----- Original Message ----- From: "Nick Arnett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Brin-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, September 29, 2001 6:17 PM Subject: RE: balancing civil liberties and security.
>The Founding Fathers, > to use that slightly outdated phrase, of the United States were rather > clearly influenced by Protestants who sought to ensure that the > concentration of power that occurred in the Church of Rome would not be > repeated. That goal is the birthplace of democracy and capitalism. > IMHO, there were more influenced by the Enlightenment, which was an offshoot of Erasmus's position on the Reformation. He refused a red hat because he wanted to have some independance of the organization of the Catholic church. He aruged with both sides during the Reformation. Finally, he ended up more with the Catholic church because, IIRC, Luther became overwhelmingly hostile to him and pushed him off the middle ground. This was around the time when Luther said "A prince can easier enter heaven by waging war than by prayer." Dan M.
