This was discussed at great length on the radio the other day. No where in the Consitution and the Ammendments does it say "Separation of Church and State". It implies that there will be no state sanctioned religious sect and that's it. The phrase came from a letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1802 by Thomas Jefferson. We can debate this to the end, but the constitution has been raped by many over the years who have continuously attempted to evict God from our hearts and minds. It's time for the quiet majority to stop being so meek and understanding. We need to make our voices heard by the athiests. This nation was founded by God fearing people and yet we kowtow to the Godless few. Personally, I'd like to see those of faith file class action suits against the athiests everytime they attack God in America. Now that the blood pressure is up....I'm going to quit.
But was this entire topic based on christian beliefs.. or just beliefs? In Freemasonry.. which Washington and Polk were.. the number one rule to join is a belief in one God. Not a specific God. This is where I have trouble seeing what you think you're seeing in Washington's memorial's inscription. No mention in Freemasonry of Christianity.. but a belief that just one God is the Divine architect of the world. And because Freemasonry is involved.. we cannot assume that Christianity by itself was the only motivation behind this inscription.. but that.. their is only one God. Again.. where spirituality meet religion. "Laus Deo" has nothing to do with with the Christian belief in this instance of history. It has to do with a belief.. and a belief of just one God.
Then this would be against everything Jefferson stood for.. Maybe I'm not making Jefferson's point clear enough. The moment it can be battled in a courtroom it will become a privilege from state and not an inherited right. We argue freedom of press within courtroom's almost on a daily basis.. imagine if religion was the same. And all because it was put on paper. This is what Jefferson argued.. and I think so aptly so.
"This is America, and we speak American." best quote ever. I strongly agree our government is founded on Christian principles, whether they are still followed or not today is becoming more and more vague. Anyone who doesn't believe the USA was started a Christian nation, take a look at your money next time you reach into your pocket...written in BOLD letters on everything from a Penny, Nickel, Dime, or Quarter up to a Dollar, 5 Dollar, 10 dollar, 20 dollar, 50 dollar, or 100 dollar bill is IN GOD WE TRUST.....no muddying this phrase. Wasn't Jefferson a Deist? (No harm intended, honest question)
I'm curious to whether you read everything that was said before your take TEmbry.. or perhaps you didn't get it? No one said Christianity was not involved in our nation's birth. What was said was Christianity does not apply to the Masonic beliefs.. and since the Freemasons put the monument of Washington up.. then perhaps we should be clear that it doesn't necessarily have any indication of Christianity within it. Again.. Freemasons don't have a religion.. but a belief in one God.. architect of the world. It's exactly this one-minded behavior which has always lead me away from organized religion. Even though I attend a Catholic church on a regular basis. The Bible is to be read with an open mind.. not a way in which another can look at any other down a long crooked nose. And the moment you follow a religion over an belief you follow down a slippery slope. Religion is man's creation. (Freemasons themselves know this). It's about belief.. a faith.. and too often it's twisted into "what I believe.. my faith". As far as Jefferson being a Deist.. maybe.. not sure. But he believed in something Greater than religion.. Greater than human Divinity. He wrote our Declaration of Independence and our Bill of Rights.. he was persecuted for not putting into this document the separation of church and state.. because he understood what it would lead to. Some call this prophecy.. Jefferson understood that prophecy only came true when man let it be so. If that is Deist.. than that was Jefferson. Either way.. he could write and think like no other founding father. He was the reason America exists as it does today.. through his words and his beliefs that man has certain inalienable rights... rights given to us not by state but by a more Divine reasoning. I'm off my soap-box now.:d
