I don't recall exactly. But I do recall advocating the rebirth / reformation of American Ideals - expressly founded upon the cornerstone that "TO SECURE THESE RIGHTS governments are instituted among men".
Only?The Masonic Christians and other Americans who built this country didn't advocate the usage of religious coercion any more than they advocated slavery. Nonetheless both religious coercion and slavery were part of their heritage and contemporary contextual reality. Coercion was a tool on the shelf. And the instinct of self-preservation would naturally encourage its use - even if doing so was inconsistent with the ideals of the Virginia Act for Religious Freedom and the 1st Amendment.Just as Jefferson's instinct was to use the word "subject" before he erased / replaced it with the word "citizen", old coercive habits die hard.Unlike some, I don't see Free Masons as boogie men. Get the DVD of "The 10 Commandments" and watch/listen to the introduction at the start (never on TV BTW) from a gentleman who comes behind a curtain and describes why the movie was made. Guess who? In their depiction at least, Moses was evidently Mason.... (And what a beautiful movie as well)Evidently the anonymous nature of free discourse within the Founder's Masonic lodge is not unlike that which we enjoy here on FR.Like Jim, they built a FREE Republic. Unlike them, we don't need the oaths and protections of The Lodge - because, in America, we have the essence of those oaths and protections codified in the 1st Amendment.
That's funny because here you said they did. Your post: Why did congress institute religious coercion during war-time? Maybe because they knew it works
Unlike some, I don't see Free Masons as boogie men.
Since it's based on the occult, you should. But I'm not surprised that you don't.
America is about FREEDOM.
America was also about God. This is a Christian nation. Not a Freemason one.