They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but I guess you also can’t teach a congressman history. This is part of what Congressman Mike Simpson included in his Independence Day message on his weekly newsletter:

Our Founding Fathers were deeply religious men who believed Divine Providence would play a large part in the shaping of the new nation. As evidence of this Thomas Jefferson, the original drafter of the Declaration of Independence, wrote, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.’

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him claim Jefferson as a shining example of a “deeply religious man.” I tired to correct his error, but I guess he would rather continue in his ignorance of history and bring shame on Idaho.

It’s really just appalling that he used one of the most irreligous of the Founding Fathers as his prime example. Jefferson is the man who edited the miracles out of the Bible. He’s the guy who used the deistic terms for God in the Declaration of Independence, akin to Einstein’s use of “God” to describe the universe. Jefferson’s the guy who said to “Question with boldness even the existence of God.” I’ve never in my life heard a deeply religious person encourage anyone to do that.

(Image via Friendly Atheist)