The Enlightenment and Its Influence on the U.S. Installment 1

                                   Life today the Real Story written by James m. Joiner 2005
                                                      awesome insight, yet to be published

I think this would be the perfect time to discuss what civilization was experiencing during the 18^th century. It is important to know how Americans felt when the Constitution was written and the country was founded.

 This occurred during the enlightenment and the feelings at the time heavily influenced the forming of our principles. In light of what we have experienced already we can be thankful for our founding fathers wisdom. With what you are about to read, it becomes obvious that the decision to keep religion separate from politics was a good one. The enlightenment was a confusing time for Religion.

With the advent of technicalization in the west an entirely different kind of Society was formed. a new ideal of humanity came about. This in turn would affect the perception of the nature and role of God. The newly industrialized and efficient west also changed the course of history.

Other countries of the civilized world found it increasingly difficult to ignore the western world as it had in the past. The Muslims as we know are still unable or unwilling to come to terms with it.

No other civilization in the history of the world had achieved anything like this. The west therefore created problems that were completely new, and very difficult to deal with.

Until the eighteenth century Islam had been the dominant world power in much of the Middle East and Africa. By the end of the eighteenth century Europe had begun to dominate the world.

 The very nature of its achievements made it impossible for the rest of the world to catch up. Europe began to colonize as much of the world as it could. They did this with the overlying prevailing thought being that western civilization was far superior to everyone else.

They believed that with their vast religious and civilizational principals that they were beyond reproach. They felt that they were vastly superior and always were. We know now that this is not true and right for everyone.

 They also believed that any country would be better off under its guidance. We have surely found out the hard way that none of this was true either.

The process of westernization had begun. With it the view that the well being of society should trump any religious considerations became the prevailing thought. This, as we said, was the train of thought that prevailed when the Constitution was written, and our country was formed.

The west was now no longer an Agriculture based society. We were no longer governed by the many nuances of climate, resources, and agriculture. Its technical innovations meant that it had become independent of local and world conditions.

 The Islamists as we all know are trying hard to turn this around.

The accumulation of Capital, and the process of modernization, led the west to a series of changes. It brought us Industrialization, an intellectual enlightenment, and social and political revolutions, as a natural occurrence.
 These many profound cultural changes affected the way in which men and women perceived themselves. This caused them to revise their relationship with what was to them, the one ultimate reality, God. This was just as it is happening today.

Then, the religion change was due to prosperity in society. Today it’s occurring due to insecurity in society. The many changes ultimately created an unstoppable momentum. More and more people from all levels of society were necessarily drawn into this process of modernization that was touching every sphere of life known to civilized man.
Ultimately it became necessary to involve all levels of society in this process. It was necessary in order to continue, and even increase productivity. It was necessary as a result of the accumulation of capital.

The expansion of mass markets, and advances in science and technology also made it a must do situation. This of course led to social changes in western society. Men and women on every level felt empowered and in charge of their own lives as never before.

 We also see the fear and anxiety that innovation and change has brought to traditional societies. We are right now experiencing this with Islam.

There was new optimism about humanity as control over the natural world appeared to be advancing in leaps and bounds. People began to think that a better education and improved laws could bring light to the human spirit.

 This new confidence in the natural powers of human beings meant that people began to think that they could achieve enlightenment on their own. They no longer felt that they had to rely on tradition, church, or a revelation from God in order to discover the truth.

Consequently innovative scientists and intellectuals felt obliged to work out their own theories of life and religion. They felt that their new found knowledge and effectiveness gave them the responsibility to look at traditional Christian explanations of reality and evaluate them for themselves. The new scientific spirit was based purely on observation and experiment.

The western sciences could take nothing for granted. The people were increasingly ready to risk a mistake or to question established authorities and institutions. Of course this included the Bible, the Church, and accepted Christian principles.

