Is the US founded on "Christian values" ?

[tumbleweed41]

Hmmm, and I guess state constitutions and documents like the ones I listed from the 100 years leading up to the Revolution had nothing to do with the formation of the United States.

Denial - not a river.

Of course everything in the past influences the future. Including personal values.

But the very foundation of this country, the US Constitution, specifically embraces Enlightenment ideals despite previous attempts by settlements and colonies to enforce specific Christian values.

 

[Kathryn]

Of course everything in the past influences the future. Including personal values.

But the very foundation of this country, the US Constitution, specifically embraces Enlightenment ideals despite previous attempts by settlements and colonies to enforce specific Christian values.

So we're in disagreement then, on the foundation of our country's laws, systems of government, and what they were built upon. I say the foundation was built before 1787, you say it was built in 1787.

 

[tumbleweed41]

So we're in disagreement then, on the foundation of our country's laws, systems of government, and what they were built upon. I say the foundation was built before 1787, you say it was built in 1787.

I did not say that.

What I am saying is that the Enlightenment Ideals (1650-1800) had a more profound effect on the actual formation (Revolution, US Constitution) of our country than Christian theology did.

 

[Kathryn]

I did not say that.

What I am saying is that the Enlightenment Ideals (1650-1800) had a more profound effect on the actual formation (Revolution, US Constitution) of our country than Christian theology did.

OK thanks for the clarification.

That's your opinion. My opinion is that both the Enlightenment and Christianity had profound effects on the formation of our country and our government, and that's why the US became such a unique society. No other Western country had such a foundation.

 

[tumbleweed41]

Thomas Paine, known as the Father of the Revolution, was an author and pamphleteer who in 1776 published and distributed the pamphlet, "Common Sense". This writing greatly influenced common support for the Revolution. Some of his radical ideas included the notion that men who did not own property should still be allowed to vote and hold office. And that Democratic Republics should always strive for peace with one another.
Later in 1776, he published "Crisis", another popular pamphlet meant to bolster the moral of the Revolutionaries. In it is a well known paragraph often used as a moral booster in times of American conflict;
"These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated."

In 1787 Thomas wrote "The Rights of Man", critiquing European monarchies, Theocracies, and the social institutions of classes inherent in Europe.

This is just one example of the profound influence enlightenment ideals had on the Revolution and the formation of the United States of America.

 

[Kathryn]

Thomas Paine, known as the Father of the Revolution, was an author and pamphleteer who in 1776 published and distributed the pamphlet, "Common Sense". This writing greatly influenced common support for the Revolution. Some of his radical ideas included the notion that men who did not own property should still be allowed to vote and hold office. And that Democratic Republics should always strive for peace with one another.
Later in 1776, he published "Crisis", another popular pamphlet meant to bolster the moral of the Revolutionaries. In it is a well known paragraph often used as a moral booster in times of American conflict;
"These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated."

In 1787 Thomas wrote "The Rights of Man", critiquing European monarchies, Theocracies, and the social institutions of classes inherent in Europe.

This is just one example of the profound influence enlightenment ideals had on the Revolution and the formation of the United States of America.

I enjoy reading the works of Thomas Paine. No one familiar with American history could deny the influence that he had on the events surrounding the American Revolution.

But I do not believe that one man - Thomas Paine - had more of an influence on the formation of our nation than Christianity. He was one of many influences, and I would not go so far as to label him "The Father of the Revolution" (a label that really minimizes the roles of so many ideals and people that created the environment that made our Revolution successful), but yes, he was certainly one of the main players.

I don't see how his role minimizes the role of the Christian faith in the history of the formation of our country however.

 

[justme123]

my child was given the sacrament of first communion without my consent. Her mother decided to perform this and the church proceed without obtaining my consent. what can i do at this point?

 

[Kathryn]

my child was given the sacrament of first communion without my consent. Her mother decided to perform this and the church proceed without obtaining my consent. what can i do at this point?

You can quit derailing threads with completely unrelated posts, for starters.

Then you can start your own thread with this topic and invite others to post their opinions and advice on the appropriate thread.

 

[justme123]

wow thank you for your advice. if it wasnt for your attitude, i would think you are really trying to help me out. Thanks again

 

[Revoltingest]

wow thank you for your advice. if it wasnt for your attitude, i would think you are really trying to help me out. Thanks again

She is helping.....her post just doesn't show her smile.
(I can see it though.)
Welcome aboard!

