[toenail]

That ol' pinko commie James Madison.....

[wideawake]

Commie? No. Stupidly wrong on these issues? Yes.

[goodnesswins]

The same James Madison who said...

"We have staked the entire future of American

civilization NOT upon the power of government, but

upon the capacity of the individual to govern himself,

control himself, and sustain himself according to the

Ten Commandments of God." ???

[lavaroise]

Separation of church and state never meant removing God from the state, quite the contrary, it is a state imposed respect of God's Name by forbiding anyone to bring a blaspheming cause in His Name ... I remember a pastor telling me how he would be irked when he would see someone with the Jesus plate go on a highway speeding. I think it has the same meaning here. Now the 10 commendments are a different things because commendmants are purely secular actions that do not have necessarily anything to do with God's will, even though clearly stated in the Bible. But if the Bible is a vague document as liberals insist, then there is no issue of God in the 10 commandments.

[RobbyS]

Madison performed a service by pushing his ideas as far as public opinion would allow, but the practice of Congress shows that his opinions did not and do not prevail. Never forget that the people are the authors of the Constitution and Congress will follow the people.

[xzins]

The argument for a military chaplaincy is this: we give our soldiers beans and bullets because we want them to go fight and we want them to live not die. However we recognize that many will die.

If the constitution provides that we will "make no law prohibiting the free exercise" of a citizen-soldier's religion, then we must permit that religion to be fully practiced AND THIS ESPECIALLY SO if we're putting the life of the soldier in jeopardy. At such a time, a person would DEMAND access to his full religion. A full expression of religion requires the presence of ministers of that religious faith.

Since commanders historically control access to their soldiers, preventing most media, spectators, life insurance salesmen, etc. from seeing them prior to battle....for obvious reasons....then commanders must decide if they want non-affiliated religious leaders to have access to their troops or if they want affiliated religious leaders to have access to their troops.

Commanders have chosen that religious leaders ministering to their troops at time of battle have some relationship to the command structure. First, commanders recognize that when death is imminent, relgious leaders become extremely powerful in the lives of human beings. Second, commanders realize that full expression of religious faith is a Constitutional right. Third, commanders recognize that death-frightened men will FIND religious leaders whether the command provides them or not.

For legal and practical reasons that relate to the men AND to the control of the "religous leader/chaplain" a wise commander will want that religious leader on his staff and subject to his direction.

[Storm Orphan]

Good one, toenail.