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

Thomas Jefferson

“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.” – Thomas Jefferson 

VERDICT: Deliberately Altered to seem more Christian

Once again we see the deliberate capitalization and removal from context to make the quote appear more Christian than it truly is:

“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of god; That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever: that considering numbers, nature and natural means only, a revolution of the wheel of fortune, an exchange of situation, is among possible events: that it may become probable by supernatural interference! the Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in such a contest. — But it is impossible to be temperate and to pursue this subject through the various considerations of policy, of morals, of history natural and civil. We must be contented to hope they will force their way into every one’s mind.” – Thomas Jefferson

Neither “His” was capitalized by Jefferson because he was not referring to the Christian god. Nor was Jefferson stating that our rights are a “gift of god,” only that this was “a conviction in the minds of the people.”

Other clever editing helps to pull this quote out of context. Jefferson was discussing, in the context of “manners,” the evils of slavery and the possibility of a slave revolt. The quote begins:

For in a warm climate, no man will labour for himself who can make another labour for him. This is so true, that of the proprietors of slaves a very small proportion indeed are ever seen to labour. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed . . . .

Hobby Lobby then cuts off the quote, replacing a colon with a period.

This quote has little to do with religion or divine retribution. Jefferson is basically saying, to paraphrase the bible that he cut up with a razor to excise the supernatural, you reap what you sow.

Source: Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 18 (1785). Here’s an image of the page of the original document where this quote originates. The cramped text near the bottom quarter of the page is the quote at issue. This was added during Jefferson’s five years of revising the text. Here’s a transcription.