On Sunday I had the pleasure of attending a lecture and afterward, a sermon by Dr Peter Lillback. Dr Lillback is the president of the The Providence Forum. You can read his full bio here. For the morning's lecture, Dr Lillback spoke on the 1,200 page tome that he wrote in 2006 entitled George Washington's Sacred Fire. If you are a history buff as well as someone who is interested in religion (as many of you who frequent this site are) this book might interest you. It completely dismantles the idea that Washington was in any way a deist and confirms that he was in fact a Bible believing Christian. A couple of the more interesting points brought up by Dr Lillback were...
- Many of the historians who critiqued Washington's writings in the past were themselves Biblically illiterate. Washington would often times weave numerous Bible references together in one letter, however, unless you actually knew the Bible, you probably wouldnt pick up on it.
- There are absolutely no known references in which Washington said he was a deist. Lillback was given access to over 270 of Washington's writings and in none of them did he declare anthing remotely resembling deism.
It all added up to a very interesting lecture. A question to any of you out there who might know. What was George Washington's favorite Bible verse? He quoted it far more than any other.
18 comments:
I forgot to add this to the main body of my post. It's a great interview with Dr Lillback which explains where he's coming from. Check it out if you get the chance.
I've read that Washington's favorite Bible verse is Micah 4:4: “But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.”
Exactamundo Tracy! That's what Dr Lillback related to us on last Sunday.
In case Ray won't allow my comment, you can see a video on Youtube describing the actual hate bill that may be passed in Uganda.
It is called, "Uganda- Kill the gays and their friends, too"
I know Ray doesnt like to have external links but if you would like to read the entire bill for yourself, simply click here.
Froggie, if you read JD's link you'll see its not a "kill the gays" bill. The punishment for sexually penetrating a memeber of your own sex is only life imprisonment. (Part II, Section 2, 2)
This is much less harsh than God's punishment for "gays".
Here's froggy's link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fuEsRJp2nU
So anyway, sexually penertrating a member of you own sex MORE THAN ONCE or not confessing it or whatever will get you the death penalty. I've re-read JD's link after watching the video.
I'm never afraid to admit I was wrong but it still remains - As an atheist without a source of morals, how can YOU say killing "gays" is wrong?
MW,
There is no evidence whatsoever outside your cultural artifact, the bible, that morals came from a supernatural being.
There is vast evidence that empathy is the bedrock of morals and ethics. Empathy evolved as a survival skill. The law of reciprocity is a prime example.
What has made humans so successful is their evolved trait of cooperation.
Washington was more than likely Anglican and attended church pretty regularly from what I can gather. In fact, we didn't elect a deist president until Jefferson (#3), and then never again. Most of the early presidents were Anglican/Episcopalian or Quaker. In fact, I'm pretty confident Quaker is the most common single religion practiced by our presidents, with the last one being Nixon. Anglicanism probably comes next, with our last one being George H.W. Bush. More than religion, Freemasonry is the single most common ideological thread running through the presidency.
Thanks for keeping it "on topic" Ginx. Lillback's organization is headquatered in Conshohocken.
Lillback did touch on the Masonry briefly. He stated that throughout it's history, Masons have been a bit chameleon like. Morphing from more religious to less so at different times. Lillback stated that during the lifetime of GW it was common for Masonic Lodges to bring in evangelical preachers to address it's members.
There is vast evidence that empathy is the bedrock of morals and ethics. Empathy evolved as a survival skill. The law of reciprocity is a prime example
And in light of all of this, the Bible states that the practice of homosexuality is to be shunned. Perhaps you might like to provide some statistics regarding the incidence of mental health issues amongst members of the homosexual community as compared to the general population. Also, what are their life expectancies like when compared to other groups?
Leviticus 20:13 - "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps
ATVC, does this relate to spiritual death or physical death? Furthermore, where are the instructions for people to murder gays in the Bible?
They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
By who? You? Levite priests? "Frank" from Gaza? Who?
JD: "the Bible states that the practice of homosexuality is to be shunned."
Jill: "I think the Biblical view is closer to put to death than shunned"
JD: "Chapter? Verse?"
ATVLC: "Leviticus 20:13 - "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.""
Look, here's a verse calling for their deaths. Not "shunning" - Death. If this verse was in the Koran, I have no doubt you would think that Islam called for the death of homosexuals.
Cognitive dissonance.
a) I can't believe anything as cruel and absurd as killing people because of their sexual preference.
b) I believe in the God of the bible.
c) The bible says "They must be put to death"
d) The bible must mean something else.
JD's whole site is an exercise in cognitive dissonance. A crazy world where up is down and right is left.
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