Whats the meaning of these quotes?

Question

1. I find that I can agree fully with my good friend Patrick Henry when he said it can not be emphasized too strongly that this nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ"

2.

"I always consedered an idle life as a real evil but a life of such hurry such constent hurry leaves us scarcly a moment for reflection or for the discharge of any other then the most immediate and pressing concerns"

Answer 1

This is just a general analysis of each of these quotations.  To understand their meaning in a specific context you would need to compare them to whatever situation in which they are being used.

1.  The significance in this quotation lies in the differentiation between religionists and Christians, and between religions and the Gospel.  

Religionists would be those who place much importance on the concept of religion, and an established church, whereas Christians would be those who believed in the morals taught in the Bible.  Religion is the system of worship, whereas the Gospel is the compilation of values taught.  

The implication of this quotation is that the United States was founded on 'Christian Values', but not on Christianity.  Hence, the established Christian Church had no role in the inception of the United States, even though Christian Values played a pivotal role.

2.  A life spent lazily reflecting on trivial matters is a life wasted, and is therefore an abomination.  However, the polar opposite of such a life has its own problems.  It leaves no time to think or plan or reflect on anything but urgent problems.  A balance must be found between the two ends of the spectrum in order to have the most prolific and productive, but also the most thoughtfully and strategically planned life/career possible.

Answer 2

1.The founding fathers did not want a government based in religious law or ruled by one religion. That is what they were escaping when they came to America. They wanted the right to worship as they pleased. They believed that the boundaries of Christian behavior could be used to set rules of common civility (i.e.to obey the Golden Rule - Do unto others as you would have others do unto you - and to follow the 10 Commandments as life rules).

2. Our lives are ruled by the clock and are so completely filled with taking care of trivial business that we cannot find time to sit and think, to quietly muse on our lives, our beliefs, our greater futures other than  the next immediate moments.