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There is absolutely no doubt that Franklin was a mason. When he was in Paris he attended, and became master of, the Lodge of the Nine Muses, where he had the honor of escorting Voltaire into the lodge for initiation into membership. His membership in Pennsylvania is well documented.
I might have him mixed up with someone else that people think was a Mason, but was merely a 'friend'...It was a long time ago that I read the information...It might have been Thomas Jefferson that I read about...I'm in the process and studying...
Seeing as ALL of the Founding Fathers were Freemasons that dabbled in witchcraft and all. I would venture to say this country was founded on Masonic prinicples more than Christian ones.
From Washington all the way up to Obama. Freemasons.
An interesting aside, but one that neglects the intellectual, spiritual and philosophical components of democracy.
Democracy was born in the European Protestant Reformation. The Bible became available to the masses by means of the invention of the printing press at that time. Nationalistic opposition to the priestly monopoly of Biblical interpretation of the Roman Catholic church spread to every home and heart. In those days, men learned that they could read God's word for themselves and that it's lessons, for each heart and situation, could be applied individually.
Because of the Christian Protestant Reformation, men learned that God allowed them to decide their eternal future individually. Men learned that the sole responsibility for decisions wasn't in the hands of the church or even the national King.
Democracy followed in the wake of this spiritual and philosophical enlightenment. The American Republic, founded at the end of the 18th century by means of the ratification of the constitution, was a great example of the political extension of the CHRISTIAN philosophy that men had a right to determine their future and their government's policies.
Since that time, corrupting influences have diluted the liberties established by the founding fathers. At our present point in history, America is no longer a republic having been ended by congressional fiat on October 26, 2001. Discussion about constitutional law continues, but the point that must be made here is that the philosophy of democracy IS CHRISTIAN. It was born in Europe during the Protestant Reformation and was enacted by several nations, including America at one time.
Today it seems that Democracy has fallen into disrepute as well as Christianity. Instead we are now living under a proud new fascist police state. The fascist philosophy is born of greed, intolerance and repression - directly opposite to Christian and democratic principles.
It should be noted at this point that America is now under the judgment of God. Only a humble repentant attitude toward God will save individuals. The nation, I fear, is lost.
and that's just me, hollering from the choir loft....
An interesting aside, but one that neglects the intellectual, spiritual and philosophical components of democracy.
Democracy was born in the European Protestant Reformation. The Bible became available to the masses by means of the invention of the printing press at that time. Nationalistic opposition to the priestly monopoly of Biblical interpretation of the Roman Catholic church spread to every home and heart. In those days, men learned that they could read God's word for themselves and that it's lessons, for each heart and situation, could be applied individually.
Because of the Christian Protestant Reformation, men learned that God allowed them to decide their eternal future individually. Men learned that the sole responsibility for decisions wasn't in the hands of the church or even the national King.
Democracy followed in the wake of this spiritual and philosophical enlightenment. The American Republic, founded at the end of the 18th century by means of the ratification of the constitution, was a great example of the political extension of the CHRISTIAN philosophy that men had a right to determine their future and their government's policies.
Since that time, corrupting influences have diluted the liberties established by the founding fathers. At our present point in history, America is no longer a republic having been ended by congressional fiat on October 26, 2001. Discussion about constitutional law continues, but the point that must be made here is that the philosophy of democracy IS CHRISTIAN. It was born in Europe during the Protestant Reformation and was enacted by several nations, including America at one time.
Today it seems that Democracy has fallen into disrepute as well as Christianity. Instead we are now living under a proud new fascist police state. The fascist philosophy is born of greed, intolerance and repression - directly opposite to Christian and democratic principles.
It should be noted at this point that America is now under the judgment of God. Only a humble repentant attitude toward God will save individuals. The nation, I fear, is lost.
and that's just me, hollering from the choir loft....
I think this is very generous attribution of democracy to Protestantism. Protestants proved to be just as repressive as Catholics, as witnessed by the Calvinists of Zurich, the Interregnum under Cromwell, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Those are just three examples. I mean, I find one of the supreme ironies of today's School Prayer/America Was Founded Under Christian Principles is that the movement is largely being led by Baptists. Yet their denomination was founded by Roger Williams who fled the theocracy of the Puritans under the threat of execution and founded Rhode Island, which scrupulously avoided having a state faith of any kind.
Democracy was not born in the Reformation but rather the Enlightenment, which came about as a reaction to the 16th-17th century religious struggles. In fact, established faiths at the time were rather hostile to direct democracy, instead preferring arrangements where only the like-minded had a say-so in the affairs of government.
You have not even posted a link to one of those laughable anti-masonic sites.
I keep waiting for the OP to back up the claims he makes when he starts these threads. So far.... nothing. Which is a pity because I was looking forward to a little free entertainment.
Truth: We think a few of the Founders were deists. Jefferson, Franklin, Washington all come to mind. Nobody will ever know for sure what was in their minds. Personally, I think that it was a death sentence in that day and time to admit you were an atheist, so some people gave lip service to religion, and we now take that lip service and call it Deism. Deism does not specify what god a person believes in but does omit the worship of Jesus from their beliefs. (Hmmm. That also applies to Judaism and Islam, doesn't it.)
BTW, since the Constitution specifically prohibits the government from getting involved in religion, what possible difference could it make what religion each of the Founders practiced?
If you read commentary from George Washington, it is clear he was a Christian.
I might have him mixed up with someone else that people think was a Mason, but was merely a 'friend'...It was a long time ago that I read the information...It might have been Thomas Jefferson that I read about...I'm in the process and studying...
You might be right there. Thomas Jefferson is frequently accused of being a Mason, but I've never seen any evidence that he was.
I guess a modern equivalent would be people assuming Ray Stevens is a Shriner because he wrote a song about the Shriners.
I keep waiting for the OP to back up the claims he makes when he starts these threads. So far.... nothing. Which is a pity because I was looking forward to a little free entertainment.
Based on every single thread and post he starts (and they are many) he cannot support his lies for he does not know where this information can be found. He blindly accepts his religion and is not allowed to every question or seek sources for what he is told to believe is how it appears to me.
If you read commentary from George Washington, it is clear he was a Christian.
George Washington was a Christian in a lot of ways. But his beliefs were evidently actually a blend of Christianity and Deism, a rather common approach at the time. Washington was infrequent in his church attendance, and even the clergyman of the Philadelphia church he attended characterized him as such. As one example, his use of the word Providence, the word favored by Deists.
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