Question:
Americans that don't believe in a creator of any kind.?
witness
2007-09-07 13:43:05 UTC
The Declaration of Independence, created and signed by our founding fathers, refer to our Creator over 15 times in the Dec of Ind, and also in the Bill of Rights.

Whether you believe in "God" the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ or not, how can you stand living here when all of our laws and principles are based on the idea of God, our Creator.

Just wondering.
Sixteen answers:
robert p
2007-09-07 20:39:00 UTC
Please read Jefferson's "separation of church and state"letter.

http://www.usconstitution.net/jeffwall.html



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Mr. President



To messers Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.



Gentlemen



The affectionate sentiments of esteem & approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful & zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, and in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more & more pleasing.



Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state. [Congress thus inhibited from acts respecting religion, and the Executive authorised only to execute their acts, I have refrained from presenting even occasional performances of devotion presented indeed legally where an Executive is the legal head of a national church, but subject here, as religious exercises only to the voluntary regulations and discipline of each respective sect.] Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.



I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common Father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.



(signed) Thomas Jefferson

Jan.1.1802.
N
2007-09-07 13:59:09 UTC
The Declaration of Independence, while important, is not a law-giving document. It did exactly what its title suggests--declare our desired independence from Britain.



There is no mention of "god" or a "creator" in the Bill of Rights, with the possible exception of a date.



I don't think that it is reasonable to say that all of our laws and principles are based on the idea of a god, nor do I see sufficient evidence in support of that claim in the reality of our laws and legal system. Sorry!
Yank
2007-09-07 13:57:43 UTC
The Declaration of Independence is not a 'law,' it is what its title says it is. The men in Philadelphia addressed the 'declaration' to the king of England but it was meant to be read also by people in the 13 English colonies of North America--another word is 'propaganda'. Thus the references to 'our Creator'.
costoso
2016-11-14 15:49:48 UTC
40 9 p.c. of those human beings did not look the observe up interior the dictionary. Evolution potential replace. it is not a opposite opinion as to if God exists, or that human beings stepped forward from apes. Darwin in no way wrote something of the style. That polloutcome tells me this... media propaganda is physically powerful and the majority are intellectually lazy... actual led sheep to the slaughter...unhappy...
anonymous
2007-09-07 13:56:22 UTC
lol. You know... I'm not American but you don't know much about your own history do you? The US was founded on freedom, not on the Christian god. If they had meant the Christian god (which btw, they didn't because they were all DEISTS), they would have said so.



You need to go read more on the countries founders. More than one of them basically said that Christianity is a joke and the worst thing to happen to mankind.



The people that moved to the US wanted freedom from religious persecution, and YOU want the world to go back to it?



You know, a brain is a terrible thing to waste.
Coma White
2007-09-07 14:07:30 UTC
well, they aren't referring to your christian god. They were diests, they believed in natures god. And they believed that this higher power did not interfere at all, he just sat back and watched everything unfold, and there was not really an afterlife. They were not christians, so don't go spouting off that jesus bullshit. They rejected any kind of religious text (bible, koran).







edit : what the hell is the question? Are you trying to demean people who don't believe in your b.s. religion? Is there supposed to be some kind of punishment against people that don't believe in non sense? You, my friend, are an asshole.
anonymous
2007-09-07 13:50:29 UTC
I was born here, moron. This is my country just as much as it is yours. Oh, and by the way, the declaration of Independence and bill of rights say a whole lot more than that.
Dark-River
2007-09-07 14:03:51 UTC
Yeah it's tough.



Every day that goes by I get more depressed realizing how ***-backward this nation is becoming.



I am seriously considering moving to Japan or Europe.
Chippy v1.0.0.3b
2007-09-07 13:50:20 UTC
have you ever heard of freemasons?



george washington was one

so was thomas jefferson

so was benjamin franklin, and so were others.



they believe in a higher power too, but it isnt the same thing that christians believe. it doesnt say, "in the christian god we trust" now does it... =]



but heres a short history lesson. the country was settled by people who wanted to escape religious persecution. this country was meant to be a country with freedom of religion.



its sad how you think everything revolves around you.
?
2007-09-07 13:49:39 UTC
LOL. That Creator refers to the Deistic God, not your God. He is alleged to have created the cosmos and earth and then left it all alone - he doesnt care about his creation.





