Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Happy birthday to........Me
One year ago today I got on my knees and asked Jesus Christ to forgive me of my sins and be my savior.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
For the Record.....
The First Amendment does not contain "Separation of Church and State." This is the actual wording of the 1st Amendment:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
So where did this term come from. Actually, it has a long history. The Protestants in the reformation era, and subsequently the Baptists, have long supported Separation of Church and State; that being that the government needs to stay out of the affairs of the church. By no means was it ever meant to keep faith out of government. Rather, this nation was founded as a Christian nation. If you've never read the Mayflower Compact this is it:
In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.
Having undertaken, for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the First Colony in the Northern Parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini 1620.
This was written before they disembarked from the vessel onto the shores of the New World. The main reason for the Puritans, Pilgrims and other Separatists coming over to the New World was to have religious freedom. While in England they suffered persecution for practicing their faith, rather than adhering to the Church of England's Catholic/Anglican religion.
The founding fathers had suffered enough persecution from the King of England to make sure they put freedom of religion (which I believe to mean all religions) in our U.S. Constitution. Their main concern was to ensure the government did not establish or impose a national religion (or denomination), or otherwise meddle in the affairs of the church.
Upon Thomas Jefferson election, the Danbury Baptists were concerned that the Constitution did not guarantee their right to freedom of religion, and wrote this letter to him:
Among the many millions in America and Europe who rejoice in your election to office, we embrace the first opportunity to express our great satisfaction in your appointment to the Chief Magistracy in the United States. We have reason to believe that America's God has raised you up to fill the Chair of State out of that goodwill which He bears to the millions which you preside over. May God strengthen you for the arduous task which providence and the voice of the people have called you. And may the Lord preserve you safe from every evil and bring you at last to his Heavenly Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Glorious Mediator.
Our sentiments are uniformly on the side of religious liberty: that religion is at all times and places a matter between God and individuals, that no man ought to suffer in name, person, or effects on account of his religious opinions, [and] that the legitimate power of civil government extends no further than to punish the man who works ill to his neighbor. But sir, our constitution of government is not specific. Therefore what religious privileges we enjoy (as a minor part of the State) we enjoy as favors granted, and not as inalienable rights.
Jefferson responded on January 1st, 1802 with the following:
Gentlemen,
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me on behalf of the Danbury Baptist Association give me the highest satisfaction. Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God; that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship; that the legislative powers of government reach actions only and 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 and State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties. I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common Father and Creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association assurances of my high respect and esteem.
So, as you can see, Jefferson was a Christian, and he was in favor of keeping government out of the affairs of the church. This letter attests to that. Nowhere does it elude to keeping Christian values out of government. He obviously did not keep his faith separate from his Presidential appointment, nor did he apparently feel compelled to do so due to the 1st Amendment.
It was the courts that later took the phrase, out of context I might add, to declare the false governmental doctrine of Separation of Church and State. By the way, Jefferson was not involved with framing the 1st Amendment. A check of the Congressional Records (the documented discussions) from June 7 to September 25, 1789 would show this, as well as the fact that of the 90 founding fathers who did frame it, none of them ever mentioned the phrase "Separation of Church and State". Therefore, I do not believe this was ever their intent. Rather, I believe their intent was to ensure individual freedom of religion, without interference from the government, and to prohibit the government from establishing or imposing religion upon the people. It was not intended for the silencing of Christian values, or eliminating any and all references to Christianity in any form within public places, as we have seen this false doctrine evolve into.
And yes, this also applies to other religions, such as Muslim and Judaism, so please do not think I am concerned with maintaining only Christian rights. These rights are for all religions, though I do hope that Christianity will be more prevalent for the sake of my own personal beiefs.
I hope you have found this post informative and enlightening. There's plenty of sources online to research this further, but I mainly wanted to get down to the dirty facts, and try to dispel the false doctrine and misrepresentations of the Separation of Church and State crowd.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
So where did this term come from. Actually, it has a long history. The Protestants in the reformation era, and subsequently the Baptists, have long supported Separation of Church and State; that being that the government needs to stay out of the affairs of the church. By no means was it ever meant to keep faith out of government. Rather, this nation was founded as a Christian nation. If you've never read the Mayflower Compact this is it:
In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.
Having undertaken, for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the First Colony in the Northern Parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini 1620.
This was written before they disembarked from the vessel onto the shores of the New World. The main reason for the Puritans, Pilgrims and other Separatists coming over to the New World was to have religious freedom. While in England they suffered persecution for practicing their faith, rather than adhering to the Church of England's Catholic/Anglican religion.
The founding fathers had suffered enough persecution from the King of England to make sure they put freedom of religion (which I believe to mean all religions) in our U.S. Constitution. Their main concern was to ensure the government did not establish or impose a national religion (or denomination), or otherwise meddle in the affairs of the church.
Upon Thomas Jefferson election, the Danbury Baptists were concerned that the Constitution did not guarantee their right to freedom of religion, and wrote this letter to him:
Among the many millions in America and Europe who rejoice in your election to office, we embrace the first opportunity to express our great satisfaction in your appointment to the Chief Magistracy in the United States. We have reason to believe that America's God has raised you up to fill the Chair of State out of that goodwill which He bears to the millions which you preside over. May God strengthen you for the arduous task which providence and the voice of the people have called you. And may the Lord preserve you safe from every evil and bring you at last to his Heavenly Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Glorious Mediator.
Our sentiments are uniformly on the side of religious liberty: that religion is at all times and places a matter between God and individuals, that no man ought to suffer in name, person, or effects on account of his religious opinions, [and] that the legitimate power of civil government extends no further than to punish the man who works ill to his neighbor. But sir, our constitution of government is not specific. Therefore what religious privileges we enjoy (as a minor part of the State) we enjoy as favors granted, and not as inalienable rights.
Jefferson responded on January 1st, 1802 with the following:
Gentlemen,
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me on behalf of the Danbury Baptist Association give me the highest satisfaction. Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God; that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship; that the legislative powers of government reach actions only and 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 and State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties. I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common Father and Creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association assurances of my high respect and esteem.
So, as you can see, Jefferson was a Christian, and he was in favor of keeping government out of the affairs of the church. This letter attests to that. Nowhere does it elude to keeping Christian values out of government. He obviously did not keep his faith separate from his Presidential appointment, nor did he apparently feel compelled to do so due to the 1st Amendment.
It was the courts that later took the phrase, out of context I might add, to declare the false governmental doctrine of Separation of Church and State. By the way, Jefferson was not involved with framing the 1st Amendment. A check of the Congressional Records (the documented discussions) from June 7 to September 25, 1789 would show this, as well as the fact that of the 90 founding fathers who did frame it, none of them ever mentioned the phrase "Separation of Church and State". Therefore, I do not believe this was ever their intent. Rather, I believe their intent was to ensure individual freedom of religion, without interference from the government, and to prohibit the government from establishing or imposing religion upon the people. It was not intended for the silencing of Christian values, or eliminating any and all references to Christianity in any form within public places, as we have seen this false doctrine evolve into.
And yes, this also applies to other religions, such as Muslim and Judaism, so please do not think I am concerned with maintaining only Christian rights. These rights are for all religions, though I do hope that Christianity will be more prevalent for the sake of my own personal beiefs.
I hope you have found this post informative and enlightening. There's plenty of sources online to research this further, but I mainly wanted to get down to the dirty facts, and try to dispel the false doctrine and misrepresentations of the Separation of Church and State crowd.
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