Tim Sweetman is an 18-year-old journalist, blogger, and student who lives near our nation's capital,
Washington D.C. He is much more widely known by his "code-name," Agent Tim. This name also serves as
the name of his popular blog, which has received over 750,000 visits since its debut three years ago. Contact Tim 
(Part 1 In Letters to Founding Fathers…I found this to be very interesting, especially for those of us who are studying the founding fathers. It’s just good to sit back and review…and it’s an interesting way to study to Founding Father’s by writing letters to them. If you don’t like history, more exciting things are coming your way later.)
Dear Benjamin Franklin,
Your accomplishments leave me in awe, as I look back on what you have given to this country that I now live in. Your words of wisdom still ring true in our day and time as we look back into the never-forgotten memories and words forever carved into history. You were a scientist, an inventor, a statesman, a printer, a philosopher, a musician, and an economist. You were a founding father with much wisdom and insight, and we owe much to you for what you have given our country. You have given us a republic, if we can keep it.
Dear Sir, I am afraid that we are not doing the job in keeping the republic that you and other great men have given us. We have twisted your words and the words of others whom you worked with. It seems that we have forgotten the sacrifice, and the real meaning of those beautiful words.
But we thank you for what you have given this great country. Your diplomacy brought help to a country in need. You signed the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance, Amity, and Commerce with France, the Treaty of Peace between England, France, and the United States, and the Constitution. No one holds that honor.
You set up the first post office, leading the way for the Postal Service, and now email. You set up fire insurance for businesses, and organized a militia to keep the city of Philadelphia safe.
And we have you to thank for Daylight Savings time.
Your contribution to science is astounding. You created bifocals, and have forevermore helped those with eyesight problems. My grandparents will forever be thankful.
Your interest in electricity led to the invention of the lighting rod, an amazing protector of buildings and ships during storms. I cannot imagine how much money you have saved, and how many lives have been saved through your invention. Also, the Franklin Stove that you created–oh, it proved much safer than wood stoves. The invention of an iron furnace stove provided a safe and economic stove.
You created the odometer, as well as a long arm for reaching high objects, and countless other helpful inventions.
Ben, you not only helped as a statesman and an inventor–you were involved in science as well. You studied electricity, meteorology, ocean currents, shipbuilding, and predicted that one day balloons would be used for military spy flights and dropping bombs during battle after seeing one in Paris.
One of my favorite things that you accomplished was your printing ability. At seventeen, you were a fully skilled printer. Your most famous publications were a newspaper called *The Pennsylvania Gazette* and his annual *Poor Richard’s Almanack*. Those were some amazing publications. You printed cartoons…an American favorite…as well as illustrated stories, and letters to the editor. And your sense of humor expressed in *Poor Richard’s Almanack* brings a smile to my face every time I read it.
As a philosopher, you were quite a man. A thinker unmatched in your day. As you said, “If you would not be forgotten, when you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.”
You certainly lived up to that.
I was also amazed that you were a musician and economist! You played the violin, harp, and guitar. And to top that you created an armonica! That’s an amazing instrument. I have seen it played, and it’s something. As an economist, your suggestion: “Waste neither time nor money.” You are now on our $100 dollar bill. And thank you for printing the first money in the United States.
Ben, my only sorrow is that you turned your back on God…on Jesus Christ. Even with a great mind, and with those behind you remembering you, without Christ, it is all for naught. Everything is worthless before God. George Whitefield tried to bring you Christ, but you would not heed the call. I pray you changed, but I have no way of knowing.
God Bless,
Tim Sweetman
October 19th, 2005 at 11:05 am
That’s really fascinating! I didn’t know some of that stuff. But that’s really too bad he wasn’t a Christian- it’s like you said, it’s all for naught. We can have everything in the world, but without Jesus, it’s all so useless!
October 19th, 2005 at 1:37 pm
Ah, there is the verse I was thinking of: Luke 9:25 (ESV) For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
In another version, it says, “his soul?” but either way, you get the idea… it really makes you realize how vain everything is without Jesus.
October 19th, 2005 at 1:46 pm
You are exactly right. Franklin seemed to be such a man…and it shows us that we can’t say “Our nation was founded by men who were Christians.” They were deists.
But it’s better than being founded by Atheists.
October 19th, 2005 at 2:45 pm
Yes, many of them were deists, but nevertheless, most of them had a Christian worldview. One book that sets this out very well is Defending the Declaration by Gary Amos (who, interestingly, was a professor at CBN University when my mom was there.) I don’t think that the fact that our country was founded by deists rather than atheists matters so much as the fact that the Founders had a basic Christian worldview.
October 19th, 2005 at 2:49 pm
Good point Gabriel. The majority had a Christian worldview. And we have to accept that. It’s not changing history as some would like us to belive.
October 19th, 2005 at 3:15 pm
That’s interesting; I didn’t know that. I’ve always thought that our country was founded by Christians. I must say that it is rather dissapointing to learn it wasn’t… But were at least ONE of them Christians? Do we have any way of knowing? Just curious…
October 19th, 2005 at 3:17 pm
It was founded by Christians. Just not ALL of them were Christians. They founded it on the Bible.
We can look at their writings, and decisions and understand their views. Like George Washington, etc.
October 19th, 2005 at 4:02 pm
oh, oops, sorry…i misunderstood…you said that we couldn’t say “Our nation was founded by men who were Christians.”, because it was founded by deists, so I thought that you meant that the founding fathers were not Christians…
October 20th, 2005 at 8:59 pm
Hmm…I could have sworn I read somewhere about Franklin making a confession…I know I’ve had to fight adamantly about that - especially on GenJ!
October 30th, 2005 at 5:40 am
I’ve got to disagree with that Tim
Franklin was one of the few founders who was not a devout christian, or a minister, and “surprise!”, he happens to be the one we hear about the most these days. The vast majority of our founders were strong Christians, and like I said, nearly half were reverends.
January 2nd, 2006 at 11:10 pm
Franklin, to my knowledge, never became an orthodox christian. He was, if memory serves a good friend of George Whitfield.. and he stated that he held views similar to those of the quakers.
It is undoubted that Franklin believed in God and whats more, he absolutely, avowedly held a biblical christian world view.
One of his contemporaries, and atheist, Thomas Paine wrote tracts agaisnt christianity in which he stated that he was a good and moral man without the benefit of Christianity. Franklin responded with correction to Paine that he still owed his goodness and morality to Christianity because despite his lack of belief… he as raised, and educated in a christian society, in christian schools, with a christian view.
A few of the notable founders were deists. However, the majority by far were christians, though not all were strictly orthodox. George Washington was devoutly christian in many ways, in belief and faith etc, but yet for some reason, from the accounts, it seems that he never took communion… it is not known why for sure (as far as I’m aware). The Adams family was devoutly christian as well. Samuel, Abigail and John Quincy in particular. John Adams made many comments about the negatives of state religion which modern detractors use to argue that he was not religious but that doesn’t bear up with the facts of his personal life.