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→It all depends how you define deism.
I'm not interested in B. Franklin or his supposed deism, but [[User:SharonS|SharonS]] changed in many places the text of the letter that [[User:1048247|1048247]] posted. Which one is the correct text, or are there more versions of the same letter? [[User:Leopeo|Leopeo]] 13:58, 9 May 2007 (EDT)
I'm not interested in B. Franklin or his supposed deism, but [[User:SharonS|SharonS]] changed in many places the text of the letter that [[User:1048247|1048247]] posted. Which one is the correct text, or are there more versions of the same letter? [[User:Leopeo|Leopeo]] 13:58, 9 May 2007 (EDT)
==It all depends how you define deism.==
There is an oversimplified narrative... let's call it a fable... that says "Columbus thought the world was round when everyone else thought it was flat."
Similarly, there is an oversimplified liberal fable that says "The Founding Fathers were deists."
One reason why this is inaccurate when someone says it today is that it will be understood to mean deism as it is defined e.g. in dictionaries today: "The belief, based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation."
Franklin doesn't fit that definition, as shown by his creed. He clearly favored public prayer, of the sort of generic variety that would now be called "nondenominational." He clearly praised Christianity, but not so much because he thought it was true, as because he thought that it led to virtuous behavior.
On the other hand, in Franklin's time, he might have been "a deist" because his views are in good harmony with the views of Lord Herbert of Cherbury, who originated the concept.
A succinct way to clarify the article is to qualify the word "deism" to say "deism as defined today." [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 14:02, 9 May 2007 (EDT)