[quote=pri_dk][quote=Allan from Fallbrook]Pri: We’re about to go off into the weeds here, and I want to avoid that.
[/quote]
Weeds? It’s the crux of our debate!
Simple question:
Where’s the Judaism/Christianity in our law?
There’s way too much historical ignorance in today’s political dialog, and the “our Nation was founded upon Christian values” notion is one of the most common, and most damaging offenses.[/quote]
Pri: Well, gee, sorry to disappoint you. As I stated clearly throughout my responses, I was simply pointing out facts. You, however, are very much trying to avoid these facts in making your point that “Christian values” were absent in both the writings of the Founding Fathers and their intent. Not so.
As I also stated, the Founding Fathers were Deists (as distinct from any brand of Christianity), but did indeed believe in God and you can see this belief represented in things like the law.
You asked about Judeo-Christian underpinnings and I gave the historical context, citing Henry II and the pervasive influence of the Catholic Church during Henry’s reign. You attempted to sidestep this, and then riposted with a series of comments on “Christian values”.
I never referenced “Christian values” (or “Jewish values” in the case of Scaredy’s response), but instead Judeo-Christian principles. If we want to amplify this, we can obviously include not only Hammurabi (which had an influence on Judaism and Judaic Law), but the influence of Aristotle and Plato on Catholic theologians such as Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine (as well as an influence on the Judaic concept of God).
Like I said, I was simply making a point and drawing a line. The line is very clear and historically accurate. It doesn’t fit with your point, hence your attempt to deflect it. But, like it or not, it is there.
You can find evidence of same in the writings of Jefferson, Adams, Payne, Jay, Witherspoon and even that debauched Francophile Benjamin Franklin. The list is long and distinguished and one doesn’t have to search hard at all to find it.
In terms of Judeo-Christian influence on the law, look no further than such leading legal lights as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Thurgood Marshall, and John Marshall (“Marbury v. Madison”).
