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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Separation of Church and State?

The founding fathers' views on religion and government After the recent flap over the 9th circuit court's pledge decision (ruling the added phrase 'under God,' inserted into the pledge in 1954, to be unconstitutional), I've received a lot of requests for the thoughts of the Founding fathers on the issue of Separation of Church and State. At issue is the belief of many mainstream Christians that separation is a later construct of the courts, and never intended by the founders. Another prominent argument is that the founders only opposed the establishment...

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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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Beliefs of the Founding Fathers

Some beliefs of America's founding fathers are often misinterpreted and deserve clarification, particularly concerning the creation of the U.S. Constitution. In today’s turbulent political climate, ideologues lay claim to the Constitution and intentions of the founding fathers to support their own agendas. Too often, however, present-day ideas and perspectives compromise historical accuracy. The beliefs, intentions, and motivations of the founding fathers are no exception. Reducing the diversity of the founders into one collective belief system...

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Ethan Allen * (1738-1789)

"[I demand Fort Ticonderoga] In the name of the great Jehovah, and the Continental Congress." --Ethan Allen in A Narrative of Colonel Ethan Allen's Captivity * in 1779 Excerpts from Reason: The Only Oracle of Man * * (1784) I have generally been denominated a Deist, the reality of which I never disputed, being conscious I am no Christian, except mere infant baptism make me one; and as to being a Deist, I know not, strictly speaking, whether I am one or not, for I have never read their writings; mine will therefore determine the matter......

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Thomas Paine on the Meaning of the Word Religion

OF THE WORD "RELIGION," AND OTHER WORDS OF UNCERTAIN SIGNIFICATION The word religion is a word of forced application when used with respect to the worship of God. The root of the word is the Latin verb ligo, comes religo, to tie or bind over again, to make more fast - from religo, comes the substantive religo, which, with the addition of n makes the English substantive religion. The French use the word properly: when a woman enters a convent she is called a novitiate, that is, she is tied or bound by that oath to the performance...

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The Connection Between Deism and America's Founding Fathers May Surprise You

There is a belief abroad in many conservative circles that the U.S. is “a Christian nation”. This belief is found in perhaps its most extreme form in the Mormon doctrine that the Constitution of the United States is a divinely inspired document. Less extreme versions hold that Christian piety was an shaping influence on the thinking and writing of the Founding Fathers, and Christianity therefore has (or ought to have) a privileged position in...

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