There have been attempts to assert that there is an assumed justification for the establishment of the Christian God as the official un-official God for the United States. The argument is that the Founding Fathers took it for granted that this was the case. The facts do not bear that out. Freedom of Religion and the freedom to choose your own god, as well as your choice to worship any god at all, is an unadulterated right in the Constitution that has been subject to attack over the last 50 years.
Religious freedom was the primary reason for many of the early colonists to flee England. Many of those who fled not only experienced persecution, but had been imprisoned in some of the worst prisons in England. They were also quite sensitive to the persecution of their Protestant brethren in countries like France. Therefore, freedom of religion was not a side benefit or afterthought, but a primary concern for them.
Read the Declaration of Independence. In the beginning paragraph it refers to ‘nature s God’ and claims that inalienable rights are endowed to man by ‘their Creator.’ These are the only mentions of a deity in either the Declaration or the Constitution. Notice that the stand alone God, Christ, Jesus and Christian God are not words included in either document.
Many point to the Pledge of Allegiance as proof that the Founding Fathers presumed the supremacy of the Christian God in its inclusion of ‘One nation, under God…’ The Pledge of Allegiance did not appear in public until 1892, well after the Founding Fathers were in the ground. The original pledge did not contain the words ‘under God.’ That was added to the pledge in 1954. It is arguably un-Constitutional, since it was added by law and custom, not by an amendment to the Constitution.
Others point to the motto ‘In God we trust’ on our currency as proof of the Founding Father s preference of the Christian God. Wrong again. The original official motto, chosen by Franklin, Jefferson and Adams in 1792, was ‘E Pluribus Unum,’ which translates to ‘Out of many, one.’ In 1956, a new official motto was adopted, again by law, ‘In God We Trust.’
In the 1950 s, the US was in a propaganda war with the USSR, to say the least, and Communism was the boogeyman of the day. One of the most frequent insults and criticisms leveled against the Soviets and Communist states as a whole is that they were godless. To counter that and bolster our cause, we became the state of God, the defenders of religion and of the Christian God in opposition to the ‘godless Communists.’ There are those who would place us in that role today, with radical Islam (which gets confused with all Islam) taking the place of the ‘godless Communists.’ Now, as then, anyone who does not publicly support the Christian God as the only God is decried as a supporter of Islam or terrorist sympathizer, as they were a communist in the 1950 s, as well as ‘un-American.’ Forget the fact that these ‘un-Americans’ might just be in support of the Constitution according to the Founding Father s original intent and that their right to accept or reject, as well as worship, the god of their choice.
He (or she) who would place a Christian God at the head of the United States of America is not supporting the Constitution. He may be a good Christian and he certainly has the right to do so in his home, church and in his heart, but he is not a Patriot when it comes to that issue. And when he tries to push his views onto the rest of the public or tries to make it public policy or law, he is not acting within the legal framework of this country. A good Christian is not immediately a good American and a good American is not immediately a good Christian. The two should not be confused.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Laura,
As I said I haven’t heard any politician. If Biden said that then he’s wrong. I will have to verify your statement as for the rest they ARE NOT politicians. Therefore their opinion is no better than yours or mine. And since they don’t write policy really your problem with “them” is your difference of opinion one politician. Congrats laura but one man does not a movement make.
William Wespir, it amuses me that though you claim ‘there are tons like it from any founding father you can think of’ – you could not be more wrong. Of the many, many founding fathers – only about 12 were deists – including Jefferson and Franklin, where you get a lot of those quotes. Lincoln, one of our later presidents, also was not a proponent of Christianity as the common law or emmeshed in government, although he did give some speeches giving thanks to God (the Christian God) for our country. Of the other 230+ founding fathers, or even just the ones at the first continental congress, all were Christians! (Of various denominations) A great deal had seminary degrees, or their equivalent in education, founded over 200 Bible foundations amongst them and other various tract/Sunday School organizations. They left prolific writings to prove it (So anyone who tells you they were all deists, go look at the history! People try and say Washington was a deist – not only did he himself write about the wondrous mercy to be found in Christ, but his daughter later took people to task for saying her father was not a Christian.)
The first continental congress began with a three hour prayer and a Bible study from PSalms 35 & 36. Sessions always began with prayer.
Benjamin Franklin, a deist! rebuked congress later on for not remembering God and what he had done for the country, and for not praying enough.
“Christianity is part of the common law. ”
James Wilson
“Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law.” Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper
It is important here to go back a step and recall the court system and that juries are made up of citizens. These twelve men, at that time likely to be Christians of varying denominations or in a culture lending itself to similar morals, would reach similar conclusions on morality. The courts themselves tended to close on Sundays because of people visiting church, a denominational matter.
