You Have No Constitutional Rights (Our Rights Are God-Given, Stupid! Alert)

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. …

That quote from the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence is one of the most profound statements ever recorded. Upon that simple premise, "endowed by our Creator," the greatest nation on the face of the earth was constructed. Unfortunately, the average public-school trained American would not recognize the phrase, nor the document from which it was written, but they would be able to recite the found-nowhere-in-our-founding-documents phrase "separation of church and state."

If you tell a lie long enough, loud enough and often enough, the people will believe it. The secret to get someone to believe a lie is constant repetition. Just tell it over, and over, and over again." – Adolf Hitler

It appears as if Hitler was right. Remember this: He who frames the argument wins the debate.

We have fallen into the trap once again. We have allowed "them" to frame the argument and choose the words that we can use.

Anti-Christian bigotry is running un-checked. Please notice that the attack on religious freedom in America is on Christianity. No one is trying to silence the religious freedom of Muslims or atheists or humanists. Quite the contrary. We are told to "understand" Muslims, to be sensitive to the atheists and to tolerate the humanists and their various denominations of "isms" (environmentalism, feminism, secularism, socialism, communism), which we teach openly in our schools.

Having watched this forward march against Christianity, and having been the target of one of the attacks, I have come to realize that once again, the opposition has done a great job of forcing us to play by their rules. Allow me to explain.

I am guilty of having used all of those arguments in my struggle against the civil magistrates. It is only recently that my eyes have been opened to the folly and the same snare that all Christian leaders have been snagged in. If we are to win this battle, we must grasp the Truth. Listen closely; this is crucial. If we do not catch this, we will never free ourselves from the enemy's snare.

Take some time and read the U.S. Constitution. You will see that it does not grant any rights to anyone. Instead, while setting up the federal government, the document (the first ten amendments) also prohibits the government from interfering with various aspects of human freedom. The first ten amendments limit what the government can do. They shouldn't be called the Bill of Rights; they should be called the Bill of Limitations.

Every time we crow about "our constitutional rights," we are playing right into their hands. Our rights are God-given. The purpose of the Constitution is to protect our God-given rights and to limit government authority. Thus the correct question is not "What rights does the Constitution give to the American people?" but rather "What powers does the Constitution grant to the government?"

Take the current case of Lt. Gordon James Klingenschmitt the Navy chaplain on trial for praying in Jesus' name. Does his right to pray come from the government? Is the First Amendment the only reason he should be allowed to pray? Did the Constitution grant him that right? What about George Washington and the patriots who battled for our independence? From where did they receive their right to pray? In fact, weren't they fighting to tell King George to stop trampling on their God-given rights? Isn't it ironic that today, merely 230 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, we once again think our right to express our faith comes from the king? Well, it does come from the King, but not the king most Americans bow before.

Come on now. Who gives you the right to pray? Who gives you the right to speak your mind? Who gives you the right to carry a gun? Who gives you the right to live? These individual God-given rights were in existence before our government was established.

Our national motto is "One Nation, Under God." Read these definitions of under. It speaks of authority, covering, rank and subjection. "Under God" does not mean He merely sits above us, but that He rules over us.

With the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the historical concept of government sovereignty got turned upside down. Government was no longer sovereign and supreme, America declared to the world. No, individuals have the power and government officials are subordinate and inferior to the citizenry, as Lincoln so aptly put it: "Government is of the people, by the people and for the people."

The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government – lest it come to dominate our lives and interests. – Patrick Henry

No wonder they are so intent on removing God from this nation. If there is no god, then government is god.

