Writing Religion Into History: The Barton Agenda

ABC News published an extensive article about the agenda of David Barton and other Christian "experts" who are seeking to rewrite the history curriculum taught in Texas schools.

Barton's curriculum suggestions can be found in a PDF document here. Among other things, he suggests:

• A written constitution was based on Bible-minded Christians.   The scriptural model was based on God giving Moses written laws to rule a nation.   He cites this and other biblical references on page 20 of his curriculum review.
• Students must also understand the framers' very explicit (and very frequent) definition of inalienable rights as being those rights given by God (page 12).

In Barton's defense, he does not refer to Jesus in his review.   However, much of his other work centers on his argument that it was the intent of the Founding Fathers that the United States conduct itself as a "Christian Nation" or a "Judeo-Christian Nation."   One only needs to read the quote he uses from the Declaration of Independence to see that it is "Nature's God" that the Founding Fathers referred to, which is indicative of a deist point of view, not a Christian view:

Barton conveniently leaves out the reference to "Nature's God" when writing about what students should memorize:

There is only one reference to God in the Declaration of Independence, and it is Nature's God.   There is no reference to the Bible.   There is no reference to Jesus.   There is no reference to "Christianity" or a "Judeo-Christian nation."   Because the Constitution does not reference God, Jesus or the Bible, Barton frequently says that the two documents — the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence — are tied together and and because God was mentioned in the Declaration (although he does not clarify this to mean Nature's God), this means that the country is a Christian nation.   This belief is shown in the videos below, in which David Barton and Annie Laurie Gaylor debated on the religious show, Faith Under Fire.

It should be noted that at the end of the first half of the video debate and the beginning of   the second half of the debate, Barton did not tell the truth when Gaylor accused him of frequently misquoted the Founding Fathers.   As noted in a 1996 Church & State publication:

What was Barton's proof for these claims? Many of the quotations he now admits are groundless! At least nine of the 12 were included in Barton's 1989 book, The Myth of Separation, and appeared in the video version, "America's Godly Heritage." Barton was so enamored of one quote supposedly uttered by Benjamin Franklin ("Whosoever shall introduce into the public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world.") that it was included on a biographical sketch WallBuilders distributes about Barton, saying it "fully sums up what David believes and teachers." Barton now admits the quote is "questionable" and recommends people don't use it.

Alley finds Barton's reliance on phony history disturbing. "It's one thing to get up and make a speech and allude to something that isn't there, but when you have somebody parading a document in a book and that turns out to be an outright lie it's more dangerous," Alley told Church & State. "The danger is that people will find credibility in what he does largely because he represents himself in that mode. He's a double fraud."

Continued Alley, "For Barton to withdraw these quotes is fine, but that doesn't change the fact that they were wrong to begin with."

Barton' s "Questionable Quotes" sheet tries to minimize the importance of the use of phony material. "Inevitably, the quotes will continue to be heard at the 'popular' level," reads the introduction. "Fret not; the sun will still rise. But at the scholarly level, please refrain from, or at least be cautious in, using any quotation that cannot be authenticated. Thank you for purifying your own waters in the world's rhetorical rivers."

In fact, much damage to Americans' understanding of their own history has already been wrought by these fake quotes. As Barton himself notes in promotional materials, "Many people have used quotes from our videos in writing 'Letters to the Editor' or sharing information with friends or public officials." They have appeared incessantly in both right-wing and mainstream media and have been paraded about by conservative columnists and talk radio programs across the nation. On October 7, 1992, former U.S. Rep. William Dannemeyer of California, a staunch ally of the Religious Right, read the phony Madison quote into the Congressional Record. Millions of people may have been misled by this false information, only a tiny fraction of whom will ever see Barton's "correction."

Atomz' constitutional search results reveal an exhaustive list of references and information on Barton's fabrications and the effect they have had on a believing public that does not know any better.   Is this really what we want enshrined in school textbooks?

Sphere: Related Content

Related posts:

1. More Revisionist History from Mr. Barton
2. CRAVE Claims Obama Is Wrong
3. Original Intent – The Courts, the Constitution and Religion
4. Religious News Verses: Barton's Bogus Quotes Used by the Tea Party and More 'Christian Nation' News
5. Intolerance and Religion Go Hand in Hand
6. GodDiscussion Radio: A Look at Deism
7. Liars for Jesus Author Discusses David Barton
8. Group Wants to 'Blitz' God in Government Message
9. The ACLU vs America – Exposing the Agenda to Redefine Moral Values
10. Rewriting History – Deism Said To Be the Same as Christianity

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