Thomas Jefferson 3rd US President
People say this is a nation of God. It is such a predominant part of a candidate’s electability. Unfortunately, people don’t realize, most of the founding fathers were actually followers of Deism Thomas Jefferson always questioned his beliefs. He said,
“Fix Reason firmly in her seat. . . . Question with boldness even the existence of a God. . . . Do not be frightened from this enquiry by any fear of its consequences. If it end in a belief that there is no God, you will find incitements to virtue in the comfort and pleasantness you feel in its exercise and in the love of others which it will procure for you.” I ask, how can our morals be rigidly bound by ancient texts rather than guided and modified by reason and compassion?”. This statement would terrify Michelle Bachmann. Jefferson, for merely having uttered it, would have been labeled a godless heathen & smeared out of government. Let’s face it.
Why is this the case? Why must we be believers in a book created by man based on third or fourth hand accounts of unsubstantiated pre-scientific era miracles? Watch Eyewitness Accounts of Miracles Remember, I’m not trying to be offensive. “Let me assure you that my intent is not to offend or merely be provocative. I’m simply worried.”
― Sam Harris
What’s really telling is this poll:
A 1999 Gallup poll conducted to determine Americans’ willingness to tolerate a Jewish president (Joseph Lieberman was the Democratic candidate for Vice President at the time). Here are the percentages of people saying they would refuse to vote for “a generally well-qualified person for president” on the basis of some characteristic; in parenthesis are the figures for earlier years:
Catholic: 4% (1937: 30%)
Black: 5% (1958: 63%, 1987: 21%)
Jewish: 6% (1937: 47%)
Baptist: 6%
Woman: 8%
Mormon: 17%
Muslim: 38%
Gay: 37% (1978: 74%)
Atheist: 48%
Us non-believers are the least likely to be elected. Does anyone ever consider the possibility this president or several others have maybe pretended to believe? I believe that probability is likely.
Here’s a notion to ponder:
“According to the most common interpretation of biblical prophecy, Jesus will return only after things have gone horribly awry. Imagine the consequences if any significant component of the U.S. government believed that the world was about to end and that its ending would be glorious. The fact that nearly half of the American population apparently believes this should be considered a moral and intellectual emergency.” (Sam Harris)
It is troubling for those of us without religion how our leaders believe in such things as the Rapture or an afterlife of everlasting bliss and forgiveness. In my opinion (as stated by Sam Harris) “People who harbor strong convictions without evidence belong at the margins of our societies, not in our halls of power. The only thing we should respect in a person’s faith is his desire for a better life in this world; we need never have respected his certainty that one awaits him in the next.” These people are dangerous. Their beliefs are irrational and detrimental to the here and now. Live to make this world better, not some afterlife.
Sam Harris
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: Atheism, Discrimination, Hare, Harris, Jefferson, Rapture, Religion, Sam, War
