Thomas Jefferson was one of the most prominent founding fathers of our country. He wrote the Declaration of Independence, was Secretary of State, and the third President of the United States. Some have presented Jefferson as a devout Christian while others have presented him as an atheist who was hostile to religion. So what was Jefferson's real view of religion?
First of all Thomas Jefferson was not an orthodox Christian. He cut the miracles of Christ out of his Bible. Jefferson denied the virgin birth, the divinity of Christ, the miracles of Christ, and the resurrection. Obviously Jefferson did not view the Bible as the literal Word of God without error. He saw Jesus as a great teacher and moral example, he even compared him to Socrates. Jefferson was greatly influenced by the Enlightenment with its great faith in human reason. Thomas Jefferson was actually a deist and not a Christian or an atheist.
In the public square Jefferson was a strong advocate for religious liberty. Jefferson, Madison, and others worked with Bible believing Christians (especially Baptists) to oppose established religion. In England and throughout Europe there had been established religions. Those holding to a religious belief different than that of the state were often not tolerated and even persecuted. Many at the time of the American Revolution feared that England would revert back to Roman Catholicism as it's official religion and enforce it on the colonies. Religious freedom was one of the strongest motivating factors for the Revolution.
In 1800 Thomas Jefferson ran against John Adams for president of the United States. Some orthodox Christians supported Jefferson while others opposed him. One of those who opposed Jefferson was Timothy Dwight (the grandson of Jonathan Edwards). Dwight and others feared Jefferson would make America into an anti-Christian nation. One of those who supported Jefferson was John Leland, a Baptist minister. Leland and others saw Jefferson as an ally and a great advocate for religious liberty. Ironically John Adams was a Unitarian who denied the doctrine of the Trinity. So neither Jefferson or Adams was an orthodox Christian.
As it turned out Jefferson won the election of 1800 and became the third president of the United States. As president Thomas Jefferson showed no hostility to Christianity in the public square. He allowed church services in federal buildings even attending services in the House of Representatives. Jefferson did not think this violated the separation of church and state. Jefferson himself was no Christian but he thought the principles of Christianity would help sustain the American Republic. Interestingly Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4, 1826 the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
A Look At Jehovah's Witnesses
The Jehovah's Witnesses believe in one God whose only name is Jehovah. They deny the Trinity, not believing that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are God. But the Bible does teach the Trinity (one God, in three persons). God is three persons of one essence. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all fully and equally God and have been God eternally. The Son and Holy Spirit possess all the attributes of God just as the Father does.
The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus was created by Jehovah as the archangel Michael. They believe that Jesus is a lesser god not equal to Jehovah. The Witnesses also believe that Jesus was merely a man when he came to earth. They see his resurrection as merely spiritual and not bodily. Jehovah's Witnesses see the Holy Spirit as an impersonal force from God and not an actual person.
The Bible teaches that Jesus was not created but has existed eternally. He is fully and equally God along with the Father and Holy Spirit. At the Incarnation Jesus was fully God and fully man. The resurrection of Christ was not just spiritual but also bodily. The Bible also teaches that the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force but a distinct person who is God along with the Father and Son.
The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that salvation involves faith in Jesus, belonging to the Jehovah's Witnesses and keeping its rules. They believe the Anointed Class (144,000) go to heaven while other believers will live in paradise on earth. The Witnesses believe that unbelievers will be annihilated, they do not believe that hell is a physical, eternal place of punishment.
The Bible teaches that salvation is by God's grace (unmerited favor) through faith in Christ alone, not by works. Christians go to heaven and will live in the new heaven and new earth. Unbelievers go to hell which is a physical place of eternal punishment.
The Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian heresy, a false religion. They terribly distort the teaching of the Bible. The Jehovah's Witnesses deviate dramatically from historic, orthodox Christianity. It is most definitely not Biblical Christianity.
The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus was created by Jehovah as the archangel Michael. They believe that Jesus is a lesser god not equal to Jehovah. The Witnesses also believe that Jesus was merely a man when he came to earth. They see his resurrection as merely spiritual and not bodily. Jehovah's Witnesses see the Holy Spirit as an impersonal force from God and not an actual person.
