oldest moralized christianity. some may debate if this is actually christianity. you can think about this for yourself. he was an experimenter at heart. he tinkered with a novel form of christianity, one where all beliefs became nonessential. the puritans focused too much on doctrine, he thought. he wearied of presbyterians zeal for expelling people and the lack of interest in the mandates of love and charity. for franklin, christianity was a primitive resource for virtue, but he had no attachment to christianity as a religious system or source of salvation. we cannot know for certain we cannot know for certain whether doctrines such as god's nature are true, that we do know, franklin said it, that christians are called to benevolence and service. dr. oral strife is undermining virtue and we know that god calls us to do good. if you had not noticed, doctrine list religion is pervasive in america today. we see it most commonly in major media figures of self-help spirituality and success. the late stephen covey, although they differ on specifics, the common message

christianity itself.was,uccessful that effort you will have to decide for yourselves. could you really have a doctrineive minimally morality centered christianity? franklin, thomas jefferson, many of their friends wanted to give it a try. death,s after franklin's jefferson wrote that he considered himself a christian in the only sense jesus wished anyone to be. jesus's point of view. to jefferson, jesus was only human. it jesus never claimed to be anything else. christians including the authors of the new and testament books imposed the claims of divinity on him after he and gone to his grave and not risen again. franklin did not go as far as jefferson. preferred not to dogma ties on matters such as divinity. in a classic tension that still marks american religion right now, franklin's devout parents, his sister, george whitfield all found doctrine less christianity to be dangerous. they agreed that morality was essential and it was better not to fight over minor theological issues. was belief in jesus ne

although they differ on specifics and some more more christian, some are less christian, the common message of these authors and their countless followers, and i do mean countless followers is that a life of love, service and significance is the best life of all. god will help you live that kind of life, but your faith should be empowering and tolerant rather than fractious and nitpicking. that's what they say. sociologist at notre dame says these characteristically american beliefs amounts to what he calls moralistic therapeutic deism. many of its most prominent exponents such as joel osteen live out their faith in particular congregations and traditions. even oprah winfrey has testified that, quote, i am a christian, that is my faith. however, she says, i'm not asking you to be a christian. if you want to be one, i can show you how, but it is not required. doctrineless christians believe that people may need to believe in doctrines or personal understanding of god can help us. we may need particular beliefs to enable our best life now, joel osteen's phrase. but ultimately the focus of doc

for franklin, christianity remained a resource for virtue but he had no exclusive attachment to christianity as a religious system or as a source of salvation. in his estimation, we cannot know whether doctrines like god's utilitarian nature archery. we know franklin said christians and the devout are call to benevolence and service. doctoral strife is not only futile but it undermines the mandate of virtue. we know that god calls us all to do good. if you had not noticed, doctrinal list christianity and religion is utterly pervasive in america today. we see it most commonly in media figures of self-help, spirituality, and success. such as oprah winfrey. houston mega church, joel o'steen and the late stephen covey, author of seven habits of effective people in 1999, although they differ on specifics, they had countless followers. god will help you live that kind of life, but your faith should be empowering and tolerant rather than fractious and nitpicking. that's what they say. sociologist at notre dame says these characteristically american beliefs amounts to what he calls moralistic therap

oralized christianity. doctrineless moralized christianity. some may debate whether this is actually christianity at all but you all can think about this for yourself. franklin was an experimenter at heart and he tankered with a nov novel form of christianity, one where virtually all beliefs became non-essential. so the pure tins on his childhood focused too much on doctrine, he thought, and he wearied of philadelphians zeal in the mandates of love and charity. for franklin, christianity remained a preeminent resource for virtue but he had no exclusive attachment to christianity as a religious system or as a source of salvation. in franklin's estimation we cannot know for certain whether doctrines such as god's trinitarian nature are true, but we do know, franklin said, that christians and the devout of all faiths are called to benevolence and selfless service. doctrinal strife he said is not only futile but it undermines the mandate of virtue but we know that god calls us all to do good. now if you haven't

