I can buy most of your reasoning. The only thing I have trouble with is that you try to deny that Western morality is based on Judeo Christian principles.
Not to kill, not to steal, not to covet the private property of your neighbor. All these things are the basis of the ethics of life and liberty. These colonies, and the states which they became were settled by Puritans. They were versed in the Calvinist and Lutheran traditions which opposed the need for priests and Popes to achieve grace and salvation. Thomas Paine spoke out against the churches of nations. That is exactly what the 1st Amendment was designed to prevent. Of that, there is no doubt. They may not have based the law on the Bible as law, but that heritage is what formed their morality. To then infer that the Founders morality is not based on their own Judeo Christian heritage, as followers of Christ, not the Christian church makes no sense. Their morality did not spring from some pagan well. For the sake of argument, if they intended to completely discount the teachings of Christ and the Deity as a source of morality, then from whence does Western morality and ethics come? _____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Paul Sent: Monday, January 02, 2006 1:12 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Libertarian] Re: Fwd: The "W" In Christmas You falsely claimed it to be disingenuous but the FACT (not opinion) is the founders didn't create the government or the laws of America based on any judeo-christian ethics, teachings, or morality. NONE of it came from Biblical teachings. The reason words like "Creator" and "Nature's God" were chosen is to specifically show that America is not a Christian nation, and to show that our laws don't come from the bible, and to show that people who don't believe in god, or who believe in another god, are every bit as American as anyone else in America. The Founders created our wholly secular nation to keep religion completely out of government and government completely out of religion. --- In [email protected], "geofgibson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > As I said, there are quotes questioning the existence of God. > > I also made the point that the Founders were followers of Christ rather than > the churches and priests. > > I no more took the quotes out of context than Paul has done below. > > My main point, is it is disingenuous to say that the Founders were not > working on Judeo-Christian principles, when that is, in fact, the basis of > their morality. > > There is no reason that the God of nature and the God of Christ are mutually > exclusive. ForumWebSiteAt HYPERLINK "http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian"http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Lib ertarian SPONSORED LINKS HYPERLINK "http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=Libertarian&w1=Libertarian&w2=English+l anguage&w3=Political+parties&w4=Online+dictionary&w5=American+politics&c=5&s =108&.sig=jGQnaRhfv4RQgZXyK4kr1w"Libertarian HYPERLINK "http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=English+language&w1=Libertarian&w2=Engl ish+language&w3=Political+parties&w4=Online+dictionary&w5=American+politics& c=5&s=108&.sig=QWSjIRDd7cCvA3JjWf5fnQ"English language HYPERLINK "http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=Political+parties&w1=Libertarian&w2=Eng lish+language&w3=Political+parties&w4=Online+dictionary&w5=American+politics &c=5&s=108&.sig=Nmlb2J_kcrDDcS9fz-a4eg"Political parties HYPERLINK "http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=Online+dictionary&w1=Libertarian&w2=Eng lish+language&w3=Political+parties&w4=Online+dictionary&w5=American+politics &c=5&s=108&.sig=tfMLc2NuNqcAdgFcVdgR3Q"Online dictionary HYPERLINK "http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=ms&k=American+politics&w1=Libertarian&w2=Eng lish+language&w3=Political+parties&w4=Online+dictionary&w5=American+politics &c=5&s=108&.sig=Q4Bxp3h_3TNlBQAgwWP-kw"American politics _____ YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS * Visit your group "HYPERLINK "http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian"Libertarian"; on the web. * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: HYPERLINK "mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]"Libertar [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the HYPERLINK "http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/"Yahoo! Terms of Service. _____ -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.10/218 - Release Date: 1/2/2006 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.10/218 - Release Date: 1/2/2006 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ForumWebSiteAt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
