1774
A Plea Before the Massachusetts Legislature
Issac Backus (December, 1774)
Backus, a Baptist minister from Massachusetts, was a lifelong advocate of
religious liberty. In these comments addressed to the Massachusetts
legislature, he compares that governments' support of the Congregational
Church to the British tyranny of which the American colonists were then
trying to rid themselves.
.....It seems that the two main rights which all Americans are contending
for at this day, are--Not to be taxed where they are not represented,
and--To have their causes tried by unbiased judges. And the Baptist
churches in this province as heartily unite with their countrymen in this
cause, as any denomination in the land; and are as ready to exert all their
abilities to defend it. Yet only
because they have thought it to be their duty to claim an equal title to
these rights with their neighbors, they have repeatedly been accused of
evil attempts against the general welfare of the colony; therefore, we have
thought it expedient to lay a brief statement of the case before this
assembly....
.....to impose religious taxes is as much out of their jurisdiction, [that
of the Massachusetts legislature] as it can be for Britain to tax America;
yet how much of this has been done in this province. Indeed, many try to
elude the force of this reasoning by saying that the taxes which our rulers
impose for the support of ministers, are of a civil nature. But it is
certain that they call
themselves ministers of Christ; and the taxes now referred to are to
support them under that name; and they either are such or they deceive the
people. If they are Christ's ministers, he has made laws enough to support
them; if they are not, where are the rulers who will dare to compel people
to maintain men who call themselves Christ's ministers when they are not?
Those who
ministered about holy things and at God's altar in the Jewish church,
partook of and lived upon the things which were freely offered there; Even
so hath the Lord ordained that they who preach the Gospel, should live of
the Gospel. And such communications are called sacrifices to God more than
once in the New Testament....
Must we be blamed for not lying still, and thus let our countrymen trample
upon our rights, and deny us that very liberty that they are ready to take
up arms to defend for themselves? You profess to exempt us from taxes to
your worship, and yet tax us every year. Great complaints have been made
about a tax which the British Parliament laid upon paper; but you require a
paper
tax of us annually.
That which has made the greatest noise is a tax of three pence a pound upon
tea; but your law of last June laid a tax of the same sum every year upon
the Baptists in each parish, as they would expect to defend themselves
against a greater one. And only because the Baptists at Middleboro have
refused to pay that little tax, we hear that the first parish in said town
have this fall
voted to lay a greater tax upon us. All America are alarmed at the tea tax;
though, if they please, they can avoid it by not buying the tea; but we
have no such liberty.... But these lines are to let you know, that we are
determined not to pay either of them; not only upon your principle of not
being taxed where we are not represented, but also because we dare not
render that homage to
any earthly power, which I and many of my brethren are fully convinced
belongs only to God. Here, therefore, we claim charter rights, liberty of
conscience. And if any still deny it to us, they must answer it to Him who
has said, 'With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.'
If any ask what we would have, we answer: Only allow us freely to enjoy the
religious liberty that they do in Boston, and we ask no more.
We remain hearty friends to our country, and ready to do all in our power
for its general welfare.
http://classicliberal.tripod.com/classicliberal/lib/backus.html
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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
HRSepCnS · Historical Reality SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
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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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