| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"" |
| Date: |
02 Apr 2006 03:52:10 PM |
| Object: |
Separate the church and state |
Separate the church and state
http://www.thedakotastudent.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/03/30/442c87497ab61
UND The Dakota Student - Grand Forks,ND,USA
[excerpt]
by Lynn Gehrke
March 30, 2006
Although many would believe complete separation of church and state exists
in the United States of America and concretely in the First Amendment, in
all reality I do not believe that it does at all. The boundary is
nonexistent because there is no law, to my knowledge, that lays out what
the boundary is.
Government officials from all three major branches pick and choose as to
when this line is visible or invisible. The goal of separation of church
and state, as I understand it, is to remove political power and influence
from religious communities and leaders. Oddly enough, the mythical origin
of the phrase separation comes from a letter addressed to the Baptist
community in 1802, by Thomas Jefferson in which he said:
"I contemplate in solemn reverence that the act of the whole American
people which declared with their legislature should 'make no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,'
thus building a wall of separation between church and state."
According to the Internet, which could very well be lying to me, this is
the most significant source using the actual phrase "separation" in
political context, while the purpose of this letter was to reduce confusion
throughout the Baptist church on widespread speculation that there would be
a national religion. The words of Thomas Jefferson forever confused a
nation into thinking that there is a concrete barrier between church and
state, and it irritates me more than our current president himself.
Many extremist supporters turn a blind eye to the direct connection in the
foundation of our country with the most widespread form of Christianity,
The Holy Bible. Isaiah 33:22 reads, "For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is
our lawgiver, the Lord is our King." This Bible verse sounds familiar
because the United States has a similar policy called the separation of
powers, where our judicial, legislative and executive branches are divided
so that no one branch holds too much power to the extent where the United
States could succumb based solely on their political views to Fascism,
Communism or Monarchy. I am by no means a political science major, so
please, correct me if I am mistaken.
[snip]
Separation absolutely does not exist in our present governing system, not
in the sense of church and state. Separation exists in a sense that our
country in definitely divided, with the opposition to the Republican Party
clearly beginning to outweigh the supporting side. It will definitely be
interesting to see what happens in the next election. Perhaps the
Republican Party will make young voters a priority, and perhaps the line of
separation between church and state will become defined - however, I highly
doubt it.
[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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