Summary: Did America have a Christian Founding? This disputed question, far from being only of historical interest, has important implications for how we conceive of the role of religion in the American republic. Mark David Hall begins by considering two popular answers to the query “Of course not!” and “Absolutely!” both of which distort the Founders’ views. After showing that Christian ideas were one of the important intellectual influences on the Founders, he discusses three major areas of agreement with respect to religious liberty and church–state relations at the time of the Founding: Religious liberty is a right and must be protected; the national government should not create an established church, and states should have them only if they encourage and assist Christianity; and religion belongs in the public square. In short, while America did not have a Christian Founding in the sense of creating a theocracy, its Founding was deeply shaped by Christian moral truths.
How should Christians think about their citizenship on Earth?
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How should Christians think about their citizenship on Earth?
How should Christians think about their citizenship on Earth? | Monday, February 08, 2021
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, social unrest and extreme political division, as Christians we are faced with an important question: How should we think about our citizenship on Earth?
They continue:
“[Government] decisions should be guided by science and evidence … We believe that now is the right time to make a case for reviving a Jeffersonian approach to governance that favors reason … and to disentangle government policy from the influence of … religious interests that have become dangerously entrenched at all levels of government.”
Well, seeing as Reps. Raskin, Huffman and McNerney are so interested in “reviving” our third president’s “approach to governance,” perhaps they’d do well to actually read some of Jefferson’s words before they presume to spout off bromides of their own.
In 1798, Jefferson wrote the Kentucky Resolution declaring, “[N]o power over the freedom of religion … [is] delegated to the United States by the Constitution.”
some of you know i wrote a biography of detrick bohnhoffer and it s because of that that i find myself thinking this morning and often recently about the issue of religious freedom in america. many people have said that they see disturbing parallels between what was happening in germany in the 30 s on this usual and america today. and i m very sorry to agree. let me begin with my hometown danbury, connecticut. some of you go hatters. some of now that thomas jefferson wrote a letter to the danbury baptists in 1801 in which he uses the phrase separation of church and state and in case there s anyone who doesn t know it, the sense in which jefferson uses that phrase is actually the opposite of how it s generally thought of today. today we often hear it means that state needs to be protected from religion and that religion should have no place in government or society. but jefferson and founders thought precisely the opposite. they knew that the state,
limit? i think thomas jefferson stated it best. he was the author of the religious liberties that he valued so much. that is the united states government should not be a state church. that is really what the fundamental was of separation of church and state. when jefferson wrote a letter to the danbury baptists, they wanted to know will you have a national church in the united states? he said no, because we believe in freedom of conscience. we believe in freedom of speech. that a foundational principle in the united states but it doesn t mean that we are not people of faith and we should exercise their liberty in a public square. [ cheers and applause ] whether that expression occurs in a public school or occurs in a public building, we should be able to allow to have