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Aside from the spin and the implied conclusion I actually find some truth in what he said. Were the founders Deists? Yes, they believed in a God. Were they merely Deists and is that the most accurate word to use? No, primarily they were Christians. Were they tax dodgers? Well they did object strongly to taxes for a variety of reasons the worst of which is that they simply did not want to pay them. But that is clearly spin. Is Christianity a form of Judaism without the admirable bits? The answer to what is admirable and what is not is mostly opinion. And it is perhaps more of a form of Judaism than some common forms of Judaism. Do any Americans base their behavior on the NT? Well, certainly most are shallow and lacking in morals. Even most serious Christians have more failings than accomplishments. Though surely at least one American bases enough of his behavior on the NT to make the cliam technically false. even as a generality there are many Americans who are influenced by the NT enough that I would say yes many base their behavior on the NT. Then again I could easily see a sermon attempting to persuade Americans to deepen their faith by generalizing that Americans do not follow the NT to a sufficiently meaningful degree. There seems to be enough wiggle room here so that someone could claim either position and support either to a degree.
Aside from the spin and the implied conclusion I actually find some truth in what he said.
Were the founders Deists? Yes, they believed in a God. Were they merely Deists and is that the most accurate word to use? No, primarily they were Christians.
Were they tax dodgers? Well they did object strongly to taxes for a variety of reasons the worst of which is that they simply did not want to pay them. But that is clearly spin.
Is Christianity a form of Judaism without the admirable bits? The answer to what is admirable and what is not is mostly opinion. And it is perhaps more of a form of Judaism than some common forms of Judaism.
Do any Americans base their behavior on the NT? Well, certainly most are shallow and lacking in morals. Even most serious Christians have more failings than accomplishments. Though surely at least one American bases enough of his behavior on the NT to make the cliam technically false. even as a generality there are many Americans who are influenced by the NT enough that I would say yes many base their behavior on the NT. Then again I could easily see a sermon attempting to persuade Americans to deepen their faith by generalizing that Americans do not follow the NT to a sufficiently meaningful degree. There seems to be enough wiggle room here so that someone could claim either position and support either to a degree.
