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Off The Rail - Aug 21, 2004 - Printable Version
- Does God Need Government Assistance?
by Mike Bohling
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ." The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, written with great vision and foresight by this nation’s Founders.
The Constitution, amended with the Bill of Rights in 1791, ensures our individual rights. We do not have “majority rule” on constitutional matters. Our Founders knew that a majority rule could trample the rights of the minority, and wisely required any bill to amend the Constitution must first pass both halves of the legislature, by a two-thirds majority in each. Once the bill has passed both houses, it goes on to each of the states.
In recent decades, the Religious Right has become a powerful force in this country, and they want to make some changes. They believe that the First Amendment and the Constitution need to be “corrected”, to have their fundamentalist views become law. They have gained political power with the conservative movement, and have been wielding that power in the form of amendments to the U.S. and state Constitutions. They claim that this Nation, and her laws, were founded on Christian morals and tradition, thus making the U.S. a “Christian Nation”. The fact is that only three of the Ten Commandments, (homicide, theft, and perjury), are applicable to U.S. law. Let’s face it; those three principles have had relevance in almost every culture in history, long before Christianity ever came to be.
The Fundamentalists argue that the Founders intents when writing the Constitution were based upon biblical teachings and Christianity. If that were true, and the Founders intent was to establish a Christian Nation, you would think that the Bible, God, or Jesus, would at least get “Honorable Mention” in the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, or in its amendments. They do not. They get no mention whatsoever. Zip! Read them and see for yourself. Our Founding Fathers spoke of “Unalienable rights, being endowed by a Creator”, “The Laws of Nature", “Divine Providence" and of, "Nature's God". The only oath detailed in the Constitution, the Presidential Oath of Office, does not contain the phrase "so help me God" or even the requirement to swear on the bible.
I must tell you right now, that I am not a historian or scholar of any kind. I am a 44-year-old, public educated, working for a living kind of guy, that would rather be writing about back country canoe-camping, and the joys of cooking over an open campfire. I am not anti-religion, or anti-Christian. I’m not even an atheist. My convictions and spirituality are embedded in mountains and water. I just want to be left alone to believe what I believe. The problem is that the Fundamentalists won’t leave me alone. They want to make their beliefs and their morals into laws that I have to live with.
It wouldn’t be so bad if these were just laws, and just morals, but they aren’t. They are laws that divide, and laws that discriminate. Some of them are just plain stupid. Thinking that teenagers won’t have sex if we do not provide condoms, immediately comes to mind as one of the stupid ones.
The Republican Party of Texas recently approved a plank in its platform affirming that, "the United States of America is a Christian nation". State Constitutions throughout the country are facing amendments to “Protect Marriage”. The President wants the same done to the U.S. Constitution, and the GOP is lined up, rank and file, behind him. The Fundamentalists want Darwinism removed from school curriculum, and replaced with Creationism. They want prayer recitals starting each day in our classrooms, and would like to see the Ten Commandments posted in every courtroom and government building. From interfering with Stem Cell Research, to not approving the “Morning After” pill, the Republicans and the Religious Right are lockstep in their efforts to stall advances in medical science that they deem to be “immoral”. The current administration is denying condoms to overpopulated third world countries, and would prohibit women from making decisions about their own bodies. Conservative Judicial appointments by our President, combined with the power that the Fundamentalists hold over the GOP, threaten to turn this country into a theocracy.
Now, some of you may think that having a theocracy and inserting some Christian morals into our constitution is not an entirely bad idea. In many respects this country is a mess and could use a little divine guidance. Let’s look at a couple of possible scenarios of the State/Church union, but we’ll put the shoe on the other foot….
Imagine a Christian woman facing the honorable Judge Ali Mohammed. He is wearing a turban and leafing through references in the Koran, while she pleads her innocence to the charge of adultery. (I assume that you all know how Moslem law punishes adulteresses. Men of course, are beyond reproach).
Envision your child attending public school, and joining the class in the recital of Buddhist prayers every morning. Your child may have the right not to participate in the prayers, but is required by law attend school. How would that child feel as the only “non-believer” in class? A bit isolated? (Not to mention the ridicule and wedgies at recess)
Would you object to the use of your tax dollars to build a mosque in every town?
These scenarios may seem ridiculous, but they do put things into context. How an Atheist might feel walking into Judge Moore’s courtroom with the Ten Commandments looming overhead, wondering if he’ll get a fair trail. How a Muslim child might come to resent his faith when the other students taunt him for not participating in their morning prayers.
