|
|
Post by ShivaTD on Nov 7, 2013 10:26:27 GMT
Religious rites serve no legitimate purpose of government. There is no fundamental difference between prayer and the ritual slaughter of animals for religious purposes. Why not just open a legislative session with the slaughter of a lamb? What legitimate purpose of government would either serve?
|
|
|
|
Post by JP5 on Nov 9, 2013 2:25:36 GMT
BECAUSE....like it or not.......our country was founded based on a belief in God. Because of the religious persecution so many of them had encountered prior to coming here.....our Founding Fathers made SURE that they wrote the Constitution so that our government could not FORCE a particular religion on anyone...and that all are free to believe, or not believe, or to worship, or not to worship......
The traditions of our country....and what it was based on.....continue. We have "In God We Trust" in our national songs....on our Coins.......and we still say prayer in the Congress each and every morning before the sessions begin. We have mention of God on our National Monuments, inside the walls of our treasured national Buildings....in our national songs....and on and on. Mention of God is written in our Founding documents and in our history.
I really wished the handful of atheists would just get a life and stop trying to rewrite our history.
|
|
|
|
Post by ShivaTD on Nov 9, 2013 15:13:58 GMT
BECAUSE....like it or not.......our country was founded based on a belief in God. Because of the religious persecution so many of them had encountered........
I do find the comment on the immigrants coming to America because of religious persecution to be amusing. They came here and then persecuted the Native-Americans that had different religious beliefs. Hell, the "Christians" even drove the Mormons completely out of the United States and they relocated to "Utah" that wasn't even a US territory at the time of their immigration there. They persecuted anyone that wasn't a Christian.
Persecution! The Christians have persecuted more people in America than anyone else. Even the Spanish Catholics that originally settled the Southwest persecuted the Native-Americans that weren't Christians.
|
|
|
|
Post by JP5 on Nov 9, 2013 17:09:02 GMT
BECAUSE....like it or not.......our country was founded based on a belief in God. Because of the religious persecution so many of them had encountered........
I do find the comment on the immigrants coming to America because of religious persecution to be amusing. They came here and then persecuted the Native-Americans that had different religious beliefs. Hell, the "Christians" even drove the Mormons completely out of the United States and they relocated to "Utah" that wasn't even a US territory at the time of their immigration there. They persecuted anyone that wasn't a Christian.
Persecution! The Christians have persecuted more people in America than anyone else. Even the Spanish Catholics that originally settled the Southwest persecuted the Native-Americans that weren't Christians.
|
|
|
|
Post by ShivaTD on Nov 10, 2013 9:52:51 GMT
Well, Shiva....IF you hate your country this much, I'm surprised you are still here. There ARE countries that would probably be more to your liking....like China, which was certainly not about a belief in God. That's probably how they can so easily starve so much of their population without a care in the world about it. Same in North Korea.
The founders went so far as to ensure that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States" in Article VI Paragraph 3 of the US Constitution.
When the United States was created the founders envisioned a nation that united all of the People without any criteria such are religion, race, ethnic heritage, social class or other invidious criteria to divide them. We are not a "Christian" nation as that would be an invidious criteria that would divide the nation. We're a secular nation where religion plays no part in whether a person is a "True American" or not.
The key founders such as Jefferson and Madison envisioned the ideal knowing full well that ideals are what we strive for and never achieve but that does not disparage their vision. In some respects we've succeeded but in others, even from the first days of America, we've failed. As an American I'm thrilled with the successes and dismayed by the failures but only by recognizing the failures can we work to address them so that we don't fail in the future.
Like Jefferson, who was certainly not a Christian, I envision a nation without prejudice based upon religion, race, ethnic heritage, social class, or other invidious criteria where "all men are created equal" and not subjected to discrimination either by government or society.
Yes, I oppose "prayer" in public institutions because we're a secular nation not founded upon religious beliefs and prayer, a religious ceremony, serves no legitimate purpose of government. I oppose the national motto of 'In God We Trust' because it excludes the agnostics and atheists from being included as Americans. I oppose 'One nation under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance because it's a lie as we're 'One nation under the US Constitution' because we're a secular, not a sectarian, nation. Religion divides the nation while religious freedom where a person can believe or not believe in god unites a nation.
'Freedom Of Religion' includes 'Freedom From Religion' as one cannot fully exist without the other.
|
|