moralized christianity. i shall only add respecting myself, he concluded his letter to styles, that having experienced the goodness of that being in conducts me prosperously through a long life, i have no doubt of its continuance in the next. though without the smallest conceit of meriting such goodness. god had always been good to him, franklin said, and he saw no reason to think that god's kindness would stop when he died. and die he did on april 17th, 1790. and he left -- when he died, he left the enigma of his faith unresolved. but in his code of doctrineless moralized christianity, franklin became the founding father of perhaps the most pervasive kind of spirituality in the western world today. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> here's what's coming up. next, how the bible influenced the writing of the u.s. constitution. then more about the bible with a look at how it affected america's revolution. and late er, how the bible informed the founding of america. and join us tonight when american history t

that areeople christians here we would've called by the mentalist christians in the pejorative, i don't think it's often not used by the fundamentalists themselves. you have heard it more of a pejorative term and that is interesting because it lines up in my experience. i've certainly met some proud independent activists who claim that term fundamentalist, but generally it seems to be used as an insult. it's not a label that most christians would want applied to themselves. i think that the history of that connotation, that kind of negative sense in which we hear the word today, it really became crystallized in one particular historical episode and that is the infamous, or famous, depending on your view, scopes trial. there we go. of 1925. the monkey trial that dominated newspaper headlines in the summer of 1925. now, the scopes trial has a certain status in popular culture. you are probably at least vaguely aware of what it involved, but let me tell you the basic facts of the trial. the state of tennessee passed a law forbidding the teaching of the theory of evolution in tennessee publ

and many of the christians down here we call fundamentalist christians. often as a perjorative. prof. worthen: that lines up with my own experience. there are exceptions. proud,certainly met independent baptists that claim the term fundamentalist but generally, it seems to be used as an insult. it is not a label that most christians would want applied to themselves. i think that the history of that connotation, a kind of negative sense in which we hear the word today, it really became crystallized in one particular historical episode, and that is the infamous, or famous, depending on your view, scopes trial. there we go. of 1925. the monkey trial that dominated newspaper headlines in the summer of 1925. now, the scopes trial has a certain status in popular culture. you are probably at least vaguely aware of what it involved, but let me tell you the basic facts of the trial. the state of tennessee passed a law forbidding the teaching of the theory of evolution in tennessee public high school. the aclu, the american civil liberties union, wanted to challenge the constitutionality

-- some christian should not go to war, or if christians do go to war, they would not be the best soldiers. there was an argument that christians are the best soldiers . if you are really a christian, you will be the best military soldier ever. i have a quote that may help 1771, not yetr in the american revolution, but still in the era. i would not intimate that every good christian is a accomplished man-of-war, this i will venture to say, there cannot be a good soldier, on accomplished man of war bested to for the principal and practice of christianity. i want to talk about a biblical character that seemed to exemplify that, david. david was fascinating. in so many different ways. think about the story of david beard david -- david. david had it all, he was handsome, he was strong, he was courageous, as a child, one of my favorite biblical text when he slays goliath with a slingshot. i had a slingshot. who could have any problem with david? he was amazing. he had it all going on. many sermons talk about david, here is one from the prerevolutionary time talking about david as a man of god.

but had a kind of understanding for the local christians have christian leader is responsible for the site are talking about a systematic campaign of abuse what do you make of that. well the fact is that we have a kind of traditional. agreement which just so that the so-called status quo which exist have certain rights and privileges which is for example one of them is the church is to not pay taxes on that property. this is one of the. old rites of the churches so the thing is that now. is really groups the israeli government tries to change the status quo but the you needed to remove so. it is a kind of difficult situation because of christians because it is. hundreds of years old tradition. woods for sure from the christian side is perceived as a breach of agreements. andrea called man in jerusalem thank you for speaking to us . thank you. had german chancellor angela merkel is set to announce her cabinet picks today to cement defy a grand coalition with the social democrats merkel's pics will determine the future direction of the city's political compass and several senior politic

