(September 27, 2012 at 3:43 pm)Minimalist Wrote: I think Jefferson would be one of us, today. He died in 1826, long before science really got going. Deists were ahead of their time in the 18th century.
Anyway, I believe this is the quote you mean.
Quote:If we did a good act merely from the love of God and a belief that it is pleasing to Him, whence arises the morality of the Atheist? It is idle to say, as some do, that no such thing exists. We have the same evidence of the fact as of most of those we act on, to wit: their own affirmations, and their reasonings in support of them. I have observed, indeed, generally, that while in Protestant countries the defections from the Platonic Christianity of the priests is to Deism, in Catholic countries they are to Atheism. Diderot, D'Alembert, D'Holbach, Condorcet, are known to have been among the most virtuous of men. Their virtue, then, must have had some other foundation than love of God.
-- Thomas Jefferson
That is the one. And Obama took a huge risk during his campain repeting that segmant of is inogural speech that is in my sig. It is refresshing for a politican to say that others exist and our common law is what allows us our differences and individuality.
The right wing likes to claim freedom, but what they really want is freedom to set up a religious pecking order where non Christian citizens at best, are mere guests, even in their own house.
