Posted on 11/01/2008 8:58:05 AM PDT by Thaddeus73
A lot of Americans really think that there is a clause in either the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution that says that there is a “separation of church and state”. Larry King on CNN was flabbergasted one evening when a preacher told him that it was not there.
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicbible101.com ...
So what does the Declaration of Independence actually state? It says the following:
“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.”
In other words, in America, our rights come from God, our Creator, and not from a political party or the government. The Founding Fathers put this in there to differentiate the American model from the European model of government. In Europe, they had something called “the divine right of kings”, which meant that God bestowed his blessings and rights on the King, who then doled them out to the populace as he saw fit. In America, however, the people were bestowed rights from God, and they in turned gave them to the government as they saw fit. In other words, the European model of governance was turned on its head.
The Declaration of Independence closes with these words:
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
The Founding Fathers knew that things would be tough, so they invoked God and His divine providence. The atheists in this country who go around saying that all of the Founding Fathers were more like them than religious people are dead wrong.
And what about the US Constitution, what does it say about religion? The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights to it says the following:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
What it plainly says is that Congress shall not pass a law mandating the establishment of a national religion. The framers were very cognizant of the laws of England, and how the Church of England (The Anglican Church) was the national Church, with the King of England being its head. It had been started by Henry VIII, when the Pope refused to grant him an annulment from Catherine of Aragon. The murderous reign of Henry VIII and his successors who killed Catholics by the thousands in the name of God was something that the Founding Fathers did not want for America.
However, years later, the so-called “Supreme” Court twisted its meaning and reinterpreted it to mean there shall be no religious displays or religious speech in or around government buildings, including the 10 Commandments on state property, prayer in public schools, or pastors/preacher endorsing political candidates. This bastardization of the religion clause of the First Amendment, which is grouped with the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom to peaceable assembly, and the right to petition the government, has led to the most hypocritical government stance ever. Why? Well, the 10 Commandments are on the wall of the Supreme Court, but evidently cannot be in a STATE courtroom in Alabama. Vocal prayer in public schools is forbidden, but Congress opens every session with a prayer by a federally supported CHAPLAIN. No religious symbols of any kind are allowed in public schools or courthouses, but there are crosses and stars of David on many tombstones, paid for with your tax dollars, in Veterans Administration cemeteries across the country. Additionally, every Army Post and Air Force Base has a federally funded chapel, with federally funded chaplains, that use federally funded bibles, candles, and communion hosts for their services.
The loud atheists among us would have you really believe that most of the founding fathers were something called “Deists”, which are people who acknowledged some kind of deity, but not Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, and Lord of us all. But, the last line of the Constitution reads as follows:
Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names...
The phrase, “The Year of our Lord” can only refer to Jesus Christ, so the Deist argument is clearly erroneous.
In George Washington’s farewell address, he states the following:
"Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."
Here the Father of our Country plainly states...
More at http://www.catholicbible101.com
Reason enough for Larry King to forfeit any claim to the title "journalist."
Larry didn’t know this? Gee I’m surprised such an intellectual heavyweight was so uninformed. LOL!
Why would this post earn the member a ban?
Is it too much to ask that people read it? If not the entire Constitution, then at least the Bill of Rights. What dimlibs take away from “separation” discussions is flagrantly irresponsible decisions by past SCOTUS justices claiming to have found language creating this so-called “wall of separation.”
And when they read it, they should remember the contemporary issues in the late 18th Century, including the European Inquisition. “Congress shall make no law” was written with that horrific scenario in mind, not the “horror” of Crucifixes or the Ten Commandments on government property.
It is also important that they read the ENTIRE First Amendment, like the part that says “Congress shall make no law ... prohibiting the free exercise [of religion].” The First was not intended to protect governments or the people from religion, but vice versa. It consists of much more than just the “establishment” clause.
Because he is Catholic?
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Obama Says A Baby Is A Punishment
Obama: “If they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”
Tell your sons they are doing good. Semper Fi!
We voted, as a family. Like many we voted for McCain/Palin (and Dino Rossi for governor, again). Sadly we have family and friends who still blather about theird party votes. We are arguing and pleading. Pray for them, your kids deserve a decent CinC.
And which version would you post?
The same version that is chiseled into the granite wall in USSC chambers. What revisionist history class did you graduate? Or have you had too much ACLU koolaid?
The ten commandments are not chiseled into the granite wall of the USSC chambers. There is a work of art with tablets with the numerals 1 through 10 on them. Now stop being a jerk and answer the question. Which version of the 10 Commandments should be displayed in government buildings? Surely you can do something simple as that?
What revisionist history class did you graduate? Or have you had too much ACLU koolaid?
Where ever I graduated from it obviously gave me a better education than you got.
DU? or Berkley?
How many you got?
At least two, possibly three. Catholics and Protestants have different distinct versions. For a Protestant, the third commandment is "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." For a Catholic that is the second commandment. What the Protestants have as their 10th Commandment, "You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor," Catholics split into two distinct commandments, separating neighbors wife and neighbors goods into the 9th and 10th commandments. And what Protestants consider their second commandment, "You shall not make unto you any graven images" does not appear in the Catholic set of commandments at all. Most versions show a difference in the fifth/sixth commandments where Protestants say "Thou shalt not murder" and Catholics say "Thou shalt not kill".
Then you have the Jewish 10 Commandments, which are quite similar to Protestant but differ in the wording of the first and second.
So please tell me. Which version do you post in government buildings?
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