Chapter Eleven
Founding Fathers
America’s Most Famous Deists
-U.S. Representative Christopher Shays, R-CT
In George Orwell’s nightmare vision of the future, “1984”, the dictators who ran the dystopia were able to control their world partly by rewriting their history. The leaders of the radical Christian right use this revisionist tactic in their efforts to transform America into a bible-based theocracy. They realize that they must rewrite America’s past and cover up the founder’s efforts to build a wall that would separate church from state. That separation is established in the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States and the language is crystal clear:
U.S. Federal Constitution, Amendment 1
Freedom of Religion, Speech and Press; Rights of Assembly and Petition
Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.[2]
No government-established religion! What part of this do they not understand?
Conservative Christians claim that the imposition of a strict barrier between government and religion prevents them from the "free exercise of religion". Pat Robertson, a radical right wing Christian cleric, had this to say about his view of the First Amendment Rights:
“Let me show you precise language of the First Amendment: ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’ Now, if a federal judge comes in as an agent of Congress and prohibits the free exercise of religion, then he has violated the First Amendment.”[3]
-Pat Robertson, “Teaching the First Amendment”
Fundamentalist Christians can’t seem to understand a simple concept: Stopping you from oppressing everyone else isn’t oppressing you.
Do you want monuments to the Ten Commandments? Pay for them yourself (without public tax dollars) and put them on your personal property as your free expression of your religious ideas. Do you want to pray in school? Pray in school. This is your freedom but don’t use the public school teachers to coerce other people’s children to pray to your god. Above all, don’t pass laws that intrude on the lives of others and force them to live as you want them to.
The bottom line is that the government itself can’t be pious. Individuals may express their religion as they wish but can’t use the government as their sounding board.
Does the Federal Bill of Rights Apply to the States?
Conservative Christians, once forced to admit the Federal Constitution bars the establishment of a religion, will resort to a “state’s rights” defense of state violations. Pat Robertson apparently believes in this argument:
“Later on, a man named Blaine, James Blaine, proposed what was called the Blaine Amendment. And the Blaine Amendment said we're going to take the entire Bill of Rights and apply it to the states. And the Blaine Amendment was voted down in Congress. Congress in those days said, ‘No way are you going to take the Bill of Rights and apply everything that is a restriction of the federal government and apply it to the states.’”[4]
-Pat Robertson, “Teaching the First Amendment”
Curiously enough, in the middle of Robertson’s essay, which argues that the First Amendment doesn’t restrict the government from building monuments that endorse Christianity, he claims that it doesn’t matter anyway because the Bill of Rights doesn’t apply to the states. His second argument seems rather superfluous if he really has confidence in his position on the first.
What Mr. Robertson fails to mention is that the 14th Amendment was later ratified and applied all the liberties and protections ensured by the Bill of Rights to all the states.
“No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States”[5]
-U.S. Constitution, 14th Amendment, Section 1
The states are not allowed to violate the Bill of Rights anymore.
Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?
The idea that America was founded as a Christian nation is a myth promoted by the radical Christian right:
“And the commandment ‘I am Lord thy God,’ …it’s actually the basis for the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The acknowledgement of God was the very basis we had for, ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’ You see, the word religion was the duties we owe to the creator and the manner of discharging those duties. That was the definition used by the United States Supreme Court and all our founding fathers.”[6]
-Roy Moore, during an interview with CNN
The founders seemed to think otherwise and said as much.
“It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service (the formation of the American governments) had interviews with gods, or were in any degree under the influence of Heaven, more than those at work upon ships or houses, or laboring in merchandise or agriculture; it will forever be acknowledged that these governments were contrived merely by the use of reason and the senses.” [7]
-John Adams, “A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America”
“It will never be pretended?” Oh, Mr. Adams, how you and your colleagues would turn in your graves if you knew.
America was founded as a secular republic and its founders declared this boldly in writing under no uncertain terms:
“As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion…”[8]
-Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11, signed by President Adams and ratified unanimously by the Senate in 1797
Their position on religion was made clear: individuals had the right to pursue their own spirituality and, to safeguard that right, the government remained as uninvolved as possible.
