Posted on 07/12/2007 7:08:19 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
I don’t see where the Constitution says we can only accept Christians praying in public.
Hindus aren’t our problem.
The situation differs for Muslims because they are a threat to all of us and want to kill us - which trumps religious freedom IMHO.
Christianity is what God created. We can follow Him or we can follow satan - His fallen angel whom he loved. That old devil will keep his followers very warm for eternity .
"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 "Jesus Christ," so that it would read "A departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;" the insertion was rejected by the great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mohammedan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination."
-Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography, in reference to the Virginia Act for Religious Freedom
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
-1st Amendment of the US Constitution
Did you ever wonder why the very first line of the bill of rights ensures that Congress can't establish a state religion?
Respectfully, some people need to get a life...
I personally don’t see a problem with a Hindu leading a prayer...It shows what an incredibly great country this is, and how most of the rest of the world, where this could never happen, really sucks.
You just expressed the key to this.. We can.. it is a personal choice (from the heart), not something we can legislate from the public square.. Why should this Hindu who is praying in the public square ever consider looking into Christianity and accepting Christ when his examples of Christians are those who wish to oppress religious expression.
How are we acting like Christ when we take away someone's freedom to express their religious beliefs? Did Christ tell us to legislate everyone into belief or live the example?
Again, you are completely correct if we were talking about your personal faith, but we aren't.. we are talking about being a free society versus a totalitarian society. I call it Churchanity versus Christianity.
They were going to have an Imam open the House session with a Muslim prayer, but they had to cancel it. The Imam said that recent changes to House rules made it impossible for him to say a proper invocation. Imam Hussein Ali Bin Sqayhuuq said: “Since Nancy Pelosi banned smoking in the House, they told me that I wouldn’t be able to bring my prayer lighters and prayer propane bottles into the chamber. They even told me that my sui- um... prayer belt would not be allowed. Allah the Most Merciful and Peaceful teaches us that these things are essential to the prayers of the Faithful.”
I AGREE WITH YOU 100%
"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 "Jesus Christ," so that it would read "A departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;" the insertion was rejected by the great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mohammedan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination."
-Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography, in reference to the Virginia Act for Religious Freedom
Jefferson expressed all my ramblings perfectly in one sentence.. I should have just gone back to this..
Funny how you atheists always show up on threads regarding religion?
To paraphrase a previous comment, which is an expression of a Christian heart, coercion or freedom?
I take that as a "yes". That you would, indeed, support laws outlawing the expression of faiths other than Christianity.
Please correct me if I've misinterpreted.
IMHO, this is one of our challenges as Christians now, and where I think we are failing.. we are taking our personal faith and the tenants of faith, all of which are instructions to us personally, and attempting to translate those into a state policy.. IMHO, this is no different than the left attempting to manipulate Christians into voting for them because they support welfare and Christ said to take care of the poor.. it is bridging the line of your personal instruction and making that a State policy..
The “Establishment” clause is a whole other issue. I will not go off on that tangent. Suffice it to say, there is NO SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. Like everything the Liberals want to “use” to their advantage and adgenda they will just assume it and pretty soon folks who do not know the history of this nation will believe what ever their Liberal feinds say. They hear it enough that they say to themselves, “it must be true.” The Liberals motto, “feed me, house me, cure my ills for “free” and I will follow you anywhere.” That is how the Establishment clause” became what it is alleged to be today.
But that is THEIR belief, and they have the exact same right as you to belive in it and practice it in this country. Maybe to them YOUR god is a fairy tale, maybe many of them believe your bible is a book made up by men. Maybe they don’t believe your god exists. That’s also their right. I don’t recall too many Hindus disrupting the opening prayer at the Senate when a Christian was leading it. They have the same right to pray and “preach” as a Christian. Don’t like the message? Politely sit through it and pray to your god, but give them the common courtesy you’d expect during a Christian prayer.
Weren’t those Hindus who committed the first bioterror attack in US - Oregon in the 1980s? I know they were from India and over 600 people were stricken during the trial run, their main plan being to later poison the water supply
It’s not a point of being an atheist, fundamentalist, or anything else, it’s a matter of the Constitution stating that there is NO STATE RELIGION. Everyone is free to believe in and follow whatever religion they chose. Nobody, including you, can force anyone here to follow your beliefs. That seems to get under the skin of some ‘Christians’, but that’s the law of the land. There are persons of many faiths in this country, and some who chose to follow no religion, that’s their right, and to act as though that is bringing this country down is a ‘blasphemy’ on the American way of life.
Do you imagine that God has deprived all the rest of humanity over the vast ages of the Earth of His message and revelation?
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