The traditional teachings of the existence of God were no longer entirely satisfactory or acceptable. Natural scientists and philosophers full of enthusiasm to find out the truth, felt compelled to verify the reality of God. They did this in the same way they proved other unexplained phenomena.

French Physicist Blaise Pascal, (1623-1662), was brutally honest with himself. Unlike many of his contemporaries he was convinced that there was no way to prove that God existed. Pascal was the first person in this new enlightened environment, to concede that belief in God could only be a matter of personal choice.

 By making the decision to surrender to God, the faithful feel themselves transformed. They become faithful, honest, humble, grateful, and full of good.

 Somehow the Christian finds that life has acquired new meaning and significance, having created a faith and having found God in the face of hopelessness and despair. God is a reality because he works. Faith is not intellectual certainty but an experience that brings with it a moral enlightenment.                                        Life Today The Real Story "2005"

James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com 

Quote Of the Day: Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. -Blaise Pascal!

Quote Of the Day! Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. -Blaise Pascal!

Religion, provocation, fanaticism:

We all see this and know it first hand but we can not harp on it enough as we must put an end to what is happening today!

I have been saying this for years now. Extreme unbridled religiosity is the most powerful dangerous weapon in the world. It doesn't matter what religion it is. We have it being expressed in the Muslim world by the Islamists being accused of hijacking their Nation and religion.

Worse is that we have it on the other side of the argument today. It was being pushed by Bush and his warped sense of Christian fundamentalism and corrupt democracy. the worse part is that Bush had hijacked Christianity and America and was in control of the most powerful country on the planet.

I want to say thankfully Obama is in control now but I can't in this context. He is still being pushed by Christians. We are rapidly racing towards WW3. This at a time when the planet and man can no longer survive the terrible effects of world or worse, nuclear war. This would be turning back the clock of time, and the planet like man and all of nature only run in one direction, forward.

We are acutely aware as to the increased fragility of our planet, it’s necessary for our survival ecosystems, and the fact that the planet is now capable of destroying mans life as we know it without his help!

Worse is that we appear to be ignoring all this and purposely seem to be bringing man and the planet down the wrong road as pointed out by Nostradamus. That is the road to world conflict and man’s end as we know it.

Even worse is that Both sides of the equation are bent on the destruction of man and the planet, and the U.S., Russia, and China,seem to be recklessly, willingly, and wantonly leading the way instead of acting like responsible world leaders.

James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com

Republicans do believe it but most Americans know God did not Create America: part 12, The End?

                                     Conclusion: God created America?
The lie:  Most Americans Believe God Created America, Claims Mike Huckabee (Video): 

Our continued explanation of the truth about what and why Americans believe how America was made and by who:

From the outset I must say my intention of going through the period of the enlightenment was to show us exactly what the mood and level of morality was during the era of the founding of our country.

It absolutely backs up what we found in book one. However I am very surprised to find that it was the Colonists of the lower classes who led the way in the revolution.

They had experienced the enlightenment and its revival of morality and were driven to see the birth of a righteous nation. It was their religious fervour that actually took the first steps toward revolution.

The awakening itself made people feel that the process of redemption as described in the Bible had already begun. God, the people felt, was completely and firmly committed to the revolution.

Edwards gave the Trinity a political interpretation. The Son “was the deity generated by Gods understanding, and thus the blueprint for the new Commonwealth. The spirit, “the deity subsisting in act”,was the force that would accomplish this master plan in time.

In the new world of America, God would thus be able to contemplate his own actions on earth. The society would express the Excellencies of God himself. The New England would be a shining city on the hill. It would be a light unto the Gentiles.

  It would shine with a reflection of the glory of God upon it which shall be attractive and ravishing to all. The God of Jonathan Edwards would be incarnated in the Commonwealth, and Christ was seen as being embodied in a good society.

Other Calvinists were on the vanguard of progress. They introduced chemistry into the curriculum of America. Timothy Dwight, Edward’s grandson, saw scientific knowledge as a prelude to the final perfection of humanity.

