tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post5133966360071298695..comments2024-03-27T18:18:11.525-06:00Comments on American Creation: Religion and the American RepublicBrad Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17669677047039491864noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-57040596091927746352013-07-16T23:12:49.324-06:002013-07-16T23:12:49.324-06:00Anonymous matt s said...
Visiting Christ's Chu...<i>Anonymous matt s said...<br />Visiting Christ's Church in old city, Philadelphia, opened my eyes to the fact that religion did in fact play a role in the founding father's lives.<br />Pews were purchased by Washington, Adams, and Franklin and the plaques bearing their names remain to this day. Realizing that none of these men were regular church goers, I wonder if they viewed belonging to Christ's Church truly good for their spiritual soul or was it more the idea of not wanting to be left out. Was it done out of certainty of their individual mortality or was association with the church important for their place in history --- something they all viewed as being very important.</i><br /><br />MattS, in Washington's case it was his strong feeling that religion was necessary for the health of the republic, and he wanted to set an example. Strangely enough, Jefferson felt the same way, attending the religious services held in the halls of Congress and the Supreme Court during the construction of Washington DC. [The "halls" were lent to all comers.]<br /><br />In Adams' case, he set an example of ecumenicalism, attending every church regardless of denomination, although he did refuse to set foot in Joseph Priestly's denomination. [But although quite the anti-Catholic, he even visited a Romish service at least once I know of!]<br /><br />As for Franklin, he was a supporter of all religions, but formally an adherent of none. He might buy/sponsor a pew, but I doubt he sat in it much.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-35356621226376785072013-07-16T20:01:25.630-06:002013-07-16T20:01:25.630-06:00I'm still trying to determine whether Mr. Fort...I'm still trying to determine whether Mr. Fortenberry's review of Will's piece is a well executed hatchet job or a smear.<br /><br />I need not get into every detail, but op ed space is limited and most of Dr. Will's assertions that WS disputes are defensible in historical context.<br /><br />For instance, when Mr. Fortenberry writes, <br /><br />-- Also, Washington did not stay away from church on communion Sunday. There are multiple testimonies of Washington receiving communion prior to and during the war, and while he chose for unknown reasons to refuse communion afterwards, he did not avoid church on communion Sundays. Instead, he attended the service and left at the end when the communion was given. --<br /><br />he leaves out that after Washington was publicly rebuked by Rev. Dr. James Abercrombie for turning his back on the Lord's Supper, Washington indeed stopped coming to church on communion Sundays.<br /><br />Thus, Will's statement that "[GW] stayed away from church on communion Sundays" is accurate.<br />Jonathan Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04079637406589278386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-67715764187896461302013-07-15T22:00:09.797-06:002013-07-15T22:00:09.797-06:00Visiting Christ's Church in old city, Philadel...Visiting Christ's Church in old city, Philadelphia, opened my eyes to the fact that religion did in fact play a role in the founding father's lives.<br />Pews were purchased by Washington, Adams, and Franklin and the plaques bearing their names remain to this day. Realizing that none of these men were regular church goers, I wonder if they viewed belonging to Christ's Church truly good for their spiritual soul or was it more the idea of not wanting to be left out. Was it done out of certainty of their individual mortality or was association with the church important for their place in history --- something they all viewed as being very important.matt snoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-48412538964532991962013-07-15T21:30:49.214-06:002013-07-15T21:30:49.214-06:00Wow! There are so many errors in this excerpt tha...Wow! There are so many errors in this excerpt that I am cringing in expectation of reading the full article tomorrow. So, let's see if I can give just a brief run down. <br /><br />Franklin was definitely not a Deist at the time of the Revolution. He left Deism decidedly behind him after a brief experiment with it during his teen years and appears to have converted to Christianity at the age of 29.<br /><br />According Nelly Custis, Washington stood during public prayer because that was the custom of his day, and several individuals have provided first hand testimony of observing him kneeling for his private prayers. Also, Washington did not stay away from church on communion Sunday. There are multiple testimonies of Washington receiving communion prior to and during the war, and while he chose for unknown reasons to refuse communion afterwards, he did not avoid church on communion Sundays. Instead, he attended the service and left at the end when the communion was given.<br /><br />Jefferson was neither utilitarian nor laconic in his letter to his nephew. He was encouraging the young man to give careful study to the arguments both for and against Christianity, and he supported that encouragement by pointing out that such a study would produce benefits regardless of the outcome. After giving the benefits that even an atheist can obtain from the Scriptures, Jefferson then listed the benefits that his nephew would gain if his study led him to become a Christian.<br /><br />Madison was not in the least explaining away religion. He was actually affirming the existence of God while giving his opinion on a particular author's attempt to prove God's existence.<br /><br />And of course, Locke's philosophy of government was nothing more than a retelling of the same philosophy that Christians had been writing about for centuries.<br /><br />Bill Fortenberryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14205053444988720146noreply@blogger.com