Another Atheist Attempt to Rewrite Jefferson’s Writings

Thomas Jefferson is constantly misquoted by atheists who have rewritten Jefferson into a God-hating atheist who shredded the Bible with scissors and despised Christianity in general.

The latest spin on Jefferson’s words was placed a billboard in Costa Mesa, California by the atheist/humanist group Backyard Skeptics who used a fabricated Jefferson quote: “I do not find in Christianity one redeeming feature. It is founded on fables and mythology.”

Jefferson has been accused by many who either misconstrue or twist Jefferson into something he never was—an Atheist. Whether or not this was Backyard Skeptics intention, they falsely quoted Jefferson and the Jefferson Library hit back—the quote was never uttered or written by Thomas Jefferson.

According to the Jefferson Library:

 “We are asked about this one on a fairly regular basis. As with many spurious Jefferson quotes, it is frequently seen on various Internet sites. Many sites do not cite a source, but a good number of those that do attribute this quote to a letter from TJ to a ‘Dr. Wood.’ As far as we know, TJ never wrote to an individual calling him/herself  Dr. Wood. Another suspicious element is the statement that he does not find in Christianity ‘one redeeming feature.’ One presumes that Jefferson did, in fact, find some redeeming features in Christianity, otherwise he would not have taken the time to paste together his own versions of the Bible.”

This constant misuse and false quoting of Jefferson has rewritten him unjustly.

1: The fabricated quote is opposite of Jefferson’s beliefs expressed to John Adams in 1823:

 “I can never join Calvin in addressing his god. He was indeed an Atheist, which I can never be; or rather his [version of the Christian] religion was Daemonism.”

2: BYS’s billboard essentially claims the man who told Charles Thomson in January 9, 1816: “I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus, very different from the Platonists, who call me infidel and themselves Christians and preachers of the gospel, while they draw on their characteristic dogmas from what its author [Jesus] never said nor saw,” never wrote these words.

3: Had BYS done their homework, they would find that Jefferson not only believed in God, he provided government funds the Kaskaskia Indian’s Catholic priests and schools. 

4: Many misunderstand a major fact concerning Jefferson. Although Jefferson believed in God, Jefferson was skeptical of the belief that the trinity is one being.

5: Jefferson’s actual contempt was toward church legalism. Because dogmatic rites are not found in the Gospel, Jefferson was against church legalism he believed removed the Gospels of Christ and replaced them with man’s indoctrinating control.

We find this view in Query XVII where Jefferson describes church legalism as “religious slavery” by church authorities.  Jefferson also expressed this view again on March 29, 1801 to Eldridge Gerry:

 “The mild and simple principles of the Christian philosophy would produce too much calm, too much regularity of good, to extract from it’s disciples a support for a numerous priesthood, were they not to sophisticate it, ramify it, split it into hairs, and twist it’s texts till they cover the divine morality of its author with mysteries, and require a priesthood to explain them.” 

Jefferson noted the Quakers, who do not place priests above the people, lack such schisms, because “they judge of the text by the dictates of common sense & common morality.”

6: Jefferson’s disdain toward legalism is something Born Again Christians share with Jefferson. Although nothing tells us whether or not Jefferson ever became a Born Again Christian (the belief Christ is God and Savior), Jefferson was a life-long practicing Christian, what Christ-followers refer to as a nominal Christian—one who believes in the Gospels, the moral teachings of Christ, reads the Bible, believes it to be God’s living Word, worships God and attends church, but questions the belief one must accept Christ as Savior and God in order to enter heaven. This belief is not atheism; rather, it is skepticism, questioning—a struggle for many Christians when questioning Christ’s deity.

7: Gleason is mistaken in claiming  Jefferson’s Bible was a bible, or that it proves Jefferson did not believe in God. Jefferson’s 1804 book was not a Bible, and Jefferson never stated he tore the Bible apart for personal non-beliefs. Jefferson told Dr. Joseph Priestly and John Adams that he cut particular scriptures out of the Bible concerning “morality’ and “pasted them on the leaves of a book” to “compare the morals of the old [philosophers], with those of the New Testament.” That’s not atheism; it is contrasting Christ’s values and beliefs with ancient philosophers.

