The Fourth of July and freedom

“Yet through all the gloom I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is worth all the means. This is our day of deliverance. With solemn acts of devotion we ought to commemorate it, with pomp and parade…with shows and games…sports and guns…with bells and bonfires and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other…from this time forward and forevermore…” So wrote John Adams about the 4th of July.

There is no question in my mind that the 4th of July is the most important holiday that we celebrate in this nation. All of the other national holidays, Easter and Christmas included, pale by comparison.

On the 4th of July, 1826, America celebrated the 50th anniversary of her independence. John Adams, the second President of the United States died on that day at the age of 90. His last words were “Thomas Jefferson still survives.”

But, on that same day…Jefferson too, died.

There was something mystical about the relationship between Adams and Jefferson. It was these two giants who, with James Madison, set the direction and the philosophy of this great nation.

We are celebrating the Declaration of Independence. With only a very few word changes that magnificent document was written by one man, Thomas Jefferson…

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Jefferson and the Christian superstition

When John Kennedy was President, he gave a banquet in the White House that was without precedent. The banquet was for every living American Nobel Prize winner, with about 150 present. At the beginning of the evening, President Kennedy stood and announced he would make a toast. He said: “Never has so much talent…and so much genius…been assembled in one room…since Thomas Jefferson dined…alone.”

The author of the Declaration of Independence, brilliant philosopher, theologian, architect, linguist, scholar, statesman, scientist, musician, horticulturist, agronomist, humanist, deist and master of the civilized arts wrote this:

“I have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstitions of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike, founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites, to support roguery and error all over the earth.”

The Jeffersonian Bible became famous and is now in the Smithsonian. Jefferson, literally, took scissors and paste and cut out a few of the parables of Jesus that he thought had ethical value and that was his bible.

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Robert Ingersoll: “A most precious treasure”

Robert Ingersoll, “a glorious flame of free thought.” How can I do this genius justice in such a short space? I will try.

He lived from 1833 to 1899 and was internationally known as the “Great Agnostic”, one of the most brilliant thinkers, lawyers, orators, debaters and authors of his day, or any day. Twelve volumes of his works are still available and are a collector’s treasure. He lectured all over the United States and abroad to standing-room-only audiences. He spoke on many subjects, but thousands upon thousands turned out to hear him demolish the absurdities of orthodox religious dogmas, including Christianism. He found them repugnant due to the damage they did to the human mind and spirit. And yet, on a deep and profound level he had a sense of the Mystery that was breathtaking.

I can tell you that, without exception, his funeral eulogies are the most beautiful that I have ever read in the English language.

• WALT WHITMAN, the poet laureate of the universe, said that only one man could speak at his funeral and that man was Robert Ingersoll.
• CARL SANDBURG, said of Ingersoll’s eulogy of Whitman: “It was a most precious treasure.”
• MARK TWAIN literally idolized Ingersoll. Twain wrote: “I heard four speeches which I can never forget by that splendid soul Bob Ingersoll. It was just the most supreme combination of words ever put together since the world began. His words will sing through my memory always as the divinest that ever enchanted my ears. America will never again see his equal. Of all men, living and dead, I love Ingersoll the most. Except for my daughter, I have not grieved for any death as I have grieved for his.”
• HENRY WARD BEECHER, the greatest man in the Christian pulpit of that day and a Congregational minister who was 200 years ahead of his time, was Ingersoll’s closest friend. He and Ingersoll were in complete agreement regarding their views of the bible and Christian dogma and doctrine. Of Ingersoll, Beecher wrote: “He is the most brilliant speaker in the English tongue. In him, we find the magnificent, glorious flame of genius and honest free thought.”

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