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Jon Rowe

Jon Rowe is a full Professor of Business at Mercer County Community College, where he teaches business, law, and legal issues relating to politics. Of course, his views do not necessarily represent those of his employer.

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6 Responses

  1. Tod Kelly says:

    This is most awesome, Jon. Thanks.Report

  2. Burt Likko says:

    Once upon a time, I would have searched hard for things like this to demonstrate to “Christian Nation” folks that even Christians don’t think this is a “Christian nation.” Time has mellowed me out, and now I realize that what that phrase means to one scholar isn’t necessarily what it means to another and the popular usage of that term is agonizingly fluid. And, I’ve come to think that the notion of a collective intent beyond the words of the documents the Founders agreed to (the Declaration, the Articles of Confederation) is just plain impossible to determine to any useful degree.

    But I love, love, love that this sort of scholarship is going on. I think it’s hugely beneficial to understand the cultural and social and moral miileux that led to the Revolution. So I love, love, love that we have references to this research available here.Report

  3. Given the common current use of the self-description “Christian”, one which excludes Catholics, Episcopalians, and other biblical non-literalists, none of the Founders was a Christian.Report

    • Damon in reply to Mike Schilling says:

      Really? Am I that out of touch with current religious thinking? I pretty much figured that anyone who ascribed to a faith that had “a jew dying on a cross” pretty much defined “christian”, those of believes of the “one true religion” excluded.

      I think my Episcopalian preacher friend would take except to the definition you describe Mike. 🙂Report

  4. Jaybird says:

    As time goes on, I’ve begun to realize that “Christian” is really shorthand for a lot of other things. Things that have very little to do with Jesus or even theism.

    I do not believe in a deity. I do not believe that Jesus was much more than a particularly charismatic guy who was in the right place at the right time who had a particularly lucky break when it came to Saul/Paul.

    And yet there are some very, very real senses in which I am a Christian.
    There are others, of course, in which I am not… but that argument has far too many similarities to the whole “who is a gamer?” question to not immediately run to examples of “are frat boys who only play Madden gamers? What about if they play Halo or Call of Duty?”

    And these talmudic arguments happen over a construct regarding an affinity for a particular leisure behavior.

    At least we can agree that chicks who play Farmville and Candy Crush exclusively are *NOT* gamers, am I right?

    Anyway, it’s shorthand.Report