In some respects the Calvinists were more adventurous in their thinking than the Liberals. The liberals were opposed their revivalism and preferred simple faith to the speculative, perplexing notions that disturbed them in the preachings of revivalists like Edwards.

*Edwards seems to be responsible for people thinking God created America. Well now you know the process of the people learning about God and what his role was in America's creation.

Born again Christians were given a God who was politicized and told that he created it for them. Born again Christians took the lead in fighting the British during the Revolution. However God did not found America we the people did.






James m joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com

Republicans do believe it but most Americans know God did not Create America: part 11

The lie:  Most Americans Believe God Created America, Claims Mike Huckabee (Video): 

Our continued explanation of the truth about what and why Americans believe how America was made and by who:


Jonathan Edwards(1703-1758). Edwards held his sermons in Northampton Connecticut. He described his parishioners there as being nothing out of the ordinary; they were sober, orderly, and good, but lacking in religious fervour.

They were no better or worse than the men and women living in the other colonies. That was until in 1734 when two young people died shockingly sudden deaths.

This all changed suddenly as the people were real nervous and concerned. This was reinforced by Edwards himself who was known for his hell fire and brimstone sermons.

Edwards plunged the town into a frenzy of religious fervor. Peoplecould talk of nothing but religion; they even stopped working inorder to spend the entire day reading the Bible.

In about 6 months there had been around 300 born again conversions in Northampton alone. They came from all classes of society. Edwards saw this craze as the direct work of God himself.

 He meant this quite literally as he repeatedly said that God seems to have gone out of his usual way of behaving in New England.

 He was real pleased to see that this was moving the people in a most marvelous and miraculous manner. It must be said however, that the Holy Spirit sometimes manifestedhimself in some rather disturbing ways.

 People would sink into deep despair thinking that God would not save them. This would be followed right away with an equally extreme feeling of elation when they all of a sudden felt saved.

 They would break out with laughter while weeping and tears streaming down their faces at the same time.Sometimes they would cry out in a loud voice expressing their love for God. We are obviously far from the calm control that was supposed to be the hallmark of true enlightenment.

These intensely emotional mood swings have continued to be the hallmark of religious revival in America. It was a rebirth attended by violent swings from anger and fear to instantaneous joy and laughter.

This was a new version of the western struggle with God.The awakening eventually spread like wild fire to encompass all of the colonies. Eventually emotions died down until after a couple of years things were pretty much back to normal.

The new birth of the awakening was an evangelical version of the enlightenments ideal of the pursuit of happiness. It represented an existential liberation. It liberated the people from a world in which everything awakens powerful feelings of apprehension.

The awakening occurred in the poorer colonies where people had few expectations of happiness in the world. This happened despite the hopes of the sophisticated enlightenment.

 The experience of being born again resulted in a feeling of joy. There was a perception of beauty that was quite different from any natural sensation. Therefore, during the awakening a God experience had made the enlightenment of the new world available to the poor as well as the successful people in the colonies.

*The God of Jonathan Edwards also contributed to the revolutionary enthusiasm of 1775. In the eyes of the revivalists England had lost the new light that had shown so brightly during the puritan revolution. To them England now seemed decadent and regressive.

It was Edwards and his colleagues who led Americans of the lower classes to take the first steps toward revolution. Edwards felt that human effort would hasten the coming of God’s kingdom. He believed that this was attainable and imminent in the new world.



James M Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com 

Republicans do believe it but most Americans know God did not Create America: part 10

The lie:  Most Americans Believe God Created America, Claims Mike Huckabee (Video): 

Our continued explanation of the truth about what and why Americans believe how America was made and by who:

 The American scholar, Albert C. Outler points out that the new religion of the heart and the rationalism of the enlightenment was both anti-establishment. They both mistrusted external authority.

Rationalism and the enlightenment both allied themselves with the modernists against the ancients. They both shared a hatred of inhumanity, and an enthusiasm for philanthropy.

