Posted on 11/26/2004 7:18:49 PM PST by Arkansas Boy
The Separation of Church and State Myth: Why God MUST be acknowledged.
How many of you have heard the term Separation of Church and State is in the Constitution? How many of you know that the Constitution does not even contain that phase? I would like to address a very important issue– an issue upon which the future of our nation rests: The issue is whether or not our government will acknowledge God.
The First Amendment is the main defense of those who wish to keep God out of our law and government. These folks say that the First Amendment is supposed to erect a barrier of “Separation between Church and State”. This is simply not true. The fact is, the phrase “Separation of Church and State” is not found in the First Amendment, or anywhere in the Constitution. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution simply states:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . . (it goes on to discuss freedom of the press, etc.)
Known as the “Establishment Clause”, this amendment was meant to protect religious freedom by giving the churches protection from the government, not the government protection from the churches. Let me explain: When America’s forefathers fled England, they were seeking freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. They did not want the government to meddle with Christendom and establish a "National Church" which would impair other denominations, as King James had done by establishing the Church of England.
Our founding documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, acknowledge the founders’ dependence upon God. The Declaration alone refers to the Sovereign Creator four times as “God”, “Creator”, “The Supreme Judge of the World”, and “Divine Providence”.
This nation was explicitly founded upon Christian principles, upon the God of the Holy Bible, but not upon one particular Christian denomination. This is further evidenced in the writings of our forefathers! Patrick Henry, the great revolutionary leader, said it best:
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.
While other people may be free to practice Buddhism, Hinduism, or Humanism on our soil, we are STILL a nation governed by Biblical principles. Our laws were not established on some trivial ideals, but on the solid and unchanging Word of God. The rally cry of the Revolutionary War was “No King but King Jesus!” It is on this very foundation that America was born, and it is upon this very foundation that the future of America rests.
Some people think “There’s no place for God in government”. What they don’t realize is that when God is cut out, something else must be put in. Removing God and His principles from government never results in neutrality, but always results in the government stepping in and “playing god”. When God is rejected, the government is not held to any absolute. They become the highest authority. Right and wrong becomes whatever the government says it is. When God is not in the picture our liberties are no longer recognized as “God-given”, but rather as “State-given”. The people’s unalienable rights and the people’s authority over their government is no longer recognized by the public servants, because there is no recognized authority higher than themselves. When the government does not acknowledge God as Sovereign, the government becomes a law unto itself. This is called tyranny, and this is what our forefathers tenaciously fought against.
For years now, God has been generally cut out of education, society, and government. Tolerance has become the rallying cry! But, as one wise gentleman once said, “The only thing tolerance tolerates is tolerance.” Folks, tolerance only tolerates God and the Bible when they are kept in a closet! God’s principles have been hushed in public circles. Why are we surprised when the phrase “one nation, under God” is attacked in the Pledge of Allegiance? God is being taken out of our legal system, and the Ten Commandments are being stripped from public view because they offend. Why, then, should we be surprised when the murder of millions of innocent babies is called “legal” by our courts? Why, now, are we shocked when the sacred and God-given institution of marriage is assaulted and perverted? Will we continue to sit quietly by, and watch our State and nation rot into moral perversion like Sodom and Gomorrah? We have rejected God Almighty, the Author of Liberty. Are we surprised, then, to see that our liberties are being severed, and that we are being put, shackle by shackle, under the bonds of slavery? The Bible says, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” “God bless America” I hear folks cry! But, can we expect the blessing of the very God we reject? The Bible says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”
Ladies and gentlemen, we are in a crisis. However, the blame does not rest only in Washington or with our public officials. The blame rests on us. The condition of our government reflects the condition of our people.
In the Bible, God says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
My friends, we must repent for OUR rebellion against God. This is the only way God’s blessing can be restored to our land.
Then may we earnestly demand, through constitutional means, that our State and national governments return to the God who birthed them! The decision is ours. God save us, and God Save America.
I am sorry, I misread. I read it as he 'attends', not 'attended'. Sorry for the comment.
That's okay; I recognize that people are quick to "jump" around here, but how Brokeback Mountain got into it is still beyond me. :)
Patrick Henry, great jurist and great orator because he was first of all a great Christian, was wise enough to be an anti-federalist. The US Constitution, that lawyer's contraption, made in the name of a new deity ("we the people") was deliberately designed to secularize our continent. Most of the colonies had "test oaths" wherein an office-holder pledged allegiance to the God of the Bible and the Bible of God before being entrusted with civic office. The U S Constitution forbade those -- and this prohibition on God in government was completed in 1963, the Torcaso vs. Watkins case involving the lowest civic office, notary public.
(Sorry for the delay) -- I'd be interested.
It sounds as if you aren't fond of the constitution.
It was. Theology was ever the handmaiden of politics.
Have you ever heard of the doctrine of Soul Liberty?
I can't say that I have. Sounds interesting. Please explain.
Do you know of Isaac Backus, John Leland and the role of the Baptists in the movement to Separate Religion and Government?
Oh come on. Just state the proposition.
I found this very interesting, and i belive in what you wrote, i find this very easy to agree with!
thank you!!
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