faith in God - WWFD Search

Your search for "faith in God" returned 44 results from 24 Founders.

Patrick Henry:"We are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of Nature has placed in our power. ... The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave."source: Speech in Virginia Convention, March 23, 1775.bravery, courage, viligance, faith in God

Thomas Paine:"I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life."source: Age of Reason, 1794.happiness, hope God, faith

James Madison:"This belief in a God All Powerful wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources nor adapted with too much solicitude to the different characters and capacities to be impressed with it. ... This finiteness of the Human understanding betrays itself on all subjects, but more especially when it contemplates such as involve infinity. What may safely be said seems to be, that the infinity of time and space forces itself on our conception, a limitation of either being inconceivable: that the mind prefers at once the idea of a self existing cause to that of an infinite series of cause and effect, which arguments, instead of avoiding the difficulty: and that it finds more facility in assenting to the self existence of an invisible cause possessing infinite power, wisdom and goodness, than to the self existence of the universe, visibly destitute of those attributes, and which may be the effect of them."source: To Frederick Beasley, November 29, 1825.God, providence, wisdom, eternity, infinity, man's mere existence

Benjamin Franklin:"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason."source: Poor Richard's Almanack, 1758.faith, reason, belief

John Adams:"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forevermore."source: Letter to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776, (The Declaration of Independence was voted upon July 2, but signed on July 4).independence, our nation's holiday, God, national freedom, liberty

William Penn:"Patience and diligence, like faith, remove mountains."source: Some Fruits of Solitude, 1693.perseverance, determination, patience, success, faith

Alexander Hamilton:"The law . . . dictated by God Himself is, of course, superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries, and at all times. No human laws are of any validity if contrary to this."source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, Harold C. Syrett, editor (New York: Columbia University Press, 1961), Vol. I, p. 87, February 23, 1775, quoting William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1771), Vol. I, p. 41. Natural Law, Divine Law, Human Law, Law of God

Rufus King:"The . . . law established by the Creator . . . extends over the whole globe, is everywhere and at all times binding upon mankind. . . . [This] is the law of God by which he makes his way known to man and is paramount to all human control."source: The Life and Correspondence of Rufus King, Charles R. King, editor (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1900), Vol. VI, p. 276, to C. Gore on February 17, 1820. Natural Law, Divine Law, Human Law, Law of God

James Monroe:"An institution which endeavors to rear American youth in pure love of truth and duty, and while it enlightens their minds by ingenious and liberal studies, endeavors to awaken a love of country, to soften local prejudices, and to inoculate Christian faith and charity, cannot but acquire, as it deserves, the confidence of the wise and good. "source: Commenting on Harvard University in "A Narrative of a Tour of Observation," 1818.institutions of higher learning, education, youth, love of country, truth, prejudice, faith, charity

Benjamin Franklin:"Here is my creed: I believe in one God, the Creator of the universe. That he governs it by his providence. That he ought to be worshiped. That the most acceptable service we render to him is in doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental points in all sound religion."source: Smyth, Writing of Benjamin Franklin, 10:84.God, religion, beliefs of the Founders, justice, service

Thomas Jefferson:"The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time."source: Summary View of the Rights of British America 1775source of freedom, gifts from God

Thomas Jefferson:"Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear."source: Thomas Jefferson, letter to his nephew Peter Carr, from Paris, August 10, 1787; Merrill D. Peterson, ed., Thomas Jefferson: Writings, New York: Library of America, 1994, pp. 900-906.question, belief, God, pondering, religion

James Madison:"A watchful eye must be kept on ourselves, lest while we are building ideal monuments of renown and bliss here, we neglect to have our names enrolled in the annals of Heaven."source: To William Bradford, November 9, 1772priorities, God, religion

James Wilson:"A State, I cheerfully admit, is the noblest work of Man: But Man, himself, free and honest, is, I speak as to this world, the noblest work of God."source: Chisholm v. Georgia, February 18, 1793.God, man, miracle, noble

George Washington:"It is not for man to scan the wisdom of Providence. The best he can do is to submit to its decrees."source: To Henry Knox, March 2, 1797.God, Providence, divinity, wisdom, humility

Joseph Warren:"May we ever be a people favoured of GOD. May our land be a land of liberty, the seat of virtue, the asylum of the oppressed, a name and a praise in the whole earth, until the last shock of time shall bury the empires of the world in one common undistinguished ruin!"source: Boston Massacre Oration, March 5, 1772.America, Americanism, liberty, patriotism, virtue, faith