It seems that a radical religious devotion actually paved the way for the ideals of the enlightenment to take root among Jews as well as Christians. Many of these sects seemed to respond to the immense changes of the period by violating religious taboos. Some even appeared blasphemous.

 Of course some were dubbed atheistic. Puritans had left England and settled in New England during the 1620s. This as we know, was to pursue their religion in peace. This time also brought about the first Quakers. Quakers preached that all men and women could approach God directly.

There was an inner light within every person that only has to be discovered and nurtured. Once it had been discovered and nurtured everybody, regardless of class or stature, could achieve salvation here on earth. They also preached pacifism and non-violence. *********

The new born again Christianity that was beginning to appear in the west during the 17^th and 18^th centuries was frequently unhealthy. It was often characterized by violent and dangerous emotions and reversals.

 We can see this in the wave of religious fervour known as the Great Awakening that swept through New England during the 1730s.

*This is what America was developed and created under. In this context only can you say God created America.

This was inspired by the evangelical preaching of George Whitfield a colleague of the Wesley’s and the sermons of Jonathan Edwards(1703-1758). Edwards held his sermons in Northampton Connecticut.

 He described his parishioners there as being nothing out of the ordinary; they were sober, orderly, and good, but lacking in religious fervour.

They were no better or worse than the men and women living in the other colonies. That was until in 1734 when two young people died shockingly sudden deaths. This all changed suddenly as the people were real nervous and concerned. This was reinforced by Edwards himself who was known for his hell fire and brimstone sermons.

Edwards plunged the town into a frenzy of religious fervour. People could talk of nothing but religion; they even stopped working in order to spend the entire day reading the Bible.




James M Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com 

Republicans do believe it but most Americans know God did not Create America: part 9

The lie:  Most Americans Believe God Created America, Claims Mike Huckabee (Video): 

Our continued explanation of the truth about what and why Americans believe how America was made and by who: We are getting closer to the truth!

John Wesley, (1703-1791), the founder of the Methodist Religion,had always been a fervent Christian. When he was a fellow at Lincoln College, Oxford, he and his brother Charles started a society known as, The Holy Club.

 It was strong on method and discipline. so its members became known as Methodists. In 1735 John and Charles sailed to the colony of Georgia in America as missionaries. John however  returned to England disconsolate two years later.

 This was because he felt he needed converting himself. During the voyage home he was impressed by some missionaries of the Moravian sect. He was impressed with the fact that they avoided all doctrine. He was agreeable to the thought that religion was simply an affair of the heart.

John underwent a conversion experience during a Moravian meeting.His conversion convinced him that he had received a direct mission from God. He believed that he had to preach this new kind of Christianity throughout England.

 The experience of being born againwas crucial. It was absolutely necessary to experience God continually breathing on the human soul. Experiencing God would fill the Christian with a continual, thankful Love of God.

This was consciously felt. Ultimately this made it natural, and even necessary to love every child of God with kindness and gentleness.

Doctrines about God they felt, were useless and could be damaging.The psychological effect of Christ’s words on the believer was thebest proof of the truth of Religion. An emotional experience ofreligion was the only proof of genuine faith and hence of salvation.

But as we know today, this mysticism can be dangerous. Mystics have always expressed the perils of the spiritual paths and warned against hysteria; peace and tranquillity were the signs of true mysticism.

 This born again Christianity could produce frenzied behavior. We know that so well today!



James M Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com 

Republicans do believe it but most Americans know God did not Create America: part 8

The lie:  Most Americans Believe God Created America, Claims Mike Huckabee (Video): 

Our continued explanation of the truth about what and why Americans believe how America was made and by who:


Kant argued against the idea of a wise and omnipotent creator. Hefelt this could undermine scientific research. He thought it wouldlead to a lazy reliance on a god who fills in the gaps of ourknowledge.

It could also be a source of unnecessary mystification. He believed this would lead to bitter disputes such as those that have scarred the history of the churches.

