There are those in the US of A who are in the process of endeavoring to take a historical eraser and remove the Christian base on which our nation was founded. Founder John Adams said it first and foremost with crystal clear clarity: "“[I]t is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue.” He also said, "Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” And with even more lucidity, he said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
By "religious people," Adams was referring to Christianity. Those who are today wielding the historical eraser know that the only thing standing in their path of destruction is the heritage Christianity has produced; ergo, they must erase the base of the heritage, Christianity itself.
One way they sought to do this in academia was to point to those who weren't Christians among the Founders and to note that they were deists. (Deism is based on the belief that God created the world then left it to its own devices. Or as the dictionary says, "belief in a God who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it.") This would mean no Bible, no miracles, no virgin birth, no Savior, no resurrection, no miracles.
They point to Benjamin Franklin as one such deist. Now it is true that Benjamin Franklin was, as far as we know, not a Christian and never trusted Christ. But the question is, was he a deist? Or could it be that he was one who was highly influenced by Christianity without being a Christian?
To find the answer, read the following quotes from the good man Franklin and see what you think.
“The moral and religious system which Jesus Christ transmitted to us is the best the world has ever seen, or can see.“
“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.”
"You desire to know something of my Religion. It is the first time I have been questioned upon it. But I cannot take your Curiosity amiss, and shall endeavour in a few Words to gratify it. Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, Creator of the Universe. That he governs it by his Providence. ("providence" is defined as "God, especially when conceived as omnisciently directing the universe and the affairs of humankind with wise benevolence."
And now for the clincher:
"I've lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing Proofs I see of this Truth — That God governs in the Affairs of Men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that except the Lord build the House they labor in vain who build it. I firmly believe this, — and I also believe that without his concurring Aid, we shall succeed in this political Building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our Projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a Reproach and Bye word down to future Ages.
(Speech to the Constitutional Convention (28 June 1787); Manuscript notes by Franklin preserved in the Library of Congress)
To declare that Franklin was a deist is not to tell the rest of the story. No staunch deist would let the words, " If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid?" come out of his mouth. Nor would a deist say, "God governs in the Affairs of Men." Those are statements that refute deism.
What, therefore should we conclude? As one history professor told me, "If he was a deist, he was a soft one."