How do you stand living here, knowing that? Or, did you ASSUME that they meant YOUR god? You may care to read a little about Franklin and Jefferson and others who despised Christianity.
anonymous
2007-09-07 13:48:07 UTC
My favorite quote that I send with every email is from a founding father:



"Religions are all alike - founded upon fables and mythologies." - Thomas

Jefferson
anonymous
2007-09-07 13:52:48 UTC
Well show me a free country that isn't? There are few other options, so no use looking for another...
anonymous
2007-09-07 13:54:53 UTC
You aren't hostile are you? What I heard was this country was founded for freedom of religion or no religion if that is what strikes your fancy...
anonymous
2007-09-07 13:48:27 UTC
When was the last time an adulterer was stoned in America?
supratuner9
2007-09-07 13:48:07 UTC
and then call us "intolerant"
YY4Me
2007-09-07 13:55:44 UTC
The Declaration of Independence is *not* the founding document. The U.S. Constitution is, and it is based on British Common Law, which existed for hundreds of years before christianity was "introduced" to Britain.



Even if all of the founders where christians (they weren't), they created a Constitution which keeps church and state separate, to protect both, but mainly to prevent religious tyranny.



The only mentions of religion in the U.S. Constitution are negative: no religious test shall be required to hold public office, and the government shall not establish a religion.



The Treaty of Tripoli states that the U.S. was *not* in any way founded on christianity.



Learn history from reliable sources, not Answers in Genesis.

***

Let some of the founders speak for themselves:



"No man [should] be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor [should he] be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor ... otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief ... All men [should] be free to profess and by argument to maintain their opinions in matters of religion, and ... the same [should] in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities." - Thomas Jefferson, Statute for Religious Freedom, 1779



"I have examined all the known superstitions of the word, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth." - Thomas Jefferson; letter to William Short



"The clergy, by getting themselves established by law and ingrafted into the machine of government, have been a very formidable engine against the civil and religious rights of man." - Thomas Jefferson



"Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity." - Thomas Jefferson; Notes on Virginia, 1782



"But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." - Thomas Jefferson



"Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed by inserting "Jesus Christ," so that it would read "A departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;" the insertion was rejected by the great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mohammedan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination." - Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography, referring to the Virginia Act for Religious Freedom



"I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Francis Hopkinson, March 13, 1789



"They [the clergy] believe that any portion of power confided to me, will be exerted in opposition to their schemes. And they believe rightly; for I have sworn upon the altar of god, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. But this is all they have to fear from me: and enough, too, in their opinion." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, September 23, 1800



"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and State." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Danbury Baptist Association, CT, January 1, 1802



"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people

maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Alexander von Humboldt, December 6, 1813



"Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law." -

Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814



"In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own. It is easier to acquire wealth and power by this combination than by deserving them …" - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Horatio G Spafford, March 17, 1814



"Man once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Smith, 1822



"And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. But may we hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this most venerated reformer of human errors." - Thomas Jefferson



"It is between fifty and sixty years since I read [the Book of

Revelation], and I then considered it merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own nightly dreams." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to General Alexander Smyth, January 17, 1825



"What influence in fact have Christian ecclesiastical establishments had on civil society? In many instances they have been upholding the thrones of political tyranny. In no instance have they been seen as the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wished to subvert the public liberty have found in the clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate liberty, does not need the clergy." - James Madison, Fourth US President



"Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together." - James Madison, Fourth US President



"During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of

Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution." - James Madison; A Biography in his Own Words, edited by Joseph Gardner, p. 93



"All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit." - Thomas Paine



"It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself." - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), Third US President



"It behooves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of it in the case of others: or their case may, by change of circumstances, become his own." - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), Third US President


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