Kant was not an atheist. His contemporaries described him as a devout man. He was believed to be profoundly aware of mans capacity for evil. This made the idea of God critical to him. Kant argued that in order for man to lead a moral life men, and women, needed a Governor.

 One who would reward virtue with happiness. I must agree with this in the majority of cases.However there are some of us are moral enough to govern ourselves.

In his perspective, God was simply tacked on to the ethical system as an afterthought. The center of religion was no longer the mystery of God, but man himself. God has become a strategy that enables us to function more efficiently and morally. He is no longer the center for all being.

It would not be long before some would take his ideal one step further. They would find it necessary to dispense with God altogether. Kant had been one of the first people in the west to doubt the validity of church traditions. He believed that they in fact proved nothing.

 They would never appear quite so convincing again. That was liberating to many Christians. They firmly believed that God had closed one path to faith only to open another.

A new type of religious devotion emerged alongside the rationalism of enlightenment; it was often referred to as the religion of the heart. This was because it was centered in the heart not the head.

* It urged people to abandon external proofs, and authorities. It urged people to discover the God that was in the heart of everyone. In steps the influence of God on the founding of the United States.

James M Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com 

Republicans do believe it but most Americans know God did not Create America: part 7

The lie:  Most Americans Believe God Created America, Claims Mike Huckabee (Video): 

Our continued explanation of the truth about what and why Americans believe how America was made and by who:

The Churches had only themselves to blame for this defiance. Since for centuries they had burdened the faithful with an overwhelming amount of doctrine. Voltaire did argue however, that faith in one God was more natural and rational to humanity. Voltaire’s problem of course, was not God but the doctrines about him which offended the standard of reason.

German Philosopher, Moses Mendelssohn, (1729-1786), who opened the way for Jews to enter Modern Europe had this to say. The universal Religion of reason should lead to a respect for other ways of approaching God.

 Of course, it would be including Judaism, which the churches of Europe had persecuted for centuries.

Jews were less influenced by Mendelssohn than they were by another German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, (1724-1804). Kant has described the Enlightenment as man's exodus from his self imposed reliance on external authority.

He felt the only way to God led through the independent realm of moral conscience. He called this practical reason. He dismissed many of the trappings of Religion such as the dogmatic authority of the churches. He dismissed prayer and ritual.

These things all prevented people from relying on their own powers.It encouraged them to depend upon church doctrine. He was not opposed to the idea of God. However, he argued that the traditional arguments for the existence of God were useless.

This was primarily because our minds could only understand things that exist in space or time. He believed that man’s mind was not competent to consider realities that are beyond this category.

He allowed that man had a natural tendency to go beyond these limits. He believed we would seek a principle of unity. He felt that would give us a vision of reality as a believable whole.

 This was the idea of God. It was not possible to prove the existence of God logically. It wasn’t possible to disprove it either. The idea of God was essential to us.

 It represented the ideal limit that allowed us to achieve a comprehensive idea of the world. Therefore for Kant,God was merely a convenience.


James M Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com 

Republicans do believe it but most Americans know God did not Create America: part 6

The lie:  Most Americans Believe God Created America, Claims Mike Huckabee (Video): 

Our continued explanation of the truth about what and why Americans believe how America was made and by who:

More and more Christians were becoming embarrassed by the cruelty of so much of their Christian history. Christians had conducted fearsome crusades. They conducted inquisitions, and persecutions in the name of God.

 This was a God that is supposed to be all encompassing, all understanding, and all forgiving. They were becoming increasingly enamoured with liberty and freedom of conscience. The bloody reformation for many, proved to be the final straw.

Reason did seem to be the answer. However, could a God stripped of the mystery that had surrounded him for centuries be an effective God? In the west Christians were on the edge of a more secular age,though they still adhered to a belief in God.

