Posted on 03/27/2010 7:04:16 AM PDT by pinochet
Last year, I met with a former congressional aide, who said that there were several closeted atheists in Congress. To run for public office in America, it is almost a requirement that people publicly proclaim their religious affiliation, irrespective of whether they believe or not. Would you vote for a self-proclaimed atheist?
No. Without God in his/her life the policies would not match.
Absolutely. He or she can worship Gozer for all I care, so long as the nation’s interests are defended, the rights of her people are protected, and government shrinkage is initiated. Even one of those would be an improvement over the incumbent.
WE LOST SIGHT OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS YEARS AGO. WE NEED TO BRING THEM BACK INTO FOCUS AND THEN FOCUS ON THE CONSTITUTION THROUGH THEIR INTENT.
John Adams and John Hancock:
We Recognize No Sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus! [April 18, 1775]
John Adams:
“ The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”
• “[July 4th] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”
–John Adams in a letter written to Abigail on the day the Declaration was approved by Congress
Samuel Adams
“ Let divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors to renovate the age by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity… and leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system.” [October 4, 1790]
Elias Boudinot
“ Be religiously careful in our choice of all public officers . . . and judge of the tree by its fruits.”
Charles Carroll
“ Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure...are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments.” [Source: To James McHenry on November 4, 1800.]
Benjamin Franklin
“ God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel” –Constitutional Convention of 1787 | original manuscript of this speech
John Hancock:
• “In circumstances as dark as these, it becomes us, as Men and Christians, to reflect that whilst every prudent measure should be taken to ward off the impending judgments, …at the same time all confidence must be withheld from the means we use; and reposed only on that God rules in the armies of Heaven, and without His whole blessing, the best human counsels are but foolishness… Resolved; …Thursday the 11th of May…to humble themselves before God under the heavy judgments felt and feared, to confess the sins that have deserved them, to implore the Forgiveness of all our transgressions, and a spirit of repentance and reformation …and a Blessing on the … Union of the American Colonies in Defense of their Rights [for which hitherto we desire to thank Almighty God]…That the people of Great Britain and their rulers may have their eyes opened to discern the things that shall make for the peace of the nation…for the redress of America’s many grievances, the restoration of all her invaded liberties, and their security to the latest generations.
“A Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer, with a total abstinence from labor and recreation. Proclamation on April 15, 1775”
Patrick Henry
“It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, 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.” [May 1765 Speech to the House of Burgesses]
John Jay:
“ Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.” Source: October 12, 1816. The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay, Henry P. Johnston, ed., (New York: Burt Franklin, 1970), Vol. IV, p. 393.
“Whether our religion permits Christians to vote for infidel rulers is a question which merits more consideration than it seems yet to have generally received either from the clergy or the laity. It appears to me that what the prophet said to Jehoshaphat about his attachment to Ahab [”Shouldest thou help the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord?” 2 Chronicles 19:2] affords a salutary lesson.” [The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay, 1794-1826, Henry P. Johnston, editor (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1893), Vol. IV, p.365]
Samuel Johnston:
• “It is apprehended that Jews, Mahometans (Muslims), pagans, etc., may be elected to high offices under the government of the United States. Those who are Mahometans, or any others who are not professors of the Christian religion, can never be elected to the office of President or other high office, [unless] first the people of America lay aside the Christian religion altogether, it may happen. Should this unfortunately take place, the people will choose such men as think as they do themselves.
[Elliot’s Debates, Vol. IV, pp 198-199, Governor Samuel Johnston, July 30, 1788 at the North Carolina Ratifying Convention]
James Madison
“ We’ve staked our future on our ability to follow the Ten Commandments with all of our heart.”
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity…to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” [1778 to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia]
• I have sometimes thought there could not be a stronger testimony in favor of religion or against temporal enjoyments, even the most rational and manly, than for men who occupy the most honorable and gainful departments and [who] are rising in reputation and wealth, publicly to declare the unsatisfactoriness [of temportal enjoyments] by becoming fervent advocates in the cause of Christ; and I wish you may give in your evidence in this way.
Letter by Madison to William Bradford (September 25, 1773)
• In 1812, President Madison signed a federal bill which economically aided the Bible Society of Philadelphia in its goal of the mass distribution of the Bible.
