Don't forget Thomas Paine!

"Without the pen of Paine, the sword of Washington would have been wielded in vain."

― John Adams 

Though it was yesterday, happy July 4th! 

 

Here are a couple of excerpts from the President's Independence Day speech:

 

"But it all started with the miracle of history that lives forever in the heart of every single patriot in Philadelphia, our founding fathers summoned the courage of giants and the wisdom of centuries to boldly proclaim these timeless truths."

 

"Nobody can be like us. And with God's help, we will always be this or even better. We're going to be better. Here on our National Mall. We're celebrating freedom's triumph over tyranny. Liberty's conquest over oppression, and the enduring victory of the American spirit. From the July 4th, 1776 to July 4th, 2026. Big dates. That's big dates to big ones."

"Our destiny is written by God. And as we can see here tonight, after 250 years, the spirit of 1776 still lives within us all. It still roars in the hearts of our nation's capital. It still burns in the heart of every patriot, thunders through every city and town."

"And as our Declaration of Independence tells us, we are all made in the image of one Almighty God."

 

Not exactly ... instead, it says:

"the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them…"

and

"they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…"

This is Enlightenment-era political language grounded in natural law philosophy. It appeals to a general idea of a Creator and universal rights, but it is intentionally non-specific and does not articulate the distinctively Christian doctrine implied by "made in the image of God."

 

As most of you know, the Declaration was written by Thomas Jefferson, who was a Deist. Deism is a philosophical belief system that emerged during the Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries. It holds that a supreme being (a "Creator" or "Grand Architect") created the universe and set the laws of nature in motion, but does not intervene in human affairs, perform miracles, or alter the natural order.

 

In any case, the founders also included this text in the Treaty of Tripoli: 

 

Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen (Muslims); and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan (Mohammedan) nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

 

Not in any sense.

 

The text was presented by the President and ratified unanimously in 1797 by the U.S. Senate following strict constitutional procedures.

 

According to Frank Lambert, Professor of Colonial History at Purdue University:

"By their actions, the Founding Fathers made clear that their primary concern was religious freedom, not the advancement of a state religion. Individuals, not the government, would define religious faith and practice in the United States. Thus the Founders ensured that in no official sense would America be a Christian Republic. Ten years after the Constitutional Convention ended its work, the country assured the world that the United States was a secular state, and that its negotiations would adhere to the rule of law, not the dictates of the Christian faith."

So, here's a question ...

 

Who, more than any other person, inspired the people of the future United States, to seek independence from England?  

 

Let's ask Google Gemini (click on them) ...

Now chatGPT ...

And then Venice.AI ...

Thomas Paine was also a Deist who completely rejected traditional Christianity, seeing church rules and institutions as man-made inventions designed to control people. In his 1794 book, The Age of Reason, he argued that the Bible was a collection of cruel myths and folklore rather than the actual word of God, and he openly mocked core beliefs like the Trinity and the Resurrection. Instead of looking to holy books or church teachings, Paine believed that people should use basic human reason and scientific observation of nature to understand the world, viewing the beauty and order of the natural universe as the only real evidence of a creator.

 

It is almost impossible to overstate the importance of Paine's Common Sense. It wasn't just a popular booklet; it was the psychological turning point of the American Revolution. Historians generally agree that without it, the Declaration of Independence might never have happened when or how it did. 

 

And yet there was no mention in the President's speech about the significance of Thomas Paine with respect to our triumph over tyranny. 

 

Before The Age of Reason appeared in 1794, Paine was one of the most admired figures in the United States. Common Sense rallied support for independence, and many Americans regarded him as one of the leading voices of the Revolution. That reputation changed overnight after he published his attack on Christianity. Paine's criticism of the Bible alienated much of the public and some of the political leaders who had once praised him. Whether they agreed with his religious views or not, many believed his ideas threatened the moral and political stability of the new nation. As a result, Paine spent the final years of his life largely isolated, despite having championed many of the Enlightenment ideals that had influenced the American Revolution.

 

I suspect Donald Trump is more of a Cultural Christian than a true believer, using faith-based language as a deliberate, highly effective political tool.