Atheist Universe: Chapter 10
Initially Posted: January 29, 2007
Contents:
2. Origin of the Universe: Natural or Supernatural?
3. God of the Gaps: Does the Universe Show Evidence of Design?
4. The “Miracle” of Planetary Clockwork
5. The “Miracle” of Life on Earth
6. Can Genesis Be Reconciled with Modern Science?
7. “Miracles” of Christian Perception
9. Christian Fundamentalists and the “Danger” of Internet Porn
10. Was America Really Founded upon Christian Principles?
11. “Intelligent Design”: Christianity’s Newest Cult
10. Was America Really Founded upon Christian Principles?:
Mills argues that America was not founded on American principles. He asserts that the American Founding Fathers had no religious affiliation at all, except for adopting Deist beliefs. 1 He mentions that Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Paine were deists. Mills explains that Deism teaches a supernatural Power created the universe but that it does not currently manage its daily operation or intervene in human affairs. 2
This is extremely historically inaccurate. I strongly encourage readers to browse through some of the primary sources reflecting American religious and political beliefs. Many documents reveal the belief that God can and has intervened in human affairs. Some examples include:
First Inaugural Address of George Washington (April 30, 1789):
“Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons, repaired to the present station, it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow- citizens at large less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency…I dwell on this prospect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my country can inspire, since there is no truth more thoroughly established than that there exists in the economy and course of nature an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness; between duty and advantage; between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity; since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained; and since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as deeply, as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”
Please note the phrase “…the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men…” above. This hardly sounds like a Deist statement of belief.
(George Washington’s) "Eighth Annual Message" (December 7, 1796):
“Fellow Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:
In recurring to the internal situation of our Country, since I had last the pleasure to Address you, I find ample reason for a renewed expression of that gratitude to the ruler of the Universe, which a continued series of prosperity has so often and so justly called forth….The situation in which I now stand, for the last time, in the midst of the Representatives of the People of the United States, naturally recalls the period when the Administration of the present form of Government commenced; and I cannot omit the occasion, to congratulate you and my Country, on the success of the experiment; nor to repeat my fervent supplications to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and Sovereign Arbiter of Nations, that his Providential care may still be extended to the United States; that the virtue and happiness of the People, may be preserved; and that the Government, which they have instituted, for the protection of their liberties, maybe perpetual.”
Mills references the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli, which declared: “the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” 3 Go here to find a thorough analysis of the historical context of this quotation.
Mills says that one can find quotes related to Scripture from just about any political figure in American history, because these figures were just trying to please the religious public —they were quoting Scripture to obtain the votes of the American people 4 —interesting. Mills emphasizes that one must look at “private correspondence” to obtain an accurate picture about Christianity’s place in the lives of American politicians. 5 Consider some of the quotations below.
I suppose entries in private diaries would also provide an accurate picture as well. John Adams wrote the following entry in his diary:
John Adams diary 46, various loose folded sheets, 6 August 1787 - 10 September 1796 (with gaps), 2 July - 21 August 1804: July 26, 1796 Tuesday:
“Cloudy and begins to rain, the Wind at N.E. The Men gone up the Hill to rake the Barley.
In conformity to the fashion I drank this Morning and Yesterday Morning, about a Jill of Cyder. It seems to do me good, by diluting and dissolving the Phlegm or the Bile in the Stomach. The Christian Religion is, above all the Religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern Times, The Religion of Wisdom, Virtue, Equity and Humanity, let the Blackguard Paine say what he will. It is Resignation to God -- it is Goodness itself to Man.”
Go here for more resources on America’s Christian heritage.
Endnotes:
1. David Mills, Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person’s Answer to Christian Fundamentalism (Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press, 2006), 205.
2. David Mills, Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person’s Answer to Christian Fundamentalism (Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press, 2006), 205.
3. David Mills, Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person’s Answer to Christian Fundamentalism (Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press, 2006), 206.
4. David Mills, Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person’s Answer to Christian Fundamentalism (Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press, 2006), 207.
5. David Mills, Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person’s Answer to Christian Fundamentalism (Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press, 2006), 207.