 

[gnomon]

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution did not suddenly spring into being between 1776 and 1787. Every document that I presented (and there were many of them - and my list was not at all all inclusive - I have a lot more where that came from) was yet another building block upon which the United States was built.

I posted the rationale the revolutionaries gave for independence. None of them involve Jesus, the Church or any quality that can be found as Christian. They do however present new ideas derived from their classical education and are in direct reaction to European traditions which were tied in with the Church.

People can quote mine all they want. An unwillingness to study the actual writings of those individuals drawing up the Constitution, the explicit reasons gave for independence and thus the foundation of this nation as well as the actual role religion was playing in society at that time, not a good one as recognized by the religious believers of the revolution, than what good is digging up a Compact some earlier colonists signed stating allegiance with the Crown.

 

[E. Nato Difficile]

James Madison:
Belief - Episcopalian

"Religion is the basis and Foundation of Government." June 20, 1785

Madison never said this. It's a popular misquotation by religious ideologue David Barton, who hacked up a section of a document Madison wrote in favor of separation of Church and State:

• Section 15: Because finally, 'the equal right of every citizen to the free exercise of his RELIGION according to the dictates of conscience' IS held by the same tenure with all his other rights. If we recur to its orgin, it is equally the gift of nature; if we weigh its importance, it cannot be less dear to us; if we consider the 'Declaration of those rights which pertain to the good people of Virginia, as THE BASIS AND FOUNDATION OF GOVERNMENT,' it is enumerated with equal solemnity, or rather studied emphasis.

Typical of the way Christians rewrite American history to excuse their belief that the Founders were pious believers who would cringe at the contemporary notion that religion is best kept out of government.

-Nato

 

[Father Heathen]

I'm not going to read through 22 pages, so apologies if this was already shared:

Is America A Christian Nation?
Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc.

The U.S. Constitution is a secular document. It begins, "We the people," and contains no mention of "God" or "Christianity." Its only references to religion are exclusionary, such as, "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust" (Art. VI), and "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" (First Amendment). The presidential oath of office, the only oath detailed in the Constitution, does not contain the phrase "so help me God" or any requirement to swear on a bible (Art. II, Sec. 1, Clause 8). If we are a Christian nation, why doesn't our Constitution say so?

In 1797 America made a treaty with Tripoli, declaring that "the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." This reassurance to Islam was written under Washington's presidency, and approved by the Senate under John Adams.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ."

—The First Amendment To The U.S. Constitution
WHAT ABOUT THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE?

We are not governed by the Declaration. Its purpose was to "dissolve the political bands," not to set up a religious nation. Its authority was based on the idea that "governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed," which is contrary to the biblical concept of rule by divine authority. It deals with laws, taxation, representation, war, immigration, and so on, never discussing religion at all.

The references to "Nature's God," "Creator," and "Divine Providence" in the Declaration do not endorse Christianity. Thomas Jefferson, its author, was a Deist, opposed to orthodox Christianity and the supernatural.

WHAT ABOUT THE PILGRIMS AND PURITANS?

The first colony of English-speaking Europeans was Jamestown, settled in 1609 for trade, not religious freedom. Fewer than half of the 102 Mayflower passengers in 1620 were "Pilgrims" seeking religious freedom. The secular United States of America was formed more than a century and a half later. If tradition requires us to return to the views of a few early settlers, why not adopt the polytheistic and natural beliefs of the Native Americans, the true founders of the continent at least 12,000 years earlier?

Most of the religious colonial governments excluded and persecuted those of the "wrong" faith. The framers of our Constitution in 1787 wanted no part of religious intolerance and bloodshed, wisely establishing the first government in history to separate church and state.

DO THE WORDS "SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE" APPEAR IN THE CONSTITUTION?

The phrase, "a wall of separation between church and state," was coined by President Thomas Jefferson in a carefully crafted letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1802, when they had asked him to explain the First Amendment. The Supreme Court, and lower courts, have used Jefferson's phrase repeatedly in major decisions upholding neutrality in matters of religion. The exact words "separation of church and state" do not appear in the Constitution; neither do "separation of powers," "interstate commerce," "right to privacy," and other phrases describing well-established constitutional principles.

WHAT DOES "SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE" MEAN?

Thomas Jefferson, explaining the phrase to the Danbury Baptists, said, "the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions." Personal religious views are just that: personal. Our government has no right to promulgate religion or to interfere with private beliefs.

The Supreme Court has forged a three-part "Lemon test" (Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971) to determine if a law is permissible under the First-Amendment religion clauses.

