Religions > Atheism > First Amendment restrictions apply to government, not citizens ...
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Religions > Atheism |
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07 Mar 2006 06:36:49 AM |
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First Amendment restrictions apply to government, not citizens ... |
First Amendment restrictions apply to government, not citizens ...
http://www.swbts.edu/publicrelations/story.cfm?id=84491174-DD83-E6BF-B783BC3965EFDFE9
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary - Fort Worth,TX,USA
[excerpt]
First Amendment restrictions apply to government, not citizens, say Baptist
scholars
by Tammi Reed Ledbetter
FORT WORTH—The Baptist definition of “separation of church and state” is
quite different from the secular-humanist definition formulated by the
American judiciary over the past half century, Barrett Duke, vice president
of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty
Commission, said during a roundtable discussion that closed out the first
Baptist Distinctives Conference at Southwestern Baptist Theological
Seminary Sept. 9-10.
“It is more appropriate to talk about separation of state from church than
separation of church and state,” Duke said, adding that he “couldn’t say it
any better” than Article 17 of the Southern Baptist Convention’s 2000
Baptist Faith and Message:
“‘God alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the
doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not
contained in it. Church and state should be separate. The state owes to
every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual
ends. In providing for such freedom no ecclesiastical group or denomination
should be favored by the state more than others. Civil government being
ordained of God, it is the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience
thereto in all things not contrary to the revealed will of God. The church
should not resort to the civil power to carry on its work. The gospel of
Christ contemplates spiritual means alone for the pursuit of its ends. The
state has no right to impose penalties for religious opinions of any kind.
The state has no right to impose taxes for the support of any form of
religion. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this
implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all
men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion
without interference by the civil power.’
“The First Amendment doesn’t address the church at all,” Southwestern
Seminary President Paige Patterson observed, adding that only limitations
on government are mentioned. The government cannot establish or interfere
with the church, he explained, noting the warning against the encroachment
of government on the spiritual life of people.
[end excerpt]
***************************************************************
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the US and a couple from overseas as well]
***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
****************************************************************
USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote
"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"
That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.
It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.
*****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
****************************************************************
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