James Madison:"The real wonder is that so many difficulties should have been surmounted... with a unanimity almost as unprecedented as it must have been unexpected. It is impossible for any man of candor to reflect on this circumstance without partaking of the astonishment. It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution."source: Federalist Papers, No. 37, pp. 230-31.providence, God, beliefs of the Founders, revolutionary war, ponder, overcoming challenges

John Dickinson:"Kings or parliaments could not give the rights essential to happiness. ... We claim them from a higher source--from the King of kings, and Lord of all the earth. They are not annexed to us by parchments and seals. They are created in us by the decrees of Providence ... It would be an insult on the divine Majesty to say, that he has given or allowed any man or body of men a right to make me miserable. If no man or body of men has such a right, I have a right to be happy. If there can be no happiness without freedom, I have a right to be free. If I cannot enjoy freedom without security of property, I have a right to be thus secured. "source: Reply to a Committee in Barbados, 1766happiness, undeniable rights, liberty, freedom, God, security of property, misery, parliament

George Washington:"No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency."source: Fitzpatrick, Writings of George Washington, 30:292.God, beliefs of the Founders, providence

Francis Bacon:"A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."source: Of Atheism, c. 1625.philosophy, ethics, religion, faith, atheism

John Hancock:"We want not courage; it is discipline alone in which we are exceeded by the most formidable troops that ever trod the earth. Surely our hearts flutter no more at the sound of war than did those of the immortal band of Persia, the Macedonian phalanx, the invincible Roman legions, the Turkish janissaries, the gens d'armes of France, or the well-known grenadiers of Britain. A well-disciplined militia is a safe, an honorable guard to a community like this, whose inhabitants are by nature brave, and are laudably tenacious of that freedom in which they were born. From a well-regulated militia we have nothing to fear; their interest is the same with that of the State. When a country is invaded, the militia are ready to appear in its defense; they march into the field with that fortitude which a consciousness of the justice of their cause inspires; they do not jeopardize their lives for a master who considers them only as the instruments of his ambition, and whom they regard only as the daily dispense of the scanty pittance of bread and water. No; they fight for their houses, their lands, for their wives, their children; for all who claim the tenderest names, and are held dearest in their hearts; they fight pro aris et focis, for their liberty, and for themselves, and for their God."source: Boston Massacre Oration, March 5, 1774.military, war, courage, motivation to bear arms, defense, bravery, men at arms, liberty, faith

Daniel Webster:"Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens."source: Speech at Plymouth, December 22, 1820.faith, religion, character, morals, christianity

William Cullen Bryant:"The groves were God's first temples."source: A Forest Hymn, 1825.nature, temples, belief, faith, holy place, trees

Thomas Paine:"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer solider and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the services of their country, but he that stands it NOW deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."source: The Crisis, 1776.patriotism, dedication to God and Country, patriots

Nathan Hale:"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."source: Speech before the gallows in New York where he was to be hanged for spying against the British, September 22, 1776.patriotism, honor, dedication to God and Country

Thomas Paine:"But where says some is the King of America? I'll tell you Friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the Royal Brute of Britain. ... let it be brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America THE LAW IS KING."source: Common Sense, 1776.kings, kingdoms, religion, god, law, justice

John Quincy Adams:"Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will be America's heart, her benedictions and her prayers. But she does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own."source: Address, July 4, 1821.policy, foreign relations, freedom, independence, faith

William Penn:"[A]s it is some men's duty to plow, some to sow, some to water, and some to reap; so it is the wisdom as well as duty of a man, to yield to the mind of providence, and cheerfully, as well as carefully, embrace and follow the guidance of it."source: A Letter from William Penn, 1683.God, prividence, duty, humility

Thomas Paine:"Of more worth is one honest man to society, and in the eyes of God, than all the ruffians that ever lived."source: Common Sense, 1776.honesty, society, human nature, individual worth

John Adams:"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist."source: Charles Francis Adams, ed., The words of John Adams, 10 vols. 6:9, p. 280.property, socialism, ownership of property, principle of freedom

