Has anyone else ever seen a copy of the Six Nations Constitution? There weren't many other democracies at hand in the mid 1700's, and apparently this quite venerable Native document was very useful.
It gives a context to the "Godless" document. Jesse > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (knoton) > Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2005 18:38:52 -0800 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [Biofuel] Our Godless Constitution > > Our Godless Constitution > by BROOKE ALLEN > [from the February 21, 2005 issue] > > http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050221&s=allen > > It is hard to believe that George Bush has ever read the works of George > Orwell, but he seems, somehow, to have grasped a few Orwellian precepts. > The lesson the President has learned best--and certainly the one that > has been the most useful to him--is the axiom that if you repeat a lie > often enough, people will believe it. One of his Administration's > current favorites is the whopper about America having been founded on > Christian principles. Our nation was founded not on Christian principles > but on Enlightenment ones. God only entered the picture as a very minor > player, and Jesus Christ was conspicuously absent. > > Our Constitution makes no mention whatever of God. The omission was too > obvious to have been anything but deliberate, in spite of Alexander > Hamilton's flippant responses when asked about it: According to one > account, he said that the new nation was not in need of "foreign aid"; > according to another, he simply said "we forgot." But as Hamilton's > biographer Ron Chernow points out, Hamilton never forgot anything > important. > > In the eighty-five essays that make up The Federalist, God is mentioned > only twice (both times by Madison, who uses the word, as Gore Vidal has > remarked, in the "only Heaven knows" sense). In the Declaration of > Independence, He gets two brief nods: a reference to "the Laws of Nature > and Nature's God," and the famous line about men being "endowed by their > Creator with certain inalienable rights." More blatant official > references to a deity date from long after the founding period: "In God > We Trust" did not appear on our coinage until the Civil War, and > "under God" was introduced into the Pledge of Allegiance during the > McCarthy hysteria in 1954 [see Elisabeth Sifton, "The Battle Over the > Pledge," April 5, 2004]. > > In 1797 our government concluded a "Treaty of Peace and Friendship > between the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of > Tripoli, or Barbary," now known simply as the Treaty of Tripoli. Article > 11 of the treaty contains these words: > > "As the Government of the United States...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 Musselmen--and as the > said States never have > entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan 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." > > This document was endorsed by Secretary of State Timothy Pickering and > President John Adams. It was then sent to the Senate for ratification; > the vote was unanimous. It is worth pointing out that although this was > the 339th time a recorded vote had been required by the Senate, it was > only the third unanimous vote in the Senate's history. There is no > record of debate or dissent. The text of the treaty was printed in full > in the Philadelphia Gazette and in two New York papers, but there were > no screams of outrage, as one might expect today. > > The Founding Fathers were not religious men, and they fought hard to > erect, in Thomas Jefferson's words, "a wall of separation between church > and state." John Adams opined that if they were not restrained by legal > measures, Puritans--the fundamentalists of their day--would "whip and > crop, and pillory and roast." The historical epoch had afforded these > men ample opportunity to observe the > corruption to which established priesthoods were liable, as well as "the > impious > presumption of legislators and rulers," as Jefferson wrote, "civil as > well as > ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, > have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own > opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as > such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath established and > maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and > through all time." > > If we define a Christian as a person who believes in the divinity of > Jesus Christ, then it is safe to say that some of the key Founding > Fathers were not Christians at all. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson > and Tom Paine were deists--that is, they believed in one Supreme Being > but rejected revelation and all the supernatural elements of the > Christian Church; the word of the Creator, they believed, could best be > read in Nature. John Adams was a professed liberal Unitarian, but he, > too, in his private correspondence seems more deist than > Christian. > > George Washington and James Madison also leaned toward deism, although > neither took much interest in religious matters. Madison believed that > "religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for > every noble > enterprize." He spoke of the "almost fifteen centuries" during which > Christianity had been on trial: "What have been its fruits? More or less > in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and > servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry, and > persecution." If Washington mentioned the Almighty in a public address, > as he occasionally did, he was careful to refer to Him not as "God" but > with some nondenominational moniker like "Great Author" or "Almighty > Being." It is interesting to note that the Father of our Country spoke > no words of a religious nature on his deathbed, although fully aware > that he was dying, and did not ask for a man of God to be present; his > last act was to take his own pulse, the consummate gesture of a creature > of