Spurious Quotes
As Jefferson himself noted, "So many persons have of late found an interest
or a passion gratified by imputing to me sayings and writings which I never
said or wrote..." (TJ to Alexander White, 10 September 1797). More than two
hundred years later, Jefferson is of course not here to correct any
wrongful "imputations," but we are. Please take advantage of our years of
debunking spurious Jefferson quotes, and read on for information on some of
the most frequent and recent troublemakers.
http://www.monticello.org/library/reference/spurious.html
Unconfirmed Quotes
There are a number of quotes that we do not find in Thomas Jefferson's
correspondence or other writings; in such cases, Jefferson should not be
cited as the source. They include the following: (only two examples
included here. They refer to religion:
"Sir, 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."
This is a sticky one, since Jefferson was supposedly overheard saying
this, rather than having written it. If there is no potential written
record, it makes our job quite a bit harder, but we have some clues in this
case. This quote appeared in Historical Sketch of Washington Parish,
Washington City, 1794-1857, by Reverend Ethan Allen (1796-1897). The
original quote is as follows:
"Mr. J.P. Ingle says in his note of July 6, 1857, "Mr. Underwood and
myself can both recollect that Mr. McCormick held service in a Tobacco
House as early in 1803 when Mr. Jefferson attended there. The old Market
which stood on the NW corner of the Virginia & New Jersey Avenues was often
pointed out as the place also where Mr. McCormick officiated. Was the
tobacco house near this? Here it was that Mr. Jefferson was coming one
Sunday morning across the fields leading to it with his large red Prayer
Book under his arm when a friend riding him after their mutual good morning
said which way are you walking Mr. Jefferson - to which he replied to
Church Sir - you going to church Mr. Jefferson? You do not believe a word
in it - Sir said Mr. Jefferson no nation has yet existed or been governed
without religion - nor can be - the Christian religion is the best religion
that has been given to man & I as the chief magistrate of this nation am
bound to give it the sanction of my example. Good morning Sir."
Reverend Allen would have been a child at the time this statement was
supposedly uttered, and the anecdote actually came to the Reverend through
the filter of several other people. We remain skeptical of its
authenticity.
------------------------------------------------
"I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the world,
and do not find in our particular superstition [Christianity] one redeeming
feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology."
We are asked about this one on a fairly regular basis. As with many
spurious Jefferson quotes, it is frequently seen on various Internet sites.
Many sites do not cite a source, but a good number of those that do
attribute this quote to a letter from TJ to a "Dr. Wood." As far as we
know, TJ never wrote to an individual calling him/herself Dr. Wood. Another
suspicious element is the statement that he does not find in Christianity
"one redeeming feature." One presumes that Jefferson did, in fact, find
some redeeming features in Christianity, otherwise he would not have taken
the time to paste together his own versions of the Bible. See the report
Jefferson's Religious Beliefs
http://www.monticello.org/reports/interests/religion.html
for more information.
***************************************************************
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the US and a couple from overseas as well]
***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
****************************************************************
USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote
"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"
That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.
It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.
*****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
****************************************************************
.
|