, they were redeeming christianity itself. how successful that redemptive effort was, you all are going to have to decide for yourselves. could you really have a nonexclusive doctrinely minimal morality-centered christianity? or did the effort fatally compromise christianity itself? franklin, thomas jefferson and many of their friends in america, britain and france wanted to give it a try. 13 years after franklin's death, jefferson wrote that he considered himself, quote, a christian in the only sense jesus wished anyone to be. he admired jesus', quote, moral doctrines as more pure and perfect than any other philosophers, jefferson said, but to jefferson, jesus' excellence was only human. jesus never claimed to be anything else, jefferson said. christians, including the authors of the new testament books, impose the claims of divinity on jesus after he had gone to his grave and not risen again, jefferson concluded. well, franklin didn't go as far as jefferson. franklin preferred not to dog dogmatise one way or the other on mat

holy spirit's work in a christian after conversion. what they called the second blessing. this filling of spiritual power and the total suppression of sin by the holy spirit. john wesley had argued that since scripture demands that humans fulfill god's law, the state of what he called christian perfection must be attainable even if it takes up our whole lives. you remember that from what you read about wesley. holiness christians really focused on this and they took wesley's idea and they kind of ran with it and they said -- sin must not be inevitable then. it must be possible to totally suppress it in the course of this second blessing. and they came to really hold this experience of the second blessing as being as significant as a christian's conversion because it could bring to you what they called entire sanctification. gods grace can free one, not just of a perversion of original sin, but the tendency to commit individual sins. they had a much higher view of what the holy spirit could do. the holiness movement is kind of a bridge

so there was a real argument that christians are the beth soldiers, that if you're really a christian you'll be the best military soldier ever. so i got a quote that might help. this is from a minister in massachusetts 1771 which is not yet the american revolution. but still, you know, it's kind of in the era. "i would not intimate that every good christian is of consequence a good soldier, an accomplished man of war, but this i will venture to say, there cannot be a good soldier, an accomplished man of war, destitute of the principle and practice of christianity." i want to talk about a biblical character here that seemed to exemplify that and that's david. david was just fascinating in so many different ways. i mean, think about the story of david. david had it all. what did he not have? he was handsome. he was strong. he was courageous. i mean, you know, as a child it was one of my favorite biblical texts where david slays goliath with a slingshot. i had a slingshot. so who could have any problem with david. he was amazing. he had it all going on. i mean, this is -- and here's a --

liberty university was founded because in the 1970's, 1960's, christian you were a -- evangelical christian young person and you wanted to attend a christian college, you really -- the only choice you had was a small college with limited academic offerings, mainly bible schools. somethingher thought is wrong. there ought to be a world-class youngsity for evangelical people, like notre dame's for catholic young people, like brigham young is for mormon ncaa divisionhas academic facilities, excellence. and the really wasn't one. he wanted to change that. everybody thought he was really dreaming because it was a small town in virginia and he had these lofty goals for the university, and a lot of people thought it was crazy, but that was the vision from day one. that is why it was founded. we are seeing that vision fulfilled now. be to god ♪ >> beautiful singing, congregation. funded by contributions from listeners. airtime on would buy radio stations across the country. it was a constant struggle to raise funds to keep it on the air. i think it picked about 1987. it was a national program for 1

he tormented and executed christians. and yet even though they were living under a hostile roman government, including roman emperors who were killing christians, persecuting christians, peter and paul say, fear god, honor the kipg. peter and paul still say that the king is the minister to all. the minister of god. revenger on those who do evil. so the message, some of the loyalists said, was obey all rulers, even the bad ones. respect authority because god put them in authority for a reason. so what you call patriotism is really just ambition. it's self esness in disguise. and all patriotic revolts do is create more violence. what about the patriotic argument, what are they going to do with texts like fear god and honor the king. what are they going to do with the tegts that say the civil authority are the revengers of god and wrongdoers, that obey them just as you are obeying god? what can you do with that? is there any way you can go with that? well, of course. let's see, onthan may thou before the revolution that titl

he tor meanted and executed christians. even though there were living in a hostile roman government, including roman emperors who were killing christians and persecuting them, peter and paul say fear god, honor the king. peter and paul still say that the king is the minister to all. the minister of god. a revenger on those who do evil. so the message some of these loyals said is obey all rulers even the bad ones. respect authority because god put them in authority for a reason. so what you call patriotism is really just ambition. it is selfishness in disguise and all patriotic revolts do is create more violence. now what about the patriotic arguments? what are patriots going to do with those telkts? what are they doing to do with text that is say the civil authority are the revengers of god and wrongdoers. what can you do with that? anywhere you can go with that? well, of course. let's see. jonathan may hue. that title is helpful and people like john adams cousin use this text and many others. let's think about their argume

