Posted on 07/04/2012 7:48:03 AM PDT by se99tp
Jefferson was a man of rare intellectual gifts and many political accomplishments. For modern Christians, Jefferson poses some troubling paradoxes. While it may be appealing to Christians to aggrandize Jefferson, we need to see the man for the enigma he was.
(Excerpt) Read more at christianconceptsdaily.com ...
I wouldn’t trust anything Throckmorton has to say, and I certainly wouldn’t trust him as a historian, which he isn’t, or to present the full context of Jefferson’s actions in this area.
He quotes historian’s opinion and two historical documets in this short essay. It is different view.
The reality is that even the "greatest Christian" (if there is such a thing) is a mixed bag of contradictions, enigmas, good and bad desires, and mistaken beliefs. (A few minutes with the 7th chapter of Romans should disabuse anyone of holding any other position.)
I visited Monticello last week while on vacation and was struck by the contradictions. Jefferson was a theist. That much we know as he explicitly calls himself by that name. But though the authors of the Gospels were dupes. He also was a racist but the elegance of his writing on liberty, freedom and equality are nearly unmatched in human history.
So do we throw out the brilliance of Jefferson because he was inconsistent in his beliefs and positions? I think not.
For more of his "contradictory thought" try this: Jefferson on ID?
I stopped reading RIGHT THERE.
David Barton has FORGOTTEN more about colonial Virginia law than this guy will EVER KNOW. David Barton has the largest private collection of the Founders' letters in America, and maybe the world. I think I trust Barton's books more than this guy.
Washington, while living in Virginia, managed to manumit several of his slaves during his lifetime, and the remainder of them on his death - if Jefferson had felt as driven as Washington, he could have done the same.
Lots of founder bashing going on at FR these days.
Here’s one on the evils of George Washington.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2902739/posts
Jefferson’s anti-slavery efforts include:
1. Introduction of a bill in 1769 the Virginia legislature to abolish the importation of slaves into that state.
2. Inclusion of an anti-slavery provision in his original draft of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
3. Initiated the Congressional ban on slavery in all federal lands in 1784 (his effort to extend the act to the 13 states lost by only one vote).
4. In 1808, as President, he signed into law a bill banning the slave trade with Africa.
While Jefferson did not free all of his slaves on his death (as did Washington), a law passed in Virginia in 1806 required that the legislature pass a special bill that would attest to the exemplary behavior of each slave to be freed. If freed, the slave had to leave the state without his or her family. Jefferson was not in favor of this law. Further, Jefferson trained his slaves in skills that would be useful when they were free. He believed that to free them first would be irresponsible — since they would be homeless and without family.
http://www.liberty1.org/defense.htm
Each American now personally funds abortion and the 4th of July.
The American Enigma.
Very short essay that discusses something that can’t be responsibly discussed in the scope of such a short piece. Moreover, the introductory comments about Christians taking special pride in Jefferson are ahistorical and bizarre. But I think Throckmorton knows that. He was once fairly conservative, but has “grown”. I would trust him to give the time of day.
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