History lesson gets it wrong

"America's foundation is Christianity," proclaims fundamentalist Christian and remedial historian Danny Bolden (April 19).

Bolden tries to defend his farcical statement by declaring that the Europeans who settled at Jamestown (1607) and Plymouth (1620) were Christians, and their purpose was to spread their religion. Yeah, but that's completely irrelevant to his proclamation.

What's relevant is the Constitution (effective 1789), which doesn't mention anything about America's foundation being Christianity. Moreover, the Constitution is "the supreme law of the land," not the Bible or any other religious document.

Furthermore, the Treaty of Tripoli states "the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." The treaty was ratified unanimously by the Senate and was signed by President John Adams on June 10, 1797.

Next, Bolden deals a counterfeit "George Washington was a Christian" card trying to add some credibility to his bogus history lesson. For example, he says Washington acknowledged that our independence and our form of government was because of God, and that a nation can't be successful without God's blessings.

However, there's one critical element missing from Washington's quotes — Jesus. And the reason He's missing is because Washington wasn't a Christian; he was likely a deist. And most of the other major Founding Fathers were non-Christians, too.

Last, the most disturbing part of Bolden's ahistorial junk is his twisted believe that the First Amendment applies only to Christianity: "Therefore, only Christianity is entitled to tax exemption, to be recognized as legitimate in public meetings, and otherwise protected by the First Amendment."

"The greater the ignorance, the greater the dogmatism." — William Osler.

Robert Refo

West Monroe