Bruce Gleason publically apologized, saying he used the quote

 “To let other people, non-believers, know that there’s a place you can go and share the idea that you can be good and do good without a religion or god. And the second thing is that we want to expunge the myth that this is a Christian nation, the idea that the Declaration of Independence or Constitution have one ounce of Christian tenets.”

Gleason’s apology simply replaced one false accusation against Jefferson with another.

The Constitution may not reference Christianity, but the Declaration of Independence in fact does position the Christian belief with specific words written by Thomas Jefferson:

 “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them,” and “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator,” and “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence.”

Despite Jefferson’s writings about God and Jesus, and his personal belief in both stated in his letters, including signing an 1807 document “in the year of our Lord Christ,”  atheists continue maligning Jefferson as something he never was—an atheist.  What atheists fail to see, or admit, is Jefferson’s outlook is intrinsically Christian. In fact, it aligns with St. John and St. Paul telling everyone to “test the spirits” and question what church leaders teach. Jefferson did exactly that, yet his words and beliefs are constantly rewritten by atheists constructing fictitious allegations against him for their personal agenda.

Every American has First Amendment rights to express personal views, BYS and atheists have every right to argue America is not founded on God, but no one should rewrite Jefferson’s writings to suit their personal views.  That removes Jefferson’s freedom of speech and religion.

Joe Biden Indoctrinates Fourth Grade Children About the Evils of Wealthy People: They Destroy Teacher’s Jobs

Vice President Joe Biden has decided fourth grade children need a lesson in patriotism. Apparently the best way to carry out Biden’s radical view of patriotism is with some good old fashioned Marxist indoctrination in class warfare so children can fight those evil rich taxpayers.

On Wednesday October 18, 2010, Joe Biden told the fourth grade children of York City, Pennsylvania’s Goode Elementary School that their school has fewer teachers than it used to, because, there isn’t enough money flowing into the Federal Government from America’s rich people, and this is making it hard to keep America’s teachers employed.  As a result, Biden said York City had to fire many of its teachers.  Bewildered-looking 10 year-olds were told the teachers they have at the moment simply cannot spend enough time with them because the rich are not paying their fair share in taxes:

We [President Obama and Biden] think the Federal Government, Washington D.C., should say ‘we’re gonna’ give you some money so you can hire back all those teachers. And, the way we’re gonna’ do it is we’re gonna’ ask people who have a lot of money to pay just a little bit more in taxes.

This form of leftist harangue is not the kind of lecture any Vice President should deliver to young children, or any age-group of students for that matter. This is pure Marxsim at its worst.

Vice President Biden should have spent his time addressing the Goode children on facts concerning education: no matter how many teachers a school has or does not have, all students must attend class, pay attention and learn, and stay in school and graduate if students want to see their dreams and goals come to fruition.

Note to Biden, 10 year-old children are incapable of grasping the meaning of monetary policies and government bills. However, children are easily brainwashed at an early age to believe whatever adults preach to them, especially when that preaching condemns what children are taught is very bad.

Joe Biden knows better, but his political ideology is more important to him than the impressionable minds of school children.

On the whole, the Vice President of the United States told fourth graders that if kids and schools need more money, they must to take that money from rich people. Biden obviously does not care that children are easily programmed by adult instruction, Biden only cares about passing Obama’s Job’s Bill, and if that means coaching children into telling their parents to demand the Congress and Senate pass the bill, Biden will use innocent children to get the job done.

One can only imagine the public outrage that would have ensued had Dick Cheney told a classroom of fourth graders that every American must support President Bush’s tax-cuts.

Indoctrinating children versus morality is seemingly less important than convincing underprivileged children that they will never achieve anything in life, and fired teachers will never be rehired, unless the rich are taxed to excess. Biden’s words infer it is the fault of the wealthy that teachers in certain schools have been fired, not the Federal Government and a unionized educational system that is failing America’s children in favor of paychecks and pensions. 

Again, Biden’s leftist message is Marxist indoctrination at its worse.

The scheme was of course delivered in the gentle tone of a father explaining to his child why it’s wrong to steal candy from the grocery store and nicely packaged with a lovable story about Biden’s dog champ, “who thinks he’s in the Secret Service.” And not to be left out was that old I-feel-your-pain story about Biden’s financially poor parents who struggled to make ends meet. 

Biden further told the children:

you need to the best education you can get when you are in kindergarten to fourth grade. That’s even more important than giving you time when you are in junior high school.

Wrong Mr. Vice President. Every year of schooling, from Kindergarten through high school graduation, is vital to children’s educations. Biden was not interested in that fact; he used his time to teach children Marxist class warfare.

Biden underhandedly lectured children on the Jobs Bill and taxation, not learning reading, writing and mathematics, and staying in school and graduating in order for there to be job opportunities for them. Biden did not visit Goode Elementary School to tell 10 year-old children about the advantages education affords one in life; Biden went to this school to use those children in order to implement the president’s Marxist Jobs Bill plan. And the school’s Board President Samuel Beard and Superintendant Deborah Wortham agreed entirely with Biden’s tax-the-rich lecture rather than chastising the Vice President for not teaching their students the real importance of education throughout their childhood and teen years.

Again, 10 year-old children are incapable of understanding public or monetary policies.  Children only know what they are taught, and Joe Biden coached the Goode Elementary School fourth graders into believing it is the fault of the rich not paying higher taxes that there are less teachers paying attention to them in class. That was the real message these children had tickled into their young ears and were unwittingly instructed to take home to their parents in order that their parents will demand President Obama’s Jobs Bill get passed or teachers won’t have jobs, children won’t have educations, police and firemen will be fired, and everyone in town will be left to fend for themselves against the wolves scratching on doors.

Listening to Biden tell children that the rich must pay more in taxes or children will never have good educations and teachers in America will become extinct, sounds like the vice president is making it his political mission to make children more “patriotic” with anti-rich tax-the-rich indoctrination.

On a positive note, at least Joe Biden didn’t tell the children if the rich aren’t taxed higher, their chances of being raped, robbed, and murdered would be increased.

Ron Paul’s Latest Insane Claims: The U.S. Government Assassinated Anwar al-Awlaki And U.S. Journalists Might Be on Government Hit Lists

In the typical fashion of radical libertarianism, Ron Paul’s unhinged beliefs are once again demonizing America.

The man who claims to be America’s constitutional savior while constantly blaming America for 9/11 has made two radically anti-American statements this past week: The United State assassinated an American-born Islamic terrorist and journalist may be next if they speak out against the government.

First: it’s not enough Ron Paul claims America created radical Islam and  Islam is not America’s enemy; rather, radical Islamists hate America because “they [Islamists] are motivated by our [U.S.] invasion of their land, the support of their dictators that they hate,” Paul is taking the side of al-Qaeda figurehead Anwar al- Awlaki, the American-born terrorist linked with terrorist plots that include the 9/11 attacks.  

Although he agrees Awlaki was a threat to America, Paul insists the terrorist may not have been a killer:

Nobody knows if he ever killed anybody. If the American people accept this blindly and casually…I think that’s sad.

Plotting to attack America with airliners is not an attempt to kill anyone, it’s simply a misdemeanor by a misunderstood criminal.

Paul went on to assert:

I don’t think that’s [killing Awlaki] a good way to deal with our problems. Al-Awlaki was born here; he is an American citizen. He was never tried or charged for any crimes. No one knows if he killed anybody. We know he might have been associated with the underwear bomber. But if the American people accept this blindly and casually that we now have an accepted practice of the president assassinating people who he thinks are bad guys, I think it’s sad,  [because] They [the government] won’t even tell us what the rules are.

It’s no surprise Paul would side with Awlaki. During presidential debates, Paul defends Iran as some helpless victim incapable of attaining nuclear warfare, Paul demands should have rights to produce in order to defend itself against U.S. and Israeli bullies.  Paul’s radical anti-American claims are typical of radical libertarians, who, unlike true Jeffersonian libertarians, throw their support to radical Islamists over their own nation. So it’s no bombshell revelation that Ron Paul is making yet another radical claim against the United States.

