Thomas Jefferson's religious quotes

• "I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance, or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others."
  
  
• "I have examined all the known superstitions of the world and I do not find
  in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They
  are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men,
  women, and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been
  burnt, tortured, fined, and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this
  coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to
  support roguery and error all over the earth."
  
  
• "Christianity...(has become) the most perverted system that ever shone on
  man...Rogueries, absurdities and untruths were perpetrated upon the
  teachings of Jesus by a large band of dupes and imposters led by Paul, the
  first great corrupter of the teachings of Jesus."
  
  
• "They believe that any portion of power confided to me, will be exerted in opposition to their schemes. And they believe rightly; for I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. But this is all they have to fear from me: and enough, too, in their opinion."
  - On members of the clergy who sought to establish some form of "official" Christianity in the U.S. government. Letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush (September 23, 1800)
  
  
• "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between church and State."
  -Letter to Danbury Baptist Association, CT. (Jan. 1, 1802) This statement is the origin of the often used phrase "separation of Church and State".
  
  
• "I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent."
  
  
• "I am for freedom of religion, & against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another."
  
  
• "The clergy converted the simple teachings of Jesus into an engine for
  enslaving mankind and adulterated by artificial constructions into a
  contrivance to filch wealth and power to themselves...these clergy in fact,
  constitute the real Anti-Christ."
  
  
• "He who steadily observes the moral precepts in which all religions concur, will never be questioned at the gates of heaven as to the dogmas in which they all differ."
  
  
• "Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern, which have come under my observation, none appear to me so pure as that of Jesus. He who follows this steadily need not, I think, be uneasy, although he cannot comprehend the subtleties and mysteries erected on his doctrines by those who, calling themselves his special followers and favorites, would make him come into the world to lay snares for all understandings but theirs."
  
  
• "History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes."
  
  
• "In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own."
  
  
• "If we did a good act merely from love of God and a belief that it is pleasing to Him, whence arises the morality of the Atheist? ...Their virtue, then, must have had some other foundation than the love of God."
  
  
• "Our particular principles of religion are a subject of accountability to our god alone. I enquire after no man's and trouble none with mine; nor is it given to us in this life to know whether yours or mine, our friend's or our foe's, are exactly the right."
  
  
• "It is in our lives, and not from our words, that our religion must be read. By the same test the world must judge me. But this does not satisfy the priesthood. They must have a positive, a declared assent to all their interested absurdities. My opinion is that there would never have been an infidel, if there had never been a priest."
  

(all quotes from Wikiquote)

To Jefferson religion was a private matter that only needed to be personified by how a man lived. Actions were what mattered. And, in that sense, Jefferson saw the church's history as a sad indictment. For him, America should be a place where people could worship freely and not be discriminated against based on religion. And, ironically, freeing both the people to worship and the religion from government augmented both. Religious freedom is mutually beneficial for both sides.

I think Jefferson would be pleased by Keith Ellison's decision to use the Koran during his induction to Congress. Not because of the symbolism, but because of the sincerity, and the freedom that allowed it to happen with integrity. I find it hard to believe the same state produced a leader like Thomas Jefferson, and a man like Virgil Goode. They come from different times, I suppose. Jefferson from the age of reason. Goode from an age of fear.

A Congressman's Strained Attempt at Logic

No one really expects too much out of a congressman these days, especially a member of the House of Representatives. But after Virgil Goode's dramatic self-unveiling as a stolid bigot the bar was lowered even more. Rather than easing tensions, say in the vein of former President Gerald Ford, Mr. Goode has now attempted some sort of explanation for his words, in the form of an open letter to USA Today. The result is a painful stab at logic that only Joseph McCarthy could love.

The first thing Mr. Goode attempts to do is erase any idea that he may be bigoted. "My letter did not call for a religious test for prospective members of Congress, as some have charged," he writes. You see, Mr. Goode is not bigoted in the same way millions of people are not racist. He calls for no test, no governmental controls, no overt segregation. It's just that, well, he's uneasy....

