[PatrickHenry]

And the fact of the matter is, that law was understood to be divine in origin, and of distinctly Judeo-Christian character.

I think I agree with your entire post (which is a bit of a rarity), except for one little sentence, copied above. And even that sentence is mostly correct, except for those who, like Jefferson, sometimes preferred the concept of "Nature and Nature's God," which was a deist formulation.

But Jefferson and the other deists (however many there were) knew what to say when the occasion required it, so the actual theism-deism picture is a bit foggy. Still, I'm of the impression that the deists were a minority among the Founders. In any event, their morality was entirely agreeable to the rest (they were, after all, products of the same society), so when you get right down to it, this is merely a quibble.

I think one way way to put it is that their religion animated their political work, but didn't overwhelm it.

[Tribune7]

And the fact of the matter is, that law was understood to be divine in origin, and of distinctly Judeo-Christian character. . . . I think I agree with your entire post (which is a bit of a rarity), except for one little sentence, copied above. And even that sentence is mostly correct, except for those who, like Jefferson, sometimes preferred the concept of "Nature and Nature's God," which was a deist formulation.

Deism is an offshoot of Christianity. The term "Deism" originally referred to a belief in one deity, as contrasted with the belief in no God (Atheism) and belief in many Gods (Polytheism). During the later 17th century, the meaning of "Deism" began to change. It refered to forms of radical Christianity - belief systems that rejected miracles, revelation, and the inerrancy of the Bible.

But Jefferson and the other deists (however many there were) knew what to say when the occasion required it . . .

Jefferson called himself a Christian :-)

[betty boop]

I think one way way to put it is that their religion animated their political work, but didn't overwhelm it.

Excellently, beautifully put, PatrickHenry. Needless to say, I completely concur.

"Finding the balance" is the great challenge of intelligent human living. Or so it seems to me.

Thank you so much, PH, for the beautiful post.