Get the memo Ron Paul. If the U.S. government discloses the rules of engagement to the American people, every enemy of the United States, including Islamic terrorist inside the U.S., will be privy to that knowledge and use it against America.  Apparently that’s not a reasonable policy for Ron Paul’s radical libertarian thinking.  Paul’s empathy tends to lean toward America’s enemies versus his own nation and its laws against committing treason and terror.   State Department evidence of Awlaki’s  al-Qaeda affiliations  means nothing unless Awlaki was caught red-handed after the terrorist attack, as Timothy McVeigh was. Paul says Awlaki should have been afforded the same constitutional rights as McVeigh– tried and convicted in a U.S. court.

That would stand under Jefferson’s death penalty for treason laws  if Awlaki was caught impressing men into terrorism on U.S. soil as Aaron Burr was when caught enlisting Americans to the British side in 1806. But Awlaki defected to Yemen specifically to recruit and train terrorists to fight against the United States. The act of treason was committed on foreign soil. Awlaki gave up his constitutional rights in favor of fighting against his homeland he plotted to destroy. The U.S. Military had every right to kill the traitor on foreign soil.

Facts purposely elude Ron Paul. He is more concerned an anti-American citizen terrorist was killed overseas by a drone rather than given Fourth Amendment rights, tried in court, and imprisoned for treason.  Nevertheless, Paul chooses to discount the fact Awlaki intentionally fled to another country to fight against America and killing him was justified.

Ron Paul disagrees.  His radical beliefs actually compare Awlaki to imprisoned Nazi soldiers who fought against U.S. allies:

All the Nazi criminals were tried. They were taken to court and then executed. The reason we do this is because we want to protect the rule of law.

Nazi soldiers who stood trial were not captured on a foreign battle field fighting against Germany. They fought for Germany and Hitler, their homeland and leader. Those Nazi soldiers were not tried for treason against Germany, but crimes against humanity. Again, Awlaki was an American-born terrorist who left America for a terrorist nation to fight with foreign terrorists against the U.S.

Awlaki was a traitor and terrorist who wanted America extinct. 

E-mail records prove he was directly connected to attacks against the United States, including Fort Hood.  From December 2008 through June 2009, Awlaki had contact with Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. In one of Hasan’s e-mails, he told Awlaki “I can’t wait to join you” in paradise, a statement made only by jihadists planning to commit terror.

Further evidence shows Awlaki

…was a key player in the [9/11] plot itself… [and]… Declassified documents, exclusives interviews and phone records present a compelling case that al-Awlaki was an overlooked key player in the 9/11 plot. The cleric’s contacts with three of the 19 hijackers were not a series of coincidences but rather evidence of a purposeful relationship.

Then there is the connection to the British Airways Christmas Day Underwear Bomb Plot. Awlaki said Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab was one of his “students.”

Plotting to commit terror is engaging in warfare against humanity.  Terrorism is committed by violent individuals’ intent on world destruction, not shoplifters and criminals knocking over the local 7-Eleven.

Two: if the above evidence against Awlaki is not enough, Ron Paul is taking his wild accusations further, alleging that if the U.S. government kills American-born terrorists, the government might begin shooting and killing U.S. journalists for speaking out against the government:

Can you imagine being put on a list because you’re a threat? What’s going to happen when they come to the media? What if the media becomes a threat? Or a professor becomes a threat? Someday that could well happen. This is the way it works. It’s incrementalism. … It’s slipping and sliding, let me tell ya.

If an American poses a dire threat to the United States, and there is evidence against that person demonstrating plots to destroy the nation, that person must be found and stopped before great harm can be committed. That has nothing to do with expressing opinions about the war. Terrorism a far cry from citizens and journalists speaking out against the government or a radical libertarian presidential candidate who makes fanatical accusations against the government. Those rights are protected under the First Amendment and Ron Paul knows this. Plotting to destroy America is not a protected constitutional right, it is terrorism.

Rather than acknowledge protected Constitutional facts, Paul is attempting to create fear by declaring American journalists may become targeted in a Putinesque Russian-style assassination if  journalists dare speak out against the U.S. government.

Note to Ron Paul: if speaking out against the United States government was a death sentence, you Ron Paul would have been six feet under many debates-ago.

The radical libertarian is a far cry from Jeffersonian reason, yet this never stops Ron Paul from condemning the United States as the bully against poor mistreated Islamic terrorists, and now, possibly murdering journalists exercising their First Amendment rights.