War against Christian ( Archived) (471)

Mar 2, 2009 6:16 PM CST War against Christian
krimsa
krimsakrimsaMiddleton, New Hampshire USA6 Threads 2 Polls 1,345 Posts
The father of this country was very private about his beliefs, but it is widely considered that he was a Deist like his colleagues. He was a Freemason.

Historian Barry Schwartz writes: "George Washington's practice of Christianity was limited and superficial because he was not himself a Christian... He repeatedly declined the church's sacraments. Never did he take communion, and when his wife, Martha, did, he waited for her outside the sanctuary... Even on his deathbed, Washington asked for no ritual, uttered no prayer to Christ, and expressed no wish to be attended by His representative." [New York Press, 1987, pp. 174-175]

Paul F. Boller states in is anthology on Washington: "There is no mention of Jesus Christ anywhere in his extensive correspondence." [Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1963, pp. 14-15]
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Mar 2, 2009 6:18 PM CST War against Christian
krimsa
krimsakrimsaMiddleton, New Hampshire USA6 Threads 2 Polls 1,345 Posts
MikeHD: On this one, I would be in somewhat agreement with Mr. Franklin.


Oh no, it might be another Patrick Henry. I actually posted a Franklin quote where he states he is a Deist. Remember that Benjamin Franklin was also a scientist.
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Mar 2, 2009 6:18 PM CST War against Christian
newlife09
newlife09newlife09Pittston, Pennsylvania USA4 Threads 233 Posts
MikeHD: But here is the kicker.

Here's another kicker:

Thing is, no matter how many other quotes you can dig up, you're only being challenged on one. The remaining quotes are just marshmallow fluff.

So basically to take care of this, you:
1) provide source for the quote in question, or,
2) Abandon ship, matey. It's ok. Just withdraw the quote and be done with it.

Hint: Giving weather reports, sports scores, or lotto numbers...while perhaps factual, do not erase the aforementioned "illiteracy".
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Mar 2, 2009 6:19 PM CST War against Christian
krimsa
krimsakrimsaMiddleton, New Hampshire USA6 Threads 2 Polls 1,345 Posts
newlife09: Damn, I thought I knew every Franklin quote out there, and never heard this one.


Oops sorry I thought you were a Christian making jokes. My mistake sorry! rolling on the floor laughing
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Mar 2, 2009 6:22 PM CST War against Christian
krimsa
krimsakrimsaMiddleton, New Hampshire USA6 Threads 2 Polls 1,345 Posts
newlife09: Here's another kicker:

Thing is, no matter how many other quotes you can dig up, you're only being challenged on one. The remaining quotes are just marshmallow fluff.

So basically to take care of this, you:
1) provide source for the quote in question, or,
2) Abandon ship, matey. It's ok. Just withdraw the quote and be done with it.

Hint: Giving weather reports, sports scores, or lotto numbers...while perhaps factual, do not erase the aforementioned "illiteracy".


That’s true. We can just go back and forth with all of these other quotes. It’s clearly been established that these 6 founding fathers were deists.

You have been questioned on a FORGERY and you can’t seem to substantiate where or when Patrick Henry EVER made that quote. You have the internet there in front of you, now find it.
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Mar 2, 2009 6:23 PM CST War against Christian
newlife09
newlife09newlife09Pittston, Pennsylvania USA4 Threads 233 Posts
MikeHD: On this one, I would be in somewhat agreement with Mr. Franklin.

Aye...
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Mar 2, 2009 6:25 PM CST War against Christian
krimsa
krimsakrimsaMiddleton, New Hampshire USA6 Threads 2 Polls 1,345 Posts
In response to: I do find it interesting that when a Christian (or any religious person) expresses his beliefs, he is accused of pushing it down throats. But when an atheist or the non religious express themselves, it is defended as their right.


You dam Atheists! You are obsessed with nothing! You are always trying to shove nothing down someone’s throat! rolling on the floor laughing
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Mar 2, 2009 6:27 PM CST War against Christian
newlife09: Here's another kicker:

Thing is, no matter how many other quotes you can dig up, you're only being challenged on one. The remaining quotes are just marshmallow fluff.

So basically to take care of this, you:
1) provide source for the quote in question, or,
2) Abandon ship, matey. It's ok. Just withdraw the quote and be done with it.

Hint: Giving weather reports, sports scores, or lotto numbers...while perhaps factual, do not erase the aforementioned "illiteracy".



