>>898133 (last bread)
Wrong! The writings of Sir Robert Bellarmine who was inspired by St. Thomas Aquinas were the inspiration for Thomas Jefferson. He found the writings of Bellarmine in a Protestant book attacking Bellarmine. The Protestant believed in the divine right of kings. Bellarmine proposed the rule of leaders (including royalty) who rule by the consent of the governed.
Catholic Sources and the Declaration of Independence by
REV. JOHN C. RAGER, S.T.D. (1930)
https:// www.catholiceducation.org/en/controversy/common-misconceptions/catholic-sources-and-the-declaration-of-independence.html
Excerpts:
With regard to the equality of men:
Declaration of Independence: “All men are created equal; they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.”
Bellarmine: “All men are equal, not in wisdom or grace, but in the essence and nature of mankind” (De Laicis,” c.7). “There is no reason why among equals one should rule rather than another.” (Ibid.) “Let rulers remember that they preside over men who are of the same nature as they themselves” (De Officus Princ.” c.22). “Political right is immediately from God and necessarily inherent in the nature of man” (De Laicia” c. 6, note 1).
With regard to the function of government:
Declaration of Independence: “To secure these rights governments are instituted among men.”
Bellarmine: “It is impossible for men to live together without someone to care for the common good. Men must be governed by someone lest they be willing to perish” (De Laicia,” c.6).
With regard to the source of power:
Declaration of Independence: “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
Bellarmine: “It depends upon the consent of the multitude to constitute over itself a king, consul, or other magistrate. This power is, indeed, from God, but vested in a particular ruler by the counsel and election of men” (De Laicis, c. 6, notes 4 and 5). “The people themselves immediately and directly hold the political power” (De Clericis, c. 7).
It was not I that claimed no protestants ever read church history; but truthfully most have not. As Anglican convert, Cardinal John Henry Newman, stated "To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant."