Dispelling Misconceptions, Religiously

MANY IF NOT MOST Americans are "burdened" by the misconception that the United States was founded on "Christian" principles,as a "Christian" nation, by founders (men) who were themselves "Christians". This is partly a result of wishful thinking and the projection of personal values, hopes and beliefs upon history. It is largely because throughout American history what has been taught in American public schools is not so much "history",as "hagiography", biased history written to glorify, glamorize, and sanitize a country's history by a country's educational system. This tends to occur in all countries; hagiography. Human nature, if you will. The USA, a majorty Christian country, prefers to think of itself in Christian terms, believing that this is preferable. Perhaps it is (it isn't), although even this is a dubious assumption. It is, however, decidedly untrue. The United States was founded on scientific, politically "enlightend" Lockian principles, intended to be a country with strict separation of church and state, with religious freedom, tolerance, and diversity. A secular democratic republic. "The United States is no more a Christian nation than an Islamic nation", wrote John Adams in 1798. "The purpose of seperation of church and state is to keep from these shores forever the ceaseless strife which has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries" wrote Madison. The first amendment, perhaps written too vaguely and briefly, embodies, codifies this "wall of seperation" as Jefferson and Madison described it. Jefferson, in his letters, which he wrongly assumed would be destroyed rather than preserved as valuable historical documents, made his attitude about the Christian religion perfectly clear in private correspondence. He described it as "our modern superstition". Further,he wrote: "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". Perhaps the most fundamentel article of faith underpinning the Christian faith, torn to shreds by Thomas Jefferson, privately. His prediction has not yet come to pass widely in society, a fact which would possibly greatly surprise the scientific minded Jefferson, two hundred years after his death. But stay tuned. Science continues its inexorable march forward into the future, the wheels of reason and sense are turning, grinding ever on, and Christianity is losing its traditional iron grip upon the hearts and minds of American and indeed human civilization, albeit seemingly slowly. As for Jefferson, he himself was a confirmed "deist", embracing the ideal of God as a genius spirit creator above and beyond any human invented religion, who made the universe, and allows it to operate unimpeded, according to natural laws. Jefferson called himslef "a primitive Christian", meaning that he, like nearly everyone, embraced the wisdom and beauty embodied in the teachings of Jesus, but rejected the supernatural aspects of the faith, upon which the religion is so heavily predicated, as superstitious nonsense. He evenwent so far as to take a pair of scissors, and while president, cut the Holy Bible into confetti,and to reassemble it according to his own preferences, leaving out the superstition, leaving in the beauty and wisdom. The "Jefferson Bible" can be found in any good university library. "Deism: was the philosphy of the day among late eigtheenth century intellectualls, and Jefferson was one among many our America'a founers who embraced it. Deists, are among us today,cohabitating the Earth with the other approximately 4,200 superstition based religions with their various and sundry gods, along with atheists, agnostics, and assorted other spiritually oriented belief systems. God bless them all! Their very exstence is the tangible manifestation of the intentions of America's founders, and a lasting and fitting tribute to their genius, openmindedness, and brilliance.