 The new Religion of reason would be known as Deism. This is belief claiming foundation solely on the evidence of reason. They believed in the existence of God as creator of the Universe who after setting it in motion abandoned it.

 He assumed no control over life. He exerted no influence on natural phenomena. He also gave no supernatural revelation, man that sounds pretty objective.

It had no time for the imaginative disciplines of mysticism and mythology. It turned its back on the on the myth of revelation. The new religion also turned its back on such traditional mysteries as the Trinity.

The Trinity had for so long held people captive of superstition. Instead it declared allegiance to the personal God which man could discover with his own efforts.

Francoise Marie De Voltaire was the embodiment of the enlightenment movement. He also described his version of the perfect Religion. Wouldn’t it teach much morality and very little dogma?

Wouldn’t it tend to make men just without making them absurd? It would be a religion that did not make you believe in things that are impossible. He believed it would be a religion that was not contradictory. He believed that it would be a religion that was not injurious to divinity, and harmful to man.

 He believed it would be a religion which did not menace with eternal punishment anyone possessing common sense? Would it not be that which did not uphold its beliefs with executioners?

 Wouldn’t it be a religion that did not inundate the earth with blood on account of unintelligible argument? It would be a Religion that taught only the worship of one God, justice, tolerance, and humanity. This all sounds ideal, he has my vote.



James M Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com 

Republicans do believe it but most Americans know God did not Create America: part 5

The lie:  Most Americans Believe God Created America, Claims Mike Huckabee (Video): 

Our continued explanation of the truth about what and why Americans believe how America was made and by who:

I am sure we all agree it is very rare occurrences having everything co-mingle perfectly. It of course has to in order to create the perfect environment to happen and prosper. It may be rare but like many of you, I too believe it to have been a perfectly natural occurrence.

 You can certainly see the varied professional opinions out there at the time our country was formed.There was a tremendous confusion over reality. Just what has changed anyway?

Like Descartes, Newton had no time for mystery which he equated tostupidity and ignorance. He too was anxious to rid Christianity of mysticism. He believed that the doctrine of the Trinity, (father,son, and Holy Ghost), were false.

 He believed they were purposely created by the church to attract converts.
cause it too was being subjected to the new scientific principles.Once this started to happen the modern period of true scepticism was irrevocably launched.

Hermann Reimarus, (1694-1768), argued that Jesus just wanted to found a godly state. He believed that it was when his mission failed that he had died in despair. He pointed out that in the Gospels;

Jesus had never proclaimed that he had come to atone for the sins of mankind. That idea can only be traced back to Saint Paul who is the true founder of Christianity.

We should not, therefore, revere Jesus Christ as God. He believed that he should be thought of as the teacher of a remarkable, simple, and exalted Religion. Once the scientific method had become the standard, it became difficult for many people to read the Gospels in any other way.

 Western Christians were now committed to a literal understanding of their faith. They had taken a step back from myth. After all, a story was either factually true or it wasn’t.

The traditional doctrine of the Atonement, (the reconciliation of God and man brought about by the death of Christ), which depicted God demanding the death of his own son presented an unacceptable picture of God.

  He was the righteous God, the embittered God, and the angered God. His demands for strict retribution purposely filled many Christians with fear and compelled them not to be sinful.

God ruled through force and fear, He would not create a country on earth for people.

James M Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com 

Republicans do believe it but most Americans know God did not Create America: part 4

The lie:  Most Americans Believe God Created America, Claims Mike Huckabee (Video): 

Our continued explanation of the truth about what and why Americans believe how America was made and by who:

The English Physicist, Isaac Newton, (1642-1727), also reduced God to his own mechanical system. He was as anxious as Descartes to rid Christianity of mysticism. Newton began with an attempt to explain the physical universe. He believed that God was an essential part of the system. To Newton, nature was entirely passive and God was the sole source of action.

During the 18^th century Christians started to apply the new scientific principles to the Christian faith. When all was said and done they came up with the same solutions as Newton. Radical theologians were anxious to get back to basics. They wanted to purge Christianity of its mysticism.

