Namaste and welcome to another edition of the Quiet Mouse Strikes back.
"The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries."
- James Madison, 4th President
"The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."
- George Washington, 1st President
"Christianity may be good and Satanism evil. Under the Constitution, however, both are neutral. This is an important, but difficult, concept for many law enforcement officers to accept. They are paid to uphold the penal code, not the Ten Commandments... The fact is that far more crime and child abuse has been committed by religious zealots in the name of God, Jesus, and Mohammed than has ever been committed in the name of Satan. Many people don't like that statement, but few can argue with it."
- Carl Sagan, author and scientist
"Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so."
- Robert A. Heinlein, American author
"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be one nation gone under."
- Ronald Reagan, 40th President
I started out with some quotes to get my readers thinking about the topic of the blog. Now, I'm gonna throw a curve ball and state that I don't think there can EVER be a true separation of church and state because in reality the CHURCH IS THE STATE. Think about that one for a second.
In the United States of America, approximately 77% of the population considers itself to be Christian. Throughout history, especially in Europe through the dark ages of the last 2000+ years there was NO clear boundary between the church and state. Often, in fact, the religion acted as a tool to further the whims of the state, and their holy book, the Bible, was often edited, like in the example of the King James Bible, based upon who was in charge at the time, and what they wanted to accomplish... generally this had to do with taxation, fealty, and the threat of penalty for dissent against the government/church state. In fact, still to this day judges continue to wear robes in court (as well as making you swear on the Bible) because the original court system FOR the state was done BY the church and its officials, who acted as judge, jury, and executioner... any dissent was considered a crime punishable by DEATH or torture. Beyond the fact that religion claims to be infallible and beyond the scope of government or the people, there are many more similarities with government than they would like to admit...
CHURCH v. STATE
1) BOTH claim all-encompassing authority over the land and the people within.
2) BOTH claim to be the authority over morality and judgement.
3) BOTH are large organizations that CLAIM to serve the people.
4) BOTH are 100% funded by citizens of nations.
5) BOTH claim to have gotten their power from a HIGHER AUTHORITY.
6) BOTH claim to be a path of salvation for millions.
7) BOTH discriminate and spread disinformation as it serves their interest.
8) BOTH are hung up on trivial issues like abortion and homosexual rights.
9) BOTH threaten punishment for failure to follow their "code of ethics".
10) BOTH threaten long term consequences for these violations.
11) BOTH have sanctioned wars and murdered innocents based on their biased beliefs.
12) BOTH are more concerned with their own agendas than the will of the people who fund them.
13) BOTH hold their meetings in large buildings where their agenda and creed is preached from a pulpit.
14) BOTH have an over-inflated sense of self-importance.
15) BOTH are fully capable and DO rationalize bigotry, ethnocentrism, war, theft, and murder... often BOTH in the name of GOD...
I could probably go on, but I think my reading audience will understand the point I'm trying to make. In a certain geographical area, the predominant religion also becomes the predominant government philosophy. It is no different in Muslim or Jewish controlled nations.
It is a novel idea to separate church and state, but the practical application is much more difficult. It is this way because the very citizens that make up the government happen to be predominantly of that religion. In this nation that is 3/4 Christian, our political representatives are mostly Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant to a lesser degree. Right now there are NO Protestants holding position on the Supreme Court of the United States.
Lastly, look at our money and see that it says "In God we trust"... clearly NOT a separation of church and state. Also, we can look directly at the Bible to see that there is no separation of Christianity from the State.
Romans 13: "Let every soul be subject to governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgement upon themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil..."
THINK and be FREE. This has been the one and only Quiet Mouse.
"The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries."
- James Madison, 4th President
"The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."
- George Washington, 1st President
"Christianity may be good and Satanism evil. Under the Constitution, however, both are neutral. This is an important, but difficult, concept for many law enforcement officers to accept. They are paid to uphold the penal code, not the Ten Commandments... The fact is that far more crime and child abuse has been committed by religious zealots in the name of God, Jesus, and Mohammed than has ever been committed in the name of Satan. Many people don't like that statement, but few can argue with it."
- Carl Sagan, author and scientist
"Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so."
- Robert A. Heinlein, American author
"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be one nation gone under."
- Ronald Reagan, 40th President
I started out with some quotes to get my readers thinking about the topic of the blog. Now, I'm gonna throw a curve ball and state that I don't think there can EVER be a true separation of church and state because in reality the CHURCH IS THE STATE. Think about that one for a second.
In the United States of America, approximately 77% of the population considers itself to be Christian. Throughout history, especially in Europe through the dark ages of the last 2000+ years there was NO clear boundary between the church and state. Often, in fact, the religion acted as a tool to further the whims of the state, and their holy book, the Bible, was often edited, like in the example of the King James Bible, based upon who was in charge at the time, and what they wanted to accomplish... generally this had to do with taxation, fealty, and the threat of penalty for dissent against the government/church state. In fact, still to this day judges continue to wear robes in court (as well as making you swear on the Bible) because the original court system FOR the state was done BY the church and its officials, who acted as judge, jury, and executioner... any dissent was considered a crime punishable by DEATH or torture. Beyond the fact that religion claims to be infallible and beyond the scope of government or the people, there are many more similarities with government than they would like to admit...
CHURCH v. STATE
1) BOTH claim all-encompassing authority over the land and the people within.
2) BOTH claim to be the authority over morality and judgement.
3) BOTH are large organizations that CLAIM to serve the people.
4) BOTH are 100% funded by citizens of nations.
5) BOTH claim to have gotten their power from a HIGHER AUTHORITY.
6) BOTH claim to be a path of salvation for millions.
7) BOTH discriminate and spread disinformation as it serves their interest.
8) BOTH are hung up on trivial issues like abortion and homosexual rights.
9) BOTH threaten punishment for failure to follow their "code of ethics".
10) BOTH threaten long term consequences for these violations.
11) BOTH have sanctioned wars and murdered innocents based on their biased beliefs.
12) BOTH are more concerned with their own agendas than the will of the people who fund them.
13) BOTH hold their meetings in large buildings where their agenda and creed is preached from a pulpit.
14) BOTH have an over-inflated sense of self-importance.
15) BOTH are fully capable and DO rationalize bigotry, ethnocentrism, war, theft, and murder... often BOTH in the name of GOD...
I could probably go on, but I think my reading audience will understand the point I'm trying to make. In a certain geographical area, the predominant religion also becomes the predominant government philosophy. It is no different in Muslim or Jewish controlled nations.
It is a novel idea to separate church and state, but the practical application is much more difficult. It is this way because the very citizens that make up the government happen to be predominantly of that religion. In this nation that is 3/4 Christian, our political representatives are mostly Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant to a lesser degree. Right now there are NO Protestants holding position on the Supreme Court of the United States.
Lastly, look at our money and see that it says "In God we trust"... clearly NOT a separation of church and state. Also, we can look directly at the Bible to see that there is no separation of Christianity from the State.
Romans 13: "Let every soul be subject to governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgement upon themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil..."
THINK and be FREE. This has been the one and only Quiet Mouse.
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