SEPARATION OF CHURCH & STATE

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Problem: How do you separate Church and State, as declared in our Constitution?

 

 

 

 

During my morning constitutional atop the porcelain goddess, I started thinking about how Church and State can coexist as separate, but equal entities. I admit, I’ve thought of this before, but not thoroughly, by any means. Now that there is a general election in two months, there seems to be an audible murmuring coming from “The Evangelical” sector. I have to wonder just what makes one an “Evangelical”? Do you need to express a lot of fire and brimstone; thump your Bible; belong to the “right” Church?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I plucked this little gem off facebook©, and thought I’d give it a try with some fact checking. It didn’t take very long to debunk the argument contained in this piece. A quick trip over to Wikipedia© [division of church and state] gave me all the information I needed. “Did You Know” must pass “GO” without collecting $100.00, and go strait to jail. This is a total misrepresentation of the facts. The only accurate statement is Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution.

I. President Thomas Jefferson in 1802 wrote: “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that 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 & State.”

II. Another early user of the term was James Madison, the principal drafter of the United States Bill of Rights. In a 1789 debate in the House of “Re-Congress” should not establish a religion, and enforce the legal observation of it by “law-presentatives” regarding the draft of the First Amendment, the following was said: "Congress should not establish a religion, and enforce the legal observation of it by law.".

III. John F. Kennedy, in his Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association on 12 September 1960, addressed the question directly, saying, “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute……. I do not speak for my church on public matters—and the church does not speak for me.”

IV. The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy (1855–1931), who was a Baptist minister, a Christian socialist, and the cousin of socialist utopian novelist Edward Bellamy (1850–1898). Bellamy's original Pledge read as follows:

”I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

V. In 1923: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Louis A. Bowman (1872–1959), an attorney from Illinois, was the first to initiate the addition of "under God" to the Pledge.

VI. Prayer Breakfast: In 1952, Holger Christian Langmack wrote a letter to President Truman suggesting the inclusion of "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Langmack was a Danish philosopher and educator who came to the United States in 1911. He was one of the originators of the Prayer Breakfast and a religious leader in Washington, D.C. President Truman met with him along with several others to discuss the inclusion of "under God" and also "love" just before "liberty and justice".

             THE GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 

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There is no mention of the almighty here. There is no mention of the Holy Ghost, Satan, or any other Religious icon. If you look way back in History, you will easily see the consequences of a church and State marriage: The Greeks, The Romans, The Huns, The Mongolians, The French, The Spanish, The English, The Irish, The entire Islamic World, Israel, and now The United States. It’s a very slippery slope we go down, if we allow the “more Holier than thou” folks in the “Evangelical” movement a foothold on our National Government. If this movement isn’t stopped dead in its tracks, our path forward is going to be wrought with pain and suffering. Just say NO!