Epicurus – Jefferson's Favorite

Another philosophy that focused on how one should live was Epicureanism. Its founder was Epicurus, who was younger than Pyrrho the Skeptic by 19 years, and older than Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, by 8 years. Epicurus was from the island of Samos. He went to Athens at the age of eighteen to confirm his Athenian citizenship – the year before Alexander died. Later he took up residence in the city of Mytilene, and there, at the age of thirty, he acquired recognition as a philosopher. Like the Cynics and Stoics, Epicureans believed it best to...

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Deism and Founding Fathers

This short letter was in answer to John Meadows who attempted to paint all the Founding Fathers as Christians written by Dr. Ben Johnson, Doctor of Divinity; Deist. May,1999. Though the brief description of Deism accurately supports the argument about the faith of our Founding Fathers, it contains many historical inaccuracies that I would like to bring to light. Deism is assembled around the idea that God is the creator of all, but then steps back from his creations, leaving no further interaction. Most Deists see organized religion...

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Godless Constitution Constitutional Law without Gods or Religion

God, the Constitution, and the Christian Right: The Christian Right regularly claims that America is a “Christian Nation” and was founded on Christian principles. If this is the case, then those principles should be identifiable in America’s founding legal document, the Constitution. If the Constitution explicitly reflects Christian principles and doctrines, then the Christian Right is correct that America was founded on Christianity; otherwise, their claims are wishful thinking at best. So where are God and religion in the Constitution?   No...

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The Founding Fathers Were NOT Christians or Secular Humanists: a Refutation of Steven Morris

by Lewis Loflin Steven Morris complains that the Religious Right is rewriting American history to bolster a political agenda. Very true, but secular fundamentalists such as himself are doing the same thing. For secular fundies such as Morris, their low point came in 2004 with the re-election of George Bush. In fascinating article from The Nation entitled In God's Country (11/6/2006) secular fundamentalists lamented, ...the nine in ten Americans who have said they've never doubted the existence of God. Or the eight in ten who believe...

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