AMERICA: A Christian Nation?

[Oil exporting People]

The Treaty of Tripoli explicitly says the US is not a Christian nation.

Which doesn't change the fact the US has an overwhelming Christian character.

[Sun Wukong]

The Treaty of Tripoli explicitly says the US is not a Christian nation.

Which doesn't change the fact the US has an overwhelming Christian character.

To the extent that statement is true, it is trivial. To the extent that statement is profound, it is false.

[Oil exporting People]

To the extent that statement is true, it is trivial. To the extent that statement is profound, it is false.

A single diplomatic dealing is not trivial, but the fact the Christian God was alluded to in the very founding document of a nation is?

[Sun Wukong]

To the extent that statement is true, it is trivial. To the extent that statement is profound, it is false.

A single diplomatic dealing is not trivial, but the fact the Christian God was alluded to in the very founding document of a nation is?

Calling the deity invoked by Jefferson the "Christian God" is a straight-up lie. And you should feel bad.

[Oil exporting People]

Calling the deity invoked by Jefferson the "Christian God" is a straight-up lie. And you should feel bad.

What other God do you think he was referencing? Allah, Zeus, Buddha, etc? The man was living in the Colonial US of the 18th Century, be realistic. As to feeling bad, that's a rather childish statement don't you think?

[Sun Wukong]

Calling the deity invoked by Jefferson the "Christian God" is a straight-up lie. And you should feel bad.

What other God do you think he was referencing? Allah, Zeus, Buddha, etc? The man was living in the Colonial US of the 18th Century, be realistic. As to feeling bad, that's a rather childish statement don't you think?

Nature's god. The divine watchmaker. Not someone who herds demons into pigs.

And no, I don't think it's childish to demand honesty.

[Russels Orbiting Teapot]

What other God do you think he was referencing? Allah, Zeus, Buddha, etc? The man was living in the Colonial US of the 18th Century, be realistic. As to feeling bad, that's a rather childish statement don't you think?

Have you read the works of Thomas Jefferson in regards to religion?

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Calling the deity invoked by Jefferson the "Christian God" is a straight-up lie. And you should feel bad.

What other God do you think he was referencing? Allah, Zeus, Buddha, etc? The man was living in the Colonial US of the 18th Century, be realistic. As to feeling bad, that's a rather childish statement don't you think?

Actually he could be referring to the Watchmaker God, not necessarily the Christian God which is a more theistic deity.

He had his beliefs and a "Christian God" is not, by any extent of the imagination, the only God in the parking lot.

[Sun Wukong]

What other God do you think he was referencing? Allah, Zeus, Buddha, etc? The man was living in the Colonial US of the 18th Century, be realistic. As to feeling bad, that's a rather childish statement don't you think?

Have you read the works of Thomas Jefferson in regards to religion?

There is a certain amount of irony in citing the words of the president who signed the Treaty of Tripoli as proof of a Christian nation.

[Scomagia]

Calling the deity invoked by Jefferson the "Christian God" is a straight-up lie. And you should feel bad.

What other God do you think he was referencing? Allah, Zeus, Buddha, etc? The man was living in the Colonial US of the 18th Century, be realistic. As to feeling bad, that's a rather childish statement don't you think?

Jefferson was likely a Deist and rejected the divinity of Jesus, so I find it hard to believe that he was referring to the Christian God.

Also, Buddha isn't a god.

[Benian Republic]

What other God do you think he was referencing? Allah, Zeus, Buddha, etc? The man was living in the Colonial US of the 18th Century, be realistic. As to feeling bad, that's a rather childish statement don't you think?

Nature's god. The divine watchmaker. Not someone who herds demons into pigs.

And no, I don't think it's childish to demand honesty.

can I put this in my sig?

[Othelos]

The Treaty of Tripoli explicitly says the US is not a Christian nation.

Which doesn't change the fact the US has an overwhelming Christian character.

How so? Our society functions off of greed, largely treats the poor and criminals like dirt, and has serious issues in terms of acceptance of 'different' people....those things are very un-christ-like.

[Sun Wukong]

Nature's god. The divine watchmaker. Not someone who herds demons into pigs.

And no, I don't think it's childish to demand honesty.

can I put this in my sig?

If you like. You're welcome to it.

[American California]

I'd like to think we are a deistic nation, but with a secular government. To be honest, I wouldn't mind deism being our national faith, and I'm an atheist.

[Morr]

I'd like to think we are a deistic nation, but with a secular government. To be honest, I wouldn't mind deism being our national faith, and I'm an atheist.

We probably have more atheists in our country than deists today. Deism has gone completely out of fashion, it was really just a sort of politically correct atheism of its time.

[Scomagia]

I'd like to think we are a deistic nation, but with a secular government. To be honest, I wouldn't mind deism being our national faith, and I'm an atheist.

We probably have more atheists in our country than deists today. Deism has gone completely out of fashion, it was really just a sort of politically correct atheism of its time.

