The Separation of Church and State?
US ConstitutionBill of Rights/Amendment I
"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."
In a nutshell, the US Constitution is saying that Congress shall not do the following:
- Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion
- Congress shall not prohibit the free exercise thereof
- Congress shall not abridge the freedom of speech, or of the press;
- Congress shall not stop the right of the people peaceably to assemble
- Congress shall not stop the people from petitioning the government for a redress of grievances.
The whole point of Amendment 1 is not that religion should be kept out of our Government, but that our Government should be kept out of religion. It is very clear that Congress cannot prohibit or limit the exercising of faith. Matter of fact, there is little they can do to prohibit the state and the church from melding together. However, today, the Government is taking away our religious freedoms. How?
The way the Left has gotten around the Constitution is to:
1) Hype up the separation of church and state via the constitution (even though it is not mentioned)
2) They use the judicial branch to thwart and issue commands that bind the church and limit the free exercise of Christianity.
The most serious threat to the church is the judicial branch, the branch of the US government responsible for the administration of justice. Judges with agendas are populating courts all over the land. Keeping religion and government separate is imperative to Secular Humanists, Atheists, Agnostics, and those from the far Left wing.
The doctrine of the separation of powers calls for the judiciary branch to interpret the law. So, if you have judges, magistrates and other adjudicators who have left wing agendas, you can feed into the hyping of the separation of church and state (even though it is not mentioned in the constitution). The US constitution is designed limit the powers of the government and prudently drafted to tell the government what NOT to do in matters of religion. The left wing circumvents this with their “judges with agendas.”
Truths to Know
1) The separation of church and state is not found in the constitution, PERIOD.
The separation of church and state is not found in any founding document remotely connected to the United States. It is not in the:
- Magna Carta, 1218
- The Mayflower Compact, November 11, 1620
- The Virginia Declaration of Rights, June 12, 1776
- The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
- Articles of Confederation, published in 1781
- The Constitution, ratified in 1788
- The Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791
- The Reconstruction Amendments, Ratified in 1865
2) The church and state are combined to the degree that God is honored but citizens are not legally required to honor or serve him.
The USA honors God by placing references to him:
- Endowed by our Creator: The Declaration of Independence, 1700s
- Supreme Judge of the world: The Declaration of Independence, 1700s
- The 10 commandments (basis for the rule of law) used to be placed in or near US courthouses (God help us, they are removing them), 1700s
- Thomas Jefferson’s famous Danbury letter quote: 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. (meaning, Government should be kept out of religion, not visa-versa).
- From the Star Spangled Banner:
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
- In God We Trust: the motto placed on U.S. currency since the late 1800s
- Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg quote, 1800s: that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth
- God Bless America: the de facto US anthem since the late 30s
- One nation under God: pledge of allegiance since the 50s
3) The USA has been declared a Christian nation.
The US Supreme Court: 1892
The case Holy Trinity Church vs United States, US Supreme Court justice David Brewer wrote, “No purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any legislation, state or national, because this is a religious people... This is a Christian nation."
House Judiciary Committee: 1854
Had the people, during the revolution, a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that revolution would have been strangled in its cradle... At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and its amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged, but not any one sect... In this age, there is no substitute for Christianity... That was the religion of the founders of the republic and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants
Added two months later:
The great, vital and conservative element in our system is the belief of our people in the pure doctrines and the divine truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
4) Early State Constitutions Limited Public Office to Christians Only
Various state constitutions originally limited public office to Christians and Trinitarian Protestants only (too bad they didn’t keep that one) .
5) There is a Biblical Foundation for Church Tax Exemption
You are also to know that you have no authority to impose taxes, tribute or duty on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants or other workers at this house of God. Ezra 7:24
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
- In God We Trust: the motto placed on U.S. currency since the late 1800s
- Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg quote, 1800s: that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth
- God Bless America: the de facto US anthem since the late 30s
- One nation under God: pledge of allegiance since the 50s
3) The USA has been declared a Christian nation.
The US Supreme Court: 1892
The case Holy Trinity Church vs United States, US Supreme Court justice David Brewer wrote, “No purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any legislation, state or national, because this is a religious people... This is a Christian nation."
House Judiciary Committee: 1854
Had the people, during the revolution, a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that revolution would have been strangled in its cradle... At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and its amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged, but not any one sect... In this age, there is no substitute for Christianity... That was the religion of the founders of the republic and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants
Added two months later:
The great, vital and conservative element in our system is the belief of our people in the pure doctrines and the divine truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
4) Early State Constitutions Limited Public Office to Christians Only
Various state constitutions originally limited public office to Christians and Trinitarian Protestants only (too bad they didn’t keep that one) .
5) There is a Biblical Foundation for Church Tax Exemption
You are also to know that you have no authority to impose taxes, tribute or duty on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants or other workers at this house of God. Ezra 7:24
6) The US was founded as a Christian Nation
- The Mayflower Compact, 1620:
Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith....
