The United States Is A Christian Nation

The Declaration Of Independence: The Declaration of Independence is the starting point of the United States , our birth certificate. As the well-known, but ever powerful preamble goes: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.The philosophy of the Declaration of Independence obviously supports my thesis. Our birth certificate clearly calls upon a Creator. What kind of Creator? One that is intimately endowing us with powerful, unalienable rights. Sounds personal to me, definitely not Deistic. "But wait!," one might say, "Jefferson was a Deist! Wouldn't that contradict what you're saying?"Thomas Jefferson And The No True Scotsman:The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man. [2] 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. [2] 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.[3] I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ. [2] The last quote is the one I want to focus on. Thomas Jefferson is a self-described Christian. To say that he isn't a Christian because he didn't believe in certain doctrines (like the Virgin Birth), is arbitrary and smacks of a No True Scotsman fallacy. The Revisionists need to stop trying to proselytizing him into a Deist and leave the poor man alone. Nevertheless, Jefferson's belief in Christ obviously affirms my point that the preamble of the Declaration is in direct reference to the Christian God. As John Quincy Adams supports my view: "In the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior. The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity." [5] Anybody that says otherwise on this particular point carries the burden of proof. The Vast Majority Of The Founders Were Christians:It stands to reason that the Founder's religion plays a large part in the formation of the Country. Don't believe me? Skip down to the next section. The list is too large to record in less than 8,000 characters, so I will shorten it to the figures who's religion is falsely contended:John Adams," I have examined all religions, and the result is that the Bible is the best book in the world." [13]Benjamin Franklin, "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." [14]Patrick Henry, "Being a Christian… is a character which I prize far above all this world has or can boast." [8]James Madison, "I have sometimes thought there could not be a stronger testimony in favor of religion or against temporal enjoyments, even the most rational and manly, than for men who occupy the most honorable and gainful departments and [who] are rising in reputation and wealth, publicly to declare their unsatisfactoriness by becoming fervent advocates in the cause of Christ; and I wish you may give in your evidence in this way." [15] Gouverneur Morris, " More especially is it necessary in your profession firmly to rely upon the God of Battles for His guardianship and protection in the dreadful hour of trial. But of all these things you will and I hope in the merciful Lord." George Washington, "You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are." [17] It Was Generally Held By The Founders That The U.S. Is A Christian Nation:John Adams, "The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God." [4]Congress, 1854 "The great, vital, and conservative element in our system is the belief of our people in the pure doctrines and the divine truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." [6]Congress, U. S. House Judiciary Committee, 1854 "Had the people, during the Revolution, had a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that Revolution would have been strangled in its cradle... In this age, there can be no substitute for Christianity... That was the religion of the founders of the republic and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants." [6]John Dickinson, "[Governments] could not give the rights essential to happiness… We claim them from a higher source: from the King of kings, and Lord of all the earth." [7] Daniel Webster, "[T]he Christian religion – its general principles – must ever be regarded among us as the foundation of civil society" [12]"[T]o the free and universal reading of the Bible… men [are] much indebted for right views of civil liberty." [12] The Importance Of Religion In America:Patrick Henry, "The great pillars of all government and of social life [are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible." [8] In 1787, the very year the Constitution was written by the Convention and approved by Congress, that same Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance (N.O.). In the N.O. they outlawed slavery and reaffirmed the basic rights of citizens in language similar to that which was later to become the Bill of Rights. In the N.O. the Founders emphasizes the essential role of religion in schools:"Article 3: Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." [9]They continue, "[The teaching of Religion being] a fundamental system of beliefs concerning man's origin and relationship to the Creator, the cosmic universe, and his relationship to man." Religion was not a mere intellectual exercise, but a basic ingredient of "good government and the happiness of mankind." In other words, Religion, to the Founders, was one of the ingredients that brings about Liberty, Happiness and an era of Prosperity.Thomas Jefferson called these basic beliefs the principles "in which God has united us all." [10] Alexis de Tocqueville Affirms The Molding Power Of Christianity: Alexis de Tocqueville famously stated that he was "certain that [Americans] hold [religion] to be indispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions" [11] The religion Alexis is referring to is the Christian religion. He later goes on, "Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power." To the great de Tocqueville, America's pulpit were the seat of America's success. Sources:[2] The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, [3] Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies from the Papers of Thomas Jefferson[4] The Writings of Thomas Jefferson. [5] Town of Newburyport at Their Request on the Sixty-First Anniversary of the Declaration[6] Journal of the House of the Representatives[7] The Writings of John Dickinson[8] Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence and Speeches,[9] The Annals of America[10] Ibid.[11] Democracy in America [12] Address Delivered at Bunker Hill, June 17, 1843[13] Adams, Works[14] Works of Benjamin Franklin,[15] The Papers of James Madison, William T. Hutchinson,[16] Letters of Delegates to Congress: February 1, 1778-May 31, 1778,[17] George Washington, The Writings of Washington, John C. Fitzpatrick,