"Immigration is arguably the most important issue facing the country today. At least 12 million immigrants are here illegally," he says. That fact is coupled with, "Diversity visas, a program initiated in 1990 to grant visas to people from countries that had low U.S. immigration at that time, are bringing in 50,000 a year from various parts of the world, including the Middle East."

A) Immigration is an important issue. B) For example we have 12 million illegal immigrants in this country. C) Did you know 50,000 people are coming in, some of them from the middle east, on diversity visas? D) Obviously those people are part of the problem and must be stopped.

In other words: to help solve for A we have to fix C by doing D. Ah, the gears are really turning in Mr. Goode's head. But wait, C is neither related to A nor B. You're led to think that diversity visas are related to the aforementioned immigration problem. Unfortunately, diversity visas issue green cards which are perfectly legal. You may remember this type of obtuse parallelism from any speech the White House ever gave about Iraq. A) Terrorism is evil. B) 9/11 is the result of terrorism. C) Iraq is evil. D) we need to invade Iraq to prevent another 9/11.

What we learned in Iraq is that when problem A and problem B are unrelated solving problem B does not also solve problem A. Mr. Goode has not received this memo. It is no secret that this country has a hard time with math and science but I think even this seems within the grasp of a congressman. But perhaps Mr. Goode is much more interested in keeping non-Christians out of congress than he is about solving any immigration problem.

"I believe that if we do not stop illegal immigration totally, reduce legal immigration and end diversity visas, we are leaving ourselves vulnerable to infiltration by those who want to mold the United States into the image of their religion, rather than working within the Judeo-Christian principles that have made us a beacon for freedom-loving persons around the world."

This is the part where the wheels come off. He's saying we should attempt to stop people from molding the United States into the image of their religion, by keeping those people out of the country, so that the United States can be further molded into a Judeo-Christian image. Yes, let's prevent Islam from possibly hijacking the country by surrendering it to Christianity. Wonderful idea. I understand he's just a congressman but what kind of logic is that?

All of this really smacks of McCarthyism. And all of this is really the result of Keith Ellison, a Muslim from Minnesota being elected to congress. Ellison's election, and announcement that he will use the Quran at his swearing in ceremony, should have been a showcase for the American ideal that all men are created equal and have an equal chance in this country. Instead, people like Virgil Goode have seized it to personify their own fears an insecurities. What comes out is not the embracing of the high and difficult ideals of our Republic, but a warped and frustrated discharge served to you with a little logic and an American flag.

Don't believe me? Read the letter for yourself.

"Prove to me you are not working with our enemies"

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Keith Olbermann awarded Beck his "worst person in the world" award last night for his conduct during the interview.

All of this attention for bigotry and fear mongering will no doubt equal financial security for Beck. His next book should be an even bigger hit.

I find it funny that later in the interview Black says Ellison is an example to European Muslims on how to integrate properly. This, then, is how to be a good immigrant, right? You work hard and rise to one of the top positions in the country so that people like Glenn Beck can view you only by your religion or race. Beck only considers Ellison a citizen in the strictest sense, he does not view Ellison as anywhere near equal. And isn't that why European Muslims feel disenfranchised? Sure, ok, you can live here, but every step of the way we're going to remind you what your place is.

And Beck thinks he's doing this country a favor by asking such probing questions? As if they're the product of some deep insight or original thought? He's never lived a day in his life, has he? His line of thinking is nothing new. Show me every great human injustice and I'll show you bigotry.

And why does CNN put this guy on the air? "Prove to me you are not working with our enemies"? Are you kidding me? Hey man, you can't prove a negative. At best, if you strip the bigotry out of that question, it's an illogical question. It's like asking someone to prove they don't believe in UFOs. And he's on CNN? I've lost a lot of respect for that network. I can rant and rave and stereotype and spew bile and prejudice, where's my TV show? The ratings would be wonderful.

Why don't you write in and tell CNN what you think. Or tell me what you think by leaving a comment.