The First National Thanksgiving Proclamation IN CONGRESS November 1, 1777

[seer]

Yes I know, they were all Deists...

Thanksgiving Proclamation 1777 By the Continental Congress The First National Thanksgiving Proclamation 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 and necessary War, for the Defense and Establishment of our unalienable Rights and Liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased, in so great a Measure, to prosper the Means used for the Support of our Troops, and to crown our Arms with most signal success: It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE:

That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgments and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of JESUS CHRIST, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance;

That it may please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public Council of the whole: To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty GOD, to secure for these United States, the greatest of all human Blessings, INDEPENDENCE and PEACE: That it may please him, to prosper the Trade and Manufactures of the People, and the Labor of the Husbandman, that our Land may yield its Increase:To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand; and to prosper the Means of Religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consisteth "in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost." And it is further recommended, That servile Labor, and such Recreation, as, though at other Times innocent, may be unbecoming the Purpose of this Appointment, be omitted on so solemn an Occasion.

[Mountain Man]

It is not possible to read the words and speeches of our Founding Fathers and maintain the belief that the United States was not explicitly founded as a Christian nation.

[seer]

It is not possible to read the words and speeches of our Founding Fathers and maintain the belief that the United States was not explicitly founded as a Christian nation.

They did not want a national church, but states (like mine) did have tax supported churches...

[Mountain Man]

They did not want a national church, but states (like mine) did have tax supported churches...

Many early state constitutions stipulated that anybody seeking public office had to be a professing Christian.

[seer]

Many early state constitutions stipulated that anybody seeking public office had to be a professing Christian.

But, but, they were all Deists....

[NorrinRadd]

So... Not to be confused with the 1621, 1623, or 1789 "First" Thanksgivings.

[Ronson]

Just a bunch of old, dead white people.

[Starlight]

Cool, let's say your imagination is real and that the founding fathers were all fervent Christians... so what?

[seer]

Cool, let's say your imagination is real and that the founding fathers were all fervent Christians... so what?

I didn't say or suggest that they were all fervent Christians, but obviously most were. And it points to the Christian influence in the founding of this nation. Seen in the laws and practice, really up to recently.

https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel03.html

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

I didn't say or suggest that they were all fervent Christians, but obviously most were.

From my reading, the various FFs considered religious beliefs to be a private concern which had nothing to do with influencing the founding of the USA. That is demonstrated in the absence of God in the US Constitution which contains no references to any supernatural power. Instead it is the natural power of "We the People".

[seer]

From my reading, the various FFs considered religious beliefs to be a private concern which had nothing to do with influencing the founding of the USA. That is demonstrated in the absence of God in the US Constitution which contains no references to any supernatural power. Instead it is the natural power of "We the People".

You are clueless, from the Library of Congress:

https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel03.html

Religion played a major role in the American Revolution by offering a moral sanction for opposition to the British--an assurance to the average American that revolution was justified in the sight of God. As a recent scholar has observed, "by turning colonial resistance into a righteous cause, and by crying the message to all ranks in all parts of the colonies, ministers did the work of secular radicalism and did it better."

Ministers served the American cause in many capacities during the Revolution: as military chaplains, as penmen for committees of correspondence, and as members of state legislatures, constitutional conventions and the national Congress. Some even took up arms, leading Continental troops in battle.

The Revolution split some denominations, notably the Church of England, whose ministers were bound by oath to support the King, and the Quakers, who were traditionally pacifists. Religious practice suffered in certain places because of the absence of ministers and the destruction of churches, but in other areas, religion flourished.

The Revolution strengthened millennialist strains in American theology. At the beginning of the war some ministers were persuaded that, with God's help, America might become "the principal Seat of the glorious Kingdom which Christ shall erect upon Earth in the latter Days." Victory over the British was taken as a sign of God's partiality for America and stimulated an outpouring of millennialist expectations--the conviction that Christ would rule on earth for 1,000 years. This attitude combined with a groundswell of secular optimism about the future of America to create the buoyant mood of the new nation that became so evident after Jefferson assumed the presidency in 1801.

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

You are clueless, from the Library of Congress:

https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel03.html

Yes in the private and personal domain but not when it came to the state.

If your claim has any basis in fact why is there no mention of any supernatural entity/God in your Constitution? Why is there a "wall of separation” between religion and government? Why is the state excluded from involving itself in religion and why is religion excluded from involving itself in the state?

Why was there originally no mention of god in any oath of office?

[Diogenes]

From my reading, the various FFs considered religious beliefs to be a private concern which had nothing to do with influencing the founding of the USA. That is demonstrated in the absence of God in the US Constitution which contains no references to any supernatural power. Instead it is the natural power of "We the People".

You seem ignorant of he political philosophy of FF.


Per the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

The right of people to alter the form of government is maintained and the Constitution as an alteration of the Articles of Confederation flows from the Declaration of Independence. You conflate the derivation of powers with the purpose of government. The FF maintained government was instituted to secure rights that were of divine origin. Mentioning "Nature's God" in the Constitution was unnecessary because the FFs were not disingenuous pedants.

"Religious tests", in the temporal context, would have been a reference to oaths to the State church like the Church of England, which the FFs wanted to avoid.

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

You seem ignorant of he political philosophy of FF.


Per the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

The right of people to alter the form of government is maintained and the Constitution as an alteration of the Articles of Confederation flows from the Declaration of Independence. You conflate the derivation of powers with the purpose of government. The FF maintained government was instituted to secure rights that were of divine origin. Mentioning "Nature's God" in the Constitution was unnecessary because the FFs were not disingenuous pedants.

"Religious tests", in the temporal context, would have been a reference to oaths to the State church like the Church of England, which the FFs wanted to avoid.

And what was this "Creator"? How was it defined by them?

[seer]

Yes in the private and personal domain but not when it came to the state.

If your claim has any basis in fact why is there no mention of any supernatural entity/God in your Constitution? Why is there a "wall of separation” between religion and government? Why is the state excluded from involving itself in religion and why is religion excluded from involving itself in the state?

Why was there originally no mention of god in any oath of office?

There is no 'wall of separation' written in the Constitution. Second, it is true that the Founders did not want a national church, but states, like mine, actually had tax supported Churches. This practice lasted into the 1830s. And in state law, laws against sodomy, adultery, fornication and working on the Sabbath (Blue laws), and Blasphemy were the rule not the exception. And Biblically based. Even Jefferson when he revised the Virginia Code instituted castration for acts of sodomy. Again, read my link and educate yourself.