GENEVA — “Music, Meditation and Munches, 2023-24” will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 12:15 p.m. at St. John’s Chapel on the campus of Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
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.
No shepherds, angels, magi just ‘Joy!’
By Tim Colliver - tcolliver@aimmediamidwest.com
Carols and a wreath help make the Christmas season bright.
Times-Gazette file photo
Editor’s Note: It’s been said that Christmas is one of the few holidays that has its own “soundtrack.” The Times-Gazette today presents the seventh in a special 12-part series entitled “The 12 Carols of Christmas” that will appear daily through Christmas Eve, relating the history and story behind some of the best-loved sacred songs of the season.
English minister Isaac Watts was 45 years old when he broke with tradition in “Joy to the World.”