People
have long used quotes from our nation’s Founding Fathers to bolster
their arguments and legitimize their viewpoints, whatever those
opinions may be. The internet has no shortage of
politically-motivated images consisting of text written by,
accompanied by a painting of, a Samuel Adams or a John Hancock. For
example, one who believes Van Halen was a better band with David Lee
Roth as their lead singer might try and strengthen their claim by
quoting our fifth President, James Monroe, who once wrote in a letter
to a confidant: “It
is my deep and abiding conviction that Van Halen without the magnetic
frontmanship of David Lee Roth is but a sinking vessel for
watered-down rock n’ roll.”
The
patriot with the pro-Lee Roth opinion would feel his or her argument
is made stronger by including a quote from the cast of characters in
our nation’s infancy such as Patrick Henry or Thomas Paine
(unquestionably two of our greatest Presidents). They feel that if
the sentiments of one of these great men, even if to some small
degree, coincides with their stance on the subject, then they must be
right. In my allegiance to neither the left nor the right wings of
modern American politics, I’ve seen this done more by
conservatives, though liberals are also known to slap a painting or
daguerreotype of some figure of great historical significance next to
a quote of his or hers, to support a social stance.
It’s
become quite a routine weapon of those on the left to assert to their
enemies on the right that the Founding Fathers did not
found “a Christian nation,” as is the common misunderstanding of
many conservatives, who hold that our American forefathers were
pious, devout Christians in the strictest sense. There are so many
who so strongly identify the Gospel as an American
Gospel,
as if only the most patriotic have a right to proclaim Christ. In
doing so, they cause the rest of the world, and many of their fellow
countrymen and women to see Jesus as an American staple. But the
Gospel is not a nationalistic message, not for America or any other
nation; Jesus Himself says, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air
have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Those
on the left are right, however, in their rebuke of the conservative
view that our founding fathers were all Protestant church-goers; our
great country was not molded as a Christian Union, though the left
should know that they’re not exactly letting a cat out of a bag by
stating this.
No,
a bunch of rich, deist slave-owners did not found a Christian nation.
That’s
not to say that all of our Founding Fathers were deists (or rich, or
owned slaves), but many of their philosophical and religious
practices were indeed influenced by the doctrine of deism. Deism was
a popular belief among many of our Founding Fathers, though it was of
more a philosophical birth than a spiritual one. In its warped
nutshell, deism is a vague belief in a God or a Higher Power, often
referred to as simply as a “Creator,” who does not involve
Himself with nature; deism also rejects the notion of supernatural
miracles, the divine Authorship of the Bible, and the holy Trinity.
Deism places high esteem in the notion of “reason,” which I do
not deny is a catalyst of faith, especially in defending that faith;
but the reason magnified by deism is man’s reason –
self-contradicting, self-assuring, and self-serving. Deism is an
example of man’s own theologies which he builds on sand, all for
the sake of unburdening himself of the responsibility the true God
has given him. If he dismisses the notion that God authored the
Scripture by revelation through a Holy Spirit, he has no reason to
risk embarrassment and ridicule to share with another human being the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. The popularity of deism rose from what is
called the “Age of Enlightenment,” a movement that, unlike the
Reformation or the Great Awakenings, was not borne of a zeal for
Christ or His love. The Age of Enlightenment was a product of man’s
praise of his own intellect.
No,
our Founding Fathers, even the more overtly “Christian” among
them, did not create a Christian nation. Even many of our great
nation’s leaders who came after the Era of Good Feelings had
religious views that were contrary to Scripture; William Howard Taft,
for example, the last President to wear facial hair, was a Unitarian
and thus rejected the divinity of Jesus Christ; the same was true for
Millard Fillmore, minus the facial hair.
But
back to the Founding Fathers. Having said all of this about the
illusion of America as a country whose leaders have been devout
Christians, and having expressed such a dismay at many fellow
Christians who lean so heavily on the words of our forefathers,
mistaking them to be words of fellow saints in Christ, I must bring
about a few quotes from these men, men who were brilliant indeed, but
men whose brilliance should be kept at work in political policy, not
the bolstering of our faith.
I
start with Benjamin Franklin, who once wrote, “I
cannot conceive otherwise than that He, the Infinite Father, expects
or requires no worship or praise from us, but that He is even
infinitely above it.”
What
Mr. Franklin failed to understand is that it is of no flattery to God
that we praise Him, for we fail Him daily. But His love for us never
fails, which should be of the utmost comfort to us and worthy of our
praise.
““Which
is the first commandment of all?”
“Jesus
answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: “Hear, O
Israel, the LORD
our God, the LORD
is one. And you shall love the LORD
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.” This is the first commandment.””
Mr.
Franklin was right on one thing – of course God is above our
praise. He does not require
it to operate, it does not boost an ego, nor does God need
praise to function – He is criticized and slandered every day, but
remains holy, almighty, and sovereign. The reason God desires
our
intimate enthusiasm of Him is for our own sakes. If we praise God,
truly and from the heart, we will be open and receiving to His
instructions and commandments, each of them lovingly crafted for our
own benefit, both on this earth and in the everlasting life He gives
us.