nero tormented in an acute christians. even though they were living under a hostile roman including roman emperors who were killing and persecuting christians, peter fear god and honor the king. peter and paul still say, the to all, theminister minister of god, a revenger on those who do evil. rulerssage was obey all respect bad ones, authority because god put them in authority for a reason so what you call patriotism is really just ambition. it is selfishness in disguise. all patriotic revolts do is create more violence. what about the patriotic argument? what are the patriots going to do? say the civilt authority are the revenger's of god on wrongdoers, obey him just as you are obeying god. what do you do with that? mayhew, long before the revolution, concerning unlimited submission, a really helpful title. adams'sike john -- john cousin, use this text and many others. let's think about their argument. they say look again at the historical context. peter and paul, what they were was making general statements about author

nero tormented, he executed christians. and yet even though they were living under a hostile roman government including roman emperors who were killing christians, persecuting christians, peter and paul say fear god, honor the king. peter and paul still say that the king is the minister to all, the minister of god, a revenger on those who do evil. so the message some of these loyalists said was, obey all

say what you want about king george iii but he's not killing christians. he tormented christians. and yet even though they were living under a hostile government including roman em perrers killing christians, peter and paul say, fear god, honor the king. peter and paul still say that the king is the minister to all. a revenger on those so the message was obey all, even the bad ones. respect authority because god put them in authority for a reason. so what you call patriotism is really just ambition. it's selfishness in disguise. and all patriotic revolts do is create more violence. now what about the patriotic argument? what are the patriots going to do? what are they going to do with texts that say that the civil authority are the revengers of god and wrong do rs that obey them just as if you are obeying god. what can you do with that? is is there any way you can go with that? let's see. long before the revolution concerning that title is really helpful. and people like john adams cousin argue to use this text and many others. let's about that. they say, look again at the histori

in a city of jerusalem and i think that jews and christians should treat each other. as a scrimmage departments and try to avoid this kind of public. public or rivalry alternately with one another and we're running out of time baker thirty jabal and frank was one thank you very much indeed for your contribution and thank you for watching you can see the program again any time by visiting our website as is the at our dot com for further discussion go to our facebook page that's facebook dot com for us last a.j. it's a story you can also join the conversation on twitter i'll hand it is at a.j. and say sorry for me has a lot of other hot in here by the now. march on al-jazeera. with all potential challengers out of the way egypt's president of the fattah el-sisi is poised for a second term in power. a series of short passing stories that highlight the human triumph against the odds as president putin dominates the russian political scene these reelection becomes more apparent we assess what direction russia might take. with media trends consummate changing listening post

in christianity of the church. is a tax dispute is the reason for the president to protest or is it because the christian presence in the holy city is this is inside a story. about a welcome to the program. have long been exempt from paying taxes but the proposed law. sentry's of president the holy in jerusalem faces paying tens of millions of dollars in back taxes it's one of the world's most visited religious places considered by many questions to be jesus christ was crucified bury it and then resurrected the chest closed its doors indefinitely on sunday in protest and what religious leaders describe as an attempt to weaken christians in jerusalem how to force it has more. so every third day now the door to the church of the early settlers remains shut people many of them from around the world who come to visit the site to pray at the site of the best they can do is pray at the door take pictures at the door because this is a pretty historic event it's a very rare move for the free patriarchates the three churche

nero tormented, he executed christians. and yet even though they were living under a hostile roman government including roman emperors who were killing christians, persecuting christians, peter and paul say fear god, honor the king.

over its nuclear program the holiest site in christianity is closed off in protest against so-called discrimination by the israeli government and paying looks set to extend his presidency beyond the twenty twenty three after the communist party in china proposes constitutional changes. at least twenty people have been killed in syrian and russian airstrikes in the rebel held area of eastern huta this video is said to show the aftermath of one of the strikes in the town of duma. rescue workers are taking a child found that trapped in the rubble to hospital. the syrian government troops launched a new ground then the air offensive on huta just hours after the u.n. security council adopted a resolution demanding a cease fire. well eastern who is the eastern suburbs of damascus from here rebel mortar fire can reach the center of the city so control of the area is a government priority to rebel groups hostile to each other control different sections of the enclave along with several smaller groups government forces have tried to enter by using their homes to the masses highway and also at

