Hobby Lobby’s “In God We Trust” ad is still untrustworthy

Hobby Lobby’s “In God We Trust” ad is still untrustworthy July 19, 2016

John Jay

John Jay
John Jay by Gilbert Stuart, 1794. Public domain/wikicommons.

“The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts.”

“Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”– John Jay, First Chief Justice

VERDICT: Reasonably Accurate, but Context Important

According to the Hobby Lobby source website, the first quote is from John Jay: The Winning of the Peace. Unpublished Papers 1780-1784, edited by Richard B. Morris (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1980), Vol. II, p. 709. According to Morris, this quote is from a letter Jay wrote to his eldest son, Peter Augustus Jay on April 8, 1784. We haven’t been able to locate the original or even a transcript. But it is interesting that this letter was unpublished prior to 1980 and that it was written before our Constitution or First Amendment were drafted. More importantly, it was a private letter from a father to a son espousing private advice. This has nothing to do with our nation or government. It is a private religious opinion.

According to the Hobby Lobby source website, the second quote is from William Jay’s The Life of John Jay (New York: J. & J. Harper, 1833), Vol. II, p. 376. It is from a letter Jay wrote to John Murray, Jr. on October 12, 1816. We haven’t been able to locate the original, but the book cited can be viewed online. This was written when Jay was no longer holding any public office or government position, but as vice president of the American Bible Society. In fact, Jay had been retired for 15 years. The letter is about the Christian view of just war.

Almost all nations have peace or war at the will and pleasure of rulers whom they do not elect, and who are not always wise or virtuous. Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest, of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.” – John Jay, First Chief Justice

So it’s time to admit it: the founders were not gods, not demi-gods, not perfect men (none of the three exist!). They were, like every other human throughout time, flawed. Here, John Jay is simply wrong. Providence, in the sense of a “theistic guiding hand,” did not give our people the vote. Providence in the sense of “blind chance” played a role. But our democratic republic was bequeathed to our people by the people. They fought, and won, a war for self-government. The omitted preceding sentence even suggests that Jay means a chance Providence, not a theistic one: “Almost all nations have peace or war at the will and pleasure of rulers whom they do not elect, and who are not always wise or virtuous.”

John Jay was one of the more orthodox religious founders, first a member of the Anglican church, then the Protestant Episcopal church. He was a Christian, but we are not and have never been a Christian nation. We were not even founded on Judeo-Christian principles. Notice also that he does not say electing Christian leaders is required, only that a voter can prefer them. The latter is historically true and the former, if truly a requirement, would violate the no religious test clause Art. 6, paragraph 3, of the Constitution.

Even though Jay was religious, he was not necessarily keen on mixing religion and government. According to John Adams, “When the [First Continental] Congress first met, Mr. Cushing made a motion that it should be opened with prayer. It was opposed by Mr. Jay of New York, and Mr. Rutledge, of South Carolina, because we were so divided in religious sentiments . . . .” John Adams, Sept. 16, 1774 letter to Abigail Adams. Jay and Rutledge served as First and Second Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, respectively; Rutledge was an Associate Justice.

Source: William Jay, 2 The Life of John Jay (1833). The Life of John Jay online. Here’s a video explaining why Jay is wrong; the U.S. is not founded on Judeo-Christian principles.


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