Posted on 11/15/2005 3:47:04 PM PST by Stepan12
I wonder if, in the future, the God-haters will be so bold as to tell me how to pray? Will I be prevented from pursuing public office or even employment because I choose to follow a religion?
If this country was 'Christian', and that is a large tent, would a Jew be able to run for public office? Would the state tell him how to pray? Would he be able to find employment?
My faith is stronger than anything that will be said or written to me in a post on this site, as is yours.
My point is, if the founding fathers wanted this to be a 'Christian' country, it would be very clear in the documents they left us and all non-Christians would have been delt with. They did not.
Our Founding Fathers were Christians mostly. But Christian values and principles cannot be divorced from their Jewish roots. So the values are Judeo-Christian. And they also viewed it as the Christian thing to leave people free to worship God as they choose, or not at all. We draw from religion its values. We leave to the religious their tenets. That's the deal. Faith is of vital importance and yet no specific faith is endorsed. It's a beautiful thing. Specifics of faith are very important and no one should say otherwise. Let each be true to his own. But in the political arena, we draw from our common values and we leave the particulars to our homes, churches, and communities. God isn't out of the public square; each person is free to express his/her faith how he/she chooses. But the laws of the land remain silent on tenets. The left tries to make that mean that the law must be silent also on values and morality. But that's not true.
Correction. It should be "re-Christianize" America.
Well stated.
There is a separate question here that bears scrutiny. While the framers were clear that the Federal government may not establish a religious institution, there is no question but that the various states may establish churches. Indeed there were a number of state sponsored churches during the early years of our nation.
There is an Evangelical Christian movement in South Carolina to influence the state government in very specific ways. This could include establishing a state sponsored church, requiring that state judges and politicians are church members, and so on.
Now that is a conversation worth having.
Say the moonies, moos, hari krishnas, or any other group achieves majority status in a state, would you want them to be able to establish a state religion?
Nuff said.
Moral Absolutes Ping.
I love that man. Don Feder is great. I couldn't say anything he said any better. Read the whole thing. You'll be glad you did.
Freepmail me if you want on/off this pinglist.
A good place for a couple of my favorite quotes:
"...Thomas Jefferson wrote in his Autobiography (1821), the authors of the Virginia Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom refrained from mentioning the exact name of the "holy author of our religion." Here is Jefferson’s explanation for the omission:
Where the preamble declares that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed, by inserting the words "Jesus Christ," so that it should read, "a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion"; the insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mahometan, the Hindoo, and Infidel of every denomination."---Thomas Jefferson
"Reading, reflection and time have convinced me that the interests
of society require the observation of those moral precepts ... in
which all religions agree." ---Thomas Jefferson
No, not 'nuf said.
Not nearly 'nuf said.
A great deal needs to be said about the rights of the states vs the rights of the Feds. This is the major issue of our time.
The Constitution specifically restricts the Federal government from doing nearly everything it is doing. The innumerated rights are just that, innumerated. They do not include welfare, education, health, housing, the environment, religion, and nearly everything else.
Fact is, the federal government is in violation of the Constitution by usurping States rights specifically protected by the Constitution.
How is that going to be corrected?
As to the issue of domination by the majority, that is precisely how our government is framed, rule by majority with minority protections.
Many Jews have abandoned God altogether, and placed their faith in socialism.
The Jews condemning Christians, for the most part, are socialist jews. They couldn't give a rat's arse about Israel, or its people.
No kidding. This guy acts like finding Christ is a bad thing. I happen to take offense to THAT.
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