As for the “Protection of Marriage”, all I can say is that I look forward to the future amendments prohibiting divorce and adultery. Inter-racial marriage was illegal in many states well into the 20th century. Maybe we should “protect marriage” retroactively so the bigots can join in on the fun.
Another aspect not considered by most Americans, is that we are currently right smack in the middle of a religious war. We may not be fighting a religious war, but our enemies certainly are. They are fighting the Jihad. The Holy War. Moslems against the Infidels. How does proclaiming ourselves as a “Christian Nation” play into that scenario?
The Fundamentalists believe they represent all of Christianity in their pursuit of these changes. Nothing could be further than the truth. The vast majority of Christians want to be left alone, to worship in peace, live their lives, and enjoy a little procreation. The reason most Christians attend church is the desire to worship and celebrate their faith. They don’t want to be inundated with political rhetoric from their pastors and ministers, or be told how to vote. Unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening. Voters guides, (which may be disguised as “newsletters”), are available at the church around the corner from your house, stop by and pick one up. You may be surprised at how little they speak of spiritualism, and how much they speak of politics. The Republicans, in an effort to capitalize on this opportunity, have requested the membership rosters of these churches in order to recruit parishioners to campaign for President Bush. Ministries that practice these tactics are in risk of losing their tax-exempt status as well as disenfranchising their flocks.
There are no infringements of religious rights in this country. We are free to practice any religion we choose, or choose not to practice any religion at all. We can attend our churches, synagogues, and mosques without fear of government reprisal. We can indoctrinate our children with our beliefs, decorate our homes with religious symbols, cover our cars with bumper stickers, and wear symbols of our faith on our T-shirts. If we allow government to interfere with these rights, or allow the Fundamentalists to interfere with our laws regarding these rights, we risk losing them altogether.
Bored one day, and out of curiosity, I did a google search for “Christian Nation”. I had hundreds of hits, mostly debunking the idea and a few embracing it. What I found most interesting were the quotes from our Founders on the topic. Take some time and search the topic for yourself. See what Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben Franklin, and the boys had to say on the matter. I posted a few quotes here that I think show their thoughts on the subject pretty clearly.
"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes.” (Thomas Jefferson, 1813)
"In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own."
(Thomas Jefferson, 1814)
"No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority." (Thomas Jefferson, 1809)
"In the arguments in favor of a declaration of rights... one which has great weight with me [is] the legal check which it puts into the hands of the judiciary."
(Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789)
“The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion.”
(From the Treaty of Tripoli, signed by John Adams)
“I would not dare to so dishonor my Creator God by attaching His name to that book” (the Bible).
(Thomas Paine)
“Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together.”
(James Madison)
"When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it, so that its professors are obliged to call for help of a civil power, ‘tis a sign, I apprehend of its being a bad one." (Benjamin Franklin)
It needs saying that our Founding Fathers were religious men. They were deists. They believed in the existence of a Supreme Being. Thomas Jefferson even wrote his own version of the Bible. Cutting and pasting the old-fashioned way, (he literally glued passages from Greek, Latin, French, and English versions of the Bible into a book of blank pages), he created “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth”. He deleted all references to the supernatural, and all of the religious dogma that he felt was “contaminating” the Bible. There are no mentions of turning “Water into Wine”, or “Immaculate Conception”, no miracles whatsoever. The text ends with the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, but omits the resurrection. He instead focused his attention on the morality of Jesus, using passages directly attributable to Jesus’ words, and Jesus’ life. This version, known as the “Jefferson Bible” is available in bookstores.
The point of these ramblings is that I fear that the Fundamentalists are dividing my country from within. With the Conservative Right supporting Religious Right, we stand to lose many of the liberties that our Founders put into place. The United States of America was born to be a Free Nation. She is the most enlightened and diverse country in the world. We are a nation of mostly Christians, but we are not, and can never be a “Christian Nation”. State sponsored religion throughout the history of world, is a history of trampled rights and oppression. We must be vigilant in protecting the rights that our Founding Fathers gave us, and continue on the path that they envisioned. We can only keep America free and our rights intact by maintaining the wall of separation between Church and State. That wall is under attack, and it is showing signs of crumbling.
(Editor's Note: This article is part of our "Guest Commentary" series. Mike made the mistake of posting one too many intelligent messages in our guestbook, and was "drafted" by the Faulking Truth to present his views as an editorial. The result speaks for itself, in my opinion. If there is someone out there who would like to present an opposing viewpoint on this issue (or any other for that matter), we would welcome it. We are always willing to present both sides of any issue, even if one of them is obviously wrong. This is, after all, still a Democracy (or at least it was the last time I checked). Send your ideas or editorials to info@faulkingtruth.com )
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