Did Thomas Jefferson Base the Declaration of Independence on the Bible and Christianity?

Send us Fan MailThe claim that the Declaration of Independence was based on the Bible is common among those who believe America was founded as a Christian nation. Recently, Tim and David Barton are promoting the idea that the exact wording of parts of the Declaration was taken from sermons delivered in the early 1700s by Congregationalist preacher John Wise. They add that Cornell University history professor Clinton Rossiter taught that Wise influenced the American struggle for independence. This is supposed to bolster their argument about the Christian basis for the Declaration of Independence. In this segment, I assert that the exact language of the Declaration is not in Wise's essays, nor does Rossiter say Wise was critical to American independence. A review of the primary sources shows that the Bartons' claims are false. This leads to a discussion of why the Bartons assert such easily disproved falsehoods. Produced, written, and hosted by Warren ThrockmortonMusic by Netop, Jonas Fair, and Dustin BlatnikFor more information about the book, The Christian Past That Wasn't, go to www.christianpast.com.