and as a christian who grew up here in a christian environment i can't accept that the mosque was forced to stop its call to prayer after complaint in twenty fifteen however the quarter came to its final position a matter of days ago and it could still be appealed we went to the town in west germany to hear how residents feel about the move. to move the ban in general isn't acceptable at the time the court examined whether the noise was ordered from a distance to those not listening for it the people here said it wasn't possible to hear it. from me it's quite separate from the issue of religion i'm very much for the just freedom but the people who live around there are certainly affected if the cry is call out loudly in the area as they always do also there are quite a lot of mosques i don't know exactly how many mosques there are in any country in total but i think there are enough and they also got reaction to the bad from a number of experts. i think is of course a more scarce can can discuss the i think making the noise a little bit less discussing with the neighbors and and then the

and land policies which they're calling another president attack on christians in the holy land. security forces in the democratic republic of congo have shot dead an anti-government protesters in the capital kinshasa two other protesters were injured churchgoers had planned to take part in marches against the president joseph kabila following sunday services but security forces surrounded the churches and blocked roads to stop them from going ahead well those are the top stories i'm going to have a more normal the day's news for you in just under half an hour coming up next on al-jazeera though it's one on one east stay with us by. decades of war have left thousands of iraqi amputees desperate to mend their broken bodies. now the chance to use cutting edge robotic for standards is giving them new hope. i'm steve chow on this episode one on one he's follows one man's incredible journey from refugee to world leading.

plus one of the challenges holiest sites closed its doors in protest we tell you why jerusalem's christian leaders have been divorced this red step. on a warm welcome to you i'm. there new reports out that's from syria that suggests curing gas was used. in an aerial bombardment health authorities in east who say a child has died and several others have suffered from symptoms consistent with exposure to the gas russian says these reports are mere provocation but a monitoring group says people have been treated for breathing difficulties in the rebel held district near damascus the government has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons this supported attack happened just one day after the u.n. called for a humanitarian ceasefire ongoing bombing innocent hooter has killed more than five hundred civilians in just a week. joining me now is dr mohamad cut through he's an advocacy manager from the syrian american medical society he comes themselves from group in syria but is currently living in turkey welcome dr carter run they are reports of a gas attack in eastern huta what are you hearing fro

which they're calling an unprecedented attack christians from the holy. security forces in the democratic republic of congo have shot dead in anti-government protests and injured several all this in the latest in the series of church fred marches calling on president joseph kabila to step down peter shop reports. the catholic church has been at the forefront of demonstrations calling on the congress president joseph kabila to stand down. enough to morning service on sunday protesters took to the streets again. since december more than a dozen people have been killed by security forces and protests like these and today there was an all too familiar response by police. to gas quickly followed by gunfire the birth certificate for the local candy was shot dead before the march started. his body taken to a nearby hospital that. two others were seriously injured one of them a student a church move. they washed each enjoy i'm not protesting by accident or anybody and not because i don't know why and protesting so but protesting today i was just claiming my right

celebs love christian siriano so much two have been caught wearing the same look. >> christian siriano christian siriano. i chicken scratched a picture of a dress. this year christian brought my chicken scratch to life. >> now he's sharing stories behind the dresses. >> oprah is very, very easy to work with. we did a few looks for her australian tour. i remember last year we showed the spring collection and the next day we sent a look to zendaya. cardie b i pugt her in this fancy ball gown. it's really fabulous. >> with cardie b and other stars christian showed off his fall collection. we were behind the scenes two weeks ago. the 32-year-old "project runway" winner told us some of his looks could work for a certain bride to be. >> i would like to change some colors. it could work for a royal wedding. >> valentine's day is two days away. taye diggs has some ideas how you can shower your signature other with love. first i had to ask taye to explain his choice on "lip sync battle". >> we got excited how good your legs looked. >> if i'm going to do it, i can't go half booty. >> no. no. no.

