Posted by
Conservative Wordsmith on Saturday, January 26, 2008 2:06:26 PM
Conservative Wordsmith Susan Baldwin writes: Mitt Romney, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson all have one thing in common: none of them were, or are, evangelical Christians. Mitt Romney is a Mormon; Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were both Deists. I recently wrote a post called "Mitt Romney Qualifies With Article 6,"* which explains the fact that the Constitution of the United States prohibits religious belief as being a requirement for the holding of any public office.
According to Dr. Wayne Grudem, an evangelical research professor of Bible and theology at the Phoenix Seminary in Phoenix, Arizona; also a Townhall columnist: "'Here in the United States, God used not only Founding Fathers who were strong Christians, but also Deists such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, to build the foundation of our nation. Jefferson even became our third President in 1801, a demonstration of the wisdom of Article 6 of the Constitution, which says, 'no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.'" 1
Wisdom is the key word, because our founding fathers were indeed wise men. They knew that qualifications for any public office in the United States should never be subjected to any kind of a religious test.
Who would design a test that had the power to accept or decline certain religious persons from holding public office? Who would have the right to decide which religions would pass such a test, and which religions would fail? What if this test contained certain criteria that would prohibit an evangelical Christian from ever having any hope of becoming the next U.S. President? Would this be a fair test?
Images - from Left to Right
Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)
www.sil.si.edu
Peale's 1791 Thomas Jefferson
mooreslore.corante.com
United States Constitution
www.simpson.edu
Mitt Romney
Republican presidential candidate
Not subject to any religious test
Related Links
1 Why Evangelicals Should Support Mitt Romney
By Wayne Grudem
Thursday, October 18, 2007
http://www.mittromney.com/
http://www.mittromney.com/
Ann-Romney/index
http://www.evangelicalsformitt.org/
Deism: "a belief in God based on reason rather than revelation and involving the view that God has set the universe in motion but does not interfere with how it runs. Deism was especially influential in the 17th and 18th centuries." -
Encarta Dictionary: English (North America)
My Related Posts
*Mitt Romney Qualifies With Article 6
Shall Romney and Jefferson Meet In Hell?
Mitt Romney and A PLEA FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Mitt Romney, Mormons, and Nine Christians
Is Mitt Romney Still That MORMON Person?
Mitt Romney #1 Fave Of Top Evangelicals
Mitt Believes In Jesus Per Joel Osteen
Mitt Romney Support Urged By Evangelical
Ann Romney American Mormon Pioneer
Mitt and Ann Romney Have My Vote
Mitt Romney, Mormons, and Pacifism
Ben And Mitt Match Taxable Wits
Benjamin Franklin on God and Prayer
Ben Franklin's Title to Hitchens' Book
Thoughts on Benjamin Franklin and Rabbi Hillel
Mormon Inventions For Everyman
Meaty Mitt/Mormon Writings
Three Mormon Classics by CW
*The original date of this post was
October 27, 2007.
Conservative Wordsmith Susan Baldwin, author of the Conservative Wordsmith Weblog, appreciates your thoughts and comments.