Category Archives: religion

Update – separation of church and state

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If the image of the cross appeared on every license plate that South Carolina produced, that would be unconstitutional.  Unwilling drivers would have religious symbols thrust at them by the state.  But if you don’t want an “I Believe” plate on your car, all you have to do is not ask for one.  Why should it be illegal for the state to sell me one?  In our society of free-market capitalism, consumer sovereignty says the buyer decidies what get produced and sold, not the government. 

This post is an update to my original article Separation of Church and State.  There is a lively discussion going on over at Americans United for the Separaton of Church and State about the South Carolina lisence plate issue.  Here’s a link. 

Let’s also keep this in perspective: Christians in China would probably find the heated debate over this issue laughable.  Any underground church, hiding from their government in order to meet, has bigger issues to actually worry about.  We are so spoiled rotten by being blessed beyond measure in this country, we don’t know what persecution is.

UPDATE, AUG 12 – Denise Gibel-Molini has written one of the best articles on separation of church and state I’ve read in a long time (yes, including mine).  It’s about the War in Iraq, and is a little long, but is very well researched and I believe historically accurate.

Don’t like what the Bible says? Sue the publisher.

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Get a load of this:

“In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Christian publisher Zondervan is facing a $60 million federal lawsuit for allegedly homophobia and prejudicial translations of the Bible. by a man who claims he and other homosexuals have suffered based on what the suit claims is a misinterpretation of the Bible. Bradley Fowler has sued the publisher despite the fact that it is not the translator.

 

Fowler focuses on the translation of 1 Corinthians 6:9 — and notes that homosexuals are listed “wicked” or “unrighteous” and barred from the kingdom of heaven.”

Thank you Jonathan Turly for blogging on this.  This guy wants $60 million – and an apology – for the grief he has suffered over the last 20 years because of this translation of the Bible.  Unfortunately pretty much every translation of the Bible I’m aware of, no matter how lieberal, condemns homosexuality.  Even if we take First Corinthians out of the Bible, you can’t get around Romans Chapter One.  Fowler really needs to sue God, that’s who says homosexuals aren’t going to heaven, not the Bible authors and not Zondervan.  I guess Crossway, Thomas Nelson, and International Bible Society had better get ready; the last time I checked, their Bibles didn’t come out too favorably toward homosexuality either.  This case is like sueing the police officer who wrote you a speeding ticket on the grounds that paying the fine and losing your lisence caused you economic loss and emotional suffering.  OMG!

I’ve updated this story: click here.

Separation of Church and State

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I recently posted this article about the state license plates in Florida and South Carolina that have set off recent separation of church and state arguments.  I basically assert that to protect the division between church and state, we sometimes compromise our first amendment rights, namely freedom of speech and also of religious expression.  Again, you can click here for that article; for this post I have some new information.

I was discussing the establishment clause over dinner with my department head (it’s a small town).  I mentioned that “separation of church and state” is nowhere to be found in the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, etc.  He asked me if I knew where the statement did in fact come from.  I honestly did not.  I have been informed – by a history teacher with more education and experience than myself – that the term separation of church and state was first used in a private letter written by Thomas Jefferson.  Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence, the document that first declared there was a  United States of America.  A Baptist church was concerned that the Federal government was going to institute the Congregational Church as the state appointed church, and Jefferson wrote a letter to their minister saying there was enough “separation of church and state” that it wouldn’t happen.  That letter was lost to the ages until sometime in the 1950’s when someone dug it up.  Since that time, because of that letter, the establishment clause of the Constitution has been interpreted to mean separation, and the Supreme Court favors that document – a private letter between two citizens – over the Constitution wording and other legal documents.

Here’s a good link for further research: http://everynation.wordpress.com/2007/04/09/is-separation-of-church-and-state-in-the-bible/

Licensed Believers

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The “I believe” license plate was not approved in the State of Florida, but representatives in South Carolina have approved a similar plate for their state, also depicting a cross.  The Lieutenant Governor is even willing to put up $4,000 of his own money in order to begin production.  This raises new arguments about separation of church and state, which I believe most people do not clearly understand correctly.

The U.S. Constitution says that the government shall pass no law regarding the establishment of a religion; a statement also known as the establishment clause.  The words “separation of church and state” or even just the word “separation” never appears.  Many of the original colonies were founded on principles of religious freedom and/or tolerance.  The framers of the Constitution did not want a government sanctioned religion.  The establishment clause is simply meant to prevent the U.S. Government from creating a state religion, one imposed by the government on its citizens.  Separation of church and state has come to mean something totally different.  So much so that I believe in many cases our First Amendment rights of free speech and religious expression are violated. 

Allowing students in school a time to pray is not the same as the school system requiring prayer.  The monument placed in the Alabama Supreme Court building recognized one of the oldest written law codes in ancient history, but it did not impose Christianity or Judaism on the people of Alabama.  Even people in government have a right to express their religious views withous forcing everyone listening to them to believe the same way.  Since when does “freedom of religion” equate “freedom from religion.”  If a person chooses to not believe, that is their God given and U.S. government protected right to do so.  By the same token, however, no one has the right to tell others they cannot profess their faith; to do so violates the believers First Amendment rights.  It seems today we swap the misguided “separation” clause for our legitimate First Amendment rights.

Will the S.C. plate be struck down as well?  Was Florida right or wrong to try to create their religious plate?  Do you agree/ disagree with my assessment of the establishment clause?  Let me hear from you.

Lessons from the Garden of Eden

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7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.    -Gen. 2:7-9

Lesson 1: We are special to God. Human beings are made in God’s image and likeness (Gen 1:26-27).  What does that mean exactly?  I’m not even sure.  People will tell you what it means, but truthfully, we don’t really know for sure.  We do that no other being in creation is described this way.  Continue reading →

How is abortion not killing babies?

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Kurt says:

Enough with this nonsense already!
The abortion “issue” is the biggest scam the GOP has ever come up with.
Think about it. If republican politicians and religious leaders truly thought we were killing babies, abortion would be stopped in an instant.

I’m a religious leader, and I think we’re killing babies. We have been doing so legally in the U.S. since the early 1970’s. Continue reading →

The Biblical Exegesis of a Renowned Atheist

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“Christians seldom realize that much of the moral consideration for others which is apparently promoted by both the Old and New Testaments, was originally intended to apply only to a narrow defined in-group. ‘Love thy neighbor’ didn’t mean what we now think it means. It meant only ‘Love another Jew.'” -Richard Dawkins

You see friends, what you have here is one of the world’s foremost anti-theists, what Becky Garrison describes in her book as “the new atheists.” Richard Dawkins not only believes there is no God, he thinks religious faith is dangerous and a threat to our society. Continue reading →

Evangelizing Christian talks to Articulate Atheist

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I recently discovered the blog of John Shore, and the first thing I read was a coffee shop conversation he listened to between an evangelizing Christian and a guy he described as “Wasn’t Having Any.” The discussion was over John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'” W.H.A. asserted that Jesus was not saying that only Christians were going to heaven, and that many Christians have abused that verse to claim it means something Christ didn’t say. Continue reading →

Do you like church?

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There are many books out right now about the dislike of church, why it has lost appeal, what should be done to reform worship, why men hate church, etc. etc.  One blogger has generated some stir on this subject, and if you like/ dislike church attendence then you should weigh in.  You’ll notice I have already.  Check out Why I Don’t Blame You for Not Liking Chruch.  Rich will appreciate it, and I think we all need to be aware of this problem if we plan to do anything about it.  The president of the SBC predicts that 20% of Southern Baptist Churches will die in the next 20 years.  (Thanks iMonk.)  It’s time to recognize.