Article: Reading Eagle, Pa., John W. Smith column: Franklin?s actions reflected his faith.

Byline: John W. Smith

Feb. 4--BEN FRANKLIN, whose 300th birthday we celebrated a few weeks ago, is usually described religiously as being at best a deist -- believing in only a "watchmaker" God. But a visit to his big birthday bash at Franklin and Marshall College, founded with the help of 200 British pounds from Ben, put a little different spin on that issue. Walter Isaacson, Franklin's most recent biographer, in delivering a delightful keynote address, referred to his faith in several contexts. In his "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life" (Simon and Schuster, 2003), Isaacson has described Franklin as belonging to the small group of Deists who ...

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