| Topic: |
Sociology > Education |
| User: |
"" |
| Date: |
30 Jul 2006 03:13:38 PM |
| Object: |
Another David Barton Myth Debunked |
July 28th 2006, 11:57 am
Another David Barton Myth Debunked
http://positiveliberty.com/2006/07/another-david-barton-myth-debunked.html#more-1662
by Jonathan Rowe
This time by a 17-year-old highschool senior, homeschooled, Christian
conservative, the exact audience which Barton targets for his propaganda
(indeed, he’s been nicknamed their “lesson-planner”).
http://www.time.com/time/press_releases/article/0,8599,1022576,00.html
And that’s a real shame. Some of those homeschooled Christians are real
bright; they deserve better than Barton.
The myth in question is about the so called “Jefferson Bible.” Barton’s
website claims:
http://www.wallbuilders.com/resources/search/detail.php?ResourceID=29
The reader, as do many others, claimed that Jefferson omitted all
miraculous events of Jesus from his “Bible.” Rarely do those who make this
claim let Jefferson speak for himself. Jefferson’s own words explain that
his intent for that book was not for it to be a “Bible,” but rather for it
to be a primer for the Indians on the teachings of Christ (which is why
Jefferson titled that work, “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth”).
What Jefferson did was to take the “red letter” portions of the New
Testament and publish these teachings in order to introduce the Indians to
Christian morality.
And then we have D. James Kennedy spreading the myth:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28006
So what about the Jefferson Bible, that miracles-free version of the
Scriptures? That, too, is a myth. It is not a Bible, but an abridgement of
the Gospels created by Jefferson in 1804 for the benefit of the Indians.
Jefferson’s “Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth Extracted From the New
Testament for the Use of the Indians” was a tool to evangelize and educate
American Indians. There is no evidence that it was an expression of his
skepticism.
And others:
http://www.truthpizza.org/post/nitardy7.htm
There never was a Jefferson Bible per se. Jefferson did cut out
miracles from the Gospels in order to produce a book on ethics — the ethics
and morals of Jesus Christ for the purpose of evangelizing and educating
the American Indians.
But Derek Wallace actually researches the primary sources in context and
discovers that Jefferson’s Bible really was for his own use and was an
expression of his skepticism. In fact, Jefferson thought much of Scripture
was a corrupted “dunghill,” with “diamonds” of Truth buried therein. From
Jefferson’s October 13, 1813 letter to John Adams (and Adams by the way,
approved of Jefferson’s editing Scripture, because he too thought the Bible
was errant, and noted if he had the time, Adams himself would have produced
his own Bible with the “error” edited out):
In extracting the pure principles which [Jesus] taught, we should have
to strip off the artificial vestments in which they have been muffled by
priests, who have travestied them into various forms, as instruments of
riches and power to themselves . . . We must reduce our volume to the
simple evangelists, select, even from them, the very words only of Jesus,
paring off the amphibologisms into which they have been led, by forgetting
often, or not understanding, what had fallen from him, by giving their own
misconceptions as his dicta, and expressing unintelligibly for others what
they had not understood themselves. There will be found remaining the most
sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man. I
have performed this operation for my own use, by cutting verse by verse out
of the printed book, and arranging the matter which is evidently his, and
which is as easily distinguishable as diamonds in a dunghill.
And this is not the only time Jefferson discusses, in his private
correspondence, his “Bible”; many times, he notes that his Bible is for his
own use.
Read the rest of the article; it’s quite good. I’d say that at 17, Mr.
Wallace’s skills at historical research have already surpassed Barton’s.
Trackback URL:
http://positiveliberty.com/2006/07/another-david-barton-myth-debunked.html/trackback/
**********************************************************************************
The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson
by Derek Wallace
Are people accurate when they refer to one of our most prominent Founding
Fathers as a Christian?
http://www.virtuemag.org/articles/396
***************************************************************************************
The Barton Chronicles
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/bartchron.htm
.
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| User: "" |
|
| Title: Re: Another David Barton Myth Debunked |
30 Jul 2006 07:06:56 PM |
|
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wrote:
July 28th 2006, 11:57 am
Another David Barton Myth Debunked
http://positiveliberty.com/2006/07/another-david-barton-myth-debunked.html#more-1662
by Jonathan Rowe
This time by a 17-year-old highschool senior, homeschooled, Christian
conservative, the exact audience which Barton targets for his propaganda
(indeed, he's been nicknamed their "lesson-planner").
http://www.time.com/time/press_releases/article/0,8599,1022576,00.html
And that's a real shame. Some of those homeschooled Christians are real
bright; they deserve better than Barton.
