James Madison, Founding Father was in my view the real genius behind the birth of the United States of America. Not only was he the intellectual genius behind the idea of a new form of government, “real democracy”, but in addition, Madison was the youngest of all those who dreamed and put together what is known as the Constitution of the United States of America. Madison was only 25 years old in 1776 when America was born, and he led it through the early years of framing the first Constitution and forming a fresh form of democratic government.
James Madison is known as the “Father of our Constitution” because he initially called for the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. He attended every session of that Convention and took notes on every speech. He led the fight for its ratification in his native Virginia, co-authored The Federalist Papers, and shepherded the Bill of Rights through the first Congress, even though he was by far the youngest of the Founding Fathers.
Moreover, Madison formed working relationships with other leaders, such as Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson and founded the first American political party, the ancestor of the Democratic Party. He married one of the very first politically-minded wives, Dolley Madison, pioneered political journalism, and was a student of popular opinion. More specifically, and importantly, Madison “invented” the two-party system and the check-and-balance understanding of Congressional politics centered in the three branches of government.
After winning the Presidency in 1809 Madison went on to guide America through the various difficulties and upsets leading up to the War of 1812. He was the last President to actually lead troops in battle. Near the close of his life Madison joined with Thomas Jefferson to fulfill the latter’s life-long dream of founding the first American University, the University of Virginia. Together they chose books for its library, planned its curriculum, and before he died Jefferson sent a “valedictory” letter to his friend, James Madison, saying in part:
“The friendship which has subsisted between us, now a half a century, and that harmony of our political principles and pursuits, have been sources for constant happiness to me through that long period…you have been a pillar of support through life. Take care of me when dead, and be sure that I shall leave you my last affections.” Madison died a few years later after trying to help the nation to which he had helped give birth struggle through the slavery issue. Neither he nor others could actually solve that puzzle until Lincoln appeared on the scene. It is, of course, clear that in in a deep sense we have yet to solve that puzzle.
After months, even years, of previous thought and study, Madison put together the outline of what we today know as “The Constitution of the United States of America.” It took months, even years to get the main ideas of this document ratified, but Madison and others persisted in getting it done. In essence, it was Madison’s creation, complete with the three parts of government and majority rule. This three-part “check and balance” system was essentially Madison’s brainchild and it has stood all these years as the centerpiece of our unique form of government.
For those who want to read further I strongly recommend the book James Madison by Richard Brookhiser. I have cherry-picked freely from it in the above remarks. I really do find James Madison to be an extremely remarkable person and the true “inventor” of the American Constitution.

In a theological context this question is considered to be the heart of the Christian message. What did Jesus mean when he asked while on the cross: “My God, why have you forsaken me?” Much later on Saint Anselm asked the question in his famous book: “Cur Deus Homo?” (Why did God become human?”) The first traditional explanation is that God had seen to it that Jesus died as a sacrifice to pay for the sins of humanity, from Adam and Eve all the way to the here and now, including you and me. This is what the Christian church, especially theologically “born again” conservative Christians, teaches.
Theologically this is called the “Penal satisfaction” theory of the Atonement, when Jesus atoned for our sins. Bluntly it teaches that since we are all sinners someone must pay for our sinfulness with a death. Thus, God sent his only Son Jesus to die and make this payment. Two related questions most often get overlooked here. One, to whom is the payment made? Who demands this payment? It seems that it must be God himself, although some early thinkers suggested that the payment was made to Satan, but why would God have to pay off Satan?
The remaining, key, question is: why would God himself require the death of His only son? Why would this satisfy or please him? What goes unanswered is the question: How did this whole issue of payment ever come up? Why Does God require a sacrifice at all? What kind of God are we dealing with here? It would seem to be some sort of pagan notion of Divinity that is driving this theory. In Jesus’ own words:” My God, (my own Father) why have you forsaken me (your own Son?)”
In modern times some Christian theologians have suggested that God sent Jesus to die in order to provide an example of the Divine love, to show what extremes God will go to in order to save humankind. This has been called liberal “Moral Influence” theory of the atonement. But it still remains that God seems to be killing his own Son in order to impress humanity. It’s almost as if God is “Showing off”.
Biblical scholars have pointed out that when he asked, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus was actually quoting the first verse of Psalm 22, something traditional Jews often did at the time of their death. Moreover, the Psalm goes on to declare that God has not, in fact, forsaken them, but everything depends on which preposition is used. By and large the preposition used in the New Testament is that of uper meaning “on behalf of”, not, anti “instead of”. Thus, Jesus died on our behalf not instead of us. His death was not a substitute for ours, but a signal to humanity of God’s great love for us. Neither we nor God have to pay anything to anyone. “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.”
There are two important books to read if one is interested in pursuing this issue further. The classic background volume is God Was In Christ by Donald Bailie. Bailie argues that the key verse here is the one that states that “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.” God sought to bring us back to himself , not payoff some ambiguous debt to Satan, let alone to himself. The book which best presents what I take to be the best approach is Christus Victor by Gustaf Aulen. The latter explains more fully how Jesus’ death should be understood, not as a payment to God on our behalf, but as an act of God which shows the extreme character and depth of God’s love for humanity to free us from our selfishness.