF)

Thomas Paine, I believe, was actually an atheist.

I don't know any other founder that wasn't deeply religious.
 
There is absolutely no truth in "the majority of our Founders weren't Christians".

And...

Thomas Jefferson


SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; DIPLOMAT; GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA; SECRETARY OF STATE; THIRD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man.64

The practice of morality being necessary for the well being of society, He [God] has taken care to impress its precepts so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the subtleties of our brain. We all agree in the obligation of the moral principles of Jesus and nowhere will they be found delivered in greater purity than in His discourses.65

I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others.66

I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.67


Benjamin Franklin


SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION; DIPLOMAT; PRINTER; SCIENTIST; SIGNER OF THE CONSTITUTION; GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA

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.30

The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and guilding, lies here, food for worms. Yet the work itself shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more beatiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author.31 (FRANKLIN’S EULOGY THAT HE WROTE FOR HIMSELF)

Thomas Paine, I believe, was actually an atheist.

I don't know any other founder that wasn't deeply religious.

Just because they respected the moral teachings of Jesus, does not make them Christians. They did not believe in the divinity of Christ, or the Trinity. Without that, they are not Christian.
 
Their is no truth to it as I have shown, none at all. The vast majority were indeed Christian.

All people have to do is actually look at history and not just assume based on the views of a vocal minority.

I understand though, I have made some bad claims on limited info myself, lol!

im not saying that all of them were not Christians you already proved me wrong and your data states that Franklin was a Deist.
 
Both Franklin and Jefferson follow Christ's teachings. They might not have believed in his divinity (and, frankly, I don't know if I do either). There are segments of the Christian community that do not believe that Christ = God.
 
Just because they respected the moral teachings of Jesus, does not make them Christians. They did not believe in the divinity of Christ, or the Trinity. Without that, they are not Christian.

I'm a Christian and I don't think I believe in the Trinity or the deity of Christ. Thomas Jefferson calls himself a Christian. "Deist" would be the proper term, I assume, but I still call myself a Christian and so did TJ.
 
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There is absolutely no truth in "the majority of our Founders weren't Christians".

And...

Thomas Jefferson


SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; DIPLOMAT; GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA; SECRETARY OF STATE; THIRD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man.64

The practice of morality being necessary for the well being of society, He [God] has taken care to impress its precepts so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the subtleties of our brain. We all agree in the obligation of the moral principles of Jesus and nowhere will they be found delivered in greater purity than in His discourses.65

I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others.66

I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.67


Benjamin Franklin


SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION; DIPLOMAT; PRINTER; SCIENTIST; SIGNER OF THE CONSTITUTION; GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA

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.30

The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and guilding, lies here, food for worms. Yet the work itself shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more beatiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author.31 (FRANKLIN’S EULOGY THAT HE WROTE FOR HIMSELF)

Thomas Paine, I believe, was actually an atheist.

I don't know any other founder that wasn't deeply religious.

maybe you should look at this Thomas Jefferson quotes and if you have ever read the " Age of Reason" you will see that Paine was in fact a Deist.
 
im not saying that all of them were not Christians you already proved me wrong and your data states that Franklin was a Deist.

You clearly said the majority were not Christians. That's completely untrue. And there were more Founding Fathers than just Franklin, Washington, Adams and Jefferson.
 
I'm a Christian and I don't think I believe in the Trinity of the deity of Christ. Thomas Jefferson calls himself a Christian. "Deist" would be the proper term, I assume, but I still call myself a Christian and so did TJ.

No Thomas Jefferson did not call himself a Christian, neither did Benjamin Franklin. You also left out the fact they did not believe in the divinity of Jesus. If you do not believe that and don't accept Christ as your savior, you cannot be a Christian by the definition.

Not knowing if you accept the trinity and speaking actively against it are two very different things.
 
You clearly said the majority were not Christians. That's completely untrue. And there were more Founding Fathers than just Franklin, Washington, Adams and Jefferson.

Yes i know! i already admitmented to Blackdog that i was wrong about the majority thing. I am only stating now that Jefferson , Franklin, and Paine were not Christians.
 
Both Franklin and Jefferson follow Christ's teachings. They might not have believed in his divinity (and, frankly, I don't know if I do either). There are segments of the Christian community that do not believe that Christ = God.

And they are not considered Christians.
 
No Thomas Jefferson did not call himself a Christian, neither did Benjamin Franklin. You also left out the fact they did not believe in the divinity of Jesus. If you do not believe that and don't accept Christ as your savior, you cannot be a Christian by the definition.

Not knowing if you accept the trinity and speaking actively against it are two very different things.

Thomas Jefferson ....
I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others. -- Thomas Jefferson, Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies from the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, editor (Boston: Grey & Bowen, 1830), Vol. III, p. 506, to Benjamin Rush, April 21, 1803

I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ. -- Thomas Jefferson, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Albert Ellery Bergh, editor (Washington, D.C.: The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1904), Vol. XIV, p. 385, to Charles Thomson on January 9, 1816
 
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