Perhaps you should write to the author of this "debunking" and point
out to him that his own "scholarship" is bogus.
To wit, the article you promote (http://www.virtuemag.org/articles/396)
includes this claim:
"Jefferson referred to Christianity as a 'superstition,'"
This assertion is footnoted in the article. His footnote 7 is "ibid.,"
referring, customarily to footnote 6. His footnote 6 is as follows:
6. Positiveathiesm.org (Works, 1829 edition, vol. 4, p. 322, quoted
from Franklin Steiner)
The website from which he drew his data is actually
http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/jefferson.htm
His footnote 6 identifies a valid quote found on that site.
For footnote 7, however, he was referring to something later on the
website. To wit, this:
"I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the
world, and do not find in our particular superstition one redeeming
feature. They are all alike, founded upon fables and mythologies."
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. Woods (undated), referring to "our
particular superstition," Christianity, from John E. Remsburg, Six
Historic Americans: Thomas Jefferson, quoted from Franklin Steiner,
Religious Beliefs of Our Presidents (1936),
First, he wrongly used the "ibid" convention. But that is rather minor.
Second, he was citing a website with no educational or official
validity.
Third, he cited a source (positiveatheism.org), which cited a book by
Franklin Steiner written in 1936, which cited a book by John Remsburg,
written in 1906, which gave no citation whatsoever for the "undated"
letter to Dr. Woods.
His cite was a fourth-hand hearsay cite--the kind of convention, if not
worse, than the conventions David Barton has been fried by the likes of
Rob Boston for using!
Fourth, and most importantly, as you know, the quoted letter to Dr.
Woods is, as you put it yourself "bogus."
See http://candst.tripod.com/studygd7b.htm
If you're going to debunk another author's research, it behooves you to
avoid the same sort of mistakes you're criticizing.
.
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| User: "" |
|
| Title: Re: Another David Barton Myth Debunked |
03 Aug 2006 09:59:49 AM |
|
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wrote:
:|buckeye-elo@nospam.net wrote:
:|> July 28th 2006, 11:57 am
:|> Another David Barton Myth Debunked
:|> http://positiveliberty.com/2006/07/another-david-barton-myth-debunked.html#more-1662
:|>
:|> by Jonathan Rowe
:|>
:|> This time by a 17-year-old highschool senior, homeschooled, Christian
:|> conservative, the exact audience which Barton targets for his propaganda
:|> (indeed, he's been nicknamed their "lesson-planner").
:|> http://www.time.com/time/press_releases/article/0,8599,1022576,00.html
:|>
:|> And that's a real shame. Some of those homeschooled Christians are real
:|> bright; they deserve better than Barton.
:|
:|Perhaps you should write to the author of this "debunking" and point
:|out to him that his own "scholarship" is bogus.
:|
J Adams warned of Religious Right?
391 OLD FAMILY LETTERS
___________________
[half way down page]
Quincy June 12. 1812.
DEAR Sir, – Ask the great Lady you quoted in your last, whether
when I pray for the health of Philadelphia, and that, no wasting sickness
may prevail there, I make a Girlish or a coying compliment to Doctor Rush?
The next paragraph requires a graver answer. But a Volume would not
suffice. Take a hint. I have lived among Infidel Philosophers more than
half a Century, and been engaged in continued disputes with them. This has
compelled me to spend more time in reading Universal History but especially
Ecclesiastical History, than has been for my Interest or Comfort. While the
Result has been an increasing Love for Christianity, as I understand it, a
growing Jealousy of the Priesthood has accompanied it all the way. Levites,
Magi, Faquirs, Mandarines, Mufti, Druids, Popes; Cardinals,
392
Archbishops, Bishops, Bernardines , Jacobins, Dominicans, Westleys, the
Prophet of Wabash, or Tippecanoe, Nimrod Hughs, Christopher McPherson, and
even Priestly and Price, even Dr. Ewing, Dr. Rogers and Dr. Dwight have
conspired together to rivet to my soul the Duty and Necessity of
Tolleration.
