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Comment by Bill Fortenberry on December 14, 2012 at 7:18am

You are very much mistaken in regards to the beliefs of Benjamin Franklin.  Here are three quotes from Franklin that I mention in my book: 

“Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all Iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar People zealous of Good-Works. And there is scarcely a Chapter in the whole Gospels or Epistles from which this Doctrine can’t be prov’d.”

“I would ask these reverend Gentlemen, Does God regard Man at all? The Answer I suppose will be, That he does, but that it is upon the Account of Christ’s Merits; which I shall grant them, and allow it to be the Merits and Satisfaction of Christ that purchased such easy and plain Conditions of Happiness; but still it is our Compliance with these Conditions that I call inward Merit and Desert which God regards in us.”

“Christ by his Death and Sufferings has purchas’d for us those easy Terms and Conditions of our Acceptance with God, propos’d in the Gospel, to wit, Faith and Repentance.”

Each of these quotes is fully documented from original source material in Franklin's own writings, but these are obviously not the statements of a deist. 

Comment by Bill Fortenberry on December 14, 2012 at 7:17am

The only original source evidence of Franklin's deism comes from a single statement in his autobiography.  Here is an excerpt from that section of my book:

At this point, let me also address the charge of Deism which is so often leveled against Mr. Franklin.  Most of those who bring this charge do so on the grounds of Mr. Franklin’s own testimony in his autobiography, and they generally quote him as saying:

“My Parents had early given me religious Impressions, and brought me through my Childhood piously in the Dissenting Way.  But I was scarce 15 when, after doubting by turns of several Points as I found them disputed in the different Books I read, I began to doubt of Revelation it self.  Some Books against Deism fell into my Hands; they were said to be the Substance of Sermons preached at Boyle’s Lectures.  It happened that they wrought an Effect on me quite contrary to what was intended by them: For the Arguments of the Deists which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the Refutations.  In short I soon became a thorough Deist.”

The fact that is seldom realized by the unsuspecting public is that this is only a portion of the paragraph in which Mr. Franklin wrote of his Deism.  The remainder of this paragraph along with the one following it tell us a very different story than that which is told in the modern history books:

“My Arguments perverted some others, particularly Collins and Ralph: but each of them having afterwards wrong’d me greatly without the least Compunction and recollecting Keith’s Conduct towards me, (who was another Freethinker) and my own towards Vernon and Miss Read which at Times gave me great Trouble, I began to suspect that this Doctrine tho’ it might be true, was not very useful. My London Pamphlet, which had for its Motto those Lines of Dryden

“——Whatever is, is right.——
Tho’ purblind Man
Sees but a Part of the Chain, the nearest Link,
His Eyes not carrying to the equal Beam,
That poizes all, above.

“And from the Attributes of God, his infinite Wisdom, Goodness and Power concluded that nothing could possibly be wrong in the World, and that Vice and Virtue were empty Distinctions, no such Things existing: appear’d now not so clever a Performance as I once thought it; and I doubted whether some Error had not insinuated itself unperceiv’d into my Argument, so as to infect all that follow’d, as is common in metaphysical Reasonings. I grew convinc’d that Truth, Sincerity and Integrity in Dealings between Man and Man, were of the utmost Importance to the Felicity of Life, and I form’d written Resolutions, (which still remain in my Journal Book) to practice them ever while I lived. Revelation had indeed no weight with me as such; but I entertain’d an Opinion, that tho’ certain Actions might not be bad because they were forbidden by it, or good because it commanded them; yet probably those Actions might be forbidden because they were bad for us, or commanded because they were beneficial to us, in their own Natures, all the Circumstances of things considered. And this Persuasion, with the kind hand of Providence, or some guardian Angel, or accidental favourable Circumstances and Situations, or all together, preserved me (thro’ this dangerous Time of Youth and the hazardous Situations I was sometimes in among Strangers, remote from the Eye and Advice of my Father) without any wilful gross Immorality or Injustice that might have been expected from my Want of Religion. I say wilful, because the Instances I have mentioned, had something of Necessity in them, from my Youth, Inexperience, and the Knavery of others. I had therefore a tolerable Character to begin the World with, I valued it properly, and determin’d to preserve it.”

