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Author Topic: Any thoughts of John Adams Quote?  (Read 3825 times)

Online Ben Framed

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Any thoughts of John Adams Quote?
« on: July 01, 2022, 12:42:49 pm »
Any thoughts of John Adams' Quote?


SOURCE: THE WHITE HOUSE
 
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

John Adams


"John Adams, a remarkable political philosopher, served as the second President of the United States (1797-1801), after serving as the first Vice President under President George Washington.

Learned and thoughtful, John Adams was more remarkable as a political philosopher than as a politician. "People and nations are forged in the fires of adversity," he said, doubtless thinking of his own as well as the American experience.

Adams was born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1735. A Harvard-educated lawyer, he early became identified with the patriot cause; a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses, he led in the movement for independence.

During the Revolutionary War he served in France and Holland in diplomatic roles, and helped negotiate the treaty of peace. From 1785 to 1788 he was minister to the Court of St. James's, returning to be elected Vice President under George Washington."
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Online gww

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Re: Any thoughts of John Adams Quote?
« Reply #1 on: July 01, 2022, 02:13:21 pm »
Deeply religious, got up early and bathed naked in river every morning, thought ben franklin was immoral and was called back from france, made harsh anti constitutional laws against freedom of speech, tried to introduce religion and lost to jeffersons position of freedom of religion but was dedicated to self rule and just one integral thinker of many doing his part in the big picture that formed our nation.
Cheers
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Online Ben Framed

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Re: Any thoughts of John Adams Quote?
« Reply #2 on: July 01, 2022, 02:56:14 pm »
Any thoughts of John Adams' above Quote?
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Online gww

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Re: Any thoughts of John Adams Quote?
« Reply #3 on: July 01, 2022, 03:41:01 pm »
Yes, that it was his view and part of the whole as one of the founders and allowed by a constitution that many decided fit the bill for a new country.. 
Cheers
gww

Offline Acebird

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Re: Any thoughts of John Adams Quote?
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2022, 09:06:09 am »
Any thoughts of John Adams' Quote?


SOURCE: THE WHITE HOUSE
 
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

John Adams


"John Adams, a remarkable political philosopher, served as the second President of the United States (1797-1801), after serving as the first Vice President under President George Washington.

Learned and thoughtful, John Adams was more remarkable as a political philosopher than as a politician. "People and nations are forged in the fires of adversity," he said, doubtless thinking of his own as well as the American experience.

Adams was born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1735. A Harvard-educated lawyer, he early became identified with the patriot cause; a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses, he led in the movement for independence.

During the Revolutionary War he served in France and Holland in diplomatic roles, and helped negotiate the treaty of peace. From 1785 to 1788 he was minister to the Court of St. James's, returning to be elected Vice President under George Washington."
Funny that the main reason for people leaving Europe for America was freedom to practice what ever religious belief they had including no religion at all.  Doesn't sound like John Adams was in touch with the people of America.  Could explain why there were so many flaws in the constitution then and now.
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Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Any thoughts of John Adams Quote?
« Reply #5 on: July 05, 2022, 07:02:21 am »
Why do people see the freedom to practice your own religion as contradictory to being moral and religious?  Adams said nothing about whether you should be a Presbyterian or a Catholic or even a practicing Jew.  And that was what the "freedom of religion" in the 1st amendment was about.  It's about Congress not establishing an official religion.
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Offline Acebird

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Re: Any thoughts of John Adams Quote?
« Reply #6 on: July 05, 2022, 08:05:59 am »
It's about Congress not establishing an official religion.
No it is about the United States being a government separate from religious beliefs which it is far from right now.
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Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Any thoughts of John Adams Quote?
« Reply #7 on: July 06, 2022, 09:19:05 am »
>No it is about the United States being a government separate from religious beliefs which it is far from right now.

Here's exactly what the 1st ammendment in it's entirety says:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The religion part is:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;"

No mention of separation.  No mention at all.  Only that the Congress can make no law either establishing or prohibiting any religion.  Things like the ten commandments on the SCOTUS building neither establishes nor prohibits any religion.  Deciding that abortion is up to the states neither establishes nor prohibits any religion either it merely leaves the issue up to the states per the 10th amendment.  In fact, though I don't mind that SCOTUS has interpreted this to mean that the States can't establish or prohibit religion either, the Constitution doesn't address that.  It only says the U.S. Congress cannot.

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Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Any thoughts of John Adams Quote?
« Reply #8 on: July 06, 2022, 09:25:18 am »
As to John Adams, I was never a fan.  First he was very much into more power for the federal government and less for the States.  Second, he was very vain.  He proposed and signed into law the Foreign and Sedition act, which is still on the books, by means of which he unconstitutionally (though legally according to the foreign and Sedition act) arrested anyone who made fun of him in the press.  He wanted to be addressed as "your majesty" when he was president.  Thankfully, that never caught on.

Though I admit, he was instrumental in getting the country started.  The Declaration of Independence might never have passed without his support.
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Offline Kathyp

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Re: Any thoughts of John Adams Quote?
« Reply #9 on: July 06, 2022, 10:09:38 pm »
He was not wrong.  I am with MB on much about Adams, but he understood that if the government was not going to have complete control over people, there needed to be something else that controlled behaviors.  Since there were already a huge number of different sects of religions in the country, and since he didn't name any one of them, his meaning is not hard to discern. 

We have historical examples of what happens when neither government nor shared moral/belief systems are at work.  One of the best and easiest to understand is the French revolution.  They wanted to do away with the monarchy and the Catholic church.  To a large extent, they were successful, but that left no foundation for society.  They had to invent a god and even that didn't work.  It took a dictator coming back on the scene to fix things.  It was not until after Napolian that they were able to get together some kind of constitution and democracy, but it took a long time. 

The next example would be the Russian revolution, which was a little more complicated but ended up with order restored by dictatorship...and government terrorism against the people.

All Adams was saying was that if the government was to have a light hand as designed, then something else had to hold society together.  That something was a shared underlying belief system, but not a shared single religion. 
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Any thoughts of John Adams Quote?
« Reply #10 on: July 06, 2022, 10:11:31 pm »
Quote
No it is about the United States being a government separate from religious beliefs which it is far from right now.

Can you point that bit out in the writings of the founders, the early actions and laws of the founders, or the Constitution?

Let me know where you live.  I bet I can find government and history classes for you. 
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.