Our founding Fathers thought of our Creator as a divine spiritual person who was similar to the God of Israel or the God of Moses. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and many other founding Fathers viewed Jesus as a historical Jew, teacher, and prophet…but not God or our Creator. So who did our founding Fathers view as our Creator when they wrote the Declaration of Independence? Basically, all the names above could be relevant with the exception of the name Jesus (in English), Yeshua (in Aramaic), or Ihous (in Greek). The prophet, Moses, who actually experienced the voice and character of God while on Mount Sinai also was given the name I AM WHO I AM…as the name of this God that we call Creator. When it comes to ‘names’ for the Creator we generally think of these when we think in English: Jehovah or the God of Israel, Allah (the Arabic name for the God of Abraham…used by most Moslems), Jesus or Christ (used by many Evangelical Christians who declared Yeshua equal with the God of Israel), or Yahweh (the unpronounceable name which really has no vowels…YHWH), and Father God (for many non-Evangelical Christians who prefer this name for the God of Israel). What are some common ‘names’ for this Creator? Plato and some Greek philosophers view the Demiurge as the ultimate Creator. Many native Americans and similar groups view The Great Spirit as Creator of all. Many Chinese view Pangu as the Creator. Many from India view Vishnu as the ultimate God/Creator. This God is viewed as our Creator by most Jews, Moslems, and non-Evangelical Christians. The God of Israel goes all the way back to Creation (some 6000 years of history). Going back into history there are many and various Gods that people have viewed as important. ![]() First of all let’s review the various perspectives of the major historical philosophies about God or the concept of Creator. What did he mean when he said: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.Īfter reading much of Thomas Jefferson’s philosophy and theology I can discern some of his thinking with reference to this concept that we call Creator. First of all, Thomas Jefferson wrote the main body of our Declaration of Independence and his thoughts and perceptions should be understood. Is our Creator a real source of power, intelligence, awareness, consciousness, and meaning…or is this concept just a meaningless idea of some delusional American founders? Let’s focus first on who our founders viewed as our Creator…as well as who they did not view as Creator. Let’s give some thought to the concept of our Creator and see if we can discern who this person is…and what attributes this divine person maintains. Who is this CREATOR that Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, and our other founding Fathers espoused in the Declaration of Independence?
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