Issue 44: Special Fourth of July Edition!!!!
News: Stomping a misconception about our founding fathers.
In Honor of Independence Day, I would like to effectively stomp out a misconception propagated by conservatives and outspoken religious folk; All the founding fathers were God-Fearing Christians. This is of course, not true. One person in particular, Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the Declaration of Independence, and "reason for the season", was frequently accused of being an Atheist in his own time. While he wasn't an atheist, per se, he was a deist, which was at the time, the closest thing that was socially acceptable in the 18th Century (Deism saying that there was a creator of the universe, but that that creator ceased to be relavent after creation, and often that Jesus was a great moral teacher, but not the Son of God), and with that in mind, he created a book which he called "The Jefferson Bible", which was essentially a secularized version of the Gospels. Many people, when informed of this, say that he wrote it as an introduction to the Bible to prosceletyze to Indians. I doubt this, because it leaves out what is possibly the most important part and the part most relevant to Christianity; The Resurrection, choosing to end it with Jesus' Burial. Also, he refused to issue official proclamations for official days of prayer, as his predecessors did. Come to think of it, there were several quotations which go on record as being against the Church, including "In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.", which came from an 1815 letter to a friend and recently used in an issue of "I Drew This", as well as another, longe quote which is in the quotes section for your reading pleasure.
Band Name of the Day: Gangrenous Hand. This came on yesterday's edition of the Steve Dahl Show. I don't exactly remember the context, but I do remmeber that it was mentioned that Gangrenous Hand would make a good band name.
Film Idea: More of a play Idea about a family who houses two cousins; One a freethinker and one an Evangelist. This is loosely based on Jack T. Chick's A Solution to the Marriage Mess, albeit with an equally strong freethinking cousin as well as the evangelist staying with the family.
Film Review: Captains Courageous. This Film adaption of Rudyard Kipling's novel, which surprisingly, steers away from the frequently Imperialistic themes in many of his works, is the story of a spoiled brat whose life is saved by a group of fishermen who managed to turn the kid into a mature young man, who barely seems to be what he was before. This film manages to become the best film adaption of Kipling I have ever seen.
Quote of the Day: " I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature.....Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burned, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion?To make half the world fools and half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the world."
_______________Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia.
Link of the day: A site to show where you stand on the political Compass. I stand (-2.38, -5.95)
In Honor of Independence Day, I would like to effectively stomp out a misconception propagated by conservatives and outspoken religious folk; All the founding fathers were God-Fearing Christians. This is of course, not true. One person in particular, Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the Declaration of Independence, and "reason for the season", was frequently accused of being an Atheist in his own time. While he wasn't an atheist, per se, he was a deist, which was at the time, the closest thing that was socially acceptable in the 18th Century (Deism saying that there was a creator of the universe, but that that creator ceased to be relavent after creation, and often that Jesus was a great moral teacher, but not the Son of God), and with that in mind, he created a book which he called "The Jefferson Bible", which was essentially a secularized version of the Gospels. Many people, when informed of this, say that he wrote it as an introduction to the Bible to prosceletyze to Indians. I doubt this, because it leaves out what is possibly the most important part and the part most relevant to Christianity; The Resurrection, choosing to end it with Jesus' Burial. Also, he refused to issue official proclamations for official days of prayer, as his predecessors did. Come to think of it, there were several quotations which go on record as being against the Church, including "In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.", which came from an 1815 letter to a friend and recently used in an issue of "I Drew This", as well as another, longe quote which is in the quotes section for your reading pleasure.
Band Name of the Day: Gangrenous Hand. This came on yesterday's edition of the Steve Dahl Show. I don't exactly remember the context, but I do remmeber that it was mentioned that Gangrenous Hand would make a good band name.
Film Idea: More of a play Idea about a family who houses two cousins; One a freethinker and one an Evangelist. This is loosely based on Jack T. Chick's A Solution to the Marriage Mess, albeit with an equally strong freethinking cousin as well as the evangelist staying with the family.
Film Review: Captains Courageous. This Film adaption of Rudyard Kipling's novel, which surprisingly, steers away from the frequently Imperialistic themes in many of his works, is the story of a spoiled brat whose life is saved by a group of fishermen who managed to turn the kid into a mature young man, who barely seems to be what he was before. This film manages to become the best film adaption of Kipling I have ever seen.
Quote of the Day: " I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature.....Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burned, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion?To make half the world fools and half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the world."
_______________Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia.
Link of the day: A site to show where you stand on the political Compass. I stand (-2.38, -5.95)
Labels: History, Religious Right
posted by DerekAxe at 8:44 AM
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