Church and State

I find it strange that a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802 would lead to the establishment clause, or the Separation of Church and State.  It was not an official document, it was a letter.  Much like the poem on the Statue of Liberty, somehow this became secular dogma.

Jefferson believed that our nation, unlike almost every other nation on earth, should not have an official church.  His intention was to assure the Baptists that as the Constitution states, they have freedom OF religion.  The government should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

To state that somehow Jefferson believed that faith was to be divorced from the person, or that public appeals to God were to be banished, is a gross misrepresentation.  He used an appeal to our common faith in the Declaration of Independence, a document which, unlike his letter, is a foundational document agreed upon by the Continental Congress.

The battle over the concept of Freedom OF Religion vs. Freedom FROM Religion rages today.  Does faith hold a place in public life?  If faith is real, it is part of who they are on every level.

A person can separate their civic duties from their religious convictions.  Any assumption otherwise, especially as people of faith and various denominations have demonstrated their civic convictions and abilities, reflects a tremendous bigotry.

It is these same bigots that scream the loudest about the separation of Church and State, who fight to remove God and faith from all public display.  They are the same who applaud loudest when Obama moved to directly attack the faith of Roman Catholics with the weight of Federal mandate.  The hypocrisy is glaringly clear.

Rick Santorum or any political figure can’t speak to his fellow believers on matters of a common faith without raising a red flag.  He can’t hold personal religious convictions without having his faith ridiculed and being declared unfit, not because of his political stances, but because of his faith.

However, Obama can sit in a church with a black Father Flannery and misquote Jesus’ teachings on gifts to make a case for taxes, and there is no issue.  He can directly attack fundamental beliefs of the largest religious denomination in the world, clearly violating the First Amendment and the separation of Church and State.

Hypocrisy!

Our government bends over backward to apologize to Muslims, the same who are now killing our soldiers, but attacking the faith of most Americans is a non-issue.  We can’t have the Ten Commandments displayed, or prayer in school, but we will consider Sharia Law, or allow Muslim prayer areas in public schools and universities.

Our media thinks twice before ridiculing Islam but regularly mocks Christianity.

83% of Americans identify themselves as Christian, but they are to have no rights and be pushed out of the public arena?  Their psychology is to be questioned or their loyalty to our nation doubted.

We are told we are in the post-Christian era, that we are not a Christian nation.

I wonder what letter Jefferson would say today.  I’m sure this was not his intent.

 

An Open Letter

There are those who look to government to dictate a utopian society through laws, regulations, bureaucracy, government intervention, oversight, and funding.  I don’t believe that those who feel this way are evil in their intentions at all.  I think they honestly do wish to see a better world, where people are cared for, and all have an equal opportunity to find happiness.  It is difficult to find fault in the intention.  It is the means that I find most troubling, and where much of the division lies among Americans today.  Whereas one group looks to the heavy hand of government to force an ideal society, the other group finds much to fear in that, for government is far too often owned and controlled by a powerful minority that cares little for those over whom they govern.

George Washington once said, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

My ancestry, like that of many Americans, experienced first hand the wisdom of Washington’s words.  By and large, they fled to America to find a place where they could be free from the heavy hand of government, free to pursue life, love, and happiness.  My ancestors were Huguenot, French Protestants driven out of their country upon pain of death for their faith.  They were Germans from Russia, a people forced into Russia under Catherine the Great, and hated for generations until Stalin saw fit to destroy the bulk of them who remained in Russia.  They were Cherokee, forced out of their lands on the Trail of Tears.  They were Confederates, who saw a savage and brutal war waged against them, and in their surrender, a harsh military occupation and the loss of their voice.  These people all saw their homes, their peace, their happiness shattered by the brutal hand of government which sought to destroy them and to demonize them to create their own utopian vision.

I have inherited a healthy distrust for government.

I believe in people, and I believe that people will generally do what is right.  Where they do not, a free society generally does a pretty good job of taking care of those issues.  People will rise up to right injustices through various means, and when they do they are very effective.  People will and do take care of each other with a compassion that no government agent could ever hold.  I have far greater faith in my family, my neighbor, my community, than I could ever hold in an entity which draws power not from compassion, love, or community, but rather from the end of a gun.  That gun should exist to protect the people and our freedoms.

Therein lies the cunundrum.  There are problems that we collectively face, but while one sees the hand of government as the best solution, the other sees a more Orwellian view of such efforts.  As Thomas Jefferson said, “A government big enough to supply you with everything you need is a government big enough to take away everything that you have.”  I would rather place my faith in those things which are deserving of such a trust.

Do not mistake my distrust of power as racist, or uncaring, or any of the other words that political diatribe in this nation has eroded to.  I’m sure this election will further erode the bonds that bind us, but it is my sincere hope that we can heal the rift, and understand not only the fundamental differences in our world views, but that each wishes a better life for all.