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I chose John Adams randomly. Adams turned out to lend surprising strength to the argument that the United States government was not conceived or even intended to be a Christian nation. It was for this reason I wanted the follow up article to be about John Jay. From nothing more than preliminary research it was obvious that Jay was a polar opposite.
It seems Jay is a bit of an anomaly in several ways amongst his peers; he is for instance the only one of the seven I personally had never heard of prior to writing this paper. He is also in the minority being that he never served as president. The one thing that makes him truly unique though is the fact that there is absolutely no confusion, controversy, or room for debate on his religious beliefs.
Jay was without a doubt an ardent Christian. Born, raised, and died an Anglican (renamed the Protestant Episcopal Church in America after the American Revolution). In fact he very well might have been the first person in United States history to utter the phrase “Christian nation”. In a letter addressed to Pennsylvania House of Representatives member John Murray, dated October 12, 1816, Jay wrote, "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.” [1][2]
If membership in his church of choice were not enough to prove he believed in the divinity of Christ he also left us this quote to shore up any remaining doubt; "Unto Him who is the author and giver of all good, I render sincere and humble thanks for His manifold and unmerited blessings, and especially for our redemption and salvation by His beloved Son. ... Blessed be His holy name."[3]
Did he believe that the US was or should be a Christian nation? That is not certain. He obviously believed that the majority of Americans were Christians, and that elected offices should be held by Christians but it’s uncertain whether he believed that the country was and/or should be founded on Christian principles or whether there were intrinsic lines between church and state. Fortunately for this article, determining that is not part of the criteria.
Jay was President of the Continental Congress, first Chief Justice of the United States, ambassador to Spain and France, and author of several of the Federalist papers. Though he resisted succession initially, once it seemed inevitable he quickly became a passionate patriot and was instrumental in leading New York in the cause of the separatists.[1] It is abundantly clear that he was both a Founding Father and a Christian. He therefore casts his vote; Christian nation.
The score now stands at 1-1. There is a good chance that after tomorrow’s article we will be at 1-1-1. Go figure…
Citations:
[1] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jay
[2] Jay, William (1833). The Life of John Jay: With Selections from His Correspondence and Miscellaneous Papers. J. & J. Harper. pp. 376. http://books.google.com/?id=V50EAAAAYAAJ. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
[3] partyof1776.net , http://www.partyof1776.net/p1776/fathers/Jay%20John/quotes/contents.html
It seems Jay is a bit of an anomaly in several ways amongst his peers; he is for instance the only one of the seven I personally had never heard of prior to writing this paper. He is also in the minority being that he never served as president. The one thing that makes him truly unique though is the fact that there is absolutely no confusion, controversy, or room for debate on his religious beliefs.
Jay was without a doubt an ardent Christian. Born, raised, and died an Anglican (renamed the Protestant Episcopal Church in America after the American Revolution). In fact he very well might have been the first person in United States history to utter the phrase “Christian nation”. In a letter addressed to Pennsylvania House of Representatives member John Murray, dated October 12, 1816, Jay wrote, "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.” [1][2]
If membership in his church of choice were not enough to prove he believed in the divinity of Christ he also left us this quote to shore up any remaining doubt; "Unto Him who is the author and giver of all good, I render sincere and humble thanks for His manifold and unmerited blessings, and especially for our redemption and salvation by His beloved Son. ... Blessed be His holy name."[3]
Did he believe that the US was or should be a Christian nation? That is not certain. He obviously believed that the majority of Americans were Christians, and that elected offices should be held by Christians but it’s uncertain whether he believed that the country was and/or should be founded on Christian principles or whether there were intrinsic lines between church and state. Fortunately for this article, determining that is not part of the criteria.
Jay was President of the Continental Congress, first Chief Justice of the United States, ambassador to Spain and France, and author of several of the Federalist papers. Though he resisted succession initially, once it seemed inevitable he quickly became a passionate patriot and was instrumental in leading New York in the cause of the separatists.[1] It is abundantly clear that he was both a Founding Father and a Christian. He therefore casts his vote; Christian nation.
The score now stands at 1-1. There is a good chance that after tomorrow’s article we will be at 1-1-1. Go figure…
Citations:
[1] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jay
[2] Jay, William (1833). The Life of John Jay: With Selections from His Correspondence and Miscellaneous Papers. J. & J. Harper. pp. 376. http://books.google.com/?id=V50EAAAAYAAJ. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
[3] partyof1776.net , http://www.partyof1776.net/p1776/fathers/Jay%20John/quotes/contents.html
