David Barton: Deceiver or Deceived?

Adullam Films Update

by Chris Pinto

The anti-Republican website, Right Wing Watch recently featured an article on our newest film, “The Hidden Faith of the Founding Fathers” with the headline: “Bad News for Beck and Barton: the Founding Fathers Were Antichrists.”

The headline was based on the powerful information contained in the documentary, which reveals what the chief founders of the American Revolution actually believed about the Christian faith. To read the full article from Right Wing Watch, click here.

The Bible tells us that we are saved by God’s grace through faith, not of works lest any man should boast. As such, our documentary is not a diatribe into the works or deeds of the founders, as if to accuse them of some immoral acts. Instead, it is an examination of their FAITH. But what was their faith? What did these men actually believe about God, the Bible, and Jesus Christ? Incredibly, men like Jefferson, Adams and others wrote extensively about Christian doctrine and the teachings of Scripture. But what most Bible believers are unaware of is that these men were radically anti-Christ. Unfortunately, many professing Christians seem to be abandoning the Gospel in favor of “conservative values” which allow for “all faiths” to be included that are willing to take a stand against abortion, gay marriage, and the general wave of liberalism in the country today. We have come to believe that this is a snare prepared by the devil to diminish the power of preaching the cross of Christ, and render ineffective the Church in our country.

Sadly, the devil’s tactic seems to be working, and the key instrument of the deception is the Founding Fathers of the American Revolution. Conservatives present these men as “angels of light” who are exalted more highly than any apostles or prophets in our country today, quoting their great swelling words as if they were equal to the record of Scripture. What is devastating and diabolical, is that the glow of “faith” said to emanate from these oracles is quite the opposite of what is presented in many churches. In short, their own letters prove that many of the founders hated Biblical Christianity and wanted to see the Gospel destroyed. The letters in question are beyond dispute and can be found among many collections of the Founders writings, and in the Library of Congress. They were not merely deists or agnostics or humanists (which we have come to believe are very deceptive terms) but were antichrists according to the Word of the Living God.

We have further come to believe that Christians who prefer to define these men in worldly terms (calling them “deists” or “theistic rationalists” etc.,) do no service to the Church or to the unbelieving world, since political correctness in matters of spiritual importance tends to lull the hearers into a place of uncertainty; whereas the holy scriptures give no uncertain sound as to how those who reject Christ are to be regarded.

“Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son.” (1 John 2:22)

The importance of this is seen in the reaction of those (even among believers) who become especially troubled at hearing that the Founders were “antichrists.” The initial thought is that such a term is too extreme. “Well, I wouldn’t necessarily say that they were anti-Christ,” is a common reply. “They just held to certain humanist ideas, and did not believe in the divinity of Christ.” Yes, but that is the spirit of antichrist. The name “Christ” is not merely the last name of the man Jesus, as if we might call him Jesus Jones or Jesus Johnson. The name “Christ” embodies the whole doctrine of who the promised Messiah is, according to the scriptures set forth by Moses and the prophets, with the witness of the apostles. This is why John in his second epistle to the Church tells us that one is “a deceiver and an antichrist” who “abides not in the doctrine of Christ.” (2 John 7, 9)

Furthermore, we also consider how Jesus said:“And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not … He that rejecteth me, and receivethnot my words, hath one that judgeth him: the wordthat I have spoken, the same shall judge him in thelast day.” (John 12:47-48)

When the Lord returns, He comes with a two-edged sword from His mouth, by which He smites the nations (Revelation 19:15). That sword from His mouth is the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). In other words, when the Lord returns, He will judge the nations according to His Word – not according to secular terminology. Not according to the wisdom of man, or of the rulers of this age which comes to nothing (1 Corinthians 2:6). That is the wisdom of the Founding Fathers – it will ultimately come to nothing. One might just as soon invest in Enron stock as in the philosophies of Jefferson, Adams, Franklin and Washington. You will find prosperity for a while, but in the end you will be bankrupt, and only once it’s too late, realize that you have been lied to. This is the place our country is reaching even today, as the wicked leaven of “universalism” sown by the Founders through the U.S. Constitution seems to produce more tares than wheat in the fields of the American harvest.

It is our responsibility as believers to obey the Lord, to declare the wisdom of God, and teach men to observe all things that Jesus has commanded (Matthew 28:20), that through the words of God, men might know the truth.“For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 2:7)  If we accept that all who believe Christ are counted as “priests” under the New Covenant (1 Peter 2:9), then it is our responsibility to communicate the words that God has given us; to set forth the wisdom of God, not of man.“… we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth …” (1 Corinthians 2:13)

Our pastors tell us, “Well, the Founders spoke of God as Divine Providence, and they believed that God was active in the affairs of men. They were just influenced by the Enlightenment, and could not see Jesus as the Divine Son.” This is often offered as an apologetic to excuse their unbelief, and gives Christians (not to mention unbelievers) the false hope that perhaps these men went to heaven in spite of their rejection of the Gospel.