A law must have a secular purpose.
It must have a primary effect which neither advances nor inhibits religion.
It must avoid excessive entanglement of church and state.
The separation of church and state is a wonderful American principle supported not only by minorities, such as Jews, Moslems, and unbelievers, but applauded by most Protestant churches that recognize that it has allowed religion to flourish in this nation. It keeps the majority from pressuring the minority.

WHAT ABOUT MAJORITY RULE?

America is one nation under a Constitution. Although the Constitution sets up a representative democracy, it specifically was amended with the Bill of Rights in 1791 to uphold individual and minority rights. On constitutional matters we do not have majority rule. For example, when the majority in certain localities voted to segregate blacks, this was declared illegal. The majority has no right to tyrannize the minority on matters such as race, gender, or religion.

Not only is it unAmerican for the government to promote religion, it is rude. Whenever a public official uses the office to advance religion, someone is offended. The wisest policy is one of neutrality.

ISN'T REMOVING RELIGION FROM PUBLIC PLACES HOSTILE TO RELIGION?

No one is deprived of worship in America. Tax-exempt churches and temples abound. The state has no say about private religious beliefs and practices, unless they endanger health or life. Our government represents all of the people, supported by dollars from a plurality of religious and non-religious taxpayers.

Some countries, such as the U.S.S.R., expressed hostility to religion. Others, such as Iran ("one nation under God"), have welded church and state. America wisely has taken the middle course--neither for nor against religion. Neutrality offends no one, and protects everyone.

THE FIRST AMENDMENT DEALS WITH "CONGRESS." CAN'T STATES MAKE THEIR OWN RELIGIOUS POLICIES?

Under the "due process" clause of the 14th Amendment (ratified in 1868), the entire Bill of Rights applies to the states. No governor, mayor, sheriff, public school employee, or other public official may violate the human rights embodied in the Constitution. The government at all levels must respect the separation of church and state. Most state constitutions, in fact, contain language that is even stricter than the First Amendment, prohibiting the state from setting up a ministry, using tax dollars to promote religion, or interfering with freedom of conscience.

WHAT ABOUT "ONE NATION UNDER GOD" AND "IN GOD WE TRUST?"

The words, "under God," did not appear in the Pledge of Allegiance until 1954, when Congress, under McCarthyism, inserted them. Likewise, "In God We Trust" was absent from paper currency before 1956. It appeared on some coins earlier, as did other sundry phrases, such as "Mind Your Business." The original U.S. motto, chosen by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, is E Pluribus Unum ("Of Many, One"), celebrating plurality, not theocracy.

ISN'T AMERICAN LAW BASED ON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS?

Not at all! The first four Commandments are religious edicts having nothing to do with law or ethical behavior. Only three (homicide, theft, and perjury) are relevant to current American law, and have existed in cultures long before Moses. If Americans honored the commandment against "coveting," free enterprise would collapse! The Supreme Court has ruled that posting the Ten Commandments in public schools is unconstitutional.

Our secular laws, based on the human principle of "justice for all," provide protection against crimes, and our civil government enforces them through a secular criminal justice system.

WHY BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE?

Ignoring history, law, and fairness, many fanatics are working vigorously to turn America into a Christian nation. Fundamentalist Protestants and right-wing Catholics would impose their narrow morality on the rest of us, resisting women's rights, freedom for religious minorities and unbelievers, gay and lesbian rights, and civil rights for all. History shows us that only harm comes of uniting church and state.

America has never been a Christian nation. We are a free nation. Anne Gaylor, president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, points out: "There can be no religious freedom without the freedom to dissent."

Nontracts - FFRF Publications

 

[CynthiaCypher]

I understand.

Many, many posts back I defined some Christian values. I gave some examples, such as "the Golden Rule" and the Ten Commandments.

I went on to acknowledge that of course some other societies also have their own versions of these values which are very similar, or in some cases identical. That's cool. But just as those societies wouldn't call themselves "Christian" societies, I wouldn't think we should call early American/European societies "Shinto" or whatever. The difference is that, along with these values, Europeans also practiced Christianity, which is the following of the doctrines of Jesus Christ. In other words, Christianity is the basket they used to carry such values. Other societies use other baskets, if that makes sense.

I also went on to point out that values are ideals and goals and that we often fall short of them.

So when the Puritans gave small pox infection blankets to the Natives was that an example of their Christian values? How about King Phillip's War? Was that an example? How about burning a dozen innocent men, women and children at stake in a fit of hysteria? Another example of their Christian values?