“If I could conceive that the general government might ever be so administered as to render the liberty of conscience insecure, I beg you will be persuaded, that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny, and every species of religious persecution.” [9]
-George Washington, letter to the United Baptist Churches of Virginia
Let’s examine the very documents that established America as an independent nation (the Declaration of Independence) and the basis of our system of laws and justice (the Constitution). What do they say on the matter? If America’s founders wished to establish a Christian nation, we can expect to see Jesus invoked in both documents.
Total Number of References to God in the Declaration of Independence: 4
Are they necessarily Christian references?
- “…the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them…” [10]
- “…endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” [11]
- “…appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions…” [12]
- “…a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence…” [13]
The first two are clearly deistic terms for God. No Christian would ever say “Nature’s God”. Such a term is clearly used by one whose idea of God comes from observation of nature rather than scripture. Similarly, deists are fond of the terms “Creator” or “First Cause” as ways to refer to God.
The third reference is unusual for deism but not completely inconsistent. For all we know, God may judge us.
The fourth reference, “Providence”, was a term George Washington was especially fond of using when he spoke of God. Judging from the views he expressed, Washington’s deism featured a God that did have a hand in worldly events.
Nowhere in the declaration is the Supreme Being addressed by the name “Jesus” or “the Lord”. These terms for God would have leant credibility to the idea that America was founded as a Christian nation. As it stands, the references to a generic Creator-god are quite consistent with deism and can’t be assumed to be the Christian god.
Jefferson, the principle author, was a deist. He was deeply suspicious of religious leaders and the designs they would have against a free society:
”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.”[14]
-Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Benjamin Rush
A curious note about the above quote: the latter half is famous and immortalized in the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. Many Christians who visit the monument might assume Jefferson was referring to the King of England during the Revolutionary War. In fact, in context with the entire letter, it’s clear that he was referring to the hard-line Christians who would seek to impose their ideologies upon all other Americans. He elaborated on this threat to freedom in another letter:
”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 political as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose.” [15]
-Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Alexander von Humboldt
Jefferson greatly admired the moral teachings of Jesus, although he was skeptical of all the claims of divinity and miracles that were ascribed to him. He believed that the founders of Christianity hijacked the message of Jesus for their own selfish ends, using such dramatically harsh language as to call them “the real Anti-Christ”:
“Nothing can be more exactly and seriously true than what is there stated; that but a short time elapse after the death of the great reformer of the Jewish religion (Jesus), before his principles were departed from by those who professed to be his special servants, and perverted into an engine for enslaving mankind, and aggrandizing their oppressors in Church and State; that the purest system of morals ever before preached to man, has been adulterated and sophisticated by artificial constructions, into a mere contrivance to filch wealth and power to themselves; that rational men not being able to swallow their impious heresies, in order to force them down their throats, they raise the hue and cry of infidelity, while themselves are the greatest obstacles to the advancement of the real doctrines of Jesus, and do in fact constitute the real Anti-Christ.”[16]
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Samuel Kercheval
Neither the American Declaration of Independence nor its primary author can be said to be especially Christian. This document fails to support the assertion that America was founded as a Christian nation.
Total Number of Constitutional References to God: Zero
Put bluntly, the Constitution of the United States is godless. There’s no other way to accurately describe it. There is not a single reference to a divine being responsible for granting the liberties ensured by the Constitution, never mind any specific references to Jesus.[17] If our founders wished to establish America as a Christian nation, it stands to reason that there would be some reference to Jesus or the Bible in the very document that was the cornerstone of American law and justice.
