Letters | Religious uses & abuses
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/14366294.htm
Philadelphia Daily News - Philadelphia,PA,USA
GEORGE Tomezsko's April 11 letter challenges the statement by Joe Conn of
Americans United for Separation of Church and State that "We've never seen
churches used as an organized political machine" by asking, "Do churches
become political only when they support conservative goals?"
The key word in Conn's statement is "organized." Religious conservatives
have organized in recent years as never before to advance their morality in
the political arena.
Yes, Democrats have used African-American churches and liberal synagogues
to rally their base. The difference between Democrats and Republicans in
this area is that Democrats rarely use the political stage to legislate
their religious beliefs (and yes, many liberals DO have religious beliefs).
And more and more that's what religious conservatives are doing. And
besides, the tenets of many religions happen to coincide with the basics of
the Democratic Party's "liberal" platform. You know, stuff about taking
care of the poor underclass of society. I don't care how rosy you manage to
paint the Republican platform, it's well known that they rarely speak out
for the poor and non-powerful members of society.
Yes, some Democrats use the poor to their advantage, but at least they try
to help them have better lives. But using Congress to pass laws to force a
particular religious belief on every American is offensive.
Yes, this country was founded by religious men. But these same men had the
sense to know that religion should be kept out of politics. After all,
they're the people who instituted separation of church and state.
Politicians don't just represent the religious. They represent atheists,
agnostics and the religiously ignorant. It is not fair to create laws on
religious belief alone.
I noticed Mr. Tomezko is the editor of Voices for the Unborn. But I'd be
more impressed with pro-life people who actually advocate for the
already-born who are murdered, neglected, abandoned and endangered in
various ways every day.
Michael Taylor, Philadelphia
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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]
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.. . . 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)
.. . .
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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.
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THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
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