But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. John 19:15

It not a semantic argument but a substantiative one as old as Man himself. The Left believes rights are privileges that can be bestowed and withdrawn by the state as it sees fit. The few rights those under it that it holds as inalienable are those that grant rights to government as opposed to the individual. For them the state as opposed to the citizen is the legitimate object of constitutional rules and that is why they are in favor expansive constitutional readings; its expands at every opportunity the power of government over society. In contrast, the Right holds rights inhere in individuals because individuals are created by God and their rights and status as human beings exist independent of earthly authority. Rights are inalienable because they are not dependent on government for their existence and the legitimate object of constitutional rules is to limit the arbitrary power of the state. The aim of conservative philosophy is to limit constitutional interpretation to its narrowest form and in order to emphasize the central fact government exists by and with the consent of the governed. In the end it comes to down to either whether Man is subject to the whims of the dictator or whether his freedom arises from Almighty God. As Cecil B. DeMille said in now-famous introduction to the Ten Commandments "that battle still rages throughout the world today." As well as in our own country. It helps to remember we have NO constitutional rights of ANY kind. ALL our rights are God-given, Stupid!

(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )

I'm afraid Mr. Daubenmire zoomed in on the wrong phrase. The key one -- the one that made the American Revolution truly revolutionary -- is "deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed." It is not incidental that the Constitution opens with "We, the People."

If you claim that rights are granted by God, you're wrestling with several centuries of monarchs who claimed that God put them on the throne and wanted them to have unlimited power. Inalienable rights are a condition of being human. Whether you appeal to God or Nature or Buddha or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, it does not change the fact that they are self-evident.

I'm not arguing for or against the existence of God. The existence of fundamental rights, and the duty of governments to protect those rights as the sole reason for their existence, are concepts that stand with or without an Abramic God. They are separate questions.

They are called "Constitutional Rights" because the purpose of the constitution was to secure them or guaranty them.
And we are 'called' a Democracy (get the juxtaposition?).

A well spoken article...
For Independence Day, Supreme Court Slams Founders
The purpose of the U.S. Constitution, then, is not to tell us what rights we have. We're born with the right to do as we please, so long as we don't harm anyone else.
The Constitution's purpose is to outline what rights we give to the government, and to firmly define the limits of government power.
Unfortunately, this isn't widely understood.
Commonly, we hear people say things like, "Where in the Constitution does it say you have the right to smoke a cigarette?" Or, "Where in the Constitution does it say you're allowed to look at pornography?"

James Madison worried about questions like these. He feared that if we included a Bill of Rights in the Constitution, people would eventually come to assume the rights it listed would be the only rights we have. Others felt some rights — speech, arms, etc. — were so vital as to merit explicit mention.
That Madison section should interest you mojave.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Founding Fathers were among the most brilliant people God saw fit to put on this planet. It is telling that He gathered them in the American colonies to create what is today, the United States of America.

It is among our greatest tragedies that the care of this great nation has been entrusted to those with lesser abilities whose sole focus is to deconstruct that which was so brilliantly assembled by the Founding Fathers. It will be to the world's great shame and loss if the enemies of freedom and individual responsibility win - because America will be lost forever.

We rail, at this site, against the "moderate" Muslims who have allowed the terrorists to hijack their religion, but we do nothing against the anti-education, anti-freedom educrats who have hijacked our schools and produced "HS Graduates" with no concept of their history, the structure of their government, the ability to read, write, understand basic science or solve simple mathematics problems.

God has, indeed, given Americans much for which to be to be thankful. But the Godless have shoved Him out of our schools and pushed Him as far "under the bus" as they can, and we have let them. Perhaps, as part of taking our country back, we can start repaying God's kindness and generosity by fighting to restore Him and His place in our society. The Founding Fathers understood these things - the "progressive" intellectuals who have hijacked our fundamental infrastructure don't.

The last paragraph of this article from Agape Press...HR 5122 Pending in Senate - Make Calls now all HR 5122

(I know it's contrary to the fact that they are God-given RIGHTS and shouldn't need a law but here we are - what a mess!)

==>> The United States House of Representatives recently passed a bill (H.R. 5122) that, among other provisions, would allow chaplains in all U.S. military branches to "pray according to the dictates of their conscience."

==>> The legislation is currently pending in the Senate.

****

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/9/afa/132006a.asp

Chaplain's Court Martial Highlights Attacks on Americans' Religious Liberty

By Bill Fancher, Chad Groening, and Jenni Parker
September 13, 2006

(AgapePress) - The court martial of an evangelical Christian Navy chaplain began Tuesday morning at the Norfolk, Virginia, Naval Station. The 15-year military officer is being tried for closing prayer "in the name of Jesus" in public, while in uniform, during a news conference in front of the White House.