The Bible teaches that Jesus was not created but has existed eternally. He is fully and equally God along with the Father and Holy Spirit. At the Incarnation Jesus was fully God and fully man. The resurrection of Christ was not just spiritual but also bodily. The Bible also teaches that the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force but a distinct person who is God along with the Father and Son.
The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that salvation involves faith in Jesus, belonging to the Jehovah's Witnesses and keeping its rules. They believe the Anointed Class (144,000) go to heaven while other believers will live in paradise on earth. The Witnesses believe that unbelievers will be annihilated, they do not believe that hell is a physical, eternal place of punishment.
The Bible teaches that salvation is by God's grace (unmerited favor) through faith in Christ alone, not by works. Christians go to heaven and will live in the new heaven and new earth. Unbelievers go to hell which is a physical place of eternal punishment.
The Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian heresy, a false religion. They terribly distort the teaching of the Bible. The Jehovah's Witnesses deviate dramatically from historic, orthodox Christianity. It is most definitely not Biblical Christianity.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Roman Catholics, Protestants, And Salvation
Salvation is the central issue and of the utmost importance, our eternity depends on it. Do Catholics and Protestants differ on the issue of salvation? If there are differences are they major or minor?
At issue is justification or how is a person considered righteous before God. Roman Catholics see justification as an ongoing process and not a one time thing. It starts with infant baptism and continues with the Catholic sacraments. Catholic doctrine teaches that one needs faith plus good deeds to earn salvation. In the Catholic system it is God and man working together. A person can have no assurance of salvation and one could lose his salvation. Catholics also hold to the doctrine of purgatory which is a temporary punishment for purification. The idea of purgatory comes from the book of 2 Maccabees found in the Apocrypha.
On the other hand Protestants believe a person is saved by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone. Justification is a one time event where the sinner is declared righteous. Christ takes our sins on himself and we receive his righteousness. Christ paid for all of our sins once and for all. We can add nothing to our salvation it is totally by God's grace. We are justified by faith alone and not by our own works. Salvation is the work of God alone and to him alone belongs the glory. Believers can have assurance of their salvation and cannot lose it. Purgatory is not Biblical and is not even needed because Christ has taken care of our sins and provided us with his perfect righteousness.
Roman Catholics and Protestants really have two different gospels. In Catholicism it is the work of God and man together. In Protestantism it is the work of God alone. At the Council of Trent in 1546 the Roman Catholic Church declared that if anyone says he is justified by faith alone let him be anathema (condemned). The Roman Catholic Church has condemned the Biblical gospel. A person is justified by God's grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.
At issue is justification or how is a person considered righteous before God. Roman Catholics see justification as an ongoing process and not a one time thing. It starts with infant baptism and continues with the Catholic sacraments. Catholic doctrine teaches that one needs faith plus good deeds to earn salvation. In the Catholic system it is God and man working together. A person can have no assurance of salvation and one could lose his salvation. Catholics also hold to the doctrine of purgatory which is a temporary punishment for purification. The idea of purgatory comes from the book of 2 Maccabees found in the Apocrypha.
On the other hand Protestants believe a person is saved by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone. Justification is a one time event where the sinner is declared righteous. Christ takes our sins on himself and we receive his righteousness. Christ paid for all of our sins once and for all. We can add nothing to our salvation it is totally by God's grace. We are justified by faith alone and not by our own works. Salvation is the work of God alone and to him alone belongs the glory. Believers can have assurance of their salvation and cannot lose it. Purgatory is not Biblical and is not even needed because Christ has taken care of our sins and provided us with his perfect righteousness.
Roman Catholics and Protestants really have two different gospels. In Catholicism it is the work of God and man together. In Protestantism it is the work of God alone. At the Council of Trent in 1546 the Roman Catholic Church declared that if anyone says he is justified by faith alone let him be anathema (condemned). The Roman Catholic Church has condemned the Biblical gospel. A person is justified by God's grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)