Talk:Benjamin Franklin

I think several quotes about Benjamin Franklin's beliefs should be added, to show that he was a devout Deist, not even an agnostic, and that his belief in the God was quite strong.

- Sunday being my studying day, I never was without some religious principles. I never doubted, for instance, the existence of the Deity; that He made the world, and governed it by His providence; that the most acceptable service of God was the doing good to man; that our souls are immortal; and that all crime will be punished, and virtue rewarded, either here or hereafter That's an exact quote from Benjamin's own autobiography, p 37

The quote about lighthouses is a complete bullshit, it's a shame that it's even there. The exact quotation is: - The bell ringing for church, we went thither immediately, and with hearts full of gratitude, returned sincere thanks to God for the mercies we had received: were I a Roman Catholic, perhaps I should on this occasion vow to build a chapel to some saint, but as I am not, if I were to vow at all, it should be to build a light-house. It's from the 1818 edition of Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Benjamin Franklin (p. 137)

I'm having a hard time verifying with certainty that the lighthouse quote is incorrect. There are quite a few quotes out there that lead one to believe that Franklin was a deist. Would you like to provide a few more and we'll add a conflicting viewpoint section? --Sapient 20:30, 8 December 2010 (UTC)