The United States Is A Christian Nation

Before I begin it should be noted that many of my rebuttals from R2 were dropped by Pro in R3. DEFENSE OF MY R2 INTRODUCTION Pro wants to disagree with the conclusion that I made, but not the logic that I used to get there. I argued that if the US was founded on values that are shared by multiple faiths, it is more correct to argue that than to argue that the US is a Christian nation. As Con, my BoP is to demonstrate why Pro's claims are not correct compared with the alternatives. Thus, if I can show that the values are not uniquely Christian, then I have fulfilled my BoP in demonstrating that Pro's claims are not as correct as the alternatives. What Pro claims is an "arbitrary standard" stands, as he has not offered a true rebuttal of my reasoning. Therefore, any reference to a Creator or a God, unless specifically the Christian God, does not build Pro's case. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE As I just explained, a reference to God or a Creator does not affirm Pro's case. Pro tries to explain that the Creator referenced in the Declaration is the Christian God by citing an earlier draft if you will of the document in which Jefferson actually uses the word God. Not only does the word God refer uniquely to Christianity as opposed to other monotheistic religions, but Pro's claim that this Creator of the Declaration is the same God that is in A Summary View of The Rights of British America has not been proven. Pro has offered no reason to believe that the change in diction from "God," to "Creator" is not intentionally and demonstrates that Jefferson wanted the final version to be more inclusive. As he is the one making the claim that the Declaration signifies Christianity, it is up to him to prove that Jefferson's intention was to invoke the Christian God. I find it highly unlikely that Jefferson would be referencing the Christian God, however, given that he had this to say about Christianity and the United States: "And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerve in the brain of Jupiter. But may we hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this most venerated reformer of human errors" [1]. ADAMS QUOTE Once again, Pro fails to address the means through which I drew my conclusion, and here inuits upon basically repeating the exact same thing he said in R2, ignoring my arguments. I pointed out that not only was the quote from different parts of a letter and awkwardly sewn together to fit Pro's desired meaning, a charge which Pro conceded, but the quote was taken out of context, a point which Pro ignored. Instead of addressing this fact, Pro merely puts in the ellipsis and then carries on as if his quote were the full version.Another ignored argument concerned the Treaty of Tripoli, a document signed by Adams that declared the US was not founded on Christian principles. This clarifies Adam's that Adams would not agree with Pro's claims, even though Pro would have us believe that to be true. I'll talk more about the Treaty at the end the round. FREEDOM OF RELIGION While Pro does an adequate job of demonstrating that Jefferson stating that Freedom of Religion is God's will, he does not at all demonstrate how this principle is a Christian principle as well as a Jeffersonian one. It is clear based on evidence that I have already presented, that Jefferson thought differently about Christianity than many people of his time. Therefore, he may have seen freedom of religion to be a principle from a God, but Pro has not shown that Christianity feels the same way. In fact, freedom of religion is hardly a Christian principle given Jesus" promises of hell for unbelievers, etc. Hardly a tolerant viewpoint. THE DUTY OF NATIONS I have two main points to raise in this section. The first deals with context and the importance of making the clarification between a statement concerning the religious nature of the country and what is merely an ornament regarding some other topic. The second point deals with the relationship between a quote and its application to the US system of government. Both points arise in analysis of Pro"s Washington quote. First, this quote is not directed at confirming the US"s Christianity, but rather deals with Thanksgiving and is explaining why it is import to celebrate the holiday. Additionally, and more importantly here, Pro makes no attempt to connect Washington"s philosophy on the "Duty of all nations" to the way in which our government is organized. Obviously if he wants to show that the country was influenced by Christian principles, Pro must demonstrate how these principles are worked into the nation"s foundation, something which he has not done. An example of context analysis comes from Pro"s reference to the Treaty of Paris. It appears that this opening statement invoking the Trinity is more of a ceremonial invocation than a true reflection of our founding principles. How can I be so sure of this? One only has to read a little further into the Treaty to see another statement which is in direct contrast to the ideals of the Revolution, the statement that "It having pleased the Divine Providence to dispose the hearts of the most serene and most potent Prince George the Third, by the grace of God, king of Great Britain, France and Ireland..." [2]. Obviously this part of the Treaty that grants George III divine right to the throne is in opposition to the values that defined our Founding. Pro presents no reason to believe that the first part of the Treaty referring to the Trinity and to God bear any more significance upon our values than does the praise of George. STATE CONSTITUTIONS This point is completely irrelevant to the debate, as the topic is whether or not we are a Christian Nation, not whether the states are individually Christian, therefore, it needn"t be addressed. TREATY OF TRIPOLI Throughout the debate, Pro has given numorous quotes, a few of which can be seen as references to Christian values with some stretching of the imagination. However, as I previously mentioned, there exists a document that plainly denies the resolution. I now quote from Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli of 1796. "As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,-as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen,-and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries." [3] Here's the statement that President Adams issued regarding his approval of the Treaty: "Now be it known, That I John Adams, President of the United States of America, having seen and considered the said Treaty do, by and with the advice consent of the Senate, accept, ratify, and confirm the same, and every clause and article thereof. And to the End that the said Treaty may be observed and performed with good Faith on the part of the United States, I have ordered the premises to be made public; And I do hereby enjoin and require all persons bearing office civil or military within the United States, and all others citizens or inhabitants thereof, faithfully to observe and fulfil the said Treaty and every clause and article thereof." [3] None of Pro"s evidence comes close to the level of clarity in affirming the Christianity of the US as the beginning of Article 11 and Adams" clear endorsement of "every clause and article thereof" in denying it. Sources 1.http://www.nobeliefs.com... 2.http://www.earlyamerica.com... 3.http://candst.tripod.com...