On March 4, 1801, Thomas Jefferson delivered his inaugural address as our third president. Here is part of what he said:

"Enlightened by a benign religion, professed, indeed, and practiced in various forms, yet all of them inculcating honesty, truth, temperance, gratitude, and the love of man; acknowledging and adoring an overruling Providence, which by all its dispensations proves that it delights in the happiness of man here and his greater happiness hereafter. With all these blessings, what more is necessary to make us a happy and prosperous people? Still one thing more, fellow citizens—a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned…"

Let me provide a brief analysis of his words.

1. "Enlightened by a benign religion..." He obviously meant Christianity, for it was nearly universally practiced in early America. Notice: true Christianity "enlightened" the country, and was "benign"—not harmful to anyone.

2. "Professed, indeed, and practiced in various forms..." Meaning: the many denominations of post-Reformation Christendom, none of which could become an "established religion," i.e., a national church like England had (First Amendment).

3. "Yet all of them inculcating honesty, truth, temperance, gratitude, and the love of man." Yes, this is the essence of the true, original teachings of Jesus. Obviously, such would be beneficial to any society. But now, thanks to the atheistic, Marxist Left, the world has known 100-plus years of dishonesty, lies, uncontrolled........

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