Independence

(Written: July 04, 2021)

America’s founding Fathers were not the Bible-thumping religionists they are sometimes purported to be. They in fact were if anything religious skeptics, children of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment that questioned all forms of intellectual dogma, including religion. The finest thinker and writer among them, was Thomas Jefferson who was a Unitarian and a professed deist. In fact, in the year 1840, Mr. Jefferson began editing the Gospels to extract the essence of Jesus’ teachings. With the reassembled key passages, a little book called, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, came into print, although now long out of print. Beacon Press recently republished the book as The Jefferson Bible. This edition enhanced by historical commentary, reveals Jefferson’s desire to identify universal spiritual principles. In fact, the passages that Jefferson selected demonstrated that Jesus’ message of love and service did not require what is called, “artificial props of creed, dogma, and liturgy.” So here we have this man called Thomas Jefferson who is said to have the Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, be regarded as one of his finest achievements passed by Virginia’s General Assembly in 1786, a forerunner of the religious freedom clauses in the United States Constitution. For Jefferson, religious freedom meant freedom from religious practices one finds objectionable every bit as much as the capacity to practice religion without interference. His legacy to the tradition of freedom that you may take for granted is truly immeasurable. My friend, if you are an American, a Patriot, or anyone who is interested in the United States and why Freedom is so important for us and you are reading this for July 4th, then happy Independence Day.

Peace and Abundant Blessings always.

(From my book that is currently being written)