These general assemblies of Presbyterian Divines are general
Councils in embrio. We shall have Creeds and Confessions, Church discipline
and Excommunication. . We shall have, the civil Government overawed and
become a Tool. We shall have Armies and their Commanders under the orders
of Monks. We shall have Hermits, commanding Napoleons, I
agree with you, there is a Germ of Religion in human nature so strong that
whenever; an order of Men can persuade the People by, flattery or Terror,
that they can have salvation at their disposal, there can be no end to
fraud Violence or Usurpation. Ecumenical Councils produce Ecumenical
Bishops and both subservient Armies, Emperors and Kings.
The National Fast recommended by me turned me out of office. It was
connected with the general assembly of the Presbyterian church, which I had
no concern in. That assembly has alarmed and alienated Quakers,
Anabaptists, Mennonists, Moravians, Swedenborgians, Methodists, Catholicks,
protestant Episcopalians, Arians, Socinians, Armenians, &c,&c,&c, Atheists
and Deists might be added. A general Suspicion prevailed that the
Presbyterian Church was ambitious and aimed at an Establishment as a
National Church. I was represented as a Presbyterian and at the head of
this political and ecclesiastical Project. The secret whispers ran through
them [all the sects] "Let us have Jefferson,
393
Madison, Burr, any body, whether they be Philosophers, Deists, or even
Atheists, rather than a Presbyterian President" This principle is at the
bottom of the unpopularity of national Fasts and Thanksgiving. Nothing is
more dreaded than the National Government meddling with Religion. This wild
Letter, I very much fear, contains seeds of an Ecclesiastical History of
the U.S. for a Century to come.
I recollect a little sparring between Jefferson and me on some
religious subject, not ill natured however, but have forgotten the time,
and the particular subject. I wish you would give me the circumstances of
the whole Anecdote.
SOURCE: John Adams to Dr. Benjamin Rush June 12, 1812, pp. 392-93 OLD
FAMILY LETTERS copied from the originals for Alexander Biddle Series A
Press of J.B. Lippincott Company Philadelphia 1892 Library of American
Civilization LAC 22890 Series A&B Series A Contains letter of John Adams,
all but the first two addressed to Dr. Benjamin Rush
***************************************************************
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
****************************************************************
.
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| User: "" |
|
| Title: Re: Another David Barton Myth Debunked |
03 Aug 2006 09:55:51 AM |
|
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wrote:
:|buckeye-elo@nospam.net wrote:
:|> July 28th 2006, 11:57 am
:|> Another David Barton Myth Debunked
:|> http://positiveliberty.com/2006/07/another-david-barton-myth-debunked.html#more-1662
:|>
:|> by Jonathan Rowe
:|>
:|> This time by a 17-year-old highschool senior, homeschooled, Christian
:|> conservative, the exact audience which Barton targets for his propaganda
:|> (indeed, he's been nicknamed their "lesson-planner").
:|> http://www.time.com/time/press_releases/article/0,8599,1022576,00.html
:|>
:|> And that's a real shame. Some of those homeschooled Christians are real
:|> bright; they deserve better than Barton.
:|
:|Perhaps you should write to the author of this "debunking" and point
:|out to him that his own "scholarship" is bogus.
:|
Oaths
What Did the Founders Want or Establish?
A Lesson in "Original Intent."
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/meetup/Congremv.pdf
JEFFERSON BIBLE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/meetup/jefbible.pdf
***************************************************************
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
****************************************************************
.
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| User: "" |
|
| Title: Re: Another David Barton Myth Debunked |
01 Aug 2006 09:27:40 AM |
|
|
wrote:
:|buckeye-elo@nospam.net wrote:
:|> July 28th 2006, 11:57 am
:|> Another David Barton Myth Debunked
:|> http://positiveliberty.com/2006/07/another-david-barton-myth-debunked.html#more-1662
:|>
:|> by Jonathan Rowe
:|>
:|> This time by a 17-year-old highschool senior, homeschooled, Christian
:|> conservative, the exact audience which Barton targets for his propaganda
:|> (indeed, he's been nicknamed their "lesson-planner").
:|> http://www.time.com/time/press_releases/article/0,8599,1022576,00.html
:|>
:|> And that's a real shame. Some of those homeschooled Christians are real
:|> bright; they deserve better than Barton.
:|
:|Perhaps you should write to the author of this "debunking" and point
:|out to him that his own "scholarship" is bogus.