 They also wanted to establish a new rational Religion. After all, rationality was the measure of all true Religion. There is a religion of natureand reason written in the heart of every one of us since creation.This is so all mankind must judge the truth and validity of any kindof religion whatsoever. Thus, revelation was unnecessary since thetruth can be found through our own rational inquiries.

Others went even further in applying this new objectivity to the New Testament itself. They even attempted a critical biography of Jesus himself. The question of the humanity of Christ was no longer a mystical matter. Thus as with Aristotle he believed God was simply a continuation of the natural physical order.

Newton was inclined to describe the relationship between thevarious celestial and terrestrial bodies in mathematical terms. Hedid this so as to create a coherent and comprehensive system.

 The notion of gravitational force which as we know, Newton introduced,drew the component parts of this system together. Unlike his contemporaries, Pascal, and Descartes, Newton was absolutely convinced that he had proof of Gods existence.

Why didn’t the internal gravities of the various celestial bodies pull them all together into one huge mass? Because they had been carefully disposed throughout space with perfect distance between them in order to facilitate life on this planet he believed there had to be Devine intervention. He felt that it was not to be explained by natural cause. He was forced to admit there had to be a God involved.

He believed that while gravity might have put the planets into motion that it could not have been done correctly without God’s help. He believed that without Devine power it could never put them into such a motion as they have around the sun;

therefore he was inclined to assign this system to a greater intelligent being. If for example, the earth revolved on its axis at only 100 MPH instead of its 1000 MPH, night would be ten times longer and the planet would be too cold to sustain life. He also knew that the daytime heat would shrivel vegetation.



James M Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com 

The Enlightenment and Its Influence on the U.S. Installment 1

.

I think this would be the perfect time to discuss what civilization was experiencing during the 18^th century. It is important to know how Americans felt when the Constitution was written and the country was founded.

 This occurred during the enlightenment and the feelings at the time heavily influenced the forming of our principles. In light of what we have experienced already we can be thankful for our founding fathers wisdom. With what you are about to read, it becomes obvious that the decision to keep religion separate from politics was a good one. The enlightenment was a confusing time for Religion.

With the advent of technicalization in the west an entirely different kind of Society was formed. a new ideal of humanity came about. This in turn would affect the perception of the nature and role of God. The newly industrialized and efficient west also changed the course of history. 

Other countries of the civilized world found it increasingly difficult to ignore the western world as it had in the past. The Muslims as we know are still unable or unwilling to come to terms with it.

No other civilization in the history of the world had achieved anything like this. The west therefore created problems that were completely new, and very difficult to deal with. 

Until the eighteenth century Islam had been the dominant world power in much of the Middle East and Africa. By the end of the eighteenth century Europe had begun to dominate the world.

 The very nature of its achievements made it impossible for the rest of the world to catch up. Europe began to colonize as much of the world as it could. They did this with the overlying prevailing thought being that western civilization was far superior to everyone else. 

They believed that with their vast religious and civilizational principals that they were beyond reproach. They felt that they were vastly superior and always were. We know now that this is not true and right for everyone.

 They also believed that any country would be better off under its guidance. We have surely found out the hard way that none of this was true either.

The process of westernization had begun. With it the view that the well being of society should trump any religious considerations became the prevailing thought. This, as we said, was the train of thought that prevailed when the Constitution was written, and our country was formed. 

The west was now no longer an Agriculture based society. We were no longer governed by the many nuances of climate, resources, and agriculture. Its technical innovations meant that it had become independent of local and world conditions.

 The Islamists as we all know are trying hard to turn this around.

The accumulation of Capital, and the process of modernization, led the west to a series of changes. It brought us Industrialization, an intellectual enlightenment, and social and political revolutions, as a natural occurrence.
 These many profound cultural changes affected the way in which men and women perceived themselves. This caused them to revise their relationship with what was to them, the one ultimate reality, God. This was just as it is happening today. 