the age of scientific rationalism. > > Tom Paine, a polemicist rather than a politician, could afford to be > perfectly honest about his religious beliefs, which were baldly deist in > the tradition of Voltaire: "I believe in one God, and no more; and I > hope for happiness beyond this life.... I do not believe in the creed > professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek > church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any > church that I know of. My own mind is my own church." This is how he > opened The Age of Reason, his virulent attack on Christianity. In it he > railed against the "obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the > cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness" of the > Old Testament, "a history of wickedness, that has served to corrupt and > brutalize mankind." The New Testament is less brutalizing but more > absurd, the story of Christ's divine genesis a "fable, which for > absurdity and extravagance is not exceeded by any thing that is to be > found in the mythology of the ancients." He held the idea of the > Resurrection in especial ridicule: Indeed, "the wretched contrivance > with > which this latter part is told, exceeds every thing that went before > it." Paine was careful to contrast the tortuous twists of theology with > the pure clarity of deism. "The true deist has but one Deity; and his > religion consists in contemplating the power, wisdom, and benignity of > the Deity in his works, and in endeavoring to imitate him in every thing > moral, scientifical, and mechanical." > > Paine's rhetoric was so fervent that he was inevitably branded an > atheist. Men like Franklin, Adams and Jefferson could not risk being > tarred with that brush, and in fact Jefferson got into a good deal of > trouble for continuing his > friendship with Paine and entertaining him at Monticello. These > statesmen had to be far more circumspect than the turbulent Paine, yet > if we examine their beliefs it is all but impossible to see just how > theirs differed from his. > > Franklin was the oldest of the Founding Fathers. He was also the most > worldly and sophisticated, and was well aware of the Machiavellian > principle that if one aspires to influence the masses, one must at least > profess religious sentiments. By his own definition he was a deist, > although one French acquaintance claimed that "our free-thinkers have > adroitly sounded him on his religion, and they maintain that they have > discovered he is one of their own, that is that he has none at all." If > he did have a religion, it was strictly utilitarian: As his > biographer Gordon Wood has said, "He praised religion for whatever moral > effects it had, but for little else." Divine revelation, Franklin freely > admitted, had "no weight with me," and the covenant of grace seemed > "unintelligible" and "not beneficial." As for the pious hypocrites who > have ever controlled nations, "A man compounded of law and gospel is > able to cheat a whole country with his religion and then destroy them > under color of law"--a comment we should carefully consider at this > turning point in the history of our Republic. > > Here is Franklin's considered summary of his own beliefs, in response to > a query by Ezra Stiles, the president of Yale. He wrote it just six > weeks before his death at the age of 84. > > "Here is my creed. I believe in one God, Creator of the universe. That > he governs it by his providence. That he ought to be worshipped. That > the most acceptable service we render to him is doing good to his other > children. That the soul of Man is immortal, and will be treated with > justice in another life > respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental > points in all sound religion, and I regard them as you do in whatever > sect I meet with them. > > "As for Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I > think his system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, the > best the world ever saw or is likely to see; but I apprehend it has > received various corrupting changes, and I have, with most of the > present dissenters in England, some doubts > as to his divinity; though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, > having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with now, > when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing the truth with less > trouble. I see no harm, however, in its being believed, if that belief > has the good consequence, as it probably has, of making his doctrines > more respected and better observed, > especially as I do not perceive that the Supreme takes it amiss, by > distinguishing the unbelievers in his government of the world with any > particular marks of his displeasure." > > Jefferson thoroughly agreed with Franklin on the corruptions the > teachings of Jesus had undergone. "The metaphysical abstractions of > Athanasius, and the maniacal ravings of Calvin, tinctured plentifully > with the foggy dreams of > Plato, have so loaded [Christianity] with absurdities and > incomprehensibilities" that it was almost impossible to recapture "its > native simplicity and purity." Like Paine, Jefferson felt that the > miracles claimed by the New Testament put an intolerable strain on > credulity. "The day will come," he predicted (wrongly, so > far), "when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as > his father in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of > the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter." The Revelation of > St. John he dismissed as > "the ravings of a maniac." > > Jefferson edited his own version of the New Testament, "The Life and > Morals of Jesus of Nazareth," in which he carefully deleted all the > miraculous passages from the works of the Evangelists. He intended it, > he said, as "a document in proof that I am a real Christian, that is to > say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus." This was clearly a defense > against his many enemies, who hoped to blacken his