James Madison, afraid of the practices of England, was worried about any sort of common law being established. Both Jefferson and Cheif Justice Story disagreed with him there – because of the nature of America’s constitution, a common law by the people that he government respected was not the same as a government established religion.
Because our government is ‘by the people, for the people’ – it was a logical step to realize that if the people are Christian, the ‘common law’ will be Christian.
However, here is where Jefferson disagreed with Justice Story, Wilson, and many other contemporaries of his time. Partly because Chief Justice Story wished to take the Christian common law a step further, and prosecute blasphemy against it, and also seeing that many state supreme courts had provisions that one could only testify in court if you believed in God, and had little protection from harm or persecution if you did not believe in God, he diverged from the pack and argued for a seperation in his personal letters.
He did not get it, however, until modern day America (1960′s about) and the laws remained although some were loosened or dropped over time.
“[N]o purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any legislation, state or national, because this is a religious people. This is historically true. From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation. The commission to Christopher Columbus, prior to his sail westward, is from “Ferdinand and Isabella, by the grace of God, king and queen of Castile,” etc., and recites that “it is hoped that by God’s assistance some of the continents and islands in the ocean will be discovered,” etc. The first colonial grant, that made to Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584, was from “Elizabeth, by the grace of God, of England, Fraunce, and Ireland, queene, defender of the faith,” etc.; and the grant authorizing him to enact statutes of the government of the proposed colony provided that “they be not against the true Christian faith nowe professed in the Church of England.” The first charter of Virginia, granted by King James I. in 1606, after reciting the application of certain parties for a charter, commenced the grant in these words: “We, greatly commending, and graciously accepting of, their Desires for the Furtherance of so noble a Work, which may, by the Providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the Glory of His Divine Majesty, in propagating of Christian Religion to such People, as yet live in Darkness and miserable Ignorance of the true Knowledge and Worship of God, and may in time bring the Infidels and Savages, living in those parts, to human Civility, and to a settled and quiet Government; DO, by these our Letters-Patents, graciously accept of, and agree to, their humble and well-intentioned Desires.” ….. In the charter of privileges granted by William Penn to the province of Pennsylvania, in 1701, it is recited: “Because no People can be truly happy, though under the greatest Enjoyment of Civil Liberties, if abridged of the Freedom of their Consciences, as to their Religious Profession and Worship; And Almighty God being the only Lord of Conscience, Father of Lights and Spirits; and the Author as well as Object of all divine Knowledge, Faith, and Worship, who only doth enlighten the Minds, and persuade and convince the Understandings of People, I do hereby grant and declare,” etc. ….Coming nearer to the present time, the declaration of independence recognizes the presence of the Divine in human affairs in these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” “We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare,” etc.; “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” …..
There is no dissonance in these declarations. There is a universal language pervading them all, having one meaning; they affirm and reaffirm that this is a religious nation. These are not individual sayings, declarations of private persons: they are organic utterances; they speak the voice of the entire people….These and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.”
Church of the Holy Trinity vs United States, 1892
http://www.biblicalpatriot.net/HistoricCourtCases/HolyTrinityOp1-2.htm (for full text, wikipedia has a sumamry of the case, but it is interesting to read the argument given for why we are a religious nation, as well as some of the older indicidual state supreme courts – which at the time states held more power really than the US supreme court, and their laws)
No one can deny that many of the founding fathers of the United States of America were men of deep religious convictions based in the Bible and their Christian faith in Jesus Christ. Of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, nearly half (24) held seminary or Bible school degrees.
These Christian quotes of the founding fathers will give you an overview of their strong moral and spiritual convictions which helped form the foundations of our nation and our government.
James Madison
4th U.S. President
“Cursed be all that learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ.”
–America’s Providential History, p. 93
John Quincy Adams
6th U.S. President
“The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made ‘bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God’ (Isaiah 52:10).”
–Life of John Quincy Adams, p. 248
William Penn
Founder of Pennsylvania
“I do declare to the whole world that we believe the Scriptures to contain a declaration of the mind and will of God in and to those ages in which they were written; being given forth by the Holy Ghost moving in the hearts of holy men of God; that they ought also to be read, believed, and fulfilled in our day; being used for reproof and instruction, that the man of God may be perfect. They are a declaration and testimony of heavenly things themselves, and, as such, we carry a high respect for them. We accept them as the words of God Himself.”
–Treatise of the Religion of the Quakers, p. 355.
John Adams
2nd U.S. President and Signer of the Declaration of Independence
“The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”
–Adams wrote this on June 28, 1813, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson.
“Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God … What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be.”
–Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, Vol. III, p. 9.
Thomas Jefferson
3rd U.S. President, Drafter and Signer of the Declaration of Independence
“I am a real Christian €“ that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.”
–The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, p. 385.
“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever; That a revolution of the wheel of fortune, a change of situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by Supernatural influence! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in that event.”
–Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, p. 237.
John Hancock
1st Signer of the Declaration of Independence
“Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual. … Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us.”
–History of the United States of America, Vol. II, p. 229.
Benjamin Franklin
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Unites States Constitution
“Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshipped.
As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, is the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see; James Madison
4th U.S. President
“Cursed be all that learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ.”
–America’s Providential History, p. 93.
John Quincy Adams
6th U.S. President
“The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth.
Benjamin RushSigner of the Declaration of Independence and Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
“I know there is an objection among many people to teaching children doctrines of any kind, because they are liable to be controverted. But let us not be wiser than our Maker.
“–Essays, Literary, Moral, and Philosophical, published in 1798.
Patrick Henry
Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”
–The Trumpet Voice of Freedom: Patrick Henry of Virginia, p. iii.
Benjamin Rush
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
“The Gospel of Jesus Christ prescribes the wisest rules for just conduct in every situation of life. Happy they who are enabled to obey them in all situations!”
–The Autobiography of Benjamin Rush, pp. 165-166.
“Christianity is the only true and perfect religion, and that in proportion as mankind adopts its principles and obeys its precepts, they will be wise and happy.”
–Essays, Literary, Moral, and Philosophical, published in 1798.
“I know there is an objection among many people to teaching children doctrines of any kind, because they are liable to be controverted. But let us not be wiser than our Maker.
If moral precepts alone could have reformed mankind, the mission of the Son of God into all the world would have been unnecessary. The perfect morality of the Gospel rests upon the doctrine which, though often controverted has never been refuted: I mean the vicarious life and death of the Son of God.”
–Essays, Literary, Moral, and Philosophical, published in 1798.
John Witherspoon
Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Clergyman and President of Princeton University
“While we give praise to God, the Supreme Disposer of all events, for His interposition on our behalf, let us guard against the dangerous error of trusting in, or boasting of, an arm of flesh … If your cause is just, if your principles are pure, and if your conduct is prudent, you need not fear the multitude of opposing hosts.
What follows from this? That he is the best friend to American liberty, who is most sincere and active in promoting true and undefiled religion, and who sets himself with the greatest firmness to bear down profanity and immorality of every kind.
Whoever is an avowed enemy of God, I scruple not to call him an enemy of his country.”
“The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men,” May 17, 1776.
Alexander Hamilton
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
“I have carefully examined the evidences of the Christian religion, and if I was sitting as a juror upon its authenticity I would unhesitatingly give my verdict in its favor. I can prove its truth as clearly as any proposition ever submitted to the mind of man.”
–Famous American Statesmen, p. 126.
Patrick Henry
Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”
–The Trumpet Voice of Freedom: Patrick Henry of Virginia, p. iii.
“The Bible … is a book worth more than all the other books that were ever printed.”
–Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry, p. 402.
John Jay
1st Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and President of the American Bible Society
“By conveying the Bible to people thus circumstanced, we certainly do them a most interesting kindness. We thereby enable them to learn that man was originally created and placed in a state of happiness, but, becoming disobedient, was subjected to the degradation and evils which he and his posterity have since experienced.
The Bible will also inform them that our gracious Creator has provided for us a Redeemer, in whom all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; that this Redeemer has made atonement “for the sins of the whole world,” and thereby reconciling the Divine justice with the Divine mercy has opened a way for our redemption and salvation; and that these inestimable benefits are of the free gift and grace of God, not of our deserving, nor in our power to deserve.”
–In God We Trust €”The Religious Beliefs and Ideas of the American Founding Fathers, p. 379.
“In forming and settling my belief relative to the doctrines of Christianity, I adopted no articles from creeds but such only as, on careful examination, I found to be confirmed by the Bible.”
–American Statesman Series, p. 360.
The quotes of our founders are endless, and all point to the belief this is a nation begot on the hopes and principles of Christ and Christianity, say all you want to the contrary, but read the 1st paragraph again.
Consti,
For someone who is supposed to spend so much time reading about current events and the right wing blogs looking for “facts” and links like the one you posted yesterday, and who reads the blogs and comments on here (granted not very thoroughly), I find it hard to believe that you haven’t seen or read about Mike Huckabee wanting to get an amendment ratified placing God in the Constitution, Sarah Palin’s harping about God, Bill O’Reilly harping about God (Wraspir has), Ann Coulter not only going all pro-Christian but saying that she believes we should be converting the Muslims too (as if Christians don’t war amongst themselves over religion- Northern Ireland anyone?), Phyllis Schafly and all the people who went to and spoke at her little confab last month, and all the right wing bloggers out there, just for starters, not to mention the bloggers here.
