Jefferson Memorial

The Jefferson Memorial

We’re at the Jefferson Memorial, a monument to Thomas Jefferson, a man who in his lifetime was full of personal contradictions, and he was also conflicted about those contradictions. And yet, the life of Thomas Jefferson, the writings of Thomas Jefferson, give us some amazing principles. In his Declaration of Independence, he writes that all men are created equal. We’re the first nation in the history of the world to have those words as part of our National Birth Certificate. Was he a perfect person? No, none of us are, and yet, the principles for freedom and religious liberty that he gave us set the foundation for this nation on a new course, on a new trajectory. That’s why we celebrate Thomas Jefferson.

Of the five inscriptions at the Jefferson Memorial, four of them are overtly religious. If you look on the wall that is facing Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson makes the statement that, “Indeed I tremble for my country when I think that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.” And then he talks about the commerce between master and slave, one of the things that conflicted Thomas Jefferson, and yet he had no way in his lifetime to undo slavery for himself or for the State of Virginia.

Ringing around the head of Thomas Jefferson, at the top of this memorial, is an excerpt of a letter from Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Rush. Now, we know what they talked about when we read their letters because when they were in commerce together, when they were in conversation together, they talked about some issues, and then they would follow up their conversations with a letter. And in this letter, Thomas Jefferson says, “I’ve sworn upon the altar of Almighty God against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” And he’s saying there needs to be not just religious freedom, but religious freedom of expression and thought.

Now, when the Jefferson Memorial was built, Franklin Delano Roosevelt personally oversaw the construction of this which was an architectural and construction nightmare for the contractors because there is only so much space for quotes on the wall, and FDR kept editing and making the quotes concise. But here we see Jefferson say an excerpt from his Declaration of Independence, where he says that, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights.” Actually, when he says the word “inalienable,” that is quoting his rough draft to the Declaration of Independence. It’s John Adams who changes it to “unalienable.” An “inalienable right” is a right that God gives me that I can’t give up … like my life. An “unalienable right” is a right that I have, that I can forfeit if I break the laws. Adams liked that word. Jefferson wanted inalienable. I believe Jefferson had it right.

Then off to Thomas Jefferson’s left-hand side, you will see a quote, and it’s a compilation of a couple of quotes. But he says, “Almighty God have created the mind free, and all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens are a departure from the plan of the holy author of …” and then he says, “our religion.” Well, stop and think about that. Jefferson is one of those that is tagged as not being very religious, not having a religious worldview. And yet, in his official capacity, he talks about “our religion.” Even though he is a flawed, contradictory human, as an American, he deserves to be celebrated and have his monuments preserved because he gave us ideas for liberty, and he set the foundation for this country in a direction that we have reaped the benefits of it for almost 250 years now.

When you take a look at our Founding Fathers, they believed in checks and balances because they believed in the fallen nature of man … that man left to his own devices would do things contrary to the laws of nature and nature’s God. Ask yourself, “Are they taking down the statues of Thomas Jefferson because he owns slaves?” Is that the reason? Or, “Are they taking down the statues of Thomas Jefferson because of what he said, the ideas that he stood for, his primary penmanship of the Declaration of Independence?” We are the first nation ever to pen a document like that, that says, “All men are created equal.” You know, that’s his ascent to a higher being than himself and, “Endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” First nation in six millennia of history to pen those words!

So the question that would beg an answer is, “Can bad people, essentially bad people, do good things?” And I think an answer for that would be, well, you’ve got somebody who is like a Thomas Paine, not a believer, not a friend of Christianity, an infidel, by his own admission, and yet he writes the pamphlet, Common Sense, which just inflames the spirit of patriotism throughout the colonies in its early days. There was also a general that George Washington had by the name of Charles Lee. Charles Lee wrote in his last will and testament, he says, “I choose not to be buried within one mile of a Baptist or Presbyterian Church. I kept not their company while I was alive, and do not wish to be associated with them in my death.” And yet, here’s a general for the United States Continental Army who has no love for Christianity. Yes, bad people can do good things. Unbelievers can do good things. I mean, we get that from Cyrus in the Old Testament. We don’t know that Cyrus was a believer, but he did great things for the children of Israel.

Somebody once said, “There’s no atheist in foxholes.” Well, there are atheists buried in Arlington National Cemetery. If you take a close look at the headstones, you’ll see different symbols for their religious affiliation – Stars of David, crosses, crosses with flames for Methodists. And yet, if you look at a headstone and it has the atomic symbol on it, that’s an atheist. An atheist wore the uniform of this country, sacrificed their life for the freedoms that we enjoy, and we honor that person for what they did for our country, for the civic righteousness that they exhibited on our behalf.

As Prime Minister Gladstone said, “Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead, and I will show you, with mathematical exactness their tender mercies of the people, their loyalty to high ideals.” We celebrate the good of all of the people that have gone on and paid the ultimate sacrifice for us to have the freedoms that we enjoy.

This has been Tim Schmig. Thank you for joining us on this episode of Stories in Stones, Washington, DC. Please feel free to join us on one of our future tours, and until then, tell your story.