Now
onto a man revered by many, probably above any other Founding Father,
Thomas Jefferson. He once wrote: “I
never told my own religion nor scrutinized that of another. I never
attempted to make a convert, nor wished to change another’s creed.”
President
Jefferson, it seems, had quite an odd notion of the God even he
believed to be true. If a doctrine concerning the soul presents
itself as the truth, but also teaches that it’s of no consequence
or importance if that truth is accepted and practiced or not, and
that it’s of no importance to go near and far to tell others of
that truth, then logically that doctrine must be hopeless, and above
all, meaningless.
Fortunately,
God’s doctrine is the stark opposite, as Jesus says, “Whatever I
tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the
ear, preach on the housetops.” He also gives the Great Commission
to His apostles and to all believers: “Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age.” The apostle Paul, of whom
President Jefferson was quite critical, writes, “if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold,
all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has
reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the
ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ
reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to
them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then,
we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through
us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God” (2
Corinthians 5:17-20).
And,
in chains, as his execution for preaching the Gospel neared, Paul
wrote to his faithful companion and fellow servant Timothy, “do not
be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but
share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power
of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace
which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now
been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has
abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a
teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things;
nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am
persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until
that Day” (2 Timothy 1:8-12).
We
move on to John Adams, who wrote in one of the many letters he and
fellow former President Jefferson exchanged in the later years of
their lives, “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!”
I
find it remarkably sad that President Adams only saw grief in that
upon which Jesus died to bring so many eternal life.
His sentiment is shared by many today who have been led astray by the
evil acts of men who had the ignorance and audacity to commit such
“abuses of grief” in the name of Christ and the cross. President
Adams no doubt had in mind the exploitations of man. But I’m
sure he would shudder today, when the conservative vs. liberal dogma
fights both use his very words, in various quotes and memes, to
support their respective political claims, twisted and erroneous as
one or both may be. But I’m sure John Adams would recognize that it
is not his words that produce the strife – it is the bitter nature
of man. President Adams once said, “Facts are stubborn things.”
Two centuries later, President Ronald Reagan tried to use this quote,
but botched it and said, “Facts are stupid things.” Did Reagan’s
mishandling of Adams’ words render them, on their own, less unique,
insightful, or valid?
So,
as another Founding Father, John Dickinson, once said in dispute with
the future second President over the Olive Branch Petition: “shut
your gob, John Adams.”
I
realize that I’ve tried to use the very Bible many of our Founding
Fathers dismissed, in my attempt to rebuke their words. I suppose
that would mean nothing to them if they were alive today, as they
found such little merit in the Book in the first place, and the
Scriptures would likely not change their opinions. But I say these
things not for their sakes, but for yours, because these men are long
dead. Jesus Christ however rose from the tomb and lives today; his
apostles are passed away, but the words they wrote to form what we
came to call the New Testament were breathed into them by the Holy
Spirit, an Authority that, as history and modern times rapidly move
towards proving, is infinitely more sturdy, sound, and unchanging
than any legislature of man.
I
thank the Lord God for the brilliance of these men who molded and
fashioned our great nation. I wish they had acknowledged the
Spiritual truths which they dismissed, but there’s nothing I can do
about that. I don’t wish they had accepted the perfect, loving
truth of the Bible so that they had molded “a Christian nation,”
but for the sake of those wonderful men themselves.
I
rebuke our Founding Fathers’ notions about our Creator, not in some
hackneyed attempt to be controversial nor in-one’s-face, but for
the sake of urging my brothers and sisters not to turn good men into
idols. An idol is not strictly an object or false deity, but an idol
is also something in which we put our faith and confidence that
distracts us from Jesus, that makes us confused or double-minded
concerning His Father’s word. Sometimes, man doesn’t make for
himself an idol or false doctrine merely because he doesn’t want to
worship God. Sometimes, we make idols and twist to our own
satisfaction warped beliefs to escape the commands God has given us,
while still acknowledging Him in our own way. Unfortunately, the
command of God from which man most wishes to escape is the
instruction to go far and near to tell others that Jesus Christ is
alive and loves them.
Although
America was once identified as a Christian nation by many, we
certainly weren’t founded as one, and we resemble one less and less
each passing year. In a quote of uncertain origin (but generally
misattributed to Sinclair Lewis), skeptics of the notion of “God
and country” often repeat, “When
fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying
a cross.”
Whoever
truly said this didn’t foresee “the decline of Christian
America,” as Newsweek
once featured it, or the increasing blasphemous and sardonic attitude
toward Jesus shown in politics, entertainment, and American culture
in general. They also didn’t foresee the recent social media
challenge of “flag stomping.” Whoever said this needn’t have
worried about Christian domination or fascist rulers, because fascism
will never come to America. The notion of America becoming a fascist
regime is akin to the idea of the glutton yanking the bacon-wrapped
Pop-Tart from his own mouth. But if I’m wrong, and America does
someday adopt a fascist form of government, of this I’m sure: the
steady decline of respect and reverence for God, and the open
rebellion against Him, certainly shows that American fascism
certainly will not come bearing the cross of Christ.
(Updated and revised June 2015)
