Articles
Separation of Church and State
by Eric Michael Eastman
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Do you want an
exciting recipe for your next holiday gathering? No, not just
for something like the 4th of July which just passed. Try this
and your holiday (or for the matter any social gathering) will
be festive to say the least. First, put together a collection
of good people. These people can be family, friends, neighbors
co-workers - you decide. (A little side note - your really
might want to give a second perusal to the invites going out to
family; after all family will be family.) Second, you have to
have a good spread of food ready to be eaten and have more than
enough. (A quick note about health items such as tofu and such
. . . not today.) Lastly, after dinner when folks tend to
drift apart and do their favorite solitary thing, gather them
all up with a friendly invitation to talk and share with
everyone.
It's a great way to bring
people out of their shells, and there really is nothing better
than an all inclusive debate on a topic to get people's
adrenalin going. What could we talk about that would not be to
controversial and in the end give us all a fairly good chance of
still wanting to actually talk to each othe?. I chose politics
and religion. Yeah, I know, I'm not the brightest bulb in the
chandelier but I figured these are people that I know, surely
we can all discuss a subject, any subject, with the love of
Christ, right....right......
Which
brings me to that pivotal moment when I said "You know, I've
been doing some research lately and I've discovered something
that I didn't know. Did you know that this country was not
formed to be a Christian Nation?" Well this wasn't an E. F.
Hutton moment, where silence grips everyone and they are hanging
on my next word. However, in a gathering like this one, where
everyone loves Jesus and lives like it, I was treading on sacred
ground. Then out of the silence someone said, Eric, what are
you talking about? Seizing the moment, I said . . .
The 1st
Amendment of the constitution says "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 to peaceably to assemble, and
to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
This is the cornerstone for
many in the continual debate on Separation of Church and State,
the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution. "Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" As for me, the wording
seems to be clear, with no room for misinterpretation. For some
people the first amendment and the Constitution say something
totally different.
The
Constitution is a secular document. Nowhere does it appeal to
God, Christianity, Jesus, or any other supreme being. The
Constitution does not include the phrase "Separation of Church
and State," neither does it say "Freedom of Religion."
However, the Constitution implies both in the 1st Amendment. As
to the separation, Congress shall make no law respecting and
establishment of religion. As to freedom of religion, Congress
shall make no law . . . or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof.
What do you
think of these statements? "As the Government of the United States
of America is not, in any sense founded on the Christian religion;
as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws,
religion, or tranquillity, of Musselmen; and as the said States
never has entered into any war or act of hostility against any
Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext
arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption
of the harmony existing between the two countries.”
What
you have just read is Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli. In 1796,
near the end of George Washington's second term, the United States
was having problems with pirates operating off the Barbary coast and
the area of Tripoli (in what is now Libya). U.S. shipping was being
destroyed and seamen were being held as prisoners. It was hoped
that better diplomatic relations with incentives to Tripoli would
solve this problem.
Why was
language in this tone in Article 11? Tripoli at this time was a
Muslim nation. Tripoli had concerns because of their perceptions of
America as being a Christian nation that war between the two nations
may ensue based on religion. President John Adams sent the treaty
to the Senate in late May 1797. A committee considered the treaty
and recommended ratification. By a unanimous vote, the United
States Senate ratified the treaty.
Don't
take my word for it, look it up for yourself. In today's world, you
better get used to checking what you read, see and hear because
lying has become serious business. There are some people out there
today who want you to think a certain way, act a certain way, be a
certain way . These same people have no problem resorting to lying
to accomplish their goal. This is what I think on this issue - tell
me what you think. Let's be civil to each other. I really don't
subscribe to the political demonizing of people and name calling.
In the end what does it really accomplish? The real victory in
conversing is when it’s completed both parties get something out of
the dialogue and it strengthens it's participants. If you are
afraid of ideas different from your own, you'll probably want to
skip down on the web site when you see my name next time. If you
don't agree with me and my view that's fine too, just give me
something to support what you are saying so that I may check what
you say and learn from what you know. What qualifications to I have
to be writing this information? The same as you , I'm a concerned
citizen with an opinion. Until next time.
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