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Thomas Jefferson was not an #atheist, and not a fan of #Calvinism either

"I have I can never join Calvin in addressing his god. He was indeed an Atheist, which I can never be; or rather his religion was Daemonism. If ever man worshipped a false god, he did. The being described in his 5 points is not the God whom you and I acknowledge and adore, the Creator and benevolent governor of the world; but a daemon of malignant spirit. It would be more pardonable to believe in no god at all, than to blaspheme him by the atrocious attributes of Calvin. Indeed I think that every Christian sect gives a great handle to #Atheism by their general dogma that, without a revelation, there would not be sufficient proof of the being of a god."

Thomas Jefferson

Letter to John Adams (11 April 1823)

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Discussion

Marakesh 𓅦 2y ago

Strike the "I have" at the beginning of his quote; typo.

hodlbod 2y ago

Jefferson doesn't know what he's talking about here. He doesn't even seem to realize that Calvin's 5 points weren't written by Calvin. The guy who redacted large parts of the new testament isn't who I'd trust with theological takes.

Marakesh 𓅦 2y ago

Was Calvin a "Calvinist" 😄

Do you think he would subscribe to the 5 points?

freeborn | ἐλεύθερος | 8r0gwg 2y ago

Yes. See [How Many Points?](http://kimriddlebarger.squarespace.com/how-many-points/) by Richard Muller.

hodlbod 2y ago

Yes, but they're reductive and citing them shows a pretty shallow understanding of what Calvin was actually about

Jimmy 2y ago

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_of_Thomas_Jefferson

Jimmy 2y ago