Faith Of Our Signers P8

The fact that Franklin in his autobiography said he was a deist in early life did not mean he remained one. In fact, shortly after that admission, and in the very same work, Franklin immediately reported that he had quickly moved away from the beliefs of deists and free-thinkers shortly after embracing them, finding their arguments “not very useful” and “not now so clever a performance as I once thought it.”

He also talked freely about the numerous occasions of God’s direct influence in his life, even composing personal prayers and messages of thanks to God, which is definitely neither the belief nor practice of a deist.

Despite this, many secular authors today still find it convenient to cite Franklin’s single statement about having been a deist as a young man, ignoring his many statements to the contrary from the very same work. While Franklin would not be considered an orthodox Christian today, he still recognized the great value of a belief in God, religion, and the Bible.

For example, just weeks before Franklin’s death, he exchanged letters with the Rev. Ezra Stiles, then president of Yale College, addressing the question of whether Jesus was Divine, a long-standing doctrine of orthodox Christianity. Stiles wrote his good friend Franklin, first requesting a portrait of him to display at Yale, and then asking a question regarding Franklin’s personal beliefs about Jesus. Stiles’ letter and Franklin’s response are very revealing about Franklin’s general religious beliefs.  

More on this next week for another American Moment.

Sourced from The American Story: The Beginnings by David Barton and Tim Barton.