First comment, gee guy you so obsessed that you feel a need to monitor all
my posts. You keep showing up out of the clear blue which means you have to
be checking on what I am doing. LOL
Ahhh the usual Richard Gardiner AKA Ambrose Searle AKA Cartmanesq tactic
Distract, reframe, blow smoke, make men of straw, etc all to shift focus.
There is little if anything you can post that can't be turned around on you
and shoved right back into your face in spades.
Might I remind you of bogus quote on page 109 of the book you co-authored
with Gary Amos (Never Before in History) You know the one, the bogus
J.Q. Adams quote.
Might I remind you of your defense of Gary Amos with regards to the error
in his book DEFENDING THE DECLARATION.
Let me remind you:
Wills points out that Jefferson took great care to keep his religious
views private and only available to his most trusted friends. A letter
to Benjamin Rush when Jefferson sent his 'Syllabus' on Jesus to him
makes that desire for privacy quite clear. In the footnote after that
letter to Benjamin Rush is quoted Wills footnotes: "Gary Amos, in the
book cited above, weirdly claims (on p. 195) that Jefferson published
his version of the Gospels in 1816. That compendium was not published
till 1902. Cf. _Jefferson's Extracts from the Gospels_, edited by
Dickinson W. Adams (Princeton, 1983), pp 125-26. The 'Syllabus' was
published anonymously (not by Jefferson) in 1816 and received no public
notice."
Of course Amos was incorrect, but you defended Amos for a very, very, very
long time attacking and insulting all who brought to your attention the
actual historical facts showing Amos was wrong.
David Barton is infamous for being incorrect for being a propagandist and I
note that you didn't mention anything about his errors.
The Barton Chronicles
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/bartchron.htm
The myth in question is about the so called “Jefferson Bible.” Barton’s
website claims:
http://www.wallbuilders.com/resources/search/detail.php?ResourceID=29
The reader, as do many others, claimed that Jefferson omitted all
miraculous events of Jesus from his “Bible.” Rarely do those who make this
claim let Jefferson speak for himself. Jefferson’s own words explain that
his intent for that book was not for it to be a “Bible,” but rather for it
to be a primer for the Indians on the teachings of Christ (which is why
Jefferson titled that work, “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth”).
What Jefferson did was to take the “red letter” portions of the New
Testament and publish these teachings in order to introduce the Indians to
Christian morality.
or
And then we have D. James Kennedy spreading the myth:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28006
So what about the Jefferson Bible, that miracles-free version of the
Scriptures? That, too, is a myth. It is not a Bible, but an abridgement of
the Gospels created by Jefferson in 1804 for the benefit of the Indians.
Jefferson’s “Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth Extracted From the New
Testament for the Use of the Indians” was a tool to evangelize and educate
American Indians. There is no evidence that it was an expression of his
skepticism.
And others:
http://www.truthpizza.org/post/nitardy7.htm
But I understand why you wouldn't say anything against Kennedy since he
wrote a blurb praising the book you co authored with Gary Amos
Instead you resort to your usual tactics.
Now you are free to go to
http://positiveliberty.com/2006/07/another-david-barton-myth-debunked.html#more-1662
and leave a comment for Jonathan Rowe telling him wht you said above:
a
:|Perhaps you should write to the author of this "debunking" and point
:|out to him that his own "scholarship" is bogus.
and you are free to contact
The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson
by Derek Wallace
Are people accurate when they refer to one of our most prominent Founding
Fathers as a Christian?
http://www.virtuemag.org/articles/396
and point out any errors you feel exists in his research.
Bottom line, your 15 minutes of infamy in the UseNet Newsgroups in these
particular newsgroups has long ago passed.
No one cares much for your silly childish games or what you might have to
say. Your time has passed,
You might as well poof into the woodwork again.
BTW did Washington say "So Help Me God" when he was sworn in as president?
***************************************************************
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
****************************************************************
.
|
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| User: "" |
|
| Title: Re: Another David Barton Myth Debunked |
01 Aug 2006 01:10:55 PM |
|
|
wrote:
No one cares much for your silly childish games or what you might have to
say.
Projecting your insecurities again, Allison? You think of yourself as a
highly credentialed celebrity of the newsgroups because you're an
"ordained minister" and a "doctor of metaphysics" ROTFLMAO (see
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.education/msg/6bf0940daaee67a9
for Buckeye's mail order credentials)
Of course, being on the "Newdow" team, you feel like you're a real
somebody. Well, believe me, you two are on the road to infamy. With
some good luck you might find a place among the great ones who
manipulated the system: Madalyn Murray O'Hair, Stella Liebeck, and O.J.