Comment by Ria on December 14, 2012 at 3:19am

I appreciate your suggestion however, I would also add that an assumption, about whether or not one has perused references and cross references, holds little water.

As for Benjamin Franklin's belief is concerned, you may or may not be right because not only either argument is strong, both have supportive reasons that cannot be overlooked.

The fact is, it is a mixed bag of beliefs when it comes to Benjamin Franklin and his religion. He believed in God and His supremacy but, not the doctrines of the church. Although he grew up under Calvinist teaching, he later came under the influence of British Deistic thought and he eventually became a prominent Deist. However, despite being influenced by Deism, Benjamin Franklin rejected the more radical Deism. In fact, it doesn't end there because mixed in with his Deist belief was Calvinistic doctrine. So. basically, we see that, Benjamin Franklin rejected the less pleasant pieces of religious construction, while holding onto the ones he found to be reasonably encouraging. Similarly, despite being influenced by Deism, he rejected and opposed its more radical tenets.

Again, it is amply evident in his writings too that Benjamin Franklin certainly had a high opinion of *God* but, he viewed the church (the seat and face of Christianity) and modern religion in a much more negative light.

Therefore, because of a few doubts he had as a youngster, Benjamin Franklin developed his own ideas about religion and became a Deist, simplifying religion into a personal doctrine that he followed throughout his life. With God and good works on the forefront, he cast off church attendance and, instead, created his own customized Deist religion and followed it throughout his life..

Comment by Bill Fortenberry on December 13, 2012 at 10:19pm

I would strongly encourage you to take the time to look up the original source for each of the quotes that Mr. Pinto presented in his film.  I did so and found so many errors in his scholarship that I wrote an entire book refuting the claims presented in his film.  That book is now available as an ebook from Amazon.  Here is the description from the Amazon page:

Hidden Facts of the Founding Era

"Have you ever wondered how some authors can claim that the founding fathers of America were Christians while other authors claim that those very same founders were atheists, deists or even theistic rationalists? In this artfully written volume, Christian apologist and debater Bill Fortenberry examines several of the quotes from our founding fathers that are frequently used to argue against the Christian heritage of America. In doing so, Mr. Fortenberry opens up to us a treasury of facts about our nation's founding that have been hidden by modern scholarship.

"Did you know that Benjamin Franklin only experimented with deism as a teenager and that he soon rejected it entirely? Did you know that at the age of twenty-nine he wrote three, bold defenses of his Christian faith?

"Did you know that John Adams called the French Enlightenment thinkers cowards and atheists who were destitute of common sense? Did you know that he frequently referred to Jesus Christ as his Savior?

"Did you know that George Washington recorded a prayer expressing his acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for his sins? Did you know that he left the Masonic Lodge as a young man, that he denied being a member of any lodge during the founding era of our nation and that he referred to masonry as being mere child's play?

"By opening and bringing to light the original writings of the founding era, Bill Fortenberry provides American Christians with an invaluable defense of our nation’s Christian heritage."

Comment by suzie on December 12, 2012 at 12:56pm

Its just that i never really made this connection before ~ so indulge me :)

Comment by suzie on December 12, 2012 at 12:54pm

                               

Comment by suzie on December 12, 2012 at 12:48pm

Comment by suzie on December 12, 2012 at 12:47pm

Comment by Russ Hallberg Jr on December 12, 2012 at 8:14am

Many of the founding fathers professed to be Deists. Since they were also Masons, that makes them Satanists with a Deist cover, IMHO. Washington sold us out with the treaty of 1783. The USA is still a British Colony!

Comment by suzie on December 12, 2012 at 2:28am

That was amazing ~ thank you~

 The declaration of Harvard University states that every student shall earnestly consider that the main end of his life and study is to know God and Jesus Christ for this is Eternal life! Not an enforcement but highly suggested~at least it used to be ~ it is still on there books this video really helped me connect more of the dots 

 

                 

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