As I sit here trying to decide which one of these seven great men I should write about first. I can only think that I do not wish to appear to favor one over the others nor do I want to pick one because of their stance on Christianity. Therefore I decided to leave the choice up to chance and let a random number generator decide for me. The result was three and that means that John Adams will be the first “Founding Father” whose religious views we will investigate.
John Adams agitated for the Continental Congress to declare independence, assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence, and was a key negotiator in the eventual peace talks with England. That by itself would be enough to qualify him as a great man worthy of the deepest respect, but he was also the first Vice-President and the second President of the United States. These are his credentials as a founding father. Surely no one can deny his right to claim that title.
He was raised a Protestant Congregationalist but converted to Unitarianism early in his life. John Adams was a devoutly pious man who believed that human virtues, intelligence, and accomplishments flowed from God or as he called God in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, “author of the universe”. In an 1813 letter to Jefferson, Adams said, "The human Understanding is a revelation from its Maker which can never be disputed or doubted. No Prophecies, no Miracles are necessary to prove this celestial communication. This revelation has made it certain that two and one make three, and that one is not three, nor can three be one... Had you and I been forty days with Moses on Mount Sinai... and there told that one was three and three one, we might not have had courage to deny it, but we could not have believed." This statement is evidence of John Adams Unitarian beliefs and his unwillingness to accept the concept of a Triune God.
He believed in the essential goodness of creation, but not in the divinity of Christ. Everett (1966) concluded that "Adams strove for a religion based on a common sense sort of reasonableness" and maintained that religion must change and evolve toward perfection.[1][3] Fielding (1940) shows Adams condensed his beliefs as a Puritan, a Deist, and a Humanist. Adams thought Christianity had once been a fresh revelation, but had now become an instrument of superstition, fraud, and the quest for power by the unscrupulous.[2][3]
On a side note, one of the most interesting things to happen on President Adams watch was the signing of the Treaty of Tripoli. It was not only signed by John Adams but ratified unanimously by the Senate. One of our founding fathers, and his contemporaries did not in anyway object to recording for all posterity this quote; "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion..."[4] I was a bit stunned when I found this. I did not expect to ever find such words in an official government document. Though not relevant to Adams religious beliefs it is very relevant to the central question; is the USA a Christian nation?
Stick around for tomorrows article on John Jay. Here is a quote from him to wet your appetite; "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest, of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."
John Adams agitated for the Continental Congress to declare independence, assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence, and was a key negotiator in the eventual peace talks with England. That by itself would be enough to qualify him as a great man worthy of the deepest respect, but he was also the first Vice-President and the second President of the United States. These are his credentials as a founding father. Surely no one can deny his right to claim that title.
He was raised a Protestant Congregationalist but converted to Unitarianism early in his life. John Adams was a devoutly pious man who believed that human virtues, intelligence, and accomplishments flowed from God or as he called God in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, “author of the universe”. In an 1813 letter to Jefferson, Adams said, "The human Understanding is a revelation from its Maker which can never be disputed or doubted. No Prophecies, no Miracles are necessary to prove this celestial communication. This revelation has made it certain that two and one make three, and that one is not three, nor can three be one... Had you and I been forty days with Moses on Mount Sinai... and there told that one was three and three one, we might not have had courage to deny it, but we could not have believed." This statement is evidence of John Adams Unitarian beliefs and his unwillingness to accept the concept of a Triune God.
He believed in the essential goodness of creation, but not in the divinity of Christ. Everett (1966) concluded that "Adams strove for a religion based on a common sense sort of reasonableness" and maintained that religion must change and evolve toward perfection.[1][3] Fielding (1940) shows Adams condensed his beliefs as a Puritan, a Deist, and a Humanist. Adams thought Christianity had once been a fresh revelation, but had now become an instrument of superstition, fraud, and the quest for power by the unscrupulous.[2][3]
On a side note, one of the most interesting things to happen on President Adams watch was the signing of the Treaty of Tripoli. It was not only signed by John Adams but ratified unanimously by the Senate. One of our founding fathers, and his contemporaries did not in anyway object to recording for all posterity this quote; "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion..."[4] I was a bit stunned when I found this. I did not expect to ever find such words in an official government document. Though not relevant to Adams religious beliefs it is very relevant to the central question; is the USA a Christian nation?
Stick around for tomorrows article on John Jay. Here is a quote from him to wet your appetite; "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest, of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."
Citations:
[1] Robert B. Everett, "The Mature Religious Thought of John Adams," Proceedings of the South Carolina Historical Association (1966), p 49–57
[2] Howard Ioan Fielding, "John Adams: Puritan, Deist, Humanist," Journal of Religion, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Jan., 1940), pp. 33–46
[3] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams#Religious_views
[4] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Tripoli#Signing_and_ratification
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