Thomas Jefferson:"It would be a blessing to mankind if God would never give a genius without principle; and in like manner would be a happiness to society if none but honest men would be suffered to be lawyers. The wretch who will write on any subject for bread, or in any service for pay, and he who will plead in any case for a fee, stands equally in rank with the prostitute who lets our her person."source: A Serious Address to the People of Pennsylvania, 1778.lawyers, justice, integrity

Benjamin Franklin:"O Lazy-bones! Dost think God would have given thee arms and legs if he had not designed thou shouldst use them."source: Poor Richard's Almanack, 1739.laziness, work, handouts

Alexander McDougal:"What are all the Riches, the Luxeries, and even the Conveniences of Life compared with that Liberty where with God and Nature have set us free, with that inestimable Jewel which is the Basis of all other Employments?"source: To the Free and Loyal Inhabitants of the City and Colony of New York, May 16, 1770.liberty, freedoms, happiness

William Penn:"It is a great mark of the corruption of our natures, and what ought to humble us extremely, and excite the exercise of our reason to a nobler and juster sense, that we cannot see the use and pleasure of our comforts but by the want of them. As if we could not taste the benefit of health, but by the help of sickness; nor understand the satisfaction of fullness without the instruction of want: not, finally, know the comfort of peace buy by the smart and penance of the vices of war: And without dispute that is not the lest reason that God is pleased to chastise us so frequently with it."source: An Essay Towards the Present and Future Peace of Europe, 1693.oposition, choice, opposites, war, conflict

James Madison:"The transcendent law of nature and of nature's God ... declares that the safety and happiness of society are the objects at which all political institutions aim, and to which all institutions must be sacrificed."source: The Federalist Papers, 1788.natural law, happiness

Elias Boudinot, LL.D.:"Let us enter on this important business under the idea that we are Christians on whom the eyes of the world are now turned. ... Let us in the first place ... humbly and penitently implore the aid of the Almighty God whom we profess to serve - let us earnestly call and beseech him for Chirst's sake to preside in our councils."source: "The Life and Public Services, and letters of Elias Boudinot, LL.D., President of the Continental Congress", J.J. Boudinot, ed. (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, and Co., 1896), Vol. 1, pp. 18-19Christianity, U.S. - Christian Nation, Separation of Church and State

Benjamin Franklin:"Proportion your charity to the strength of your estate, or God will proportion your estate to the weakness of your charity."source: Poor Richard's Almanack, 1757.charity, estate, donations, increase

James Madison:"Conscience is the most sacred of all property [...]. To guard a man's house as his castle, to pay public and enforce private debts with the most exact faith, can give no title to invade a man's conscience with is more sacred than his castle."source: Article in the National Gazette, March 29, 1792.property, rights, conscience, honestly

Thomas Jefferson:"I have no fear that the result of our experiment will be that men may be trusted to govern themselves without a master. Could the contrary of this be proved I should conclude either that there is no God or that He is a malevolent being."source: Letter to David Hartley, 1787.freedom, rights, government, republic, agency

John Adams:"I do not curse the day when I engaged in public affairs [...]. I cannot repent of any thing I ever did conscientiously and from a sense of duty. I never engaged in public affairs from my own interest, pleasure, envy, jealousy, avarice, or ambition, or even the desire of fame. If any of these had been my motive, my conduct would have been very different. In every considerable transaction of my public life, I have invariably acted according to my best judgment, and I can look up to God for the sincerity of my intentions."source: Ibid., pp. 208-9.honesty, integrity, duty, motive, service, patriotism

John Adams:"I wish to God that the people would be more ambitious to learn."source: John Adams by David McCulloughlearn

James Iredell:"The only real security of liberty, in any country, is the jealousy and circumspection of the people themselves. Let them be watchful over their rulers. Should they find a combination against their liberties, and all other methods appear insufficient to preserve them, they have, thank God, an ultimate remedy. That power which created the government can destroy it. Should the government, on trial, be found to want amendments, those amendments can be made in a regular method, in a mode prescribed by the Constitution itself [...]. We have [this] watchfulness of the people, which I hope will never be found wanting."source: Elliot, 4:130amendment, constitutional convention, secret combination, retention of liberties, power of the people

Samuel Adams:"I thank God that I have lived to see my country independent and free. She may long enjoy her independence and freedom if she will. It depends on her virtue."source: Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, 3:175virtue and freedom, choice, requirements of a free people

Thomas Jefferson:"Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God, if He ever had a chosen people."source: Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781-1785.agriculture, farming, labor

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