James McHenry
Public utility pleads most forcibly for the general distribution of the Holy Scriptures. The doctrine they preach, the obligations they impose, the punishment they threaten, the rewards they promise, the stamp and image of divinity they bear, which produces a conviction of their truths, can alone secure to society, order and peace, and to our courts of justice and constitutions of government, purity, stability and usefulness. In vain, without the Bible, we increase penal laws and draw entrenchments around our institutions. Bibles are strong entrenchments. Where they abound, men cannot pursue wicked courses, and at the same time enjoy quiet conscience.
And Finally
Jedediah Morse:
“To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom, and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys. . . . Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government, and all blessings which flow from them, must fall with them.”
Nope
He contemporaneously records his intent of the “Jefferson Bible” as for his own use, saying...
“In the moment of my late departure from Monticello, I received from Dr. Priestley his little treatise of “Socrates and Jesus Compared.” This being a section of the general view I had taken of the field, it became a subject of reflection while on the road and unoccupied otherwise. The result was, to arrange in my mind a syllabus or outline of such an estimate of the comparative merits of Christianity as I wished to see executed by someone of more leisure and information for the task than myself. This I now send you as the only discharge of my promise I can probably ever execute. And in confiding it to you, I know it will not be exposed to the malignant perversions of those who make every word from me a text for new misrepresentations and calumnies. I am moreover averse to the communication of my religious tenets to the public”
He also describes his purpose in “I think you cannot avoid giving, as preliminary to the comparison, a digest of his moral doctrines, extracted in his own words from the Evangelists, and leaving out everything relative to his personal history and character. It would be short and precious. With a view to do this for my own satisfaction, I had sent to Philadelphia to get two testaments (Greek) of the same edition, and two English, ?with a design to cut out the morsels of morality, and paste them on the leaves of a book”
>>>>>People commit an injustice summarily dismissing someone just because they don’t believe in magical beings
I happen to know a couple of individuals who became conservatives, not because of their religious beliefs, but because of their religious skepticism. It is because they questioned everything, and wanted any viewpoint to be supported by facts and evidence, that they arrived at the conclusion that small government is better than big government.
The difficult thing about this for me is the atheists I know look down on people of faith as lacking intelligence.
I know folks in just about every religion except Islam that respect beliefs other than their own, because faith is faith. But some without faith seem to have a harder time bridging that gap with those of faith (and vice versa). This has just been my experience, yours may be different!
I’d have to wonder do I really want a president whose decisions are relativistic and situational rather than by a standard (like judeo-christian ethics).
You're right - it's liberals who accept things on "faith" - well, political things. Liberalism is a religion - it's practiced as such. Conservatives question - ask hard questions - want proof... We're better off. For the most part we keep our 'religion' for a belief in God.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Thank you for stating that better than I could.
I would much rather have an atheist president that respected religion than a fundamental Christian that only respected those that believed the earth to be 6000 years old.
Would You Vote For An Atheist For President, If You Agreed With His Policies?
Completely agree. Pinochet’s post really hits the nail on the head.
“No I would not vote for an atheist.”
Would you vote for a man who believed in a God, but not yours?
Would you, for example, vote for a man who did not believe Jesus Christ was God?
Would you vote for a conservative Jew?
Ever hear of Burt Prelutsky. He’s Jewish, not a theist, but a more sound conservative than anyone I know.
Hank
Most FReepers did, sort of. Karl Rove is an atheist (most think). He’s already said, “I’m not fortunate enough to be a person of faith.” When I read cheer leading for him or when I listen to Rush interview him, that always stays in the back of my mind.
Which is exactly why statements like "I could only vote for a Christian" give me the willies.
Including the Jewish people, whom they so loudly claim to support.
“an atheist, by definition, cannot have the same values as a religious person”
How so? My very high values and morals and principles do not stem from any religion.
Well thanks Hank.
All the Jews I know believe in God, just not the Messiah (unless they are Jews for Jesus).
There is only one God. So no a god is not the God.
“Would you vote for a man who believed in a God, but not yours?”
Depends.
“Would you, for example, vote for a man who did not believe Jesus Christ was God?”
Depends
“Would you vote for a conservative Jew?”
Yes.
“Ever hear of Burt Prelutsky.”
No.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.