Founding Father's Quotations

[Tryin']

Concerning the legislation of morality.

Got any zingers?

 

[CountryBoy1981]

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” - John Adams

 

[CountryBoy1981]

They were not in favor of legislating morality. However, the Constitution was written for a religious society so morals would not have to be legislated.

 

[IndianaGTI]

"the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion"

Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11, 1796

Signed by most of the founding fathers.

That is a portion of he Article 11 which should be read in its entirety to form your own conclusions about what it says.

 

[CountryBoy1981]

"the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion"

Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11, 1796

Signed by most of the founding fathers.

That is a portion of he Article 11 which should be read in its entirety to form your own conclusions about what it says.

In which part of the question was the founded upon the question religion again?

 

[acase20]

They were not in favor of legislating morality. However, the Constitution was written for a religious society so morals would not have to be legislated.

Im not sure how religious they were
Adams
"The doctrine of the divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for
absurdity."

I dont undestand why we act like the founding fathers knew everything and would do so much better than the people in charge today. They didnt have to deal with so much of what gos on today. Back then so many things that are wrong and illegal now were not even spoke of or punishable back than

People want to act like it was so much better in the past. People were less accepting, cruder, and more violent simply because it was there way. People in the past still killed each other because of religion just like today. People still cheated on there spouses( even the founding fathers several who had children with there slaves) oh yea and they had slaves! I want to know how things were better and how these men were so much better than any today.

 

[IndianaGTI]

OP asked for quotes of founders concerning legislating morality. That is a quote of the founders concerning whether religious morality was intended to be legislated by the government. Probably more of a quote concerning the legislation of religious morality rather than what it is typically citerd for.

 

[CountryBoy1981]

OP asked for quotes of founders concerning legislating morality. That is a quote of the founders concerning whether religious morality was intended to be legislated by the government. Probably more of a quote concerning the legislation of religious morality rather than what it is typically citerd for.

If you go through John Adam's original documents, he felt that it was a Christian nation, however, we should not exclude Muslims, Jews, etc. He believed that the morality off all three religions were sufficient in keeping a moral nation so that morality would not have to be legislated.

 

[CountryBoy1981]

"the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion"

Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11, 1796

Signed by most of the founding fathers.

That is a portion of he Article 11 which should be read in its entirety to form your own conclusions about what it says.

"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."

This was a Treaty between the U.S. and Tripoli. It was authoried by only Joel Barlow and it was ratified as a treaty, not as a national religion proclamation.

 

[RMOR]

Im not sure how religious they were
Adams
"The doctrine of the divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for
absurdity."

Just to be fair, ^^^this^^^ is not an accurate representation of Adams' statement. The idea may be similar but the way it is written it can be misleading.

John Adams - Wikiquote

I think it is clear that Adam's was religious. He didn't adhere to the historical, biblical teaching of Jesus' divinity (Trinitarianism), but he considered himself a Unitarian Christian nonetheless. We can determine for ourselves whether or not that theology is in line with biblical teaching, but we can't take it away from Adam's.

 

[churchmouse]

I love this stuff. Many on here with a deep understanding of the founding fathers and what they intended. This only strengthens my resolve.
Keep it coming. Right or wrong we all have opinions and they should be discussed openly.

 

[CountryBoy1981]

Im not sure how religious they were

To even state that our founding fathers were not religious is absurd. Would you call a Morman not religious because their tenants stray from the Old and New Testament? Would you also call a Jehovah's witness non-religious? Even Christopher Hitchens could not write out John Adams being religous in his book Rise to Rebellion; it is a good read for any of you that are interested. He is a militant atheist so keep that in mind if and when you do read it.

If you would like to debate about whether they disagreed with some of the tenants of the Old and New Testament then that is an issue to debate.

 

[Tryin']

Ah, good discussion so far!

The reason I ask is that I run in some very conservative Christian circles and the guy to get behind right now is Santorum. It has been difficult to express my concerns regarding his political views to these groups without coming across as "secular".

Santorum is pro-life, anti-homosexuality, anti-drug, and pro-family; all ideals with which I align on a moral and religious basis. I do not align with lawmaking regarding these ideals, save the right to life. How to defend this position to those who view (like Santorum) social conservatism as a platform from which to legislate?

I am a young guy still finding his base and appreciate the discussion.

 

[CountryBoy1981]

Ah, good discussion so far!

The reason I ask is that I run in some very conservative Christian circles and the guy to get behind right now is Santorum. It has been difficult to express my concerns regarding his political views to these groups without coming across as "secular".

Santorum is pro-life, anti-homosexuality, anti-drug, and pro-family; all ideals with which I align on a moral and religious basis. I do not align with lawmaking regarding these ideals, save the right to life. How to defend this position to those who view (like Santorum) social conservatism as a platform from which to legislate?

I am a young guy still finding his base and appreciate the discussion.

Tell them it is for the states to decide, not the federal government. How we got into this mess in the first place is because of the federal government and the Supreme Court overstepping its bounds.

 

[wagyu52]

Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. John Adams