Lieutenant Gordon James Klingenschmitt believes he is being punished by U.S. military authorities for being a whistleblower about the Navy's new policy regarding prayer. On February 21 of this year, the Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter signed a new policy requiring Navy chaplains to use "non-sectarian" content during public prayers outside of a chapel setting, and authorized Navy commanders to discipline any chaplains who disobeyed the directive.

Klingenschmitt filed a formal whistleblower complaint against the Secretary of the Navy and the policy's author, Chief of Navy Chaplains Rear Admiral Lou Iasiello. Later, on March 30, he attended an event hosted by former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore in front of the White House, and offered a prayer while in uniform, closing the invocation with "in Jesus' name," despite the new Navy policy mandating "non-sectarian" prayers.

Four weeks later, charges were filed against the Lieutenant for disobeying a lawful order. He contends he is innocent and says a superior officer had ordered him not to wear his uniform during media appearances without first receiving permission, but had said he could be in uniform if he were conducting a "bona fide worship service," which the chaplain insists his part in the news conference was. Now, as he faces a court martial, the Christian military officer is aware that the stakes are high, and the consequences of a guilty verdict, serious.

"If I'm found guilty," Klingenschmitt points out, "I will be drummed out of the Navy, I will lose my 1.8-million-dollar pension, and my wife and dog will be evicted from military housing -- all for the 'crime' of praying in Jesus' name in uniform and also for quoting the Bible in the chapel." The chaplain describes his case as "historic, in a bad way."

One positive turn of events, the Lieutenant notes, is that the military court is allowing Judge Roy Moore to testify in his defense. "He's going to say that, yes, Chaplain Klingenschmitt only prayed. He didn't make any political speeches," the defendant asserts, "and we have an inalienable right to worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, even in public."

Moore was subpoenaed and is expected to testify today. As a WorldNetDaily report notes, the former Alabama Supreme Court justice has stated his belief that President George W. Bush should get involved in protecting the rights of Christian chaplains to pray in Jesus' name. In so doing, Moore says, the President "would be upholding the religious freedom of all Americans."

Klingenschmitt, who has pleaded not guilty, thinks the trial will not last more than a few days. If the verdict goes against him, he could possibly forfeit two-thirds of his pay per month and be reprimanded, could receive jail time, or could even be dismissed from the Navy and lose his retirement benefits.

Pro-Family Advocate: Chaplain Klingenschmitt's Battle is America's Battle
The plight of Klingenschmitt and other military chaplains has focused the attention of many Christian conservatives on the erosion of religious freedoms in American society. Pro-family activist and commentator Janet Folger of the group Faith 2 Action is one of many who are livid over what is taking place, and she is calling on the public to rise up against what she describes as the beginning of the criminalization of Christianity.

Janet Folger
For chaplains in America's armed services, Folger says, the rules have grown increasingly restrictive, until "you're not allowed to pray in public, you're not allowed to pray at a memorial service, you're not allowed to do anything, except for that one hour of Sunday morning worship." She feels this is a great wrong, especially at a time when America is engaged in a war on terror and its troops need their chaplains to have the religious freedom the soldiers in combat are fighting to preserve.

"Our troops are at risk," the Faith 2 Action spokeswoman stresses, noting that religious liberty is one of the principles for which many soldiers have risked or even laid down their lives. "We're at war, and this seems to me to be a pro-troops, pro-America, pro-freedom message that somebody needs to be articulating," she says.

One important reason that Klingenschmitt's case needs to concern civilian America, Folger suggests, is because what is happening in the military could easily presage the same loss of religious freedom across U.S. society. And as the fall elections approach, she says, "I just think this would be a campaign issue that we could be shouting from the rooftops and that could really, I think, show the difference between where we all stand."

The United States House of Representatives recently passed a bill (H.R. 5122) that, among other provisions, would allow chaplains in all U.S. military branches to "pray according to the dictates of their conscience." The legislation is currently pending in the Senate.

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