Excerpts from "The Founders on Religion"

This is a book of quotes by the founding fathers of the United States on Religion in our Nation:

As much as I love, esteem, and admire the Greeks, I believe the Hebrews have done more to enlighten and civilize the world--
John Adams

The lack of anti-semitism suprises me here. Good for Adams. Lest we give him too much credit he shares the following quote about Catholicism:

I have long decided in opinion that a free government and the Roman Catholick religion can never exist together in any nation or country.


Adams was not the only one with reservations against Catholicism. It makes me wonder how Maryland ever made it into the union with attitudes like this. Read what Ben Franklin said:

"Our anscestors from Catholic first became Church of England and then into refined Presbyterians. To change from Presbyterianism to Popery seems to me refining backwards, as from white sugar to brown."

Wait a second Ben! I like brown sugar! Anywhoo....Thomas Jefferson also had issues. Jefferson's issues were with the Calvinism of the Northeast. Listen to what he says:

"Calvinism has introduced into the Christian religion more new absurdities that its leader had purged it of old ones"

Many try to turn Jefferson into a diest. The quotes in the book tend to suggest otherwise. Perhaps the most powerful statement on Christianity I noticed from Jefferson was this:

"Had the doctrine of Jesus been preached always as purely as they came from his lips, the whole civilized world would have now been Christian"

(How is that for Enlightenment optimism)