America the Secular? Flipping the Script on the Founding of a Nation

Secular Amerca

TweetShareShareSince the 1980s, it’s been a popular refrain to refer to America’s founding as secular in nature. Proponents of secularism often use selective quotes to promote their nonreligious agendas (1). Many Founding Fathers are now considered “Deist” (read: agnostic, atheist). These include heavyweights like Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine and George Washington. Perhaps we…

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John Ericsson: The Swede that Saved the Union

Lunch atop a skyscraper

TweetShareShareWhen it comes to America’s naval history, few had more influence on battleship design than a man named John Ericsson. In fact, it’s a Swedish story better than ABBA. Ericsson was a Swedish American who revolutionized steamship propulsion through his invention of the screw propeller. He also invented the first submarine boat, self-propelled torpedo and…

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“God Helps Those Who Helps Themselves”: The Eclectic Faith of Benjamin Franklin

TweetShareShareBenjamin Franklin was a scientist, patriot, politician, diplomat…and Deist. That’s a fact according to many modern historians. After all, Franklin himself advocated for Deism. He once wrote that his skepticism of Christianity made him “a thorough Deist.”[i] Of course it should be noted he wrote that conviction at the tender age of fifteen in a…

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John Locke: How a Great Philosopher Influenced the Founding of America

TweetShareShare The Founding Fathers of the United States of America had many influences, but possibly none more than John Locke (1632-1704). Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and John Madison revered Locke. John Quincy Adams penned, “The Declaration of Independence [was]…founded upon one and the same theory of government…expounded in the writings of Locke.” But who was…

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The Yale Man: How One American Preacher Lit the Fuse for the First Great Awakening Revivals

TweetShareShareAmerica’s first colleges were in the Ivy League. And they were created for a distinct purpose. The original 1636 purpose of a Harvard education was to “…advance learning and perpetuate it to posterity: dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the churches, when our present ministers shall lie in the dust.” Essentially, Harvard trained the…

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Pilgrims, the Mayflower and Squanto: The Real Story of Thanksgiving

Pilgrim Thanksgiving

TweetShareShare    This week we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. It’s a day we’ll gather for turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, and pie. We’ll gather with friends and family, watch football and check the advertisements for Black Friday specials. Most of us will share gratitude for something or someone. But in 1621, the first Thanksgiving feast happened for…

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