No why would I do that?

When this is much more fun. wink
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Mar 2, 2009 6:34 PM CST War against Christian
newlife09
newlife09newlife09Pittston, Pennsylvania USA4 Threads 233 Posts
MikeHD: No why would I do that?

When this is much more fun.


Because
MikeHD: I will admit the Christians are losing in here. I would think the score is like 1,438,667 to 473,127.

angel
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Mar 2, 2009 6:36 PM CST War against Christian
newlife09
newlife09newlife09Pittston, Pennsylvania USA4 Threads 233 Posts
krimsa: This is a bit like the cat playing with the mouse before she kills it.

I thought I saw feline whiskers on you upon further inspection of your display picture.
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Mar 2, 2009 6:38 PM CST War against Christian
krimsa
krimsakrimsaMiddleton, New Hampshire USA6 Threads 2 Polls 1,345 Posts
newlife09: I thought I saw feline whiskers on you upon further inspection of your display picture.


yep, it was Halloween last year. Im not actually a cat and I dont eat mice (or Christians) rolling on the floor laughing
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Mar 2, 2009 6:40 PM CST War against Christian
mrali
mralimralikarachi, Sindh Pakistan16 Threads 763 Posts
krimsa: yep, it was Halloween last year. Im not actually a cat and I dont eat mice (or Christians)
laugh
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Mar 2, 2009 6:48 PM CST War against Christian
krimsa: It matters because this nation was never founded on the principles associated with Christianity nor were the more prominent (higher profile) members of the Continental Congress Christians. One of the most common statements from the "Religious Right" is that they want this country to "return to the Christian principles on which it was founded". However, a little research into American history will show that this statement is a lie. The men responsible for building the foundation of the United States had little use for Christianity, and many were strongly opposed to it. They were men of The Enlightenment, not men of Christianity. They were Deists who did not believe the bible was true.


Ah... but it is fun in that you have played the game admirably. By concentrating on that one quote you have attempted to draw attention away from all the additional posts I have offered that oppose your statement above.

And that you disregard all of the additional quotes I have posted by Patrick Henry because you have focused on that one quote is quite good. But are you sure it worked?

Is your mailbox full of fan mail? I love being able to post without interuption so that the masses read posts uncontested.

Thank you... tip hat
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Mar 2, 2009 7:00 PM CST War against Christian
"The Bible… is a book worth more than all the other books that were ever printed." Patrick Henry - William Wirt, Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry (Philadelphia: James Webster, 1818), p. 402; see also George Morgan, Patrick Henry (Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1929), p. 403.


"Condescend, merciful Father! to grant as far as proper these imperfect petitions, to accept these inadequate thanksgivings, and to pardon whatever of sin hath mingled in them for the sake of Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord and Savior; unto Whom, with Thee, and the blessed Spirit, ever one God, be rendered all honor and glory, now and forever." John Jay (first Chief Justic of the Supreme Court) - William Jay, The Life of John Jay (New York: J & J Harper, 1833), Vol. I p. 518, Appendix V, from a prayer found among Mr. Jay’s papers and in his handwriting.


"ay I always hear that you are following the guidance of that blessed Spirit that will lead you into all truth, leaning on that Almighty arm that has been extended to deliver you, trusting only in the only Savior, and going on in your way to Him rejoicing." Hugh A. Garland, The Life of John Randolph of Roanoke (New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1853), Vol. II, p. 104, from Francis Scott Key to John Randolph.


"The Gospel of Jesus Christ prescribes the wisest rules for just conduct in every situation of life. Happy they who are enabled to obey them in all situations! . . . My only hope of salvation is in the infinite tran¬scendent love of God manifested to the world by the death of His Son upon the Cross. Noth¬ing but His blood will wash away my sins [Acts 22:16]. I rely exclusively upon it. Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly! [Revelation 22:20]" Benjamin Rush (SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; SURGEON GENERAL OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY; RATIFIER OF THE U. S. CONSTITUTION; “FATHER OF AMERICAN MEDICINE”; TREASURER OF THE U. S. MINT; “FATHER OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION”) Benjamin Rush, The Autobiography of Benjamin Rush, George W. Corner, editor (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1948), pp. 165-166.
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Mar 2, 2009 7:06 PM CST War against Christian
krimsa
krimsakrimsaMiddleton, New Hampshire USA6 Threads 2 Polls 1,345 Posts
MikeHD: Ah... but it is fun in that you have played the game admirably. By concentrating on that one quote you have attempted to draw attention away from all the additional posts I have offered that oppose your statement above.