he became a christian and decided he wanted to go to a christian college. public speaking. bible collegetist and came back to lynchburg and he applied a lot of those business principles that he learned from his family. and starting immediately a radio television project. fundraising was a big part of it. 1971, a university. he was a pastor first, but he had inherited a lot of entrepreneurial traits, so he applied those to his ministry and school. it was a big reason for the phenomenal growth. -- by father fronted thomas road baptist church in 1956. the growth was comical. in aed with 35 adults -- former donald duck bottling facility. after 10 years, there were over he-- 1000 numbers treated was one of the first national hisgious broadcasters mantra had really skyrocketed and he started liberty in 1971. if you were an evangelical christian young person, the only was a smallad college with small academic offerings. something is wrong. there ought to be world-class universities for evangelical young people like brigham young or notre dame. one and soy wasn't he went to change

it's a christian criticizing other christians.i was an evangelical minister i used to think god was talking to me until i realized everybody think god is talking to them and nobody agrees with one another. a secular government to lead her to think he's getting direction from something we cannot confirm. he can have his fuse if he wants to, if he wants to pray to jesus or whatever, that's america. >> laura: just so i'm clear, you must be really offended by most of george washington's seminal speeches to the country and to his troops, correct? >> we are not offended by personal views. >> washington someone at the almighty both for inspiration and protection for our troops and our nascent republic. does that bother you? >> george washington was not the kind of christian at the evangelicals would embrace toda today. >> laura: you can go back and your time travel machine and figure that out? >> we do know that. i bet on george washington having a lot more respect for mike pence than hanging out with a bunch of atheists who complain eve

but aren't christians meant to love your neighbour as yourself?on. back in leicester, breakfast is still going strong. so is it possible to be a christian and to be opposed to immigration? richard worsfold is the vicar here. intellectually, i'm sure it's possible for people to make an argument for that, whether i would accept that argument is another matter. there are complex arguments here about cultural attitudes, christian teaching, politics, the difference between economic migrants and refugees, but if the surveys are right, there remains a huge disconnect between hierarchy in the church and the majority of its congregation. darkest hour, a film depicting winston churchill during the war, has been nominated for nine baftas and six oscars. the make—up team that transformed gary oldman into the prime minister are among those hoping to win an academy award. brennan nicholls has been to meet one of them. you cannot reason with the tiger when your head is in its mouth. gary oldman's performance in darkest hour has already earned him many accolades

christians around franklin did not think he was a christian. the best example is george whitfield, who i mentioned a minute ago, whitfield and franklin were friends and business associates for 30 years. they had a transparent relationship about understanding they were not on the same page spiritually. whitfield thought franklin needed to do something about that. whitfield would pull no punches and say, you need to put your faith in christ for salvation. franklin with say, i'm all set. they would have these conversations. my favorite is in the 1750s, whitfield wrote a letter to franklin. they are business partners, franklin publishes a lot of whitfield stuff. whitfield says i need you to take care of this publication and so forth. now, by the way, i've noticed the success you have had with electrical experiments. you have made progress in understanding the mysteries of electricity. now i implore you to consider the mysteries of new growth in christ. you can imagine franklin rolling his eyes. whitfield was constantly talking to him. i wonder what

continue their come the combination with their christian democrats even though the democrat christian democrats did not have a majority or needed two other parties at least for a majority. were inviting the social democrats support to support it but in this participation doing the last couple of legislative periods the social democrats lost and fluence and follow and that's one of the reasons i didn't want to rejoin with the christian democrats i got it from your article is that there is a lot of disagreement in germany about the extent of this social bird and that the state has to take upon itself and for example you had a very interesting. no idea that one of the reasons why the support for the a of do you was so strong they all turned to for germany was the kind of resentment towards the state assuming more social obligations including towards the migrants the migrant question immigration question the immigration question and the review she question have raised considerable resistance in the within the population because there's a very uncertain condition as to how to integrate thi

but aren't christians meant to love your neighbour as yourself?d mass immigration. back in leicester, breakfast is still going strong. so is it possible to be a christian and be opposed to immigration? richard worsfold is the vicar here. intellectually, i'm sure it's possible for people to make an argument for that. whether i would accept that argument is another matter. there are complex arguments here about cultural attitudes, christian teaching, politics, the difference between economic migrants and refugees. but if the surveys are right, there remains a huge disconnect between the hierarchy in the church and the majority of its congregation. graham satchell, bbc news. lets get more reaction now to our top story — the warning from mps that proposed cuts to the royal marines are 'militarily illiterate' . lord west, former head of the royal navy, and former security minister under labour is with me now. thank you for being with us. do you think there is a real threat to the royal marines? i think there is. quite clearly there is insufficient mone