Founding Fathers

[Fakename]

Were they mostly Christian? ...or Deist? or what?
Can anyone tell me or direct me to a good article on this?

Don

[Harshman]

I've had a hard time nailing this down. The error I continually run into is
that people don't define "Deist." It seems like some of the Founding
Fathers could be considered either Christian or Deist, depending on how you
distinguish the two terms.

Another problem, once you define the terms, is deciding what evidence you
allow and at what stage in each founder's life. Was Franklin a Deist? Was
he always a Deist? Can you be a Quaker and a Puritan and a Deist at the
same time?

Third, you have to decide if your definition takes prevalence over the
founders' definitions. A 21st Century, American, evangelical Christian
might look at an intellectual in the 18th century (Thomas Jefferson, for
example) and determine that he is not a "Chrisitan" but rather a "Deist."
Jefferson, however, might strongly disagree, and have his own opinions of
21st Century Christianity.

I look forward to any real information on this, but I'm not sure it's
something that's easy to clarify.

"Fakename" <fake...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:p42dnSvnI79cnfre...@giganews.com...

[jotis]

It is hard to pin-point just what they were. If you read the letters between
Adams and Jefferson, you world conclude that they certainly did NOT believe
in Jesus or the Trinity. In fact, they seem to have a good time poking fun
at what they seemed to feel was the apparent idiocy of the then-current
religions. Remember, this was nearly a hundred years before Darwin wrote the
ORIGIN, so , at the time of the revolution there was no other socially
acceptable way of thinking except in "creation". Also note that the word
"creator" exists in documents when the word "god" might well have been
used.

Regards,

Joseph
"Harshman" <sku...@insightbb.com> wrote in message
news:SYV9f.509844$_o.475689@attbi_s71...

[Harshman]

To clarify, I believe there's plenty of evidence that Jefferson did believe
in Jesus. What specifically Jefferson believed about Jesus would put him at
odds with modern evangelicals, though. And I don't have a source handy, but
I recall that Jefferson rejected the idea of the Trinity, just as some
modern Christian denominations do. At the same time, Jefferson did consider
himself a Christian, as do many people today who never attend a church
service. But he wasn't a Muslim or a Jew, so naturally he considered
himself a Christian. (If we're to believe Franklin, there were no Atheists
in America at the time.)

-Wade

"jotis" <charle...@rcn.net> wrote in message
news:DYWdnX6jDbJ...@rcn.net...

[ZerkonXXXX]

For a very good insight on the practical aspects of this question read
about Thomas Paine's experiences when he returned to America after "Age
Of Reason" was published.

What people 'really' believed is a hard one. What they actually do makes
what they actually believe little clearer, I think.