| THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE By Greg Kay 6 September, 2000 |
| We hear that liberal mantra every day from the news media; whenever
religion, particularly Christianity is brought up in the context of
political or public activity, someone will flutter up to his lofty perch
like a parrot with two left wings and start squawking "Separation of church
and State! Separation of church and State!" This has become the "holy
scripture" to the liberals, and they have evangelized it so loud and so long
that the "conservatives" have taken up the call as well. They've made it an
integral part of "constitutional" government.
The only problem is that its simply not in the constitution. The words "...a wall of separation between church and State" were an out-of-context quote from a private letter by Thomas Jefferson that has been elevated to constitutional status by judicial activists and by constant repetition, even though there has never been and is not now any actual basis for it in the constitution. The US constitution is very specific on the subject of religion. The 1st Amendment states as follows: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Read this very carefully. It says, in plain English, that the federal government's legislative branch (Congress, which, contrary to the unconstitutional actions of the federal judiciary, is the only branch allowed to legislate.) has no right to pass ANY law either establishing a church or limiting a church's activities. Notice too, that it says "Congress shall make no law..." Unlike some of the other amendments in the Bill of Rights, this specifically and particularly limits the Congress and only Congress. In short, the federal government, and the federal government only has no right to interfere in religion. This restriction does not apply to the individual States! In matters of faith, the States are bound by their own constitutions only, and any federal trespass into this realm is blatantly unconstitutional. In the early days of the Republic, several States in New England actually had official State religions. Christians have been brainwashed into the separation of church and State cause as well, some of them going beyond not considering a candidate's morality in light of religion, but even to letting a few mealy-mouthed preachers convince them that they shouldn't vote. These "religious leaders" have told their flock that to stand up for what is right whenever and wherever you can is a sin. In a recent Chuck Baldwin column, he recalls being castigated by one of these paragons of faith for "fighting against God" by opposing the ever-encroaching enslavement. I've got news for these folks; if you have the power to stop an evil from occurring and you fail to do so, the guilt is on you as well. This same preacher then went on to tell Mr. Baldwin that "...This country has never been a Christian nation..." It's not just Christians anymore, either. Jews are also jumping on the bandwagon to get God out of the picture. The Anti Defamation League (ADL), arm of the B'nai B'rith has recently chastised Gore running mate Joseph Lieberman (an Orthodox Jew) for openly discussing his religious beliefs. "We feel very strongly" went the statement by ADL chairman Berkowitz and national director Foxman, "and we hope that you would agree, that appealing along religious lines, or belief in God, is contrary to the American ideal." Oh really? To show just how little the false preachers, the ADL and the liberal establishment know about "the American ideal," let's see how the men who founded and influenced this country felt about the involvement of God. Let the great men speak for themselves Samuel Chase, member of the Continental Congress and as an Associate Supreme Court justice from 1796-1811 said, "By our form of government, the Christian religion is the established religion; and all sects and denominations of Christians are placed upon the same equal footing, and are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty." Patrick Henry, the quintessential American patriot and anti-federalist looked at it this way: "Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is impossible that a nation of infidels or idolaters should be a nation of free men. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. Vitiated states of morals, a corrupted public conscience, are incompatible with freedom. "And" 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." John Jay America's first Supreme Court Chief Justice and co-author of the Federalist Papers put it like this: "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." According to Francis Scott Key, author of "The Star Spangled Banner", "The patriot who feels himself in the service of God, who acknowledges Him in all his ways, has the promise of Almighty direction, and will find His Word in his greatest darkness, 'a lantern to his feet and a lamp unto his paths.' He will, therefore, seek to establish for his country in the eyes of the world, such a character as shall make her not unworthy of the name of a Christian nation." John Quincy Adams stated that, "The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity. "And"The Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth [and] laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity." The final word on the matter goes to George Washington. "Do not let any one claim to be a true American if they ever attempt to remove religion from politics." I rest my case. HOME ~ EDITORIALS ~ THE MCCAUSLAND PLAN ~ CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE ~ LINKS |