First Big Bang set for Next Week

[IanMartins]

When you do, may I respond with this one

The Christian religion, when divested of the rags in which they [the clergy] have enveloped it, and brought to the original purity and simplicity of it's benevolent institutor, is a religion of all others most friendly to liberty, science, and the freest expansion of the human mind.
-- Thomas Jefferson, to Moses Robinson, 1801, ME 10:237

A good quote. He phrased it cleverly (as always), praising Christianity without revealing that he himself was an agnostic/deitist. It is admitted to in his letter to Thomas Paine:

To Thomas Paine: Dear Sir, --Your favour of September 11, was duly received. It is with great delight to hear of you coming our way. May I say with all frankness, Mr. Paine, that you should take my advice and express nothing publicly regarding your religion. The people aren't ready for your views. Trust me, the time is not right and you'll be a much happier person. Do as I have done. Since religion is "solely between man and his God," even those closest to me never knew exactly what I believed.
--Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson certainly had a strong faith in God, though not in the doctrines of the man-made religions. He was more open about this in the later stages of his life:

I have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology.
--Thomas Jefferson

An enigmatic and enlightened individual -- no doubt about that. :)

[Elspeth]

You won't really die. You will cease to exist. You will never have been born so there will be no you to die.

Well that will erase those subprime loans.

[FlaGator]

A good quote. He phrased it cleverly (as always), praising Christianity without revealing that he himself was an agnostic/deitist. It is admitted to in his letter to Thomas Paine:



Thomas Jefferson certainly had a strong faith in God, though not in the doctrines of the man-made religions. He was more open about this in the later stages of his life:


An enigmatic and enlightened individual -- no doubt about that. :)

He was an deist with atheistic tendencies but he had a lot of respect for the beliefs and values of Christianity. He had a lot to say about the benefit to societies that adopting much of the Christian ethic could provide. In fact he saw religion as a positive on society in that a common set of moral and ethic values led to more rational and law abiding behavior in said society's citizens.

[FlaGator]

Well that will erase those subprime loans.

I work for a bank. Trust me, even though you may have never existed you still owe on those mortgages. It's called the Greenspan Certainty Principle.

[IanMartins]

He was an deist with atheistic tendencies but he had a lot of respect for the beliefs and values of Christianity. He had a lot to say about the benefit to societies that adopting much of the Christian ethic could provide. In fact he saw religion as a positive on society in that a common set of moral and ethic values led to more rational and law abiding behavior in said society's citizens.

That's true, and his wisdom is reflected in one of his greatest works, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. I have no problem with Christian individuals and organizations, and in fact admire the principled ones, as long as they don't violate this statute and attempt to impose their religion on others through coercion by government.

A summary of the statute:

• The imposition of anything on a human mind, which God made to be free, is hypocritical and wrong.
  
• "Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free", God never forced anyone to follow him, and the imposition of a religion by government officials is impious.
  
• The coercion of a person to make contributions—especially monetary—to a religion he doesn't support is tyrannical and creates favoritism among ministers.
  
• Civil rights do not depend on religious beliefs, and what a person thinks is no business of the government.

I did not foresee a thread about CERN and the LHC beam turning into a discussion on Thomas Jefferson, though if I had my way, all threads would take a similar path. ;)

[Dan D. Doty]

The future is upon us.

[Gingersnap]

I'm pretty sure that not every post which happens to reference Christianity needs to be turned into a Christianity Debate thread.

Amusing as that can be, it's better handled in very specific REL threads with known ground rules.

[Elspeth]

I work for a bank. Trust me, even though you may have never existed you still owe on those mortgages. It's called the Greenspan Certainty Principle.

[jinxmchue]

Wouldn't it suck if the collider did produce a big bang and it actually turned out that it was the big bang that started this universe? Time loop!

[Dan D. Doty]

What CERN will bring about is microscopic blackholes that we can use for a power source in the future.

We live in an age of mircules and wonders ....