World Magazine on the David Barton Controversy

Subtitled, “Christian critics challenge WallBuilders president on America’s founders,” this World Magazine article by Thomas Kidd (Baylor University) opens the door on a controversy that has been building for the past several months.

Several weeks ago, Jay Richards, Fellow at the Discovery Institute, began a process of asking conservative professors to read our book along with Barton’s materials. Kidd explains

Jay W. Richards, senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, and author with James Robison ofIndivisible: Restoring Faith, Family, and Freedom Before It’s Too Late, spoke alongside Barton at Christian conferences as recently as last month. Richards says in recent months he has grown increasingly troubled about Barton’s writings, so he asked 10 conservative Christian professors to assess Barton’s work.

I am not going to give any additional quotes because I want you to go read the entire piece at World.

Tomorrow, look for another major media segment on this topic. I will have it here as soon as it comes out.

David Barton’s Capitol Tour: Did Thomas Jefferson Spend Federal Funds to Evangelize the Kaskaskia Indians?

This week, Michael Coulter and I are going to present a series of reactions to an eight minute YouTube video of David Barton’s Capitol Tour. Sponsored by the Family Research Council, the video provides narration from Barton speaking in the Rotunda of the Capitol. First, I am going to revisit Barton’s fable about Jefferson and the Kaskaskia Indians. I wrote about the Kaskaskia treaty last year and we cover it in our book Getting Jefferson Right.  In his book The Jefferson Lies, Barton uses the Kaskaskia story as evidence that Jefferson supported missionary work to Indians. Barton also points to the Kaskaskia treaty as an indication that Jefferson supported government sponsored religious activities. Here is the video (this version has 3.7 million views):

In his Capitol tour, Barton makes a little different claim about the Kaskaskia treaty than he does in The Jefferson Lies. On the tour at 6:45, Barton says:

Most people have no clue that Thomas Jefferson in 1803 negotiated a treaty with the Kaskaskia Indians in which Jefferson put federal funds to pay for missionaries to go evangelize the Indians and gave federal funds so that after they were converted we’d build them a church in which they could worship.

One reason people have no clue about this story is that it didn’t happen that way.

Continue reading “David Barton’s Capitol Tour: Did Thomas Jefferson Spend Federal Funds to Evangelize the Kaskaskia Indians?”

Cincinnati Area Pastors Urge Boycott of Thomas Nelson Publishers Over David Barton’s Book, The Jefferson Lies

This release from a group called the Cincinnati Area Pastors briefly outlines their objections to The Jefferson Lies. As I understand it, there are more people involved in the group than are listed here. I have spoken at length to Ray McMillian. Most of the ministers in this group have carefully reviewed Barton’s claims about Jefferson and have contacted Thomas Nelson and parent company Harper Collins about their concerns. Mr. Barton cannot continue to complain that his critics are all leftists and secularists. These ministers are all serving in evangelical churches.

…….

PRESS RELEASE 

Christian Leaders Urge Boycott of Thomas Nelson Publishers Over David Barton’s Book,

The Jefferson Lies

Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at 11:00 am – 11:30 am

Cincinnati area African-American, white, and Messianic-Jewish pastors and church leaders are meeting at New Jerusalem Baptist Church (26 W. North Bend Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45216) to announce their boycott of Thomas Nelson Publishers. Their reasons are rooted in their opposition to the recently published book, The Jefferson Lies, by David Barton.

Bishop Dwight Wilkins, president of The Amos Project, said, “We have privately approached Thomas Nelson about our concerns, with no resolution.” The pastors/church leaders pointed to four major concerns the group has with The Jefferson Lies:

  1. It glosses over Thomas Jefferson’s unorthodox and heretical beliefs about Jesus Christ;
  2. It minimizes and justifies Thomas Jefferson’s racism;
  3. It excuses Thomas Jefferson’s practice of enslaving African-Americans.
  4. The Jefferson Lies is riddled with factual distortions and falsehoods.

Rev. Damon Lynch said, “David Barton falsely claims that Thomas Jefferson was unable to free his slaves.” In fact, Jefferson was allowed to free his slave under Virginia law, but failed to do it. The Jefferson Lies glosses over Jefferson’s real record on slaveholding, and minimizes Jefferson’s racist views.

Rabbi Michael Wolf charges that David Barton also minimizes Jefferson’s unorthodox views of Christ, his negative views of the Jews, and his contempt for the God of Abraham.

Historian, Dr. Troy Jackson, says, “This book is inaccurate, this book is offensive, and this book is dangerous.”

Presbyter Chris Beard said, “We are protesting as concerned believers in the evangelical Christian community, who believe that many are being misled by David Barton’s teachings.” Rev. Ray McMillian added, “You can’t be serious about racial unity in the church, while holding up Jefferson as a hero and champion of freedom.”

_____________________________

Media desiring to attend the press conference should contact Rev. Damon Lynch, New Jerusalem Baptist Church, 513.821.0704, or Rev. Chris Beard, Peoples Church, 513.673.7405, [email protected]. (not .com) More information will be provided at that time.

 

In the Cinci area? I hope they have a good turn out.

The Head of Creator’s Syndicate Defends His Brother

This column is an interesting insight into the Newcombe family, obviously full of talent and accomplishment as well as an illustration of gotcha journalism employed by Huffington Post.

One can argue about what a person might say in answer to a question but good journalism requires the reporter to actually ask the question and provide the full meaning of the response.

I think Creators CEO makes a good case here that HuffPo did not do that in the case of his brother Jerry.

Read the article and see what you think.

 

David Barton Takes Aim at His Critics in Part Two of The Blaze Series

Part one is here; part two of The Blaze series where Barton answers his critics is more of the same from David Barton’s first response on his Wallbuilders’ website.

The article does not mention that Coulter and I are conservative Christians, both being active in our churches, we are not afraid of religion. We did not write our book to attack Christianity but to be faithful to it. In light of that fact, a reasonable question would have been: why are conservative Christians are also critiquing your work?

Seemingly oblivious to the irony, Barton criticizes me for writing about history since I am a psychologist.

“They don’t attack the facts — they attack the education – and that’s a way to change the topic,” Barton said. “If education really matters, there’s a lot I can point out. Ben Franklin didn’t have an education at all. George Washington didn’t have a military education.”

The historian explained that Americans have traditionally prided themselves “not on the labors you wear, but the fruit you produce.” He took specific aim at Warren Throckmorton, an associate professor of psychology at Grove City College (we mentioned Throckmorton in our original piece).

“The case of Throckmorton is a great example. He’s a psychology guy. Tell me what history experience he has — he has no training in that area at all,” he said, going on to wonder why Throckmorton is permitted to critique him with little scrutiny when he, too, purportedly has little formal history education.

We did attack “the facts.”

Furthermore, do you see what he did there? He said his critics don’t attack the facts but rather his education and then he did the same thing to me (ignoring my co-author, Michael Coulter)  in the next paragraph.  He didn’t answer our facts (even the ones raised in Part one of the Blaze series), he just criticized my profession and his perception of my training.

The primary question of fact Barton addresses is Jefferson’s faith. He says Jefferson was unorthodox in the last 15 years of his life. Jefferson was unorthodox as an older man but he began his skepticism of the Trinity before 1788 (he died in 1826), if we can believe his letter to J. P. Derieux — a letter that Barton does not cite in The Jefferson Lies.

To be continued, I am sure…