Ths
- The Charter of New England: 1620
We according to our princely Inclination, favoring much their worthy Disposition, in Hope thereby to advance the in Largement of Christian Religion, to the Glory of God Almighty, as also by that Means to stretch out the Bounds of our Dominions...
Ths
- Charter of the Colony of New Plymouth: 1629
And now seeing that by the special providence of God...
Ths
-The Charter of Maryland: 1632
...whereby God's holy and true Christian Religion...
Ths
- The Articles of Confederation of the United Colonies of New England: 1643
Whereas we all came into these parts of America with one and the same end and aim, namely, to advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and to enjoy the liberties of the Gospel in purity with peace...
Ths
- Charter of Connecticut: 1662
Our said People Inhabitants there, may be so religiously, peaceably and civilly governed, as their good Life and orderly Conversation may win and invite the Natives of the Country to the Knowledge and Obedience of the only true GOD, and He Savior of Mankind, and the Christian Faith,...
Ths
- Charter of Carolina: 1663
...being excited with a laudable and pious zeal for the propagation of the Christian faith, and the enlargement of our empire and dominions...
Ths
- Charter of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: 1663
...that they, pursuing, with peaceable and loyal minces, their sober, serious and religious intentions, of goalie edifying themselves, and one another, in the holie Christian faith and worship as they were persuaded...
and to secure them in the free exercise and enjoyment of all their civil and religious rights, appertaining to them, as our loving subjects; and to preserve unto them that liberty, in the true Christian faith and worship of God,...
Ths
- Charter for the Province of Pennsylvania: 1681
...promote such useful commodities as may bee of Benefit to us and Our Dominions, as also to reduce the savage Natives by gentle and just mamlers to the Love of Civil Society and Christian Religion...
Ths
- Frame of Government of Pennsylvania: 1683
And that the inhabitants of this province and territories thereof may be accommodated with such food and sustenance, as God, in His providence, hath freely afforded...
Ths
- The Charter of Massachusetts Bay: 1691
Conversation may win the Indians Natives of the Country to the knowledge and obedience of the only true God and Savior of Mankind and the Christian Faith...
Ths
- The Virginia Declaration of Rights: 1776
That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it,...
...and that it is the mutual duty of all to practise Christian forbearance, love, and charity toward each other...
Ths
- The Declaration of Independence: 1776
...the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them...
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights...
Ths
- The First Continental Congress: 1777
Appropriated funds to import for the people 20,000 Holy Bibles as "the great political textbook of the patriots."
Ths
- Founding Father, George Washington: 1787
Regarding the Constitution: "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the event is in the hand of God."
Ths
- 1st President, George Washington’s farewell address: I shall carry it with me to my grave as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence...
Ths
- Founding Father, 2nd President, John Adams speech:
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and a religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
Conclusion
The USA is a Christian nation. The evidence is overwhelming, this is all just the tip of the iceberg! It would take days and days to sift through every piece of data. But why go any further. Simply understand that this is a Christian nation and that we need to maintain our heritage, lest it be removed and purposely lost forever.
But most importantly, the USA must continue striving to be a Christian nation, God's Word still holds true: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
2nd Chronicles 7:14
We are His workmanship, created for good works in Christ
posted by The Scribe at 10:15 PM
5 Comments:
Oh my, Oh my, never have so many believed in so little (the Bible) for so long. I gave up my belief in god when I was about ten. Even then it seemed pretty hokey. I can only hope humanity can outgrow it obsession with imaginary gods before we destroy ourselves.
Holy freakin cow that is a lot of information that I didn't know...thank you for posting all of that...and thank you for the encouragment on Justin's blog a couple of days back. It really helped!
While the words "separation of church and state" do not appear in the Constitution, the concept obviously does. While the Sixth Amendment doesn't have the words "fair trial", it is clearly the intent. To determine the intent of the founders regarding the establishment clause in the First Ammendment, one only needs to read the letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists, in which he states:
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.
Camanintx, again, you have left a comment and it appears you did not take the time to read the post. I too included Jefferson's Danbury comment.
Some points....
- Who is Thomas Jefferson? Is he the final authority on all things regarding the U.S. Constitution? I believe there were other signers and othe founding fathers who may not have shared his opinions concerning government issues.
- Yes, the concept of the separation of church and state is in the Constitution, but it is not the twisted concept you on the left wing advocate. This concept was put in place to protect the church from the state, not protect the state from the church.
- Most scholars agree that the founding of the U.S.A. was a puritan experiment. And if so, it would be illogical that a puritan country would advocate Godless civic and government institutions. But I see more and more the twisting of logic to make it fit the agenda of those who long for a secular nation.
You say that the establishment clause is to "protect the church from the state, not protect the state from the church" but you don't explain how this works.
I don't have any problem with elected government officials expressing their faith and voting accordingly. After all, that's what we elect them to do. But when government enacts rules that favor one faith over another, then they have crossed the line.
Take the current controversy over the Mt. Soledad Cross. Supporters claim this is a secular symbol of people's sacrifice. If this is true, I challenge you to visit any local Jewish cemetery and count how many crosses you see.
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