The foundations of Judaism actually begins a little earlier than the ten commandments. The God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob spoke to Moses near mount Horab about leading the Jewish people out of bondage from the land of Egypt. It is outlined in the old testament in the book of Exodus.
You are correct that the first commandment is "I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other Gods before me." The establishment clause in no way takes away from this commandment. It was simply put in place to prevent what happened in England from happening here. People being the falliable creatures we are, misuse religion in the name of power given half the chance. This doesn't negate the fact that our founding principles were based on the religion of love.
What do you mean by 'special rights or dignities?' Do you mean that pagans and Moslems have no rights or dignities? What special rights and dignities do Christians and Jews have? Also, how is 'cultural paganism' different from paganism?
[True]Christians and Jews believe that humanity has a singular dignity apart from the rest of the animal kingdom, which gives us special rights, chief among those are Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I mean that moslems have the same dignity that all human beings have except that Islam denies them these fundemental rights. They are treated with no more respect than dogs.
I say cultural paganism [as opposed to paganism] because of the lifestyle. When speaking on general terms, Paganism includes the worship of gods and goddesses. I am not referring to that. I'm referring to the fundemental differences between cultural chirstianity and cultural paganism.
Christianity is based on concrete moral truths. Cultural paganism is based on feel-good relativism. For example, we can use homosexuality. See post 181.
And did the founders have generic religious views that incorporated both Christian and Jewish philosophies? No, they were Christian. Not just Christian, but Protestant.
Indeed, many were fundamentalist protestant. This does not change the foundation, as the two greatest commandments are the basis of Judeo-Christianity--Love of God and love of neighbor.
I'm looking forward to reading your article about the Jewish antecedents of Christianity, but I don't see how it could be relevant to the 'foundation' of this nation.
It has nothing to do with the founding of the country, except from the standpoint of outlining our moral base--outlining "Judeo-Christianity."
Since the first amendment and first commandment are not included in that foundation, what founding principles are based on the 'religion of love?' (Did any of the founding father really call it that?)
I say cultural paganism [as opposed to paganism] because of the lifestyle. When speaking on general terms, Paganism includes the worship of gods and goddesses. I am not referring to that. I'm referring to the fundemental differences between cultural chirstianity and cultural paganism. Christianity is based on concrete moral truths. Cultural paganism is based on feel-good relativism. For example, we can use homosexuality. See post 181.
So is 'Cultural paganism' the same as 'relativism?' Or is it just the opposite of 'cultural Christianity.' What's the difference between cultural Christianity and Judeo Christianity? Are you making up these terms?
Indeed, many were fundamentalist protestant. This does not change the foundation, as the two greatest commandments are the basis of Judeo-Christianity--Love of God and love of neighbor.
If those are the foundations of this nation why didn't the founders indicate it? I can find no reference to those commandments anywhere in the Constitution.