This is a series of posts of updated and adapted excepts from a book I began writing several years ago. The intent was to retrace the thinking of the American Forefathers in forming the founding documents and framing the government. The goal was to use common language and retraceable logic based on the Christian doctrine of the forefathers. This post sets the background and stage for the future postings.
Humans live on an insignificant planet, in an insignificant solar system, on the edge of an insignificant galaxy amongst billions of galaxies in the vastness of space. The only sentient (having feelings and emotions) and intelligent (having reasoning ability) life known to exist is located in this insignificant place in the middle of nowhere, Figure 1, planet Earth. An oddity among creatures, human life is self-aware and given variety of revelations from plethora of deities who make claims that are self-truths. Humans must somehow vet these revelations and determine which ones possess self-evident truths or nature's truth. The general logic is that all gods are sovereign over the natural and the natural must therefore produce evidence consistent with the claims made by a deity. The American Forefathers assessed that Christianity was the most compelling revelation after having studied many moral and ethical systems of government.
Federer, W. (1996). America's God and Country. William J Federer, Fame Publishing, ISBN: 1-880563-05-3
God. (2007). The geneva bible. (1560 E.D.). Hendrickson Publishers Inc: MA.
Schmidt, J. (2006). Making man in reason's image: the enlightenment and the birth of modern humanity. Barnes and Noble. ISBN-13: 9780641967221
Vattel, E. (1758). Law of nations or the principles of natural law in four books. (Electronic E.d.). Lonang Institute.
Warren, B., England, A. (2003). Holman illustrated bible dictionary: bible formation and canon. Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville.
Whyte, J. (2004). Crimes against logic, McGraw-Hill: New York, ISBN 0-07-144643-5.
“The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity”, John Quincy Adams on July 4, 1821 (Federer, 1996, p. 18).
Jefferson declared that religion, "... deemed in other countries incompatible with good government and yet proved by our experience to be its best support" (Federer, 1996, p. 334).
Jefferson declared that religion, "... deemed in other countries incompatible with good government and yet proved by our experience to be its best support" (Federer, 1996, p. 334).
Beginnings
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| Figure 1: Earth and Moon |
"The Christian Religion, when divested of the rags in which they [the clergy] have enveloped it, and brought to the original purity and simplicity of its benevolent institutor, is a religion of all others most friendly to liberty, science, and the freest expansion of the human mind" Thomas Jefferson on March 23, 1801 (Federer, 1996, p. 324).
The Forefathers even assessed Islam among others and rejected the tenets of those belief systems.
James Kent, Chief Justice US Supreme Court in New York, wrote an opinion in an 1811 case The People vs Ruggles, "We are a Christian people, and the morality of the country is deeply engrafted upon Christianity, and not upon other doctrines or worship of those impostors [other religions]" (Federer, 1996, p. 348). By impostors, Kent is referring to a Judeo-Christian view that other religions are designed or intended to deceive humans from accurate discernment of the Creator and Lord over human life. This notion is discussed in the Information Theory Overview.
The Forefathers even assessed Islam among others and rejected the tenets of those belief systems.
James Kent, Chief Justice US Supreme Court in New York, wrote an opinion in an 1811 case The People vs Ruggles, "We are a Christian people, and the morality of the country is deeply engrafted upon Christianity, and not upon other doctrines or worship of those impostors [other religions]" (Federer, 1996, p. 348). By impostors, Kent is referring to a Judeo-Christian view that other religions are designed or intended to deceive humans from accurate discernment of the Creator and Lord over human life. This notion is discussed in the Information Theory Overview.
The Judeo-Christian Bible is a revelation revealed to humankind which is one of the most discussed but not so accurately understood theologies today. The period following 1900 is known as Post-Modernism which is characterized by relativistic truths and a high degree of confidence in an unsupported personal belief that is somehow to be esteemed by others. In short, the right to an opinion. No such right is possible as having an opinion violates another's right to their opinion. No disagreements can be solved with the right to an opinion and no solutions are possible without violating the right to an opinion (Whyte, 2004, pp. 3-6. ).
This is opposite of the periods prior to 1900. During the Enlightenment, circa 1630 to 1804, there was a strong focus on the matters of Biblical knowledge and many debated the finer points in coffee houses through out Europe. The Enlightenment gained the tag name the ‘Age of Reason’ due to the rationale or line of logic given in support of the arguments. An outcome of the Enlightenment was the influence the period had on the framers of the American Government and founding documents (Schmidt, 2006).
These coffee house debates refined the understanding of the Christian Doctrine and were unsettling to the leadership in Europe leading the large protestant populations coming to America to pursue their faith. As an outcome, most of Western civilizations has been formed based on the teachings, values, and principles found within the Bible. Christian doctrine professes the Bible to be the original source for the most basic tenants of war fighting doctrine, the rule of law, representative democracy or the republic, and human rights in addition to a host of other subjects.
The next post will begin to discuss early America and the emergence of a new form of government.
This is opposite of the periods prior to 1900. During the Enlightenment, circa 1630 to 1804, there was a strong focus on the matters of Biblical knowledge and many debated the finer points in coffee houses through out Europe. The Enlightenment gained the tag name the ‘Age of Reason’ due to the rationale or line of logic given in support of the arguments. An outcome of the Enlightenment was the influence the period had on the framers of the American Government and founding documents (Schmidt, 2006).
These coffee house debates refined the understanding of the Christian Doctrine and were unsettling to the leadership in Europe leading the large protestant populations coming to America to pursue their faith. As an outcome, most of Western civilizations has been formed based on the teachings, values, and principles found within the Bible. Christian doctrine professes the Bible to be the original source for the most basic tenants of war fighting doctrine, the rule of law, representative democracy or the republic, and human rights in addition to a host of other subjects.
The next post will begin to discuss early America and the emergence of a new form of government.
References:
Federer, W. (1996). America's God and Country. William J Federer, Fame Publishing, ISBN: 1-880563-05-3
God. (2007). The geneva bible. (1560 E.D.). Hendrickson Publishers Inc: MA.
Schmidt, J. (2006). Making man in reason's image: the enlightenment and the birth of modern humanity. Barnes and Noble. ISBN-13: 9780641967221
Vattel, E. (1758). Law of nations or the principles of natural law in four books. (Electronic E.d.). Lonang Institute.
Warren, B., England, A. (2003). Holman illustrated bible dictionary: bible formation and canon. Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville.
Whyte, J. (2004). Crimes against logic, McGraw-Hill: New York, ISBN 0-07-144643-5.
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