I don't think Franklin was a Christian in the ordinary sense of the word, though like any well educated western man on his time period he was well versed in scripture. You can come up with quotes in which Franklin said the Christian doctrine was absurd, as well as quotes about religion providing a good moral foundation. And what he believed seems to have varied over his lifetime. But, I don't think he even could have recited the Nicene Creed with exact truthfulness.
He did publicly pray, and he referred often to the creator. And I don't think he was what we mean by deist today. That is that he certainly either believed or wanted to believe in a god that was interested in mankind. And he thought a lot of the moral philosophy of Jesus.
This letter to an atheist is telling: Letter to an Atheist
He doesn't condemn the man's reasoning but he does warn of what men unbound by religion might do.
He did publicly pray, and he referred often to the creator. And I don't think he was what we mean by deist today. That is that he certainly either believed or wanted to believe in a god that was interested in mankind. And he thought a lot of the moral philosophy of Jesus.
This letter to an atheist is telling: Letter to an Atheist
He doesn't condemn the man's reasoning but he does warn of what men unbound by religion might do.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
