UPDATE: Kindle and Nook versions are now available.
Two things happened on September 11 this year – I turned 50 and became officially old, and I got the first installment of my debunking of David Barton’s The Jefferson Lies done.
At some point as I was writing what I intended to be a single book debunking Barton’s Jefferson book, I said to myself that you could write a whole book on each one of his seven chapters, which he calls “Lie #1,” “Lie #2,” “Lie #3,” etc., so that’s what I decided to do – a series of seven short books, one debunking each of his chapters. This seemed like a much better idea than cutting stuff out to try to cram it all into one volume. There are just far too many lies in Barton’s book to debunk them all in a single volume with any degree of thoroughness, and anyone familiar with my other work debunking this crap knows how I like to be thorough and leave no stone unturned.
I’m not putting these books out in the order that Barton’s chapters appear in his book. I’m doing it in order of which are most relevant to current church/state issues. So, #2 of my series, the one about Jefferson and education is the first one, before #1 (the one about Jefferson and Sally Hemings). The next one will be #5, the one debunking all the lies Barton uses to claim that Jefferson didn’t really believe in a separation of church and state. While the other five subjects are interesting regarding Jefferson as a person, it’s the subjects of #2 and #5 that are the most important in the so-called “culture wars,” so those are first.
Anyway, the print version of my debunking of Barton’s “Lie #2″ is now available on Amazon, and I’m finishing up the Kindle version today, so that will be available shortly. I’m also going to do a Nook version of this one; I just need to figure out how to do it since I’ve never done a Nook book before. (You gotta figure all this stuff out on your own if you want to be an independent writer and don’t have people doing this stuff for you, but it’s worth it not to be answerable to anybody except yourself and your readers, so bear with me if you’re a Nook user.)
Instead of spending any more time explaining this project here (time that I could be spending getting the e-book versions done), here’s my “official” description on Amazon:
In his book The Jefferson Lies, Christian nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton professes to correct what he claims are seven lies about Thomas Jefferson, in chapters titled:
Lie #1: Thomas Jefferson Fathered Sally Hemings’ Children
Lie #2: Thomas Jefferson Founded a Secular University
Lie #3: Thomas Jefferson Wrote His Own Bible and Edited Out the Things He Didn’t Agree With
Lie #4: Thomas Jefferson Was a Racist Who Opposed Equality for Black Americans
Lie #5: Thomas Jefferson Advocated a Secular Public Square through the Separation of Church and State
Lie #6: Thomas Jefferson Detested the Clergy
Lie #7: Thomas Jefferson Was an Atheist and Not a Christian
It is David Barton, however, who is doing the lying, and not those whom he accuses of being the revisionists. Through a series of seven short books, one devoted to each of Barton’s seven Jefferson lies, the real liar will be revealed, and the real Thomas Jefferson will be preserved.
This volume debunks the many lies and misrepresentations used by Barton in the chapter of his book titled “Lie #2: Thomas Jefferson Founded a Secular University.”
I’ll be back to post some excerpts from the book here. I just need to get the e-books finished and out there first.
19 comments
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Katherine Lorraine, Chaton de la Mort
September 13, 2012 at 1:27 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Happy late birthday, Chris!
AndrewD
September 13, 2012 at 1:27 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
As some one who is 62, I can assure you 50 is not old!
Brett McCoy
September 13, 2012 at 1:32 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Yay! Eagerly awaiting that Kindle version!
coragyps
September 13, 2012 at 1:50 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
“I turned 50 and became officially old…”
In your wildest dreams, kiddo. 50 ain’t squat! :-)
Ellie
September 13, 2012 at 1:50 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Just ordered my print copy, which should arrive on Monday. I’m very eager to read it. I’ll be reading it, learning things, and remembering the beginning of your writing and research.
BTW, I have a child almost as old as you. Therefore, you are not old.
mikeym
September 13, 2012 at 1:51 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Happy Birthday!
I think Barton’s “Lie #7: Thomas Jefferson Was an Atheist and Not a Christian” qualifies as a meta-lie. No one seriously claims that Jefferson was an atheist.
machintelligence
September 13, 2012 at 2:33 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
AndrewD @ 2
I agree. Old is someone at least 10 years older than yourself. I am old, Chris Rodda is not.
Congratulations on your book. I think I’ll wait for the kindle version.
wholething
September 13, 2012 at 3:00 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Old age is always 15 years from now. If you think 50 is old, it just means your mind is still 35.
Barton has adapted the Gish Gallup to history and publishing.
According to Dr. Seuss, you can’t cook a Nook book if you haven’t took a look at a Nook book hook.
OK, so age 20 is looking old to me today.
ottod
September 13, 2012 at 3:04 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Even though I’ve been inconsolably insulted by that 50 = old crack, I’m a bigger person than that, and I’ll still buy your book — when it’s Kindleized.
