Deism/Talk

A quick [Google search] shows passionate arguments on both sides of the claim that deism was popular among the U.S. Founding Fathers. I plan to research this further. <>< tbc

Thanks! When I get a chance I'll dig up my notes and see what I can add. – Anonymous#1

Please do not use searches on the Internet to try and research this claim. The 'net is full of websites written by Evangelical and otherwise right-wing Chrisitians why lie through their teeth about this subject. I have seen, and on radio have heard, the most dishonest historical revisionism and outright b.s. that one could imagine. The documentable historical truth is that many of the USA's founding fathers were Deists; many in fact found Christianity contemptible. Thomas Jefferson himself edited a radical version of New Testament to take out the miracles, and anything else imcompatible with Deism. All this talk about them being "Chrisitians" is part of the Christian right's political agenda. – RK

You might even find a source, like, say, Wikipedia via the Internet. :-) If you're going to discount the writings of Christians, then respond with your own evidence. I found a mix of Atheist?s and Christians writing about the subject. When I have time to research it (yes, on the Internet) I'll say more. Until then (despite my Christian bias), I'll leave it at that. I suggest you do the same until you back it up with your own evidence. And be prepared to defend it. The Founding Fathers' writings are available on the 'net. Use them. <>< tbc

Look at tbc's page before you say this. For now, maybe we can say that some Founders were Deists and that Deism was an influential idea at this time. I certainly don''t think they were ALL Deists. Some of them were probably devout Christians. – Anonymous#2

Thanks. The evidence shows that many of them indeed were devout Christians. And it's undisputable that virtually all were shaped by a Christian worldview—whether they believed in it or not. (There's plenty of evidence that Jefferson rejected Christian accounts of Biblical miracles, for instance.) <>< tbc

The American Christian right-wing DOES have a political agenda, and it DOES involve deliberately lying about the origins of our nation. For years they have been slandering historians and scholars that objectively discuss the formation of our nation and its founding fathers, because it gets in the way of their attempt to turn the USA into an explicitly Christian nation. (Since that the stated goal of so many of them, we have no reason to assume that they are lying about their own beliefs). And I take exception to being labeled an "anonymous cowards" when the DIF function clearly identified me as the author of that statement. RK

I am not a coward; you are simply not yet familiar with that part of wikipedia, so chill out. In any case, all of this is in a /Talk section, and NOT in an actual entry, so your criticism is mis-aimed. – RK

Do I have the authorship straight now? I apologize for mis-reading the diff. RK, you have twice declared that there is some deliberate spreading of misinformation going on. Just pony up with some evidence. Go ahead and put it here if it's not ready to incorporate into the article, but I see no reason for you to repeat yourself. I have nothing to "critcize" because you haven't produced any evidence. So far it's just been namecalling. <>< tbc