While your first sentence is correct, your second is quite wrong. Deism is a rejection of Dogma, not of the existence of God. Deism is wholly incompatible with atheism.

[Tekania]

To the extent that statement is true, it is trivial. To the extent that statement is profound, it is false.

A single diplomatic dealing is not trivial, but the fact the Christian God was alluded to in the very founding document of a nation is?

We have one founding document, the US Constitution; it alludes to no Christian God unless you do the supreme stretch as to extend it to the point where referring to the present date in the dating convention of the time ("the year of our Lord") is "alluding" to it..... and that itself is one hell of a fucking stretch. The US Constitution does define where the source of authority for its base lays.... "We the people"... Not you, not God, and not the crack-pipe bullshit being peddled by reprobates like David Barton.

[Morr]

We probably have more atheists in our country than deists today. Deism has gone completely out of fashion, it was really just a sort of politically correct atheism of its time.

While your first sentence is correct, your second is quite wrong. Deism is a rejection of Dogma, not of the existence of God. Deism is wholly incompatible with atheism.

Deism rejects the afterlife, miracles, and the idea of god answering prayers or fiddling with creation. It's atheism from a practical standpoint.

[American California]

I'd like to think we are a deistic nation, but with a secular government. To be honest, I wouldn't mind deism being our national faith, and I'm an atheist.

We probably have more atheists in our country than deists today. Deism has gone completely out of fashion, it was really just a sort of politically correct atheism of its time.

No, it wasn't.

Besides, having deism as our national faith would make for some cool Masonic imagery.

[Morr]

We probably have more atheists in our country than deists today. Deism has gone completely out of fashion, it was really just a sort of politically correct atheism of its time.

No, it wasn't.

Besides, having deism as our national faith would make for some cool Masonic imagery.

Yeah, it was, and since I am not a deist, I don't see why I should put up with deism as the national faith anymore than people who aren't Christians should have to put with Christianity as a national faith. Making deism a national faith would cause a conflict of loyalties for me. It was hard enough for Anglicans to break away from the King in our loyalty to America during the Revolution (2/3 of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Anglicans), but asking us to accept another faith as officially recognized over our own is too much, I am not loyal to deism.

I'm not a Mason. I don't dislike Masons or disapprove of them, but I consider intertwining them with national approval as a faith to be repugnant because they are not an open club, they are a secret club which is selective about membership.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

While your first sentence is correct, your second is quite wrong. Deism is a rejection of Dogma, not of the existence of God. Deism is wholly incompatible with atheism.

Deism rejects the afterlife, miracles, and the idea of god answering prayers or fiddling with creation. It's atheism from a practical standpoint.

That's hilariously wrong.

Deism simply recognizes a non-interventionist deity, not a rejection of any deity.

[Morr]

Deism rejects the afterlife, miracles, and the idea of god answering prayers or fiddling with creation. It's atheism from a practical standpoint.

That's hilariously wrong.

Deism simply recognizes a non-interventionist deity, not a rejection of any deity.

I didn't say they did not recognize a deity, I said that are atheists from a practical viewpoint. They are effectively atheists, they say that something intelligent created the universe but that that the universe functions now as if the designer vanished, even if this designer is still there in theory. This might as well be atheism.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

That's hilariously wrong.

Deism simply recognizes a non-interventionist deity, not a rejection of any deity.

I didn't say they did not recognize a deity, I said that are atheists from a practical viewpoint. They are effectively atheists, they say that something intelligent created the universe but that that the universe functions now as if the designer vanished, even if this designer is still there in theory. This might as well be atheism.

And yet it isn't because they do believe in a deity, simply a non-interventionist one.

Stop being blatantly dishonest.

[Tekania]

While your first sentence is correct, your second is quite wrong. Deism is a rejection of Dogma, not of the existence of God. Deism is wholly incompatible with atheism.

Deism rejects the afterlife, miracles, and the idea of god answering prayers or fiddling with creation. It's atheism from a practical standpoint.

Not really practical atheism, it was not atheistic at all. It did fulfill a similar role in matters of the steering of governmental policy relative to the period as does atheism of this day, but then evangelical Christianity of the period fulfilled a similar role as modern liberal Christianity does today. But that is it merely parallels in operation in the context of the greater society rather than being practical conception or parallel of belief. Deism is not more practically atheism than a Bison is practically an Elephant.

[Morr]

I didn't say they did not recognize a deity, I said that are atheists from a practical viewpoint. They are effectively atheists, they say that something intelligent created the universe but that that the universe functions now as if the designer vanished, even if this designer is still there in theory. This might as well be atheism.

And yet it isn't because they do believe in a deity, simply a non-interventionist one.

Stop being blatantly dishonest.

You seem to be considering religion solely from a non-philosopical point of view. A theistic position without accompanying philosophy is effectively atheism, because God's existence or lack thereof makes zero difference your way of life. So you are, from a practical viewpoint, an atheist, you conduct yourself exactly as you would if you didn't believe in God.