I might add that our founding fathers believed that God was the source of right and wrong, and the D of I refers to God 4 times! The Constitution ends with "In the Year of Our Lord" - who is that do you suppose? Krishna?It was a conventional method for dating formal documents of the era, probably used automatically. The Framers wrote a very precise document that has stood the test of over 200 years, don't you think that if they intended it (and the government) to be considered subordinate to a Deity they would have said so?
You are definitely at odds with our founders with your secular deism.While key Founders and Framers such as Jefferson, Franklin, and Paine were Deists with doubts as to the divinity of Christ, most were indeed Christians. That didn't neccesarily mean they thought the government should give Christianity special status. Luther Martin, who did think so, believed himself to be strongly in the minority.
The part of the system, which provides that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States, was adopted by a great majority of the convention, and without much debate,--however, there were some members so unfashionable as to think that a belief of the existence of a Deity, and of a state of future rewards and punishments would be some security for the good conduct of our rulers, and that in a Christian country it would be at least decent to hold out some distinction between the professors of Christianity and downright infidelity or paganism.
Deism did not take hold in early America. Even the skeptic's shining hero, Franklin, called FOR PRAYER at the constitutional convention and acknowledged God as the one who won the war! Pretty good for a deist! I can quote his speech for you verbatum - need it?A Deist believes in God, though not in organized religion. Franklin believed in prayer (some Deists do, some do not) but had doubts as to the divinity of Christ.
History records that Franklin's call to begin each session of the Convention with a prayer was seconded but never voted on or adopted. It was made at the end of a particularly contentious session. It's probable that he did not make it in earnest, but to divert attention from a rather acrimonious debate so that the session could end on a calmer note. He did such things several times during the Convention.
-Eric
Give it special status? hahaha. 99% of the citizens were Christian and 95% of the founders. It was a civil government based on judeo-Christian moral principles. No doubt about it. Separation of powers was necessary because too much power in the hands of a SINFUL ruler (sinfulness of man is a Christian doctrine) doesn't work. A Republic was necessary because direct democracy is also tyranny (sinfulness of the majority). In the 1970s a study was conducted that examined 15,000 writings from the 250 founders, and the source of those quotes were isolated. The men most quoted by the founders were all Christian philosophers - Locke, Montesquieu and Blackstone were the top 3. The most often quoted DIRECT source was the bible - 34% of all DIRECT quotes. Need a citation? Furthermore, in 1892, the Supreme Court declared in the Trinity vs. USA case that "this is a Christian nation" (not State) after a massive 10-year study of American history to that point. You are ignorant of history. ARgue with the Supreme Court. Deism never took hold in America. The U.S. govt was not a theocracy but the founders DEFINITELY put it under the sovereignty of God and that is made clear by the Decl. of Indep. (a very important founding document that outlines the principles behind the revolution) which clearly acknowledges that FACT that rights come from the Creator and cannot be taken away by any govt or man. I could go on and on. I am well-versed in American History - especially the forgotten and revised Christian history.
History records that Franklin's call to begin each session of the Convention with a prayer was seconded but never voted on or adopted. It was made at the end of a particularly contentious session. It's probable that he did not make it in earnest, but to divert attention from a rather acrimonious debate so that the session could end on a calmer note. He did such things several times during the Convention.
Why don't you research what deism meant in 1776. Deists then believed God wound up the clock and stepped back - no miracles, no providence, just a bystander. Read Franklin's speech - he said that God gave America the victory in the Revolution and cited at least 5 bible verses! Not bad for a deist!
Furthermore, Congress called for national day of fasting and prayer after the war, and Washington called for the first Thanksgiving. The first meeting of the Cont. Congress in 1774 was preceded by THREE HOURS of prayer! I could cite example after example of our founders' involvement and encouragement of the Christian religion. I can easily DESTROY with FACTS the entire phoney doctrine of Separation of Church and State as is being FORCED on Americans today. Care to take up the challenge of defending it?
Then why did Jefferson declare in 1816 that he was a Christian? He also did more to advance the Christian religion than almost any other president. He attended CHURCH services in the chambers of Congress and used the USMC band for worship (egad man! - call the separation police!), and was responsible for much pro-Christian legislation. You are right though, he was not an orthodox Christian (Christ was not God to him) and neither was Franklin (but one can't be sure about him especially at the end of his life). Paine was anti-Christian and suffered ostracization when he published his Age of Reason against Franklin's advice. He was pummelled for it publically, and his position dismantled by at least 5 major founders. Aside from these 3, I will add Ethan Allen, Aaron Burr, Henry Lee, Dearborn as not being Christians. That makes 7, and I will simply give you another 5 on top of that which brings the total to 12 non-Christians out of 250 founders. You will have an EXTREMELY difficult time making a case that more than 12 of 250 founders were NOT Christians. I challenge you to make such a case.
Deism did not take hold in America and it had no influence in the founding of our government.