Happy Independence Day!
I thought it would be fitting to share some of my favorite quotes from our founding fathers to celebrate this July 4th.
"The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."
-John Adams, Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11
"I almost shudder at the thought of alluding to the most fatal example of the abuses of grief which the history of mankind has preserved -- the Cross. Consider what calamities that engine of grief has produced!"
-John Adams, Letter to Thomas Jefferson
"The Doctrine of the divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity."
-John Adams
"Dunghill."
-Jefferson's Word for the Bible
"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 Minerva in the brain of Jupiter."
-Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson's Bible
"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 of the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth."
-Thomas Jefferson
"Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear....Do not be frightened from this inquiry by any fear of its consequences. If it end in a belief that there is no God, you will find incitements to virtue on the comfort and pleasantness you feel in its exercise and in the love of others which it will procure for you."
-Thomas Jefferson
"Christianity...[has become] the most perverted system that ever shone on man....Rogueries, absurdities and untruths were perpetrated upon the teachings of Jesus by a large band of dupes and importers led by Paul, the first great corrupter of the teaching of Jesus."
-Thomas Jefferson
"They [preachers] dread the advance of science as witches do the approach of daylight and scowl on the fatal harbinger announcing the subversions of the duperies on which they live."
-Thomas Jefferson
"The Christian god can easily be pictured as virtually the same god as the many ancient gods of past civilizations. The Christian god is a three headed monster; cruel, vengeful and capricious. If one wishes to know more of this raging, three headed beast-like god, one only needs to look at the caliber of people who say they serve him. They are always of two classes; fools and hypocrites. To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical."
-Thomas Jefferson
"Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise..."
-James Madison
"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of....Each of those churches accuse the other of unbelief; and of my own part, I disbelieve them all."
-Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason, Pg. 89
"The most detestable wickedness, the most horrid cruelties, and the greatest miseries that have afflicted the human race have had their origin in this thing called revelation, or revealed religion."
-Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason
"Those who preach the doctrine of loving their enemies are in general the greatest prosecutors, and they act consistently by so doing; for the doctrine is hypocritical, and it is natural that hypocrisy should act the reverse of what it preaches."
-Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason
"Accustom a people to believe that priests and clergy can forgive sins ... and you will have sins in abundance. I would not dare to dishonor my Creator's name by [attaching] it to this filthy book [the Bible]."
-Thomas Paine
"Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be deprecated."
-George Washington, Letter to Edward Newenham, 1792
"...I beg you be persuaded that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny, and every species of religious persecution."
-George Washington, Letter to United Baptist Churches of Virginia, 1789
And quite possibly my favorite quote: "The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason."
- Benjamin Franklin
Hopefully you can all enjoy your hot dogs and fireworks with a little more freedom today, now knowing that our Founding Fathers did NOT establish this country on Judeo-Christian values!!
Yes, I know...I am a dick. ;) But I'm a dick with the truth!
Posts
These quotes are very apt for me this week. In my online govt class, our discussion board prompt was whether or not the words "under God" as included in the Pledge are constitutional. The consensus among all of my fellow classmates is: a) the pledge does NOT violate the establishment clause of the 1st amendment (it absolutely does) b) this country was founded "under God", when in reality the Constitution makes no mention of God, a supreme being, Jesus or Christianity ANYWHERE c) the Pledge was written by the founding fathers (it was written in 1892 and adopted as our national pledge during the Cold war - "under God" was added in 1954 and d) the founding fathers were all Christians - HA! e) if you're not a Christian, you can suck it! Aaaaarrrgh. My posts stick out like a sore thumb. I had fun pointing out their ignorance, although it makes my blood boil.
ReplyDelete