 

[Kathryn]

wow thank you for your advice. if it wasnt for your attitude, i would think you are really trying to help me out. Thanks again

Lesson #2 - the victim role doesn't play well around here.

Did you honestly think that your post on this thread was appropriate or "the way things should be done?"

By the way, I apologize for my harshness, if you truly don't understand how to post threads on this forum. May I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the Forum Rules (top right corner of the toolbar) and then wander on over to "Home" on the right hand side of the toolbar and put up a new thread under the correct category? You will find the option "New Thread" in the left corner of the screen when you choose a section that you think is appropriate for your subject matter.

 

[Desert Snake]

That is the wrong spin on the reality.
After the revolution people were no different than before.

"Freedom of religion" was the only alternative available, when each State/colony had very different concepts of how their faith should be expressed. It enabled them to agree to differ about their chosen form of Christianity or lack of faith.
It was a catch all solution.
States still continued as before, as the words "freedom of Religion" can be interpreted in so many ways, as we see today on this forum.
It has never meant freedom from religion and was never thought to include other religions than the Christian denominations, as they were not yet a significant part of the population.

No, if what you are stating were the case, Christianity would have been much more integrated into the early American popular culture, which it wasn't, You seem to have the wrong idea about American Christian values/practices. Anyways, not only does America have "Freedom of Religion", but there is also no Christian symbolism present in our governmental institutions.
You are assuming that "Freedom of Religion" is not meant to include other religions, this is quite your fanciful idea, with obviously no written documents to back it up.

 

[Kathryn]

U.S. Capitol Building

In our minds, lets take a walking tour through Americas capital city, Washington, DC. What we will be seeing in our minds eye comes from the book Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nations History and Future.{1} As we consider what religious symbols are found in the buildings and monuments, I think we will gain a fresh appreciation for the role of religion in the public square.

We will begin with the U.S. Capitol Building. No other building in Washington defines the skyline like this one does. It has been the place of formal inaugurations as well as informal and spontaneous events, such as when two hundred members of Congress gathered on the steps on September 12, 2001, to sing God Bless America.

President George Washington laid the cornerstone for the Capitol in 1793. When the north wing was finished in 1800, Congress was able to move in. Construction began again in 1803 under the direction of Benjamin Latrobe. The British invasion of Washington in 1812 resulted in the partial destruction of the Capitol. In 1818, Charles Bulfinch oversaw the completion of the north and south wings (including a chamber for the Supreme Court).{2}

Unfortunately, the original design failed to consider that additional states would enter the union, and these additional representatives were crowding the Capitol. President Millard Fillmore chose Thomas Walter to continue the Capitols construction and rehabilitation. Construction halted during the first part of the Civil War, and it wasnt until 1866 that the canopy fresco in the Rotunda was completed.

The religious imagery in the Rotunda is significant. Eight different historical paintings are on display. The first is the painting The Landing of Columbus that depicts the arrival on the shores of America. Second is The Embarkation of the Pilgrims that shows the Pilgrims observing a day of prayer and fasting led by William Brewster.

Third is the painting Discovery of the Mississippi by DeSoto. Next to DeSoto is a monk who prays as a crucifix is placed in the ground. Finally, there is the painting Baptism of Pocahontas.

Throughout the Capitol Building, there are references to God and faith. In the Cox Corridor a line from America the Beautiful is carved in the wall: America! God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!{3}

In the House chamber is the inscription, In God We Trust. Also in the House chamber, above the Gallery door, stands a marble relief of Moses, the greatest of the twenty-three law-givers (and the only one full-faced). At the east entrance to the Senate chamber are the words Annuit Coeptis which is Latin for God has favored our undertakings. The words In God We Trust are also written over the southern entrance.

In the Capitols Chapel is a stained glass window depicting George Washington in prayer under the inscription In God We Trust. Also, a prayer is inscribed in the window which says, Preserve me, God, for in Thee do I put my trust.{4}
God in Our Nation's Capital - Probe Ministries

 

[Kathryn]

The Washington Monument

The tallest monument in Washington, DC, is the Washington Monument. From the base of the monument to its aluminum capstone are numerous references to God. This is fitting since George Washington was a religious man. When he took the oath of office on April 30, 1789, he asked that the Bible be opened to Deuteronomy 28. After the oath, Washington added, So help me God and bent forward and kissed the Bible before him.{5}

Construction of the Washington Monument began in 1848, but by 1854 the Washington National Monument Society was out of money and construction stopped for many years. Mark Twain said it had the forlorn appearance of a hollow, oversized chimney. In 1876, Congress appropriated money for the completion of the monument which took place in 1884. In a ceremony on December 6, the aluminum capstone was placed atop the monument. The east side of the capstone has the Latin phrase Laus Deo, which means Praise be to God.

