I posted a blog some time ago in my FaceBook Notes concerning some issues that affect our nation negatively both in the short term and long term. One commenter made the remark that she was glad that we were finally getting ‘religion’ out of our government, quoting the most misquoted phrase related to our Constitution that there is, i.e. ‘the separation of church and state.”

As I began to write a response to the commenter, I realized that most well-meaning citizens of our great nation are mostly clueless about this term and where it actually comes from. My natural course of reasoning then wondered how many Americans even know what our nation’s constitution says, what’s included in it, and what the Bill of Rights are.

My mind, now spiraling out of control over the realization of how much that most people, at least in America, take freedom for granted, what it takes to get it back once it’s lost, and even more startling, how many even realize when it is being lost. It began to make perfect sense to me how we Americans have allowed our nation’s moral fiber to decay so rapidly, and for those who believe in the foundational principles of what our nation was founded on to so easily be duped into accepting misinformation handed down by shrewd and deceitful individuals bent on stripping our nation of its heritage – mainly our Constitution and what the First Amendment actually says. [head spinning at this point]

Most who know me know me as a conservative right-winged entrepreneurial capitalist. Guilty as charged.  This said, you can expect me to get up on my soap box when I see gross injustice being carried out by a few who do not represent the many or masses. In recent months, it has continually been America’s present administration. Somehow it has been decided that even amid the lowest poll rating, and highest voter disapproval that our present White House and Congress have aggressively pushed through extremist laws that border on the line of dictatorship and not that of democracy. It does not really matter what the general public want, think, or say. The policies that only a few desire are being pushed into law over the will of the masses.

Take the Hate Crimes Bill for instance, or even more destructive (ok, well, equally as destructive), the healthcare bill. It’s just absolutely out in left field when it comes to a reality check. I am still trying to understand the mentality of forced health care where it would be a federal crime if you do not have a health care policy. Someone help me to understand this, please.

We now have a health care bill where the health care policy felon (the offender) who could not afford the health care plan (approximately $290/mth) would be subject to up to a $5000 fine and imprisonment for not having a health care plan. Yet, the cost per day of someone in jail costs the tax payer about $285, or equivalent to the cost of a monthly premium for a healthcare policy for the person that is jailed. Are you following me? Am I missing something? But here is the kicker. If you are an inmate in our penal system, you receive free health care – free at least in that the taxpayers pay for it.

OK, so back on topic here. The commenter on my post boldly proclaimed the ‘separation of church and state’ clause relating to a statement made by our President that America was “no longer a Christian nation.” To further emphasis his point, he canceled the National Day of Prayer, something that our nation has celebrated as a people for some 60 years publicly, and was an overflow of what takes place in the halls of Congress everyday as the day gets started.

This said, I humbly submit to those who would wonder about such things that the separation of church and state is a principle derived from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . .” The modern concept of or verbal remaking of our 1^st Amendment concerning church and state has been credited to the writings of English philosopher John Locke (not an American). The phrase “separation of church and state” specifically can be traced to an 1802 letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists; an assembly where Jefferson spoke of the collective effect of the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

This statement of Jefferson has since been quoted in several opinions handed down by the United States Supreme Court. Ironically, the Court has not always fully embraced the principle itself but rather deferred their reasoning to it since it had previously been quoted or ascribed to in earlier decisions. The reality of this misrepresentation of what the Constitution actually says, and what the meaning of the term was originally meant to say are in fact in great opposition to one another. Clearly, there has been a very small segment of very powerful atheists and Gnostics who were able to manipulate the Courts, Judges, politicians, and media over the years to bring about this distortion of fact and principle as it was originally intended.

With even this modified nomenclature of ‘separation of church and state” there can be no way it can constitute the stripping of G-d out of our society, nor the oppressive behavior towards those who profess faith in Christ as is now being seen as commonplace for those who dare to be known and heard concerning moral absolutes and any law that is based on moral absolutes. The First Amendment clearly says that the government cannot force people to believe a certain way. It does not say that a government of the people by the people and for the people cannot have a preference to believe in the values that have shaped every civilized culture since the beginning of recorded history.

I am sure that if most intelligent people who are unaware of what our Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the supporting documents of our nation actually said, they would see very clearly that our nation is founