all outright nonsense and revisionist history --- I have a witness!!! we can expect this to eventually make it to American history textbooks.
know the enemy On Aug 7, 3:25 pm, Keith In Tampa <[email protected]> wrote: > There are so many "untruths" in this article! It's literally laughable! > > Ben Franklin wanting a Jew in any emblem representing the United > States, any Congressman moving for Hebrew to the the National > language,......(There are a host more, I just don't have time to disprove > them) are all outright nonsense and revisionist history. > > On Tue, Aug 7, 2012 at 10:12 PM, plainolamerican > <[email protected]>wrote: > > > > > > > > > Nah ... > > --- > > Yeah ... > > > example: > > The creation of the United States of America represented a unique > > event in world history. Founded as a modern republic, it was rooted in > > the Bible, and one of its earliest tenets was religious tolerance. Of > > course, this was because many of the earliest pilgrims who settled the > > "New England" of America in early 17th century were Puritan refugees > > escaping religious persecutions in Europe. > > > These Puritans viewed their emigration from England as a virtual re- > > enactment of the Exodus. To them, England was Egypt, the king was the > > Pharaoh, the Atlantic Ocean was the Red Sea, America was the Land of > > Israel, and the Indians were the ancient Canaanites. The Puritans were > > the new Israelites, entering into a new covenant with God in a new > > Promised Land. > > > Thanksgiving - first celebrated in 1621, a year after the Mayflower > > landed - was initially conceived as a day parallel to the Jewish Day > > of Atonement, Yom Kippur; it was to be a day of fasting, introspection > > and prayer. Writes Gabriel Sivan in The Bible and Civilization: > > > No Christian community in history identified more with the People > > of the Book than did the early settlers of the Massachusetts Bay > > Colony, who believed their own lives to be a literal reenactment of > > the biblical drama of the Hebrew nation... these ?migr? Puritans > > dramatized their own situation as the righteous remnant of the Church > > corrupted by the "Babylonian woe" and saw themselves as instruments of > > Divine Providence, a people chosen to build their new commonwealth on > > the Covenant entered into at Mount Sinai.1 > > > Previously, during the Puritan Revolution in England (which took place > > between 1642 and 1648), some Puritan extremists had even sought to > > replace English Common Law with biblical laws of the Old Testament, > > but were prevented from doing so. In America, however, there was far > > more freedom to experiment with the use of biblical law in the legal > > codes of the colonies, and this was exactly what the pilgrims set out > > to do. > > > The earliest legislation of the colonies of New England was all > > determined by the Bible. For example, at the first assembly of New > > Haven in 1639, John Davenport clearly emphasized the primacy of the > > Bible as the legal and moral foundation of the colony: > > > "Scriptures do hold forth a perfect rule for the direction and > > government of all men in all duties which they are to perform to God > > and men as well as in the government of families and commonwealth as > > in matters of the Church... the Word of God shall be the only rule to > > be attended unto in organizing the affairs of government in this > > plantation."2 > > > Subsequently, the New Haven legislators adopted a legal code - the > > Code of 1655 - which contained some 79 statutes, half of which > > included biblical references, virtually all from the Hebrew Bible. The > > Plymouth Colony had a similar law code as did the Massachusetts > > assembly, which, in 1641 adopted the so-called Capital Laws of New > > England based almost entirely on Mosaic law. > > > Of course, without a Jewish Oral Tradition, which helped the Jews > > understand the Bible, the Puritans were left to their own devices and > > tended toward a literal interpretation. This led in some instances to > > a stricter, more fundamentalist observance than Judaism had ever seen. > > > Jewish Symbolism in America > > > The Hebrew Bible also played a central role in the founding of various > > educational institutions including Harvard, Yale, William and Mary, > > Rutgers, Princeton, Brown, King's College (later to be known as > > Columbia), Johns Hopkins, Dartmouth etc. In virtually all of these > > colleges, Bible studies were required and some even adopted some > > Hebrew word or phrase as part of their official emblem or seal. > > Beneath the banner containing the Latin Lux et Veritas, the Yale seal > > shows an open book with the Hebrew Urim V'Timum, a part of the > > breastplate of the High Priest in the days of the Temple. The Columbia > > seal has the Hebrew name for God at the top center, with the Hebrew > > name for one of the angels on a banner toward the middle. Dartmouth > > uses the Hebrew words meaning "God Almighty" in a triangle in the > > upper center of its seal. > > > So popular was the Hebrew language in the late 17th and early 18th > > centuries that Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Princeton, Johns > > Hopkins, and the University of Pennsylvania taught courses in Hebrew - > > all the more remarkable because no university in England at the time > > offered such - and students had the option of delivering commencement > > speeches in Hebrew, Latin or Greek.3 > > > Many of the Founding Fathers of America were products of these > > universities - for example, Thomas Jefferson attended William and > > Mary, James Madison - Princeton, Alexander Hamilton - King's College. > > Thus, we can be sure that a majority of these political leaders were > > not only well acquainted with the contents of the Bible, but also had > > some working knowledge of Hebrew. Notes Abraham Katsch in The Biblical > > Heritage of American Democracy: > > > At the time of the American Revolution, the interest in the > > knowledge of Hebrew was so widespread as to allow the circulation of > > the story that "certain members of Congress proposed that the use of > > English be formally prohibited in the United States, and Hebrew > > substituted for it."4 > > > Their biblical education colored the American founders' attitude > > toward not only religion and ethics, but most significantly, politics. > > We see them adopting the biblical motifs of the Puritans for political > > reasons. For example, the struggle of the ancient Hebrews against the > > wicked Pharaoh came to embody the struggle of the colonists against > > English tyranny. Numerous examples can be found which clearly > > illustrate to what a significant extent the political struggles of the > > colonies were identified with the ancient Hebrews: > > > The first design for the official seal of the United States > > recommended by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in > > 1776 depicted the Jews crossing the Red Sea. The motto around the seal > > read: "Resistance to Tyrants is Obedience to God." > > The inscription on the Liberty Bell at Independence Hall in > > Philadelphia was a direct quote from the Book of Leviticus "Proclaim > > liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."5 > > Patriotic speeches and publications during the period of the > > struggle for independence were often infused with biblical quotations. > > > The basic framework of America clearly reflects the influence of the > > Bible and power of Jewish ideas in shaping the political development > > of America. Nowhere is this more evident than in the opening sentences > > of 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 them are life, liberty and the pursuit of > > happiness. > > > While these words echo the ideas of the Enlightenment, without a doubt > > the concept that these rights come from God is of biblical origin. > > > This and the other documents of early America make it clear that the > > concept of a God-given standard of morality is a central pillar of > > American democracy. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST first appeared on U.S. > > currency in 1864 and in 1956 an Act of Congress (largely passed as a > > counterforce to Godlessness of communism) made it the official motto > > of the United States. > > > Many more things can be said about the Jewish influence on the values > > of America, but this is, after all, a crash course. We next turn to > > the Jews themselves. > > > Early American Jews > > > The history of Jews in America begins before the United States was an > > independent country. > > > The first Jews arrived in America with Columbus in 1492, and we also > > know that Jews newly-converted to Christianity were among the first > > Spaniards to arrive in Mexico with Conquistador Hernando Cortez in > > 1519. In fact, so many Jewish conversos came to Mexico that the > > Spanish made a rule precluding anyone who could not prove Catholic > > ancestry for four generations back from migrating there. Needless to > > say, the Inquisition soon followed to make sure these Jewish conversos > > were not really heretics, and burnings at the stake became a regular > > feature of life in Mexico City. > > > As for North America, the recorded Jewish history there begins in 1654 > > with the arrival in New Amsterdam (later to be known as New York) of > > 23 Jewish refugees from Recife, Brazil (where the Dutch had just lost > > their possessions to the Portuguese). New Amsterdam was also a Dutch > > possession, but the governor, Peter Stuyvesant, did not want the Jews > > there. Writes Arthur Hertzberg in The Jews in America: > > > Two weeks after they landed, Stuyvesant heard the complaint from > > the local merchants and from the Church that "the Jews who had arrived > > would nearly all like to remain here." Stuyvesant decided to chase > > them out. Using the usual formulas of religious invective - he called > > the Jews "repugnant," "deceitful," and "enemies and blasphemers of > > Christ" - Stuyvesant recommended to his directors... "to require them > > in a friendly way to depart."6 > > > The only reasons the Jews were not > > ... > > read more » -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
