More on TiC, O'Reilly and Jefferson

I don't trust the TiC folks to publish my comments any longer.

Here's what I sent in reply to the Jefferson/church-state separation issue.

Separation of church and state was completely different in Jefferson's day.
Take a look at the letter that Media Matters cited.
The context clearly indicates that Jefferson was referring to the federal government. O'Reilly is dealing with a local (city) government issue.
Jefferson wouldn't recognize today's separation of church and state, and he would be extremely surprised that the "self-evident" basis for the revolution was no longer self-evident to many. He believed in a natural law that undergirded every religion, giving them all a common morality. Today's application of church/state separation would stand Jefferson's understanding on its head. Something would have to give in his views--would you suggest he'd become a moral relativist?

I didn't link to the letter in the original, since it was clear in the original context (or should be) what I was talking about.