God Did Not Found America
John Pond (4/17/25 issue) is right. Fate did not found America. Pond is wrong. God did not found America. Man’s free will mind, focused onto concrete reality, founded the US. Man’s free will mind, focused onto concrete reality and valuing the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, founded the US.
The US was founded in the 18th century Enlightenment, the only basically rationally individualist culture in history. It was the product of 400 years of basic cultural change from supernaturalism and faith to naturalism and reason. In the 13th century, Aquinas defended Christianity with Aristotle’s rational philosophy. This caused the 14th to 16th century Renaissance of Greek reason. This caused the 17th century Age of Reason, including the Scientific Revolution, the compromising Pilgrims and John Locke’s political philosophy of individual rights. The 18th century peak of this return to reason (and creation of individualism) caused America.
Ben Franklin, asked why God is not in the Constitution, replied, “We forgot.” His amused, confident contempt could not have been publicly stated 400 years earlier. Clergyman[!], Elihu Palmer, condemned Christianity for its “frenzy” and “religious fanaticism.” Jefferson, ignoring or evading the Christian hatred of intellectual pride, said, “I have sworn upon the alter of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”
Revolutionary Americans wanted individual rights to protect the mind. They hated the politics of religion and democracy. The Enlightenment had the least religious influence in the West’s 3000 years. Clergymen complained that religion was ridiculed. Religion almost ended. Religion was changing into philosophy with Deism. Crucifixion does not cause individual rights. Sacrifice, suffering and death are not the unique American morality of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Make America great again by returning to rational individualism, not the 1950s.
Stephen Grossman, Fairhaven
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