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In 1787, after weeks of squabbling among the delegates Benjamin Franklin sent this letter to the president of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia:
“Mr. President:
The small progress we have made after weeks of close attendance and continual reasonings with each other — our different sentiments on almost every question, methinks, is a melancholy proof of the imperfection of the Human Understanding.
How has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine Protection. — Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. Have we now forgotten that Powerful Friend? or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance.
I see of this truth — that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings that “except the Lord build they labor in vain that build it.
I therefore beg leave to move — that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business.”
Do we today think that we have “perfected our Human Understanding” to the point where in our City Council, or in any other elected body locally or nationally, that we do not need the “assistance of Heaven” in our deliberations?
JEAN NELSON
Grand Junction
3 Responses to “We still need the ‘assistance of Heaven’”
Posted August 25th, 2008 at 3:29 pm Login to Send PM Report this comment
Jean Nelson said;
“Do we today think that we have “perfected our Human Understanding” to the point where in our City Council, or in any other elected body locally or nationally, that we do not need the “assistance of Heaven” in our deliberations?”
This motion put forward by Benjamin Franklin was rejected and was not even voted on. The members of the Constitutional Convention were concerned with religious diversity and might have felt that invocation of religion might divide this group in completing their task of writing the constitution.
Posted August 25th, 2008 at 4:30 pm Login to Send PM Report this comment
Apparently the city council doesn’t feel they need the “assistance of Heaven” on their Wednesday meetings.
Posted August 25th, 2008 at 5:09 pm Login to Send PM Report this comment
good grief…don’t you atheists see that the city council needs all the help they can get?
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