I didn’t say Congress. I didn’t say Washington. I don’t believe that Washington is the root of all that is evil as you do, so I look outside the Beltway for my topics, for the most part. My heavens Consti, PLEASE READ THE ACTUAL WORDS I write before you comment. Frankly I’m tired of having to repeat myself because you read what you want to read, twist it to oppose whatever you feel like arguing or have a beef against that day whether it relates to anything I actually wrote or not, and then get nasty and accuse me of insulting you and having a personal whatever with you.
J,
Before I wrote my article, I looked at both the Declaration of Independance AND the Constitution, looking specifically for mention of the word God. The is no mention of the word in our Constitution and the only two references to any diety in the Declaartion of Independence are the two I mentioned. Look for yourself. Just because you want to believe it is there or interpret it as being in there, it is not. Again I say that they were very specific in leaving it out of those documents because they realized that religion and matters of faith are PRIVATE and PERSONAL matters, and not for the state to involve itself in. Their PERSONAL beliefs, whether in their journals, biographies, or letters have no bearing on the matter. As a matter of fact, the more devoted to the Christian God they are in their private lives, the more deliberate their omission of it in both the Declaration and the Constitution,as well as the Bill of Rights. You cannot say you are against government interference in the market or in other areas of life, yet promote government interference in the most personal and private area of a person’s life- the relationship they have with their god. Establishing the Christian God as the official or official un-official God of this country IS establishing a single religion, as it state sanctions Christianity to the exclusion of every other faith.
You are free to worship who you choose and how you choose- no one is stopping you. You are free to think that everyone who does not worship as you do is going to hell. That is your right, as free will gives them the right to go to hell if they choose. But according to the laws of this land, it is not your concern where they go as they will go to where their faith dictates or nowhere, if that is their religious choice. That’s part of the freedom of religion- you are free to worship as you will without concern about the faith and worship style of others and can expect the same courtesy in return. As long as they are not causing harm or breaking the law in the practice of their faith, it is their right. You and your faith do not have all the answers for everyone, that’s why there is more than one faith and more than one denomination or sect within those faiths. Pride goeth before a fall, J.
And thanks WW.
I agree with you that religion should stay out of government. I believe the founding fathers knew that when you mixed the two you had trouble. Religious preference as you point out is what this country was based on.
However, I disagree with you that “they” are trying to place a Judeo Christian God at the head of this country. Now I should state here in the effort of full disclosure that I do not follow a Judeo Christian Faith. And personally feel that “what” you believe is not as important as that you “believe”. The name you put to it is your choice. In my opinion religion has nothing to do with the presidential election, position, policies, on either side.
I haven’t heard one (1) republican or democrat mention religion, or religions preferences. There were questions over the Rev. Wright. But that was over his view of the country, not his views on god. Since then where has either a Democrat or Republican politician brought God into the issue recently? If your problem is with; ”
He (or she) who would place a Christian God at the head of the United States of America is not supporting the Constitution.” I ask you who he/or she is?
I ask this because as a watcher of news I haven’t seen one politician, official, or even white house aid mention religion on or off the record. Did I miss something? If someone has made these comments publically I would agree they are not following the intent of the constitution. Name “them” and I will be the first to call for “their” ouster. I missed the memo since I haven’t see or heard of this.
If you can’t name “them”, then I would say you are simply trying to cast a negative light on a religion or to marginalize it politically/socially. Which would be what the founding fathers were fighting against. I say this since it wouldn’t have a place in the political debate.
“You cannot guarantee justice, because it is in the eye of the beholder, but you can guarantee fairness.” Yeah and this I disagree with. Hence the two examples of boy scouts in the last week I used in my last article. You can’t even guarantee “fairness”. And who’s fairness is it any way? Last time I checked “justice” was a blind woman with scales for a reason. Not someone who “chooses” what’s fair. Or someone with a rod and staff.
“But it does no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”
-Thomas Jefferson
“The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession.”
-Abraham Lincoln
“Indeed, when religious people quarrel about religion, or hungry people about their victuals, it looks as if they had not much of either among them.”
-Benjamin Franklin
“The way to see faith is to shut the eye of reason.”
-Benjamin Franklin
“Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.”