reputation by > comparing him with the vile atheist Paine. His biographer Joseph Ellis > is undoubtedly correct, though, in seeing > disingenuousness here: "If [Jefferson] had been completely scrupulous, > he would have described himself as a deist who admired the ethical > teachings of Jesus as a man rather than as the son of God. (In > modern-day parlance, he was a secular humanist.)" In short, not a > Christian at all. > > The three accomplishments Jefferson was proudest of--those that he > requested be put on his tombstone--were the founding of the University > of Virginia and the authorship of the Declaration of Independence and > the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. The latter was a truly > radical document that would eventually > influence the separation of church and state in the US Constitution; > when it was passed by the Virginia legislature in 1786, Jefferson > rejoiced that there was finally "freedom for the Jew and the Gentile, > the Christian and the Mohammeden, the Hindu and infidel of every > denomination"--note his respect, still unusual > today, for the sensibilities of the "infidel." The University of > Virginia was notable among early-American seats of higher education in > that it had no religious affiliation whatever. Jefferson even banned the > teaching of theology at the school. > > If we were to speak of Jefferson in modern political categories, we > would have to admit that he was a pure libertarian, in religious as in > other matters. His real commitment (or lack thereof) to the teachings of > Jesus Christ is plain from a famous throwaway comment he made: "It does > me no injury for my neighbor to say > there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks > my leg." This raised plenty of hackles when it got about, and Jefferson > had to go to some pains to restore his reputation as a good Christian. > But one can only conclude, with Ellis, that he was no Christian at all. > > John Adams, though no more religious than Jefferson, had inherited the > fatalistic mindset of the Puritan culture in which he had grown up. He > personally endorsed the Enlightenment commitment to Reason but did not > share > Jefferson's optimism about its future, writing to him, "I wish that > Superstition in Religion exciting Superstition in Polliticks...may never > blow up all your benevolent and phylanthropic Lucubrations," but that > "the History of all Ages is against you." As an old man he observed, > "Twenty times in the course of my late reading have I been upon the > point of breaking out, 'This would be the best of all possible worlds, > if there were no religion in it!'" Speaking ex cathedra, as a relic of > the founding generation, he expressed his admiration for the Roman > system whereby every man could worship whom, what and how he pleased. > When his > young listeners objected that this was paganism, Adams replied that it > was indeed, and laughed. > > In their fascinating and eloquent valetudinarian correspondence, Adams > and Jefferson had a great deal to say about religion. Pressed by > Jefferson to define his personal creed, Adams replied that it was > "contained in four short words, 'Be just and good.'" Jefferson replied, > "The result of our fifty or sixty years of religious reading, in the > four words, 'Be just and good,' is that in which all our inquiries must > end; as the riddles of all priesthoods end in four more, 'ubi panis, ibi > deus.' What all agree in, is probably right. What no two agree in, most > probably wrong." > > This was a clear reference to Voltaire's Reflections on Religion. As > Voltaire put it: > > "There are no sects in geometry. One does not speak of a Euclidean, an > Archimedean. When the truth is evident, it is impossible for parties and > factions to arise.... Well, to what dogma do all minds agree? To the > worship of a God, and to honesty. All the philosophers of the world who > have had a religion have said in all ages: "There is a God, and one must > be just." There, then, is the universal religion established in all ages > and throughout mankind. The point in which they all agree is therefore > true, and the systems through which they differ are therefore false." > > Of course all these men knew, as all modern presidential candidates > know, that to admit to theological skepticism is political suicide. > During Jefferson's presidency a friend observed him on his way to > church, carrying a large prayer book. "You going to church, Mr. J," > remarked the friend. "You do not believe a > word in it." Jefferson didn't exactly deny the charge. "Sir," he > replied, "no nation has ever yet existed or been governed without > religion. Nor can be. The Christian religion is the best religion that > has been given to man and I as > chief Magistrate of this nation am bound to give it the sanction of my > example. Good morning Sir." > > Like Jefferson, every recent President has understood the necessity of > at least paying lip service to the piety of most American voters. All of > our leaders, Democrat and Republican, have attended church, and have > made very sure they are seen to do so. But there is a difference between > offering this gesture of respect for majority beliefs and manipulating > and pandering to the bigotry, prejudice and millennial fantasies of > Christian extremists. Though for public consumption the Founding Fathers > identified themselves as Christians, they were, at least by today's > standards, remarkably honest about their misgivings when it came to > theological doctrine, and religion in general came very low on the list > of their concerns and priorities--always excepting, that is, their > determination to keep the new nation free from bondage to its rule. > > > [1]kcom.gif > > > > References > > 1. http://www.knoton.com/ > > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/biofuel > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): > http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/biofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/
