First, Ms boop, it's most curious that in not one of your frequent efforts to summarize my opinions did you get it right, and here again.
The truth here is that I've been hoping you'd post the opposite: that our Founders were good & decent people with Christian religious beliefs which, while not 100% orthodox, were at least worthy of understanding and respect.
And people such as Kevmo & others on this thread who would refer to Founders as "God Damned Heretics" are way off base.
That's the truth of this matter, and I've been hoping you'd eventually see and confirm it.
betty boop: "First you lump all the Founding Fathers together into a "group," so to speak of "their" religious views.
As if such were monolithic.
Among the Founding Fathers are to be found Trinitarians, Unitarians, and/or Deists."
No, I've been totally factual, for example, in post #2,465 I provided links to lists of Freemason Founders, Deistic Founders, Unitarian-Christian Founders and one discussing George Washington's own religious beliefs.
Yes, it turns out that the lists of Founders in one or more of these categories is larger than a list of major traditional Christian Founders (i.e., John Jay).
But those are facts of history, not some "twisted, specious logic" of mine.
betty boop: "A Christian by definition is a Trinitarian.
For a Christian to deny the divinity of Christ might be heretical."
Certainly by your definition, but since Day One, there have been many followers of Christ who, while affirming Christ's divinity, did not believe full-blown trinitarianism.
Yes, these people were often persecuted, murdered & exterminated by "good Christians", but some survive, even to this day, under the category called: Restorationists.
Those are the people I am here to defend, because for one: they included many of our Founding Fathers.
betty boop: "John 1:1–5 — and not notice that it declares Jesus Christ, the Word and Son of God, is "One" with the Father from the Beginning.
That He is of the same divine substance as the Father, and thus Himself fully divine."
As explained in post #2,579 there are three reasons why I haven't delved into explaining John 1:
If I could just convince you to post that our Founders were not, in Kevmo's words: "God Damned Heretics", then I'd consider my efforts here a success.
Will you do that for me, Ms boop?
betty boop: "Evidently, BroJoeK, you need to see "Jesus Is God" spelled out for you in the Holy Scriptures in just so many words.
Since that statement is not there (AFAIK "in so many words"), you feel you have reason to doubt."
But I don't "doubt", I know for a fact: there's not a Trinitarian word in the whole New Testament, and the reason is simple: no NT writer was a Trinitarian.
Yes, they all believed in the divinity of Christ and the Unity of God, but not one used full-blown Trinitarian language, which took over 300 years to fully develop.
That's why I say the trinity should be optional: if you want it, fine then believe it.
But don't be condemning to hell as "God Damned Heretics" people who see no need for such theological constructs.
The New Testament writers didn't use them, so why should we?
How very noble of you, dear BroJoeK!!!
Unfortunately for you, I doubt there was even one FReeper on this thread that believed the Founders were in need of any "defense" at all — until you came along with your strawman argument....
You and I have great difficulty understanding one another. I think that may be mutually allowed. And the reason for that, I do believe, is that you and I do not stand on the same ground of being. Which for me, ultimately is the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, One with the Father, Logos Alpha to Omega, my ultimate Savior, Lord and Judge.
You are, it seems, at least a skeptic. But there is worse to fear: You might be a nihilist.
Get a grip, my friend!!!