And that you disregard all of the additional quotes I have posted by Patrick Henry because you have focused on that one quote is quite good. But are you sure it worked?

Is your mailbox full of fan mail? I love being able to post without interuption so that the masses read posts uncontested.

Thank you...


Sir what you fail to recognize is I have matched quote for quote everything you have posted that supposedly "proves" that this nation was founded on any sort of Christian "morality” or principles. The issue comes into play that we can no longer trust you not to take quotes out of context or to merely misrepresent what you are posting due to the fact that I pulled one of your quotes out of a hat and proved that Patrick Henry never in fact said that.

Where does that leave you?

My point has been substantiated ten fold. And here is the grand finale and a little icing on the cake.

Authored by American diplomat Joel Barlow in 1796, the following treaty was sent to the floor of the Senate, June 7, 1797, where it was read aloud in its entirety and unanimously approved. John Adams, having seen the treaty, signed it and proudly proclaimed it to the Nation.

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 tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan 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.


Oh dear!

rolling on the floor laughing laugh
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Mar 2, 2009 7:10 PM CST War against Christian
krimsa
krimsakrimsaMiddleton, New Hampshire USA6 Threads 2 Polls 1,345 Posts
It also saddens me to see that the US was not always at odds with the Muslims of the Middle East. Of course that would all change in due time with a succession of Christian presidents later in our history. mumbling
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Mar 2, 2009 7:16 PM CST War against Christian
Those who attribute the Treaty of Tripoli quote to George Washington make two mistakes. The first is that no statement in it can be attributed to Washington (the treaty did not arrive in America until months after he left office); Washington never saw the treaty; it was not his work; no statement in it can be ascribed to him. The second mistake is to divorce a single clause of the treaty from the remainder which provides its context. It would also be absurd to suggest that President Adams (under whom the treaty was ratified in 1797) would have endorsed or assented to any provision which repudiated Christianity. In fact, while discussing the Barbary conflict with Jefferson, Adams declared:
The policy of Christendom has made cowards of all their sailors before the standard of Mahomet. It would be heroical and glorious in us to restore courage to ours. 24
Furthermore, it was Adams who declared:
The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were. . . . the general principles of Christianity. . . . I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God; and that those principles of liberty are as unalterable as human nature. 25
Adams' own words confirm that he rejected any notion that America was less than a Christian nation. Additionally, the writings of General William Eaton, a major figure in the Barbary Powers conflict, provide even more irrefutable testimony of how the conflict was viewed at that time. Eaton was first appointed by President John Adams as "Consul to Tunis," and President Thomas Jefferson later advanced him to the position of "U. S. Naval Agent to the Barbary States," authorizing him to lead a military expedition against Tripoli. Eaton's official correspondence during his service confirms that the conflict was a Muslim war against a Christian America. For example, when writing to Secretary of State Timothy Pickering, Eaton apprised him of why the Muslims would be such dedicated foes:


*** to be continued...
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Mar 2, 2009 7:17 PM CST War against Christian
Taught by revelation that war with the Christians will guarantee the salvation of their souls, and finding so great secular advantages in the observance of this religious duty [the secular advantage of keeping captured cargoes], their [the Muslims'] inducements to desperate fighting are very powerful.26
Eaton later complained that after Jefferson had approved his plan for military action, he sent him the obsolete warship "Hero." Eaton reported the impression of America made upon the Tunis Muslims when they saw the old warship and its few cannons:
he weak, the crazy situation of the vessel and equipage tended to confirm an opinion long since conceived and never fairly controverted among the Tunisians, that the Americans are a feeble sect of Christians.27
In a later letter to Pickering, Eaton reported how pleased one Barbary ruler had been when he received the extortion compensations from America which had been promised him in one of the treaties:
He said, "To speak truly and candidly . . . . we must acknowledge to you that we have never received articles of the kind of so excellent a quality from any Christian nation." 28
When John Marshall became the new Secretary of State, Eaton informed him:
It is a maxim of the Barbary States, that "The Christians who would be on good terms with them must fight well or pay well." 29


*** to be continued...
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Mar 2, 2009 7:19 PM CST War against Christian
And when General Eaton finally commenced his military action against Tripoli, his personal journal noted:
April 8th. We find it almost impossible to inspire these wild bigots with confidence in us or to persuade them that, being Christians, we can be otherwise than enemies to Musselmen. We have a difficult undertaking!30 May 23rd. Hassien Bey, the commander in chief of the enemy's forces, has offered by private insinuation for my head six thousand dollars and double the sum for me a prisoner; and $30 per head for Christians. Why don't he come and take it?31
Shortly after the military excursion against Tripoli was successfully terminated, its account was written and published. Even the title of the book bears witness to the nature of the conflict:
The Life of the Late Gen. William Eaton . . . commander of the Christian and Other Forces . . . which Led to the Treaty of Peace Between The United States and The Regency of Tripoli32
The numerous documents surrounding the Barbary Powers Conflict confirm that historically it was always viewed as a conflict between Christian America and Muslim nations. Those documents completely disprove the notion that any founding President, especially Washington, ever declared that America was not a Christian nation or people.
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Mar 2, 2009 7:21 PM CST War against Christian
Endnotes
1. American Heritage Dictionary, 2nd College Edition, s.v. "atheism."
2. Id., s.v. "agnostic."
3. Id., s.v. "deism"; see also American College Dictionary (1947), s.v. "deism."
4. Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language (1964), see synonym for "deist"; Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary(1963), see synonym for "atheism"; The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia(1895), Vol. I, see synonym for "atheist"; Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of the English Language (1966), see synonyms for "skeptic."
5. Society of Separationists, "Did you know that these great American thinkers all rejected Christianity?" (Austin, TX: American Atheist Center); see also Los Angeles Times, August 3, 1995, p. B-9, "America's Unchristian Beginnings," Steven Morris.
6.Naval Documents Related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers, Claude A. Swanson, editor (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1939), Vol. I, p. V.
7. Glen Tucker,Dawn Like Thunder: The Barbary Wars and the Birth of the U. S. Navy (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1963), p. 127.
8. A General View of the Rise, Progress, and Brilliant Achievements of the American Navy, Down to the Present Time(Brooklyn, 1828), pp. 70-71.
9. Tucker, p. 50.
10. President Washington selected Col. David Humphreys in 1793 as sole commissioner of Algerian affairs to negotiate treaties with Algeria, Tripoli and Tunis. He also appointed Joseph Donaldson, Jr., as Consul to Tunis and Tripoli. In February of 1796, Humphreys delegated power to Donaldson and/or Joel Barlow to form treaties. James Simpson, U. S. Consul to Gibraltar, was dispatched to renew the treaty with Morocco in 1795. On October 8, 1796, Barlow commissioned Richard O'Brien to negotiate the treaty of peace with Tripoli. See, for example, Ray W. Irwin, The Diplomatic Relations of the United States with the Barbary Powers (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1931), p. 84.
11. J. Fenimore Cooper,The History of the Navy of the United States of America (Philadelphia: Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co., 1847), pp. 123-124; see also A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents: 1789-1897, James D. Richardson, editor (Washington, D. C.: Published by Authority of Congress, 1899), Vol. I, pp. 201-202, from Washington's Eighth Annual Address of December 7, 1796.
12. See, for example, the treaty with Morocco: ratified by the United States on July 18, 1787. Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America: 1776-1949, Charles I. Bevans, editor (Washington, D. C.: Department of State, 1968-1976), Vol. IX, pp. 1278-1285; Algiers: concluded September 5, 1795; ratified by the U. S. Senate March 2, 1796; see also, "Treaty of Peace and Amity" concluded June 30 and July 6, 1815; proclaimed December 26, 1815, Treaties and Conventions Concluded Between the United States of America and Other Powers Since July 4, 1776 (Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1889), pp. 1-15; Tripoli: concluded November 4, 1796; ratified June 10, 1797; see also, "Treaty of Peace and Amity" concluded June 4, 1805; ratification advised by the U. S. Senate April 12, 1806. Treaties, Conventions, International Acts, Protocols and Agreements between the United States of America and Other Powers: 1776-1909, William M. Malloy, editor (Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1910), Vol. II, pp. 1785-1793; Tunis: concluded August 1797; ratification advised by the Senate, with amendments, March 6, 1798; alterations concluded March 26, 1799; ratification again advised by the Senate December 24, 1799. Treaties, Conventions, International Acts, Protocols and Agreements between the United States of America and Other Powers: 1776-1909, William M. Malloy, editor (Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1910), Vol. II, pp. 1794-1799.
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