year of the bible?

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/01/28/pennsylvania-house-unanimously-violates-first-amendment-of-constitution-by-passing-bible-praising-resolution/

So, separation of church and state eh?

Eh, who needs it. After reading the bill it looks like Wall Builders and their Tin Hat Brigade have finally won.

Aside from that, as most (all?) of you are my friends on Facebook you've probably already encountered my commentary.

Bryant wrote:Eh, who needs it. After reading the bill it looks like Wall Builders and their Tin Hat Brigade have finally won.

Let me guess, the Wall Builders are some crowd that say that America is and was always a Christian nation and every red-blooded patriot should be praying to god daily (with the inference that those who don't are neither red-blooded nor a partiot)?

We used to have a country here that was ruled by the catholic church. Trust me, you're better off without them involved in government.

Miles1 wrote:

Bryant wrote:Eh, who needs it. After reading the bill it looks like Wall Builders and their Tin Hat Brigade have finally won.

Let me guess, the Wall Builders are some crowd that say that America is and was always a Christian nation and every red-blooded patriot should be praying to god daily (with the inference that those who don't are neither red-blooded nor a partiot)?

We used to have a country here that was ruled by the catholic church. Trust me, you're better off without them involved in government.

Better, they claim to have some super secret primary source documents from James Madison et al in which they clearly assert that they always meant for this to be a theocracy (despite the countless publications from Madison et al arguing the contrary). That is to say they're a horde or lieing, revisionist, armature historians that are trying to do the same thing to public school history class rooms as the Discovery Institute is trying to do to science labs. They lie, they manipulate and fabricate quotes, they misrepresent (or fabricate) data, and most of the GOP loves them for it (you can watch the likes of Huckabee fawning over them in an interview with Jon Stewart).

Ahh Miles. Up to mischief eh? Lol! :joker:

It is an interesting article. I like these coz it allows me to dismantle the authors misguided claims. Great sport!

Ok, here's what the author claims:

1. He calls this a blatant violation of the Establishment Clause.

the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a resolution declaring 2012 ‘The Year of The Bible,’ and praised the book as the greatest book of the year even though there are still 11 months left until 2013. The resolution declares that the Bible played a major role in the Constitution and the founding of America, even though there is no mention of the Bible, God, Jesus, or Christianity in the Constitution. The resolution goes on to cite the many Presidents who supposedly ‘paid tribute to the influence of the Bible in our country’s development,’ and declares that Americans ‘need to study and apply the teachings of the holy scriptures.’

Ok. A blatant violation of the Establishment Clause? Really? Why? Because the resolution dares to mention the Bible and the Founding Fathers?

This is a common misconception that many uneducated (in the topic) fall prey to. The Establishment Clause says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise of, or abridging the Freedom of Speech, etc...etc.

Read the bold face portion. Congress cannot establish a religion or interfere with our freedom to worship as we like. Ie...our govt cannot establish a state Church like Henry the VIII did. And it cannot lock up people who worship other faiths. Why did they do this you may well ask? because back in 1532, Catholics and Protestants were at one another's throats for years! When Queen Mary came to the throne, she persecuted Protestants. Queen Elizabeth persecuted Catholics with equal fervor. They tortured and burned one another and went after Jews in the process.

Even in the American Colonies, efforts to establish the Anglican church in Maryland and Massachusets sparked violence. And James Oglethorpe prohibited Catholics from settling in Georgia.

The Founding Fathers didnt want this in our country. They realized problems were being brought over from the old world and they felt it was necessary to prohibit the ESTABLISHMENT of a state church. Establishment...establishment clause? Get it? Thus the establishment clause was born.

And thats ALL the establishment clause does with respect to religion. It does NOT prohibit the mere mention of Jesus, God or religious references in public buildings. It does NOT mean you cannot display the 10 Commandments or a picture of a Cross in a public building (as long as other faiths are included). It does NOT mean a kid cannot wear a religious t-shirt or jewelry at a public school. It only means the state cannot establish (or favor) a government religion. Period.

The Pennsylvania resolution does none of this. Furthermore, the Establishment Clause is restricted to our FEDERAL govt...not the state govt. Pennsylvania is a State and can make any statement it likes (though the ACLU will do its best to bully them into submission).


2.

The Bible didn’t actually influence the Constitution. That’s the kind of revisionist history that Republicans and the Christian Right have been shoveling for decades. They’ve even pushed totally made up quotes that they attributed to the Founders as proof of their claims. The Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they wrote the Constitution. They gave ALL religions the freedom to exist and flourish and they forbade the government from putting any one religion over another.

Even the author explains what the establishment clause is, and what the Founding Fathers meant...(without even realizing it).

He listed a buncha quotes to try to prove the Founding Fathers were...anti Christian or anti religious. But check this out:

George Washington issued the 1st proclamation o a national thanksgiving on Oct 3, 1789 in order to "acknowledge the providence of ALMIGHTY GOD, to obey His will, to be grateful for HIS benefits, and humbly impore HIS protection and favor..."

Thats a quote.

Shortly before his famous duel, Alexander Hamilton formed a RELIGIOUS SOCIETY in New York, and while writhing in agonizing pain on his deathbed, he asked for an Episcopalian priest.

Only a few of the principal leaders of the founding generation could be classified as non-Christian. The most likely were Jefferson, Franklin, Madison and maybe John Adams. (Funny how those are the ones most quoted).

But here's the truth. Congress frequently called for national days of prayer. And it still opens sessions of Congress IN THE CAPITOL BLDG with prayer. And we still have a national DAY OF PRAYER. We still swear on a Bible in court. We still have In God we Trust on our currency.

Its not surprising that most folks (think) that there is a separation of Church and State and that said separation means no mention of faith or religion can be made in a public building.

The reason most folks think this is because most folks just dont know the history of this nation. They dont know what was actually said, done or the reasons for it.

What they do know is that the ACLU and the SCOTUS have drilled it into our culture that religion must be wiped out of our public buildings and documents. And political correctness is used to try to bully the rest of us into submission.

These anti-religious know that if you say something over and over and over, eventually the public will believe it. Sadly, this is true. We've heard this stuff for decades now and unfortunately we believe that there actually is a seperation of Church and State in our Constitution (there isnt) or our Bill or Rights (there isnt) or that our Founding Fathers were anti religious (they werent).

Society was so religious at the time that if the Founding Fathers really were anti-religious, they would likely have been derided and persecuted themselves. Certainly the wouldnt have received enough votes to gain office.