Liberal Atheists are at it again.

[Roy]

Roy, at this point, common sense has to come into play.

At the moment common sense is telling me there's no point talking to anyone about why elephants are grey if no-one will agree that they aren't pink.

Who was the "God" of Jefferson's contemporaries? Who would his contemporaries assume he was referencing? What "God" was known in the US in his time?

1) Mostly the Xtian one, but not entirely - some were deists. Jefferson himself was more deist than Xtian.
2) If they knew Jefferson, they'd (if they didn't ask him instead) probably assume that since Jefferson wasn't particularly Xtian, he wasn't referring to any specific god, but using terms that could be inclusive of all Americans, whether Xtian, Jewish, deistic or otherwise. Otherwise they'd probably assume he meant their own particular flavour of deity, Xtian or otherwise, as many people do today.
3) Technically, none. But lots were believed in, including many variations of Xtian god (Protestant, Catholic, Quaker etc), the nature gods of Aristotle etc via deism, and the Judaism OT God.

I think it's more likely that Jefferson avoided being specific about 'God' because it i) wasn't relevant ii) wasn't necessary and iii) he wanted to be inclusive; than that he didn't specify the Xtian god because that was the only possibility.

But again, there's no point even trying to discuss what Jefferson meant with a bunch of ignorami who claim that he specifically referenced the god of Christianity but steadfastly refuse to provide any quotes where he did so.

[seer]

But again, there's no point even trying to discuss what Jefferson meant with a bunch of ignorami who claim that he specifically referenced the god of Christianity but steadfastly refuse to provide any quotes where he did so.

Jefferson was the main author but there were five people on the Committee that drafted the DoI. For instance Roger Sherman from my state who was a Calvinist. Livingston was Episcopalian. Adams was a Unitarian (which does not mean that he wasn't Christian) and went back to his Calvinist roots later in life after Abigail died.

[Cow Poke]

At the moment common sense....

isn't so common.

[Mountain Man]

Jefferson was the main author but there were five people on the Committee that drafted the DoI. For instance Roger Sherman from my state who was a Calvinist. Livingston was Episcopalian.

Not to mention the 56 men who signed it.

[seer]

Not to mention the 56 men who signed it.

And the Constitutional Convention:

The phrase "Founding Fathers" is a proper noun. It refers to a very specific group of people, the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention. Yes, there were other important players, like Jefferson, whose thinking deeply influenced the shape of our nation and who were not in attendance, but the 55 Fathers make up the core.

The denominational affiliation of these men is a matter of public record. Among the delegates were 28 Episcopalians, 8 Presbyterians, 7 Congregationalists, 2 Lutherans, 2 Dutch Reformed, 2 Methodists, 2 Roman Catholics, 1 unknown and only 3 deists--Williamson, Wilson and Franklin, this at a time when church membership entailed a sworn public confession of biblical faith.(John Eidsmoe, Christianity and the Constitution, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), p. 43.)

https://www.str.org/quickthoughts/wh...s#.Wfie-WhSy9I

[Sparko]

He did not believe in the Deity of Christ, but he was not a Deist - that God had a hands off policy. People speak about the Jefferson Bible, what he cut out - what is just as interesting is what he left in. He certainly was a theist.

He would have had to use "unorthodox Christian" on tweb for sure. But he did consider himself a CHRISTIAN, whether we would agree or not. That means his God is the Christian God, YAHWEH, not some nebulous 'god' of deism. A specific deity.

[seer]

He would have had to use "unorthodox Christian" on tweb for sure. But he did consider himself a CHRISTIAN, whether we would agree or not. That means his God is the Christian God, YAHWEH, not some nebulous 'god' of deism. A specific deity.

True...

[JimL]

He would have had to use "unorthodox Christian" on tweb for sure. But he did consider himself a CHRISTIAN, whether we would agree or not. That means his God is the Christian God, YAHWEH, not some nebulous 'god' of deism. A specific deity.

That's completely false, Jefferson did not believe in Yahwey, Christ, or the triune God of Christianity. He believed in a supreme being, thought Jesus to be a great moral philosopher, and thats about it. He once, writing to a friend, said that he believed himself to be "a sect unto himself, as far as he knew". You can't be a Christian and not believe in Yahwey, Christ, and the triune god.

[JimL]

The Founders who populated the First (Continental-Confederation) Congress: http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/sh...l=1#post486067

Oh, those Founding Fathers! I don't know, but I don't doubt in the least that most of those people were Christians of one sect or another, but unless the country was founded as a Christian theocracy, then it wasn't founded as a Christian nation.

[ke7ejx]

Jefferson was the main author but there were five people on the Committee that drafted the DoI. For instance Roger Sherman from my state who was a Calvinist. Livingston was Episcopalian. Adams was a Unitarian (which does not mean that he wasn't Christian) and went back to his Calvinist roots later in life after Abigail died.

Except Jefferson was a Deist as was Benjamin Franklin and some of the others. Hence the wording of that document. There were Christian values, absolutely. But it wasn't wholly so.

[rogue06]

He would have had to use "unorthodox Christian" on tweb for sure. But he did consider himself a CHRISTIAN, whether we would agree or not. That means his God is the Christian God, YAHWEH, not some nebulous 'god' of deism. A specific deity.

IIRC he seemed to waver between considering himself a Unitarian and a deist.

[Cow Poke]

Oh, those Founding Fathers! I don't know, but I don't doubt in the least that most of those people were Christians of one sect or another, but unless the country was founded as a Christian theocracy, then it wasn't founded as a Christian nation.

You obviously don't understand what a theocracy is.

[seer]

Except Jefferson was a Deist as was Benjamin Franklin and some of the others. Hence the wording of that document. There were Christian values, absolutely. But it wasn't wholly so.

Jefferson wasn't a Deist, Deists of that time did not believe God interfered in human affairs. Jefferson did believe He did. He was a generic theist. Two on the Committee were Christian, Adams was raised Calvinist, was Unitarian while Abigail was alive, later went back to his Calvinist roots.

[JimL]

You obviously don't understand what a theocracy is.

My guess then is that you don't understand what a theocracy is. The source of authority in a democracy or democratic republic doesn't come from god, CP, it comes from the people.

[Cow Poke]

My guess then is that you don't understand what a theocracy is. The source of authority in a democracy or democratic republic doesn't come from god, CP, it comes from the people.

Yeah, you confirmed it - you have no clue. And you appear to have forgotten your argument.