Simpson. Newdow's infamy is beginning to rank right up there with all
three... perhaps you deserve a share in it.
And are you still advocating that your friends harrass, kidnap, contact
the employers, and invade the privacy of any newsgroup participant who
doesn't agree with you and Newdow?
Do you still have "gardiner" nightmares every night? How many search
hits in your little HamptonRoads yahoo group would the name "gardiner"
get? Insofar as there are no posts made by anyone named gardiner to
that group, don't you think your gardner preoccupation is a little
psychotic? Are you still seeing Gardiner everywhere you look, like you
did with Raul Golden?
(http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.dan-quayle/msg/4f09594c3be5aac6)
Ever thought about therapy for that problem?
.
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| User: "" |
|
| Title: Re: Another David Barton Myth Debunked |
03 Aug 2006 05:04:56 AM |
|
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wrote:
:|buckeye-elo@nospam.net wrote:
:|> July 28th 2006, 11:57 am
:|> Another David Barton Myth Debunked
:|> http://positiveliberty.com/2006/07/another-david-barton-myth-debunked.html#more-1662
:|>
:|> by Jonathan Rowe
:|>
:|> This time by a 17-year-old highschool senior, homeschooled, Christian
:|> conservative, the exact audience which Barton targets for his propaganda
:|> (indeed, he's been nicknamed their "lesson-planner").
:|> http://www.time.com/time/press_releases/article/0,8599,1022576,00.html
:|>
:|> And that's a real shame. Some of those homeschooled Christians are real
:|> bright; they deserve better than Barton.
:|
:|Perhaps you should write to the author of this "debunking" and point
:|out to him that his own "scholarship" is bogus.
Letters: Separation of church, state crucial
http://www.2theadvocate.com/opinion/3463926.html
Published: Aug 1, 2006
A recent Advocate letter writer stated the words “wall of separation
between church and state” do not exist in the First Amendment and,
therefore, no such constitutionally guaranteed separation exists.
Then, in the July 22 publication of The Advocate, it was reported that
“Kathryn Goppelt, a Republican political activist,” has been trying for
months to have the Ascension Parish Council televise, on the parish’s
government-access channel, a program called “Keys to Good Government.”
What do the two have in common? It is quite possible that the source for
the letter writer’s assertions was David Barton, who is also responsible
for “Keys to Good Government.” David Barton has a B.A. from Oral Roberts
University, has been the vice chair of the Texas GOP, and, in 1989, wrote
“The Myth of Separation,” wherein he attacks the doctrine of separation of
church and state.
Many, including the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and
Columbia University’s Columbia Political Union, have criticized Mr.
Barton’s writings and speeches for their historical inaccuracies and
factual errors.
Although Mr. Barton continues to be undeterred in his quest to make
believers of his dubious historical accounts of our nation’s constitutional
roots, his Web site, http://www.wallbuilders.com, has evidently been
brought to task for many of Barton’s claims.
Wallbuilders, in 2001, published Barton’s seemingly halfhearted mea culpa
in an article titled “Unconfirmed Quotations.” In it, Mr. Barton
acknowledges his inability to produce a single primary source document that
can authenticate at least 12 quotes he’d previously and readily cited as
proof that our Founding Fathers’ intent was to make our country a
“Christian Nation.”
However, Mr. Barton doesn’t appear to have yet conceded his
misrepresentation of Thomas Jefferson’s 1801 letter to the Danbury Baptist
Association, where Jefferson famously wrote the phrase “wall of separation
between church and state.”
I am now wondering if The Advocate’s letter writer who declared that the
Constitution does not provide for the separation of church and state is a
student of Dan Barton’s version of history.
With reference to Kathryn Goppelt and her quest to have the APC televise
“The Keys to Good Government,” I am going to give Ms. Goppelt the benefit
of the doubt and assume she has no information regarding David Barton’s
apparent lack of historical and constitutional writing credentials.
Perhaps Ms. Goppelt and the Ascension Parish Council might want to consider
reading the Federalist Papers, supplemented by a reading of the
Constitution and its Amendments. If that does not convince them of the need
for continued vigilance in enforcing the doctrine of separation between
church and state, perhaps a six-month stay in a nonsecular country might.
Bridget J. Thomas
housewife
Prairieville
Story originally published in The Advocate
***************************************************************
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
****************************************************************
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