One thing that really drives me up the wall quicker than other things is when people use false quotes and continue to pass them on. I will begin acquiring as many of these as I can and dispelling them here. My major problem with false quotes is that I very much enjoy the truth and obviously if it is a false quote it is a lie. I may hear a quote and be inclined to use it myself. A person propagating such quotes often makes a fool of themselves. Many times if one wishes to be responsible and check the verity of a quote and its source they will run into multiple examples of people misusing the quote and think they have verified it but really have just seen multiple versions of the lie. Quotes have been given a strange place in our culture and at times can seem to have been canonized by some users of them even if false. Most misquoted people are either founding fathers of the United States or are Albert Einstein.
The first quote I will do, has been attributed to George Washington and in fact he did not say this:
“The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion”
However, the fact that he did not say this does not mean it was not said. In fact, it appears that it is very much an actual historical statement from the 1796-97 Treaty with Tripoli (current Libya). Some of the Muslims in the area had concerns about a new crusade being launched, and the treaty informs them to not worry about holy war, since the government of the United States is not founded on any particular religion.
Many Christians might get upset that this was actually said and if they do then they are idiots. If the United States was founded on the Christian religion then why do we not have state run confessionals or baptisms? Jesus, the founder of Christianity, said that the first great commandment was to love God and the second was to love thy neighbor. These most important laws were somehow excluded from the constitution and are not required. Strange thing to exclude when basing the government on the Christian religion. We also have another problem when trying to base the government on the Christian religion; which flavor among all the different versions is it based on? Many Christians argue bitterly over their view of what is true Christianity. I am happy to keep that kind of contention out of the body that creates and enforces laws that I will abide by. Although contention finds its way in anyway.
Christians can take solace in the fact that this line from the treaty does not mean that the founders hated Christianity or religion in general. In fact I have documented, and will document in the future, statements quite to the contrary by founders that show the necessity for religious beliefs, morals, faith and the providence of God in maintaining a free society. But with regard to government, it is always best to not jump in with certain religions.