The cornerstone of the Washington Monument includes a Holy Bible, which was a gift from the Bible Society. Along with it are copies of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

If you walk inside the monument you will see a memorial plaque from the Free Press Methodist-Episcopal Church. On the twelfth landing you will see a prayer offered by the city of Baltimore. On the twentieth landing you will see a memorial offered by Chinese Christians. There is also a presentation made by Sunday school children from New York and Philadelphia on the twenty-fourth landing.

The monument is full of carved tribute blocks that say: Holiness to the Lord; Search the Scriptures; The memory of the just is blessed; May Heaven to this union continue its beneficence; In God We Trust; and Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

So what was George Washingtons faith? Historians have long debated the extent of his faith. But Michael Novak points out that Washingtons own step-granddaughter, Nelly Custis, thought his words and actions were so plain and obvious that she could not understand how anybody failed to see that he had always lived as a serious Christian.{6}

During the first meeting of the Continental Congress in September 1774, George Washington prayed alongside the other delegates. And they recited Psalm 35 together as patriots.

George Washington also proclaimed the first national day of thanksgiving in the United States. In 1795 he said, When we review the calamities which afflict so many other nations, the present condition of the United States affords much matter of consolation and satisfaction. He therefore called for a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. He said, In such a state of things it is in an especial manner our duty as people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God and implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experience.{7}
God in Our Nation's Capital - Probe Ministries

 

[Kathryn]

The Lincoln Memorial

The idea of a memorial to the sixteenth president had been discussed almost within days after his assassination, but lack of finances proved to be a major factor. Finally, Congress allocated funds for it during the Taft administration. Architect Henry Bacon wanted to model it after the Greek Parthenon, and work on it was completed in 1922.

Bacon chose the Greek Doric columns in part to symbolize Lincolns fight to preserve democracy during the Civil War.{8} The thirty-six columns represented the thirty-six states that made up the Union at the time of Lincolns death.

Daniel Chester French sculpted the statue of Abraham Lincoln to show his compassionate nature and his resolve in preserving the Union. One of Lincolns hands is tightly clenched (to show his determination) while the other hand is open and relaxed (to show his compassion).

Lincolns speeches are displayed within the memorial. On the left side is the Gettysburg Address (only 267 words long). He said, We here highly resolved that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.

On the right side is Lincolns second inaugural address (only 703 words long). It mentions God fourteen times and quotes the Bible twice. He reflected on the fact that the Civil War was not controlled by man, but by God. He noted that each side looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes his aid against the other.

He concludes with a lament over the destruction caused by the Civil War, and appeals to charity in healing the wounds of the war. With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nations wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

It is fitting that one hundred years after Lincolns second inaugural, his memorial was the place where Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his most famous speech, I have a dream. An inscription was added to the memorial in 2003 that was based upon Isaiah 40:4-5: I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

At a White House dinner during the war, a clergyman gave the benediction and closed with the statement that The Lord is on the Unions side. Abraham Lincoln responded: I am not at all concerned about that, for I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lords side.{9}
God in Our Nation's Capital - Probe Ministries

 

[Kathryn]

The Jefferson Memorial

Thomas Jefferson was Americas third president and the drafter of the Declaration of Independence, so it is surprising that a memorial to him was not built earlier than it was. In 1934, Franklin Delano Roosevelt persuaded Congress to establish a memorial commission to honor Jefferson. After some study the commission decided to honor Pierre LEnfants original plan, which called for the placement of five different memorials that would be aligned in a cross-like manner.{10}

The architect of the memorial proposed a Pantheon-like structure that was modeled after Jeffersons own home which incorporated the Roman architecture that Jefferson admired. The original design was modified, and the memorial was officially dedicated in 1943.

When you enter the Jefferson Memorial you will find many references to God. A quote that runs around the interior dome says, I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the minds of man.

On the first panel, you will see the famous passage from the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

On the second panel is an excerpt from A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, 1777. It was passed by the Virginia Assembly in 1786. It reads: Almighty God hath created the mind free. . . . All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens . . . are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion. . . . No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions of belief, but all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion. I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively.

The third panel is taken from Jeffersons 1785 Notes on the State of Virginia. It reads: God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever. Commerce between master and slave is despotism. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free.
God in Our Nation's Capital - Probe Ministries