There are several fundamental flaws in the Wall Builder web site.
First, it jumps from the observation that most of the founding fathers were Christian to the assumption that they were
Biblical Christians as that term is used today. In fact several of the founding fathers, such as John Adams, were Unitarians who rejected the deity of Jesus as accepted by believers in the Trinity (i.e. Trinitarians), while accepting Jesus as a great man and prophet. Others, such as Thomas Jefferson, were deists who also rejected the notion of Jesus Christ as deity and even the notion of almost all miracles. Both deists and Unitarians also rejected the notion of any single or generally correct religious creed, accepting the notion of religion as a matter of personal conscience This belief was shared by Masons (Washington, for example) who accepted god but rejected the notion of a single creedal truth.
Second, the site jumps from the observation that most of the founding fathers and of the population were Christians to the assumption that they therefore intended to create a Christian nation. It is not that the founding fathers were not religious; they were. However, religion was if anything less important in the lives of the peole than it is today. Relatively few people attended church with any regularity and denominations were fairly loosely organized. It was not until the mid-19th century that evangelists began to become a greater force in politics, and that is actually when the trappings of religion began to enter government practice (e.g., the inclusion of "In God We Trust" on currency.).
Finally, the site discusses in David Barton's essay how the nation is Christian even though all of the written documents prohibit the government from respecting establishment of religion. In a paragraph I find curious, he writes:
"Christianity is the religion that shaped America and made her what she is today. In fact, historically speaking, it can be irrefutably demonstrated that
Biblical Christianity in America produced many of the cherished traditions still enjoyed today, including:
- A republican rather than a theocratic form of government;
- The institutional separation of church and state (as opposed to today’s enforced institutional secularization of church and state);
- Protection for religious toleration and the rights of conscience;
- A distinction between theology and behavior, thus allowing the incorporation into public policy of religious principles that promote good behavior but which do not enforce theological tenets (examples of this would include religious teachings such as the Good Samaritan, The Golden Rule, the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, etc., all of which promote positive civil behavior but do not impose ecclesiastical rites); and
- A free-market approach to religion, thus ensuring religious diversity.
Consequently, a Christian nation as demonstrated by the American experience is a nation founded upon Christian and Biblical principles, whose values, society, and institutions have largely been shaped by those principles. " [Emphasis added]
If I read this correctly he seems to be arguing that the irrefutable proof that our country is Christian is that it was founded on a set of principles designed to ensure religious diversity and avoid linkage to any specific faith. Given that no Christian belief espoused such a set of principles at the time, I wonder how this
proof became irrefutable. Is it irrefutable solely because it is illogical and unfounded?
At the time of the Revolution, most Christians were anything but democratic or republican in their beliefs. Most lived in countries where royalty ruled with what was believed to be a devine mandate. If you are looking for the moral foundations of the Revolution, you will do better at looking at the philosophical writings of John Locke, Thomas Paine, Pasteur, Descartes, and other fathers of the Age of Reason rather than towards the Bible.
Originally Posted by YardleyLabs
There are several fundamental flaws in the Wall Builder web site.
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Sooo... I log on for the first time in a while and OMG, I agree with Booty! My descent into conservatism has begun. 
