The church never has pretended that Jefferson or Franklin died in fear.
Franklin wrote no books against the fables of the ancient Jews. He
thought it useless to cast the pearls of thought before the swine of
ignorance and fear. Jefferson was a statesman. He was the father of a
great party. He gave his views in letters and to trusted friends. He
was a Virginian, author of the Declaration of Independence, founder of a
university, father of a political party, President of the United States,
a statesman and philosopher. He was too powerful for the churches of
his day. Paine was a foreigner, a citizen of the world. He had attacked
Washington and the Bible. He had done these things openly, and what
he had said could not be answered. His arguments were so good that his
character was bad.