-Benjamin Franklin
“My mind is incapable of conceiving such a thing as a soul. I may be in error, and man may have a soul; but I simply do not believe it.”
-Thomas Edison
There are tons more out there from any forefather you can think of, but you get the point. In my personal belief, there is no conceivable reason for any kind of religion to be apart of our government.
How we are able to have a nation where we can practice our religion as we so choose is by having a nation that is not influenced by any kind of religion.
You know I constantly here Bill’O saying that the world would be a better place if everyone became Christian and I think that people who think that way have a real pessimistic view on humanity. I think that people don’t need any kind of religious influence to know right from wrong. Woman’s rights didn’t come from the Bible. Interracial marriage didn’t come from the Bible. 18 years and older being the consensual age is not derived from the Bible. Democracy didn’t come from the Bible. Capitalism definitely didn’t come from the Bible. You get the picture.
By the way, LOVED this article Laura!
You have a two fold argument. One, no specific God was considered “primary”, on which our nations principles were founded.
Non-Sense! The God of the Bible was specifically named, and hoped for to ensure our nations continued success, by ALL founders, agnostic, religious and sects. Show me one piece of work where any mention of a God is made in a non-Christian form and I’ll supply you with unlimited retort. They were very aware of the eastern Hindu Gods, Muslim God, and Buddhist theory. These were well read Renaissance men and you know it. You just cannot admit it.
Second, Public Endorsement. Read your history without bias Ms. Bramble, and you will find a clause “not to establish a single religion”, meaning a state endorsed Christian Church, such as the Church of England or others. To say they meant to expel our Christian God from public display and therefore endorsement belies everything our founding fathers did. From Biblical Scripture on every major government building (See Supreme Court, Congress and so on), to they themselves insisting on opening each session of Congress with a Christian prayer and the list of like are endless.
Laura how does it feel to know more than those you interpret?
You answered it right there- the PERSONAL beliefs of the Founding Fathers. They realized those were their PERSONAL beliefs, that faith and religious practice were, and are, PERSONAL choices that need to be made by all of us on an individual, PERSONAL level. It has no place in government or the legal basis of a nation.
Why do you think that there is not mention of the Christian God, even with some of those men being very devout? Do you think it was an accident? NO, it was not. It was a very concious decision. Are our laws and ethics informed by Judeo-Christian ethics? Sure, but that is out of tradition and cultural background, especially at a time of limited exposure to other cultures, ways of life and traditions of thought. There is nothing to suggest that if the Founding Fathers, in their quest for the best thought out there, would not have used the best thoughts of other cultures, had they had the level of experience with them that they did with those of Western Europe.
Recognizing the value of the universal parts of the Judeo-Christian ethic is not the same as endorsing the Christian God and you know it. Enough with the sham. The Founding Fathers made a deliberate choice to not endorse any god, faith, or religion because they saw first hand what happens when a state does not separate itself from religion. You condemn the radical Muslims for the results of mixing religion with policy and law, yet you are trying a subtle end run around what exists to keep that from happening here.
A secular government and public may not always be just, but it is the only way to be fair. You cannot guarantee justice, because it is in the eye of the beholder, but you can guarantee fairness. The only way you can be fair in guaranteeing freedom for all religion is to remain out of it and not endorse or promote any.
You can worship any god you want, no one is stopping you. If you want to live in a country with a national God that is the Christian God, go live somewhere else, like England.
I hate being diverted from my comptenplation of 3rds most excellent mental challenge regarding the Big Libertarian challenge by 3rd.
But you knew I couldn’t resist. You arguments “sound good”. Most of your facts are close enough.
Here’s the cold hard facts summarized as best as I can.
Laura, We are and We were OBVIOUSLY a nation founded on Judea-Christian Principles and beliefs. Read ALL founding Fathers personal documents. From unwavering, even prophetic faith of Washington to even Agnostics like Franklin and Jefferson, ALL clearly stated “without the BIBLE of the Christian faith”, this country would fall!
How much clearer do you need it. For Christ s sake, this nation was built on faith in Christ. No Government Church and freedom for all to believe or not. Why, because it’s the Christian way, the right to choose. Remember, even Christ said clearly, “Weigh the costs before you follow me, you will be persecuted, the natural mind finds folly in the ways of God”.
Enter Laura, Comparing us to radical Islam, Wiccan pantheist, nuts if you take this Judea-Christian stuff literally.
So Laura, go out into the middle of the desert and cover a cross dedicated to a fallen soldier with a bag, sue airports for having Christmas Trees, disassemble town manger scenes, while all the time demanding Kwanza placards, placing Festavus Poles, and having tax payers purchase Muslim mats for all terrorist prisoners.