Fascinating. I've only recently learned (in the last few years) that Franklin and most of America's Founding Fathers were deists.

Deism peaked in the 17th and 18th centuries: A belief that God and the Bible were real but that once Jesus ascended to Heaven, he left us "on our own" to take care of the world until his return. That belief got rooted in our culture, and it explains why so many Christians see prayer/Church/belief in a living, active God as a polite thing to do that has no real impact. Of course, that's NOT what Christianity teaches: We know he's alive, active, and real right now through the Body of Christ.

Bless you and your ministry!