Again, such ambiguity is unknown in the New Testament: “Know ye not that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Be not deceived …” (1 Cor. 6:9) “… when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power …” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9) For those who have not seen “The Hidden Faith of the Founding Fathers,” I will present here some of the quotes that we show in the film. Here are some examples of things said by the key founders. First, from Thomas Paine, the man who is said to have inspired the Declaration of Independence:

“Whenever we read the obscene stories, voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and tortous executions, the unrelenting vindictivenes, with which more than half the Bible is filled, it would be more consistant that we called it the word of a Demon than the word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind, and, for my part, I sincerly detest it …” (Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason, part first, 1852 edition, p. 19)

Next, from Thomas Jefferson, author if the Declaration of Independence:

“… where did we get the ten commandments? The book indeed gives them to us verbatim, but where did it get them? For itself tells us they were written by the finger of God on tables of stone, which were destroyed by Moses … But the whole history of these books is so defective and doubtful, that it seems vain to attempt minute inquiry into it … we have a right to entertain much doubt what parts of them are genuine …” (Jefferson, letter to John Adams, January 24, 1814)

Concerning the teachings of Jesus Christ, Jefferson wrote:
“Among the sayings and discourses imputed to Him by His biographers, I find many passages of fine imagination, correct morality, and of the most lovely benevolence; and others, again, of so much ignorance, so much absurdity, so much untruth, charlatanism and imposture … I separate, therefore, the gold from the dross … and leave the latter to the
stupidity of some, and roguery of others of His disciples. Of this band of dupes and impostors, Paul was the … first corruptor of the doctrines of Jesus.” (Jefferson, letter to W. Short, April 13, 1820)

When Jefferson makes reference to separating “the gold from the dross,” he is referring to his so called Jefferson Bible, in which he literally cut out all references to the supernatural: the virgin birth, the miracles of Christ, His resurrection, etc. Jefferson elsewhere called the Book of Revelation “the ravings of a maniac.”

Then we have this testimony from Benjamin Franklin, who had this to say just a short time before his death. In fact, it is shown in this letter to Ezra Stiles (the President of Yale College at the time) that Franklin himself expected to die in the near future. Here is what he said:

“As to Jesus of Nazareth, my Opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the System of Morals and his Religion as he left them to us, the best the World ever saw, or is likely to see; but I apprehend it has received various corrupting Changes, and I have with most of the present Dissenters in England, some Doubts as to his Divinity: tho' it is a Question I do not dogmatise upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with it now, when I expect soon an Opportunity of knowing the Truth with less Trouble.” (Benjamin Franklin Letter, to Ezra Stiles, March 9, 1790)

Then we have this testimony from John Adams, who is probably most often seen as a Founder who believed in Christianity. But as we show in “Hidden Faith,” Adams’ faith in Christianity was like the faith of the Pharisees in Abraham and Moses. If they had really believed Abraham and Moses, they would have also believed Jesus. Likewise, if Adams really believed in the “Christian principles” he is so often quoted for, he would never have written these words to Thomas Jefferson:

“The Europeans are all deeply tainted with prejudices, both ecclesiastical and temporal, which they can never get rid of. They are all infected with … creeds, and confessions of faith. They all believe that great Principle (God) which has produced this boundless universe … came down to this little ball (the earth), to be spit upon by Jews. And until this awful blasphemy is got rid of, there never will be any liberal science in the world.” (John Adams, Letter toThomas Jefferson, January 22, 1825, emphasis added)

Finally, we come to George Washington, who was certainly the most moderate of the Revolutionaries, and who was careful not to offend the religious beliefs of anyone. As a Freemason, Washington defined “God” with the traditional vaguery Masonry is known for, employing the name “Great Architect of the Universe” in his letters.

“I sincerely pray that the Great Architect of theUniverse may bless you and receive you hereafter into his immortal Temple.” (George Washington, Letter to the Massachusetts Grand Lodge, December 27, 1792)

What is interesting is that David Barton, who defends the idea of Washington as a Christian, says in his own writings that the god of Masonry is not the God of the Bible. Barton writes that in Christianity: “Only one God is worshipped – and that God is not the universalist deistic god that Masonry denotes as the ‘Great Architect of the Universe’ (G.A.O.T.U.)” (David Barton, The Question of Freemasonry and the Founding Fathers, p. 20)

Barton, while failing to acknowledge it, is inadvertently admitting that the “god” of George Washington was not at all the God of the Christian faith. Perhaps the most convicting testimonies come from Washington’s own pastors who ministered to him for more than 20 years. One of them (Bishop William White) said there was no evidence that Washington believed the Gospel; the other (Dr. Ashbel Green) said that Washington did not believe the Jewish-Christian revelation, while the opinion of the third, Dr. James Abercrombie was recorded by Dr. Bird Wilson this way:

“Long after Washington’s death, in reply to Dr.Wilson, who had interrogated him as to his illustrious auditor’s religious views, Dr. Abercrombie’s brief but emphatic answer was: ‘Sir, Washington was a Deist.’” (Six Historic Americans, by John E. Remsburg)