Give us a heads up when it’s Kindled.
Quine
September 13, 2012 at 3:18 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Hi Chris, Happy Birthday! I am happy that you are progressing with this important work. I also think you are going to run into some trouble because of the problem with the definition of “atheist” in the general population. May I suggest: “Jefferson was not a man of faith.” You could go on to state (factually) that he did not express faith in any deities, let alone the Christian ones. I think you would get just as much of your message across, and side-step unnecessary bogging-down over definitions.
Chris Rodda
September 13, 2012 at 4:16 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
@ Quine … Those are the titles of Barton’s chapters. His chapter is actually titled “Lie #7: Thomas Jefferson Was an Atheist and Not a Christian.”
Like mikeym @6 said, nobody claims that Jefferson was an atheist. That’s a straw man erected by Barton for that chapter. Two of Barton’s biggest tactics in his Jefferson book are straw men and anachronisms.
And, about that turning 50 thing … I think I just need some time to adjust to the idea of being in my 50s before it stops seeming old, the same way I had to adjust to being in my 40s when I thought 40 felt old. :-)
Quine
September 13, 2012 at 5:11 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Okay, good.
heliocentric
September 13, 2012 at 8:30 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I don’t know much about history, so I was surprised to learn recently that back in Jefferson’s day the Baptists were pleading with him to support separation of church and state. It was illegal – under severe penalty – not to be a member of the Anglican church in an English colony then, let alone being a member of a heretical sect. You can see why they thought it was an excellent idea. I’m sure you knew all that, but isn’t it ironic that they could be accurately identified as the main instigators in the emergence of the Christian Taliban.
mike0301
September 13, 2012 at 9:00 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Nook…nook…nook…
Oh, 50 ain’t so terrible. Remember: act your shoe size, not your age.
markr1957 Inc.
September 13, 2012 at 10:32 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Happy birthday, you young thing – 55 here :) I have your book(s) on my Amazon wish list now but I do want to say thank you for all your hard work in demolishing the revisionists’ lies. I’m almost finished reading “Liars for Jesus” in PDF format but I find it easier to read in printed format, and you deserve to be rewarded for your efforts.
jimmiraybob
September 14, 2012 at 12:20 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Also too, Happy Birthday.
And, also tooer, congratulations on getting ahead on this massive project. I’m glad that you took the time and made the effort to get it right – the way you wanted it.
I look forward to all the chapters…..books. I’ve found that more than debunking the Bartons of the world, your work and the work of others that have published (blog or book) on this issue offers a detailed peek into their – the revolutionaries, founders and framers – world.
Is it better for you to order through your website “Liars for Jesus” or does it matter?
Chris Rodda
September 14, 2012 at 2:11 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
@ jimmiraybob … yes, it is better if you go through my Liars For Jesus site – not just to buy my books on Amazon, but to buy anything on Amazon. My site is an Amazon Associate site, so I get a referral fee every time someone goes to Amazon through a link on my site and buys something within the next 24 hours. Those little referral fees add up at the end of the month, and pay for my website and other related stuff. Sometimes I even get a nice little chunk of change – like the time someone went to Amazon from my site and ended up buying a ride-on lawnmower sometime in the next 24 hours!
So, anyone planning on buying my book or anything else on Amazon, just go to liarsforjesus.com and go to Amazon through the link for Liars For Jesus, and then go from there to whatever you’re buying. It definitely helps me pay for the crap I need to pay for to do the stuff I do.
I’m planning to set up a separate page for the Jefferson debunking stuff. That will eventually have its own bookstore section, but the bookstore part of it is a ways off. I want to get a few more volumes out before I set that up.
elainedecker
September 14, 2012 at 5:52 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Happy birthday Chris!! It gets better after the Big 50!! A friend sent me a large bottle of Bailey’s Irish Creame to “drown my sorrows” 2 years ago at my “half century mark”, (per my kids). I tried one shot in some coffee that night; I was sick for three days. I don’t normally drink.
I threw the bottle away after about 6 months thinking “it has ‘dairy’, so it’s probably really ‘bad’!!”.
My Son didn’t talk to me for MONTHS!! ;)
Anyways-ONE MORE thing for your birthday: GUESS who started his first day BACK on 15 million Dish subscribers televisions on Tuesday, Sept 11?? Complete with a PROMISE to have his “close friend” on soon!
I wonder if Barton will mention your book? Maybe I’ll send a copy to his dear friend Glenn, mark it as a “VERY Revealing antique Progressive Tome; Handle With Care” ……. :)
elainedecker
September 14, 2012 at 5:53 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Ooops, sorry!! CONGRATS on Book!! Looking forward to reading it!!