AMERICA IS A SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
"Christian nation" propagandist David Barton has issued a statement conceding that the following twelve quotations attributed to prominent historical figures are either false or at best questionable. WallBuilders' observations about the quotes are in parenthesis.
It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!
-- Patrick Henry (questionable)
It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.
-- George Washington (questionable)
Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise. In this sense and to this extent, our civilizations and our institutions are emphatically Christian.
-- Holy Trinity v. U.S. [Supreme Court] (false)
We have staked the whole future of American civilization, nor upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves ... according to the Ten Commandments of God.
-- James Madison (false)
Whosoever shall introduce into the public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world.
-- Benjamin Franklin (questionable)
The principles of all genuine liberty, and of wise laws and administrations are to be drawn from the Bible and sustained by its authority. The man therefore who weakens or destroys the divine authority of that book may be assessory to all the public disorders which society is doomed to suffer.
-- Noah Webster (questionable)
There are two powers only which are sufficient to control men, and secure the rights of individuals and a peaceable administration; these are the combined force of religion and law, and the force or fear of the bayonet.
-- Noah Webster (questionable)
The only assurance of our nation's safety is to lay our foundation in morality and religion.
-- Abe Lincoln (questionable)
The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.
-- Abe Lincoln (questionable)
A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or eternal invader.
-- Samuel Adams (questionable)
[this can be found in Harry Alonzo Cushing, ed., The Writings of Samuel Adams (1908), Vol. 4, p. 124 -- Cliff Walker, May 1, 2002]
I have always said and always will say that the studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make us better citizens.
-- Thomas Jefferson (questionable)
America is great because she is good. and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.
-- Alexis de Toqueville, Democracy in America (definitely not in the book; perhaps in other more obscure writings; questionable)
Steve King, Chuck Grassley, Ralph Reed, David Barton -Photo And Video Highlights of Iowa Christian Alliance Dinner
And yet, even after this clown has been exposed for the fraud that he is, the son of a bitch continues to do the Christian-ultra right circuit, often speaking at events and continues to poison our misguided religious folks into thinking that there is credibility to his claims.
There were many influences to the Constitution, and the creation of our government. Most are non-Judeo-Christian:
• Democracy: Greece, Rome, Parliament of England, Thomas Paine (English, Deist)
• Three Branches of Government: Montesquieu (France), England
• Constitutional Government: England (Magna Carta, etc)
• Bill of Rights: England (Bill of Rights of 1689)
• Republicanism: Rome, Machiavelli (Italy), John Locke (England)
Democracy, and individual rights (which supersede laws) are antithetical to the Bible. If our government were based on Biblical models, we would be killing people with stones for minor transgressions, butchering children of other tribes, making decisions by lot, etc. Most importantly, we would have theocracy and monarchy, both of which our founding fathers rejected with revulsion.
These are some strange points, that I think are a bit out of context:
[* Out of the 56 that signed the Declaration of Independence, 29 had seminary degrees.]
By seminary degrees, he means "Doctor of Divinity" which was a much more common degree back then - given from the likes of Harvard, Yale, etc that were originally established as "religious" universities. Only one of the signers of the DoI was a practicing minister. Some of the others were either what might be considered Unitarians, or even non-practicing Christians. Also, in sense, so what if they got a Doctor of Divinity. Today the most popular doctorate is a doctor of philosophy. It doesn't make all those people philosophers. Finally, if we're really talking about the "founding" of out government, bringing up the DoI is really somewhat irrelevant, as that document had nothing directly to do with the subsequent founding of our nation
[* The first public school law in America in 1647 – The Old Deluder Satan Act – They believed that people should be able to read the Bible (which Satan didn’t want), so they wanted to teach children to read and write. For the next 320 years, the Bible was part of public education.]
Same problem as above. Hes citing something that predates the founding of our government -- this one being so far in the past that it's completely irrelevant to the US government. 1647?
[* Sept 6, 1774 – First session of the first Congress – they opened with Prayer, and that prayer lasted up to 3 hours.]
And they still pray in congress to this day. But guess what? Not everyone in congress is a Christian. So, this one seems to be rather pointless as well.
[* Congress printed the first Bible in the english language in the United States in 1782. They printed 20,000 copies.]
Again, so what? This does not make out country an official "Christian Nation".
Some of the signers of our constitution were deists. Does that make us a deist nation? No. They wrote into our constitution a separation of church and state, specifically because they did not want the government controlling or guiding religion.
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