Subscribe to RSS FeedWe hold these truths to be self evident
I received one of those emails that people forward to their freinds and family all the time, the other day. It was from my sister, and it spoke of the United States being based upon the Christian religion. Showing pictures of Moses on the Supreme Court Building, and the Ten Commandments on the doors to the Supreme Court.The last paragraph was the kicker that got me off the bench and into the game:
It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore I have a very hard time understand-ing why there is such a mess about having the 10 commandments on display or “In God We Trust” on our money and having God in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don’t we just tell the 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!! or go back to their country to live.If you agree, pass this on, if not simply delete.
So in response I forwarded this well written article by the organization Americans United for Seperation of Church and State, to all 20+ people who received the first email.So far only a cousin of mine has responded:
I did know the substance of this piece but not the particulars. I think that when people speak of this country as a Christian nation they are only referring to the fact that many of our great leaders and the majority of citizens of this country are Christian. We really are blessed that we embrace the right of all Americans to choose their form of worship (or not).
To which, I’ve replied:
Thanks for the comments, unfortunately I don’t wholly agree with your assessment of the motives - were it so, the comments “Why don’t we just tell the 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!! or go back to their country to live.” in the last paragraph of the original email would not be considered an acceptable form of discourse by mature reasoning adults, who embrace the rights of all Americans to choose their form of worship (or not) - to quote you.I simply believe that man’s history has proven the only possible outcomes of mixing any religion and government, is oppression of the non-majority, and war. To a man of faith, it may be too difficult for him to restrain his will to please his God(s) instead of doing what’s right by his fellow man, when the two decisions inevitably conflict with the divine scriptures or teachings. Because of this most difficult decision, I believe, the framers of the constitution held that the divine scriptures and teachings of all religions must be held as secondary to the laws man establishes to govern himself, in order to avoid repeating the oppression they experienced in the old world. Which inevitably causes fundamentalists of all religions - especially the majority - to feel their belief system is not respected when the laws man establishes to govern himself conflict with the divine scriptures or teachings.Which is entirely evident in the current state of American Politics, and to a large extent the areas of the world in conflict, war, or where genocide is being committed.
