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Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion by Benjamin Franklin, November 20, 1728

Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion by Benjamin Franklin, November 20, 1728

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Benjamin Franklin November 20, 1728 Franklin had difficulty imagining that the Supreme Being could possibly be interested in the petty needs – or prayers – of Earthlings. Yet He believed that humans have a powerful need “to pay Divine Regards to SOMETHING.” So, ever the engineer, Franklin concluded that God created a system of deputy gods, one for each solar system. Despite his Puritan upbringing, he envisioned a warm, loving God. “I should be happy to have so wise, good…

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A New Version of the Lord’s Prayer by Benjamin Franklin

A New Version of the Lord’s Prayer by Benjamin Franklin

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Benjamin Franklin January 1, 1768   “Heavenly Father, may all revere thee, and become thy dutiful Children and faithful Subjects; may thy Laws be obeyed on Earth as perfectly as they are in Heaven: Provide for us this Day as thou hast hitherto daily done: Forgive us our Trespasses, and enable us likewise to forgive those that offend us. Keep us out of Temptation, and deliver us from Evil.” Reasons for the Change of Expression Old Version. Our Father which…

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A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain, by Benjamin Franklin

A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain, by Benjamin Franklin

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Benjamin Franklin January 1, 1725 He wrote this detailed theological statement this when he was 19, in London. Whatever is, is in its Causes just. Since all Things are by Fate; but purblind Man, Sees but a part o’ th’ Chain, the nearest Link, His Eyes not carrying to the equal Beam. That poises all above. Dryd. To Mr. J. R. SIR, I have here, according to your Request, given you my presen Thoughts of the general State of Things…

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Father Andrew White’s First Impressions of Maryland & Its Native Inhabitants

Father Andrew White’s First Impressions of Maryland & Its Native Inhabitants

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Andrew White 1634 Father White was a Jesuit priest, and originally wrote this narrative in Latin. Maryland was initially colonized by Catholic dissenters from England, under a grant from King Charles I to Cecilius Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, whose father, Sir George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, had been a favorite of King James I and had been his Secretary of State until he declared his Catholicism At length, sailing from this, we reached what they call Point Comfort,…

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The Expence of the Institutions for the Instruction of People, by Adam Smith

The Expence of the Institutions for the Instruction of People, by Adam Smith

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Adam Smith January 1, 1776 The institutions for the instruction of people of all ages are chiefly those for religious instruction. This is a species of instruction of which the object is not so much to render the people good citizens in this world, as to prepare them for another and a better world in a life to come. The teachers of the doctrine which contains this instruction, in the same manner as other teachers, may either depend altogether for…

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Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, October 9, 1775

Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, October 9, 1775

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Abigail Adams October 9, 1775 Grieving over the death of his mother, Adams offers an extraordinary reflection on God, life and the afterlife I have not been composed enough to write you since Last Sabbeth when in the bitterness of my soul, I wrote a few confused lines, since which time it has pleased the great disposer of all Events to add Breach to Breach — “Rare are solitary woes, they Love a Train And tread each others heal.” The…

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The Archive

The Archive

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Welcome.  This aspires to be a library of all the important documents related to America’s quest for religious freedom.   I started collecting these for Founding Faith,  my book about the birth of religious freedom and the Founding Fathers.  I collected more than a hundred of the key documents, including many of the letters and writings by the Founding Fathers about their personal views of religion as well as their views about the relationship between church and state. I’m now…

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Congressional Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, November 1, 1777

Congressional Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, November 1, 1777

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IN CONGRESS November 1, 1777 FORASMUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for benefits received, and to implore such farther Blessings as they stand in Need of; And it having pleased him in his abundant Mercy not only to continue to us the innumerable Bounties of his common Providence, but also to smile upon us in the Prosecution of a just…

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Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Rush, April 21, 1803

Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Rush, April 21, 1803

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Thomas Jefferson April 21, 1803 Dear Sir, –In some of the delightful conversations with you, in the evenings of 1798–99, and which served as an anodyne to the afflictions of the crisis through which our country was then laboring, the Christian religion was sometimes our topic; and I then promised you, that one day or other, I would give you my views of it. They are the result of a life of inquiry & reflection, and very different from that…

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