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 won't... You should...
The Holy Bible is where America's forefathers gleaned much of their knowledge to write the Constitution of these United States. Although all of our founders were not Christians, most of them were. Many who weren’t still knew Biblical principles and lived by them. They lived in an era when the authority of God and the Bible were understood. To say that ALL of our founders were Born-again, Bible Believing Christians, would be as ingnorant as saying they were ALL deists. Interestingly, many founders who are today labled "deists", undertood certain Biblical principles better than many modern "professing Christians"; this is sad.
George Washington, the Father of Our Country and one whom you referred to in your post, wrote:
“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor. . . Now therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the twenty-sixth day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these United States. . .that we then may all unite unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country. . .”
No doubt, with a careful study of the Constitution of these United States, Declaration of Independence, and other historical documents of our country, one is impressed with the fact that this country was established upon the acknowledgment that Almighty God is the Source of law and government. The Declaration of Independence states, “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Declaration goes on to acknowledge the Sovereign Creator three more times as “God”, “The Supreme Judge of the World”, and “Divine Providence”. This is the truth in which our nation is rooted. The rallying cry of the First American War for Independence was “No King, but King Jesus!” Much of Patrick Henry's famous "Liberty or Death" speech came nearly straight out of the Bible. Why? Think on this: If God is not the Source of man’s rights, then who will be? The state? The Congress? If Congress gives man his rights, then Congress may take them away when it pleases them to do so. This is very important for us to understand, as we observe the direction our country is taking today. Even though government officials take an oath to uphold and enforce the Constitution, many of them pervert this document for their own means and agenda. They recognize no absolutes-- no authority higher than themselves. This creates a government outside the law. It creates a tyrannical government.
Excellent Post!!! Well Done!!!
No logical argument can be advanced for the existence of God or god, beyond wishful thinking, as to do so runs into the impossibility of providing evidence.
I agree, I agree PAPERDOLL. We have a match! (Unless that pseudonym is gender inaccurate.)
What does gender have to do with it?
I honestly visited this thread just to see if you were here. Knew you couldn't stay away from edumakatin the masses.
He believes God exists. You believe he doesn't. That settles it in your mind? Were you hurt by religion as a child? Seems to be a sore subject...
Actually, many logical arguments can be made for the existence of God. And evidence abounds.
Scientific proof, however, (either for against God's existence), will never happen.
Frankly, sir, it is not a head issue, but a heart issue.
Open your eyes, close them. Now open them and breath in and out. Look outside! The evidence of a Divine Creator abounds all around you. Ironically, the very act that your heart beats-- and its every intricacy-- is not something you can create by tossing ingredients in a blender and mixing them up. If you must hear a logical argument for God's existence, vist:
http://www.uark.edu/~cdm/answers/articles/Godsexistence.htm
Frankly, sir, it is more logical to believe God IS!
Saying that men give themselves the rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness is to deny that these are unalienable rights. That is, rights that are natural and "that cannot be alienated" (as defined by Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary). Under your conclusion, man gives these rights to himself and can alienate, or take away, these rights from himself. He is not BORN with these rights then. He must obtain them! Does he give them to himself as his own "god"?
As you noted, we have “no religious test” which must be taken to qualify one for public office. Indeed, this is by no accident. This guarantees religious liberty, as the government cannot FORCE any person to believe any particular creed or doctrine; it would violate one’s liberty of conscience. There is a difference in “establishing a religion” and “acknowledging God”.
ALL men, including governments, are held to the Higher Law of God above “man’s law”. Because God is Sovereign, what He says rules. When man’s law contradicts God’s law, we must obey God: “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men”(Acts 5:29). Anything else would be putting man up as “god”-- be it public servant or citizen. In this country, we are blessed to have a Constitution which is based on God’s law and principles.
They acknowledged God, the Creator, as the author of rights: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. . ."
The great leader of American Independence, Samuel Adams, new only too well that this meant the One True God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. It meant the God of the Bible. Adams stated: "The right to freedom being the gift of the Almighty ... The rights of the colonists as Christians ... may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institution of The Great Law Giver and Head of the CHRSITIAN CHURCH, which are to be found CLEARLY written and promulgated in the NEW TESTAMENT." (emphasis added)
true!
Again, you state a belief... And it is only a belief... It isn't65 a fact at all... You should try to see the difference between a belief and a fact!
All things are true if you admit the evidence.
Excellent speech.
Would have loved to have been there to hear it.
God bless you.
God bless you.
The last sentence especially really did it for me as it brought tears to my eyes.
Not at all...
Truth is beyond evidence?
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