Religion isn’t mentioned in the Constitution except to establish it as an individual freedom that government should stay far away from. The First Amendment was reviewed earlier in this chapter. There is one other point where the document mentions religion:
“…no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” [18]
- U.S. Constitution, Article VI, Section 3
The godless nature of the Constitution is not an oversight. James Madison, the principle author, was also a deist. He was outspoken in his concern that the government should remain strictly neutral on and far removed from personal spiritual matters. He was deeply suspicious of religious leaders and how often they worked with tyrants:
“Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise”[19]
-James Madison, Letter to William Bradford
“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 laity; in both, superstition, bigotry, and persecution.” [20]
-James Madison, “Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments”, Section 7
“What influence in fact have ecclesiastical establishments had on Civil Society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the Civil authority; in many instances they have been seen 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, may have found an established Clergy convenient auxiliaries.”[21]
- James Madison, “Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments”, Section 8
Madison made it clear in his remarks to Congress on the proposed Constitutional Amendments exactly what the intent of the anti-establishment clause of the First Amendment was (bold emphasis added):
“Mr. Madison said he apprehended the meaning of the words to be, that congress should not establish a religion, and enforce the legal observation of it by law, nor compel men to worship God in any manner contrary to their conscience.”[22]
-Remarks in Congress on Proposed Constitutional Amendments
Note how the founders used the word, “religion”. Madison didn’t say “church” but “religion”. Had Madison said “church”, Christians might be able to legitimately claim that the government can endorse or establish a religion like Christianity (over Islam or Hinduism), as long as it doesn’t have a favored church (Anglican, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc.). Unfortunately, this is a point lost on Christian fundamentalists as they proceed to try to make this claim anyway. Pat Robertson articulates his evangelical view of history:
“Let me show you something. In the early days of this nation, we had 13 colonies, and those 13 colonies got together and formed a nation. Now of these, a number had established churches, and they did not want a national church, because they had their own churches. …‘Congress shall make no law,’ what, ‘respecting an establishment of religion.’ And what did that mean? It meant we didn't want another Anglican church in America like they had in England or we had here in Virginia. Massachusetts also had an established church. Congress shall not set up a national church. That's what it meant.” [23]
-Pat Robertson, “Teaching the First Amendment”
Madison articulated otherwise but Christian leaders apparently have little interest in what the Founding Fathers actually said and wrote.
Madison understood that the government can’t possibly treat all faiths and denominations equally in practice, given the prejudices of individual officials. Therefore, the only way to maintain religious freedom is for the government to keep away from religion completely. He argued against a government establishment of Christianity for that reason:
“Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion with all other religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other sects? That the same authority which can force a citizen to contribute three pence only of his property for the support of any one establishment, may force him to conform to any other establishment in all cases whatsoever?”[24]
- James Madison, “Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments”, Section 3
Madison wrote extensively about the separation of government and religion and acted as America’s fourth President to maintain it. He used his veto power against bills that violated it. Of interesting relevance to current political struggles over the separation, Madison vetoed a bill to fund “pious charity”. These charities were much like today’s “faith based initiatives”. He explained his reasons for the veto in this message to Congress:
“Because the Bill exceeds the rightful authority, to which Governments are limited by the essential distinction between Civil and Religious functions, and violates, in particular, the Article of the Constitution of the United States which declares, that ‘Congress shall make no law respecting a Religious establishment.’ …Because the Bill vests in the said incorporated Church, an authority to provide for the support of the poor… (it) would be a precedent for giving to religious Societies as such, a legal agency in carrying into effect a public and civil duty.”[25]
-James Madison, Veto Message, February 21, 1811
In later years, he expressed clear feelings both about the separation and the congressional move against it:
“I observe with particular pleasure the view you have taken of the immunity of Religion from civil jurisdiction, in every case where it does not trespass on private rights or the public peace. This has always been a favorite principle with me; and it was not with my approbation, that the deviation from it took place in Cong[ress], when they appointed Chaplains, to be paid from the Nat[ional] Treasury. It would have been a much better proof to their Constituents of their pious feeling if the members had contributed for the purpose, a pittance from their own pockets. As the precedent is not likely to be rescinded, the best that can now be done, may be to apply to the Const[itution] the maxim of the law, de minimis non curat.”[26]
-James Madison, letter to Edward Livingston
“No government subsidized religion” was Madison’s simple point. If you want to be given "that old time religion", you need to pay for it yourself.
Neither the American Constitution nor its primary author can be said to be even remotely Christian. The Constitution is the document that is the foundation for American law and justice. Not only does it not support the myth that America was intended to be a Christian nation, it provides a bulwark against theocracy.
More founding father quotes (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Adams, Paine and others) and other evidence of their deistic beliefs and support of the separation of government and religion can be found at the Positive Atheism website (www.positiveatheism.org). Cliff Walker, the site manager, has also exposed a number of phony founding father quotes circulated by the religious right.[27] Of particular interest is Walker’s debunking of the depictions of Washington kneeling in prayer at Valley Forge or how Christians retroactively added “Jesus Christ our Lord” to Washington’s “Prayer for the United States”.[28]
Offsite Links (positiveatheism.org): Click below for more information on the deistic beliefs of...
- Adams, John
- Franklin, Benjamin
- Jefferson, Thomas
- Lincoln, Abraham
- Madison, James
- Paine, Thomas
- Washington, George
Were There Any Christian Founders of America?
Yes, particularly among the more conservative members. John Jay, Alexander Hamilton and John Hancock were examples. However, even they saw the benefits to a separation of government and religion. It’s important to remember that the separation exists for the benefit of the religious as well as for the non-religious. They saw the sectarian violence of Europe and the last thing they wanted was to bring such strife to America. The best way to ensure freedom of religion was to have the government remain as strictly neutral on religious matters as possible.
This is an important point for American Christians to consider. It may be tempting for them to tear down the wall between Church and State now that they have a comfortable majority. What if that ever changes? What will protect their religious rights in that future? What would stop a Wiccan majority from using public school teachers to coerce their children to pray to the goddess, a Muslim majority from passing Sharia laws or a Hindu majority from using public tax dollars to build monuments to Shiva? American Christians may look back and realize that they demolished the very thing that would otherwise protect them.
Will America Remain a Free Secular Nation?
That remains to be seen. That’s what the “Culture War” is all about. One thing is certain; a society can’t remain free and theocratic at the same time. Religious leaders generally don’t tolerate dissent from the people. There’s a passage in the Bible about this:
The Bible’s Condemnation of Democracy
There’s a story in the Bible about men who challenged the authority of Moses.
Number 16:2-5 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even tomorrow the Lord will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.
Korah is asking a perfectly reasonable question. We’re all the children of God so why are Moses and Aaron so exalted above all the others?
Yahweh did make a decision on the matter. He was very upset that any would dare question the one he anointed to be their ruler. He did what he often did whenever he lost his temper: he went into a killing frenzy. Just for good measure, Yahweh also smote 250 onlookers with fire.
Numbers 16:31-35 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
When some Israelites dared to complain, the “Lord” smote them with a plague, killing thousands indiscriminately.
Numbers 16:41-49 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord. And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun. And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
This is basically a form of divine terrorism, quite consistent with a god that created Hell for the unbelievers. It’s obvious from this story that Yahweh hates democracy and loves theocracy.
“The Divine Right of Kings”
Next time you hear conservative Christians talk of how their Christian or biblical values foster a love of freedom and democracy, refer them to this passage in the Bible:
Romans 13:1-2 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Jesus seems to concur with this message of divine right with his charming parable of a cruel king (bold emphasis added):
Luke 19:12-27 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. (verse 26)… For I (the king in the parable) say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
Jesus seems content to end the story there, apparently approving of the summary execution of any citizen who doesn’t like his or her king. Jesus also apparently has no regard for the will of the people and whether or not they like their king. His endorsement of divine right and distain for democracy is undeniable.
All this should come as no surprise. Over the ages, emperors and kings no doubt had their influence on Christianity’s development and saw it as a useful tool with which to control their subjects. This was surely true of the Roman Emperor Constantine, who allied himself with the Christians and opened the door for Christianity to become the official religion of the Roman Empire:
“Constantine’s desire to impose upon the Empire a religion that would identify obsequiousness to the deity with loyalty to the emperor found its perfect partner in Christianity – or at least in the Christianity he was to patronize…
“Before Constantine, Christ had, for most Christians, been the ‘good shephard’, just like Mithras or Apollo, not a celestial monarch or an imperial judge…
“Just as well that in Christian morality there was no place for democracy, only for absolute monarchs, chosen by God. In Christianity there were no human rights (for example, of a slave to his freedom), only obligations (thus a slave should be honest and faithful to his master, because, of course, all would be judged on the day of reckoning).”[29]
-Kenneth Humphreys, “Jesus Never Existed”
The God that many Americans believe in, the one who endowed us with inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, is not the god of the Bible. It is rather a view of God more consistent with deism.
The American Revolution Continues
The “Culture War” in America is nothing less than the last great battle of the American Revolution. The oppressive dogmas of Christianity and the laws prescribed in the Bible are incompatible with modern sensibilities and concepts of liberty. This is why Thomas Paine predicted that the revolution in government that set Americans free politically would be followed by a revolution in religion that would set Americans free spiritually.[30]
Unfortunately, this forecast has proven optimistic. Liberty is not, it would seem, achieved in a single battle. The American Revolution has proceeded slowly with many battles that had to be fought over generations. The abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage and civil rights were all milestones in the journey to create a free society. Today, the struggle is over the issue of the imposition of religious ideology through government legislation.
The greatest threat to American freedom comes from within in the form of creeping Christofascism that would seek to establish a Bible-based theocracy. America needs to make a choice. She can’t regard herself as founded upon two separate documents. Either the Bible or the secular Constitution must be the basis of American law and justice. Either she must remain as founded, a free and secular society or these freedoms must be overthrown in favor of ancient, oppressive Bronze Age laws.
To those freethinking brethren in other nations, the same applies to the struggle in your country. Faith is a menace that knows no political boundaries. Even if secularism is ascendant in your country, beware that this balance could change. At one time, refugees fled Europe to America to escape religious persecution. It may not be long before the situation is ironically reversed. It’s important therefore to maintain eternal vigilance, not just against Christian theocracy but the oppression of all other faith-based religions as well. The tenets may be different but the tyranny is the same.
We Should Respect People, Not Ideologies
Sometimes the issue of “respect” comes up in discussions of religion. The very topic is sometimes avoided in social interaction. We are told to respect people’s heartfelt beliefs about matters of faith. As Sam Harris, the author of “The End of Faith”, has noted, this is an odd rule since we aren’t told to respect people’s beliefs about history, science, politics, medicine or any other field. If someone has strong convictions, they’re expected to logically defend them, unless it’s a religious view.
“Observations of (the dangers of faith and its inherent intolerance) pose an immediate problem for us, however, because criticizing another person’s faith is currently taboo in every corner of our culture. On this subject, liberals and conservatives have reached a rare consensus: religious beliefs are simply beyond the scope of rational discourse. Criticizing a person’s ideas about God and the afterlife is thought to be impolitic in a way that criticizing his ideas about physics and history is not.”[31]
-Sam Harris, “The End of Faith”
Criticizing someone’s ideas about history is rarely, if ever, seen as a personal attack. A special exception is created for religious faith, offering this topic special treatment. Why?
We shouldn’t respect ideologies. An ideology is a thing, not a person. People adopt ideologies. Ideologies are not what people are. Ideologies are what people hold. If these ideologies are proven to be unhealthy, illogical or unproductive, the people that hold them should be encouraged to let them go.
The need to confront unhealthy ideologies becomes especially important when they don’t end with the proponent’s adoption of them. The Christian’s personal relationship with Jesus sometimes turns into a personal crusade to change and rule the world for Christ, imposing their beliefs on those who don’t share them. The political scene in America today is shaped by this struggle. Politics and religion are hopelessly intertwined. Religion is no longer a personal matter in the world today.
“Christ” has become a shorthand designation for the whole raft of doctrines and opinions, all of which one has to accept “by faith”, on someone else’s say-so. Christ has become an umbrella for an unquestioning acceptance of what some preacher or institution tells you to believe.[32]
-Robert Price, “Deconstructing Jesus”
Freethinkers are sometimes criticized for being so confrontational on the subject of religion but this is just an adaptation to the reality we face. We can’t simply “live and let live” because they can’t. There is no negotiation with the Christian Evangelicals. Any concessions made to appease them will simply be viewed as a step in the direction of their ultimate goal of theocratic domination. The only options are to surrender or fight.
Conclusion
Clearly, America wasn’t founded as a “Christian nation”. Her federal Constitution is godless, the principle founders were mostly deists and the nation they created was a secular republic with a strict separation of government and religion. Any attempt to claim otherwise is historical revisionism.
Furthermore, the Christian religion, at least as it is directed by the Bible, is a faith that endorses the “divine right” of kings and admonishes slaves to obey their masters. Search the Bible in vain for the words, “inalienable rights”. The concept of God as a being who created us with rights and liberties is one more compatible with deism.
|| PREVIOUS CHAPTER || TABLE OF CONTENTS ||NEXT CHAPTER ||