Then, the religion change was due to prosperity in society. Today it’s occurring due to insecurity in society. The many changes ultimately created an unstoppable momentum. More and more people from all levels of society were necessarily drawn into this process of modernization that was touching every sphere of life known to civilized man.
Ultimately it became necessary to involve all levels of society in this process. It was necessary in order to continue, and even increase productivity. It was necessary as a result of the accumulation of capital. 

The expansion of mass markets, and advances in science and technology also made it a must do situation. This of course led to social changes in western society. Men and women on every level felt empowered and in charge of their own lives as never before.

 We also see the fear and anxiety that innovation and change has brought to traditional societies. We are right now experiencing this with Islam.

There was new optimism about humanity as control over the natural world appeared to be advancing in leaps and bounds. People began to think that a better education and improved laws could bring light to the human spirit.

 This new confidence in the natural powers of human beings meant that people began to think that they could achieve enlightenment on their own. They no longer felt that they had to rely on tradition, church, or a revelation from God in order to discover the truth.

Consequently innovative scientists and intellectuals felt obliged to work out their own theories of life and religion. They felt that their new found knowledge and effectiveness gave them the responsibility to look at traditional Christian explanations of reality and evaluate them for themselves. The new scientific spirit was based purely on observation and experiment. 

The western sciences could take nothing for granted. The people were increasingly ready to risk a mistake or to question established authorities and institutions. Of course this included the Bible, the Church, and accepted Christian principles.

The traditional teachings of the existence of God were no longer entirely satisfactory or acceptable. Natural scientists and philosophers full of enthusiasm to find out the truth, felt compelled to verify the reality of God. They did this in the same way they proved other unexplained phenomena.

French Physicist Blaise Pascal, (1623-1662), was brutally honest with himself. Unlike many of his contemporaries he was convinced that there was no way to prove that God existed. Pascal was the first person in this new enlightened environment, to concede that belief in God could only be a matter of personal choice.

 By making the decision to surrender to God, the faithful feel themselves transformed. They become faithful, honest, humble, grateful, and full of good.

 Somehow the Christian finds that life has acquired new meaning and significance, having created a faith and having found God in the face of hopelessness and despair. God is a reality because he works. Faith is not intellectual certainty but an experience that brings with it a moral enlightenment.                                        Life Today The Real Story "2005"

James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com 

Quote Of the Day! Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. -Blaise Pascal!

Quote Of the Day! Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. -Blaise Pascal!

Religion, provocation, fanaticism:

We all see this and know it first hand but we can not harp on it enough as we must put an end to what is happening today!

I have been saying this for years now. Extreme unbridled religiosity is the most powerful dangerous weapon in the world. It doesn't matter what religion it is. We have it being expressed in the Muslim world by the Islamists being accused of hijacking their Nation and religion.

Worse is that we have it on the other side of the argument today. It was being pushed by Bush and his warped sense of Christian fundamentalism and corrupt democracy. the worse part is that Bush had hijacked Christianity and America and was in control of the most powerful country on the planet.

I want to say thankfully Obama is in control now but I can't in this context. He is still being pushed by Christians. We are rapidly racing towards WW3. This at a time when the planet and man can no longer survive the terrible effects of world or worse, nuclear war. This would be turning back the clock of time, and the planet like man and all of nature only run in one direction, forward.

We are acutely aware as to the increased fragility of our planet, it’s necessary for our survival ecosystems, and the fact that the planet is now capable of destroying mans life as we know it without his help!

Worse is that we appear to be ignoring all this and purposely seem to be bringing man and the planet down the wrong road as pointed out by Nostradamus. That is the road to world conflict and man’s end as we know it.

Even worse is that Both sides of the equation are bent on the destruction of man and the planet, and the U.S., Russia, and China,seem to be recklessly, willingly, and wantonly leading the way instead of acting like responsible world leaders.

James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com