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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (407340)	8/17/2008 12:54:09 PM
From: i-node	Respond to of 1574853

Ben Franklin's thirteen moral virtues The lengths Franklin went to in his efforts to implement his 13 Virtues was a model for personal improvement. His goal was to achieve "moral perfection". He remarked that he intentionally avoided any "distinguishing mark" of any particular religious sect in his virtues because he didn't want to prejudice any one sect against it (he had planned to publish it, and a capitalist he was). He spends a significant amount of time on this in his autobiography. Along with the list of virtues, he prepares a chart for recording his progress, he lays out the ordering in which he will pursue each of those virtues (understanding that some are more easily accomplished after others have been completed). It was an extremely sophisticated game plan under which he would "phase in" his compliance over 13 weeks (one week to adjust to each added virtue). Franklin, throughout his life, participated in informal meeting groups, and had the idea of spreading his virtues by getting the membership in those groups committed to it. He believed if he could do this, you would improve society overall as the virtues spread from one person to another. Parsons remarks on the Founders' views on religion are totally ignorant. While Franklin was not a religious fanatic, he was a highly religious person. He did not, however, appreciate his local pastor focusing his efforts on growing the congregation rather than on the kinds of concepts presented in his thirteen virtues -- and he all but abandoned his own church because of his unhappiness with the pastor. He would attend his church only a couple times a year because he was offended at the less-than-righteous attitude of the minister. Franklin's own position on religion was: "I had been religiously educated as a Presbyterian; and tho' some of the dogmas of that persuasion, such as the eternal decrees of God, election, reprobation, etc., appeared to me unintelligible, others doubtful ... I never was without some religious principles. I never doubted, for instance, the existence of the Deity; that he made the world, and governed it by his Providence; that the most acceptable service of God was doing good to man; that our souls are immortal; and that all crime will be punished, and virtue rewarded, either here or hereafter ... " It is commonplace these days for the Left to try and paint the Founders, as Franklin put it, "atheists or infidels". But anyone reading his remarks above would have to conclude that his religious principles were deeply present. If one reads Franklin's writings, it is clear that he would have avoided any reference to particular religious precepts within founding documents where practical. In his own, private life, he carefully avoided preference of one sect over another, clearly believing that one's religion is a highly personal thing. But he does not hide the fact that absolute religious freedom was a key, foundational principle for the existence of America. These Leftists today are simply doing what they do -- revising history to meet their own objectives.