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FK: There is only one "religion", and then there is everything else. Christianity alone defines what is moral and what is not. There is no such thing as comparing one person's morals against another's.

Well the Founding Fathers didn't think so, as at least two were deists and two were Unitarists who, by your and my definition of Christianity are not Christians. Any mention of Christ is conspicuously absent from the Declaration of Independence, and the only reference to "God" is the one that says "endowed by their Creator, with unalienable rights." The Declaration also mentions "Nature's God" entitling them to Independence. Christ is never mentioned.

That's not correct since you appear to assume that the Founders must have been Apostolics and interpreted the Bible such as to not be aware of passages such as:

John 1:3 : Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Col 1:15-16 : 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

The Gospels also give other examples of the creative work of Jesus. He created wine, and He created food enough to satisfy thousands. You cannot tell me this was all lost upon Jefferson and his advisers at the drafting of the Declaration. When they said "Creator" they were thinking Christ. In addition, here are some excerpts from an article written by The Honorable Judge Robert Ulrich Chief Justice, Missouri Court Of Appeals, Western District (all with my emphasis): WERE THE FOUNDING FATHERS CHRISTIAN?

In the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, often called the first American Constitution, written in 1638, the drafters said, "[We] enter into a combination and confederation together to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we now profess." This document recognized for the first time that mankind's rights come from God.

What about the people, the individuals, who actively participated in establishing this nation? Were they Christians? The truth is that some were and some were not, of course. But even those who were not were influenced by the principles of Christianity. By examining what many of them said and wrote we gain insight into their beliefs and the source of their commitment. Many of them had been influenced by the "Great Awakening" and its' residual effect. Around 1750, people like Jonathan and Sarah Edwards led in the expression of the awareness of God; the sinfulness of mankind; the consequences of sin; and God's mercy manifested by Christ's death and resurrection.

Patrick Henry, the great orator who said on the floor of the House of Burgesses in Virginia, "Give me liberty or give me death" also said,

It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ! For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.

...... Samuel Adams, cousin of John Adams, is called the "Father of the American Revolution." He incited the Boston Tea Party, signed the Declaration of Independence and called for the first Continental Congress. He said as the Declaration of Independence was being signed, "We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come." Samuel Adams also said, "First of all, I ... rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ for a pardon of all my sins."

...... John Jay was the first Chief Justice of he Supreme Court. He said, "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers. And it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."

Fifty-three of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence were reportedly Christians. I have already referred to statements made by some. These are the statements of three less well-known signers. There are many more.

John Dickinson said, "To my Creator, I resign myself, humbly confiding in His goodness and in His mercy through Jesus Christ for the events of eternity."

Gabriel Duvall, later a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and an appointee to the Supreme Court said, "I resign my soul into the hands of the Almighty who gave it in humble hopes of his mercy through our Savior Jesus Christ."

And lastly, John Witherspoon, pastor and President of New Jersey College (Princeton University today) said, "I shall entreat ... you in the most earnest manner to believe in Jesus Christ, for there is no salvation in any other" [Acts 4:12] ... [I] f you are not clothed with the spotless robe of His righteousness, you must forever perish."

Political Science professors at the University of Houston, curious about who influenced the founders, gathered 15,000 quotes made by them. The effort took over ten years. They reduced the number to those that had a significant impact on the founding fathers and the result was 3,154 quotes. They determined that the Bible was quoted far more than any other source. Thirty-four percent of all quotes were from the Bible, and another 60% of the quotes were from men who were using the Bible to make their point. God's word was important to the nation's founders.

There can be no doubt that the vast majority of the Founders were Christians in the modern sense. They recognized Jesus Christ as God and worshiped Him.

In addition, here are some excerpts from an article written by The Honorable Judge Robert Ulrich Chief Justice, Missouri Court Of Appeals, Western District (all with my emphasis): WERE THE FOUNDING FATHERS CHRISTIAN?

The Founding Fathers were all Christian. No one ever denied that. Their own religious denomination is listed and all of them are Christian, or at least they claim Christ as in their faith (I am not sure what Unitarians claim, but at least two of them were Unitarians).

Your argument, which seems to reflect the article you mention, reminds me of the Catholics arguing that some of the Latin Fathers wrote things that the Catholic Church believes forgetting that those views were never accepted by the Church as a whole.

By the same token, the individual Christian beliefs of the Founding Fathers have nothing to do with the documents of Independence and how the United Dates of America was defined as a state. Again, their individual beliefs notwithstanding, where do you find Christ mentioned specifically in the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution?

After all, the Constitution is how the country is constituted, i.e. legally defined. As far as I know, there is no Christ in the US Constitution, and therefore any claim that America is constituted as a Christian nation is simply false.

The two major players in the Declaration of Independence were deists. Is there any wonder why Christ is not mentioned in the Document and why even God is simply called a Creator? Apparently, all other signatories, who would consider themselves Christian, did not insist on any mention of Christ, but opted for terminology that can accommodate any religious preference.

Also, Ben Franklin says in his own autobiography that he was a deist. Yet the Judge you quote seems to imply otherwise. He knows better than Ben Franklin himself?

That's not correct since you appear to assume that the Founders must have been Apostolics and interpreted the Bible such as to not be aware of passages such as: John 1:3...Col 1:15-16

Well, if they believed Jesus was God, then why didn't they simply say Christ instead of Creator? If they were all Christians, who would have been offended?

You cannot tell me this was all lost upon Jefferson and his advisers at the drafting of the Declaration. When they said "Creator" they were thinking Christ.

Well, we know for sure that ben Franklin could not have been thinking of Christ when he read "Creator." Neither would Thomas Jefferson., and certainly not Thomas Paine. Given that a vast majority of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence (and the Constitution) were mainline Christians, it is really strange that no one wanted to have Christ in Christian America!

It is equally strange that the signatories believed that the power to govern comes form the people and not from God.

John Dickinson said, "To my Creator, I resign myself, humbly confiding in His goodness and in His mercy through Jesus Christ for the events of eternity."

None of them dismissed Jesus as being something important. The Unitarists consider him a prophet, even a supernatural prophet, but not God. Deists would also recognize him pretty much the way Muslims do, a prophet. But they did not consider Creator and Jesus necessarily as one and the same.

But they all dismissed Jesus when it comes to writing the Declaration and the Constitution.