On July 4, 1776, fifty-six of our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. In doing so, thirteen states formed a free American nation separate from that of Great Britain:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
The Declaration of Independence was authored primarily by Thomas Jefferson and signed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(P.I.C. even once visited Independence Hall.)In my continuing studies of our Founding Fathers and the idea that the United States of America was founded as a Judeo-Christian nation, I have included a few more quotes from our Founding Fathers. This idea goes all the way back (at the very least) to
the Pilgrims and the Mayflower Compact. (Click the "Christianity" and "History" Label links for further quotations.)
-George Washington (1752, Part of a prayer written in Washington's prayer journal):
Let me live according to those holy rules which Thou hast this day prescribed in Thy Holy Word…direct me to the true object, Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life. Bless, O Lord, all the people of this land.
-Thomas Jefferson (April 21, 1803, In a letter written to Dr. Benjamin Rush):
My views... are the result of a life of inquiry and reflection, and very different from the anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed, but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus Himself. I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be, sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others.
-John Adams (October 11, 1798, A message to the Officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts.):
We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.Labels: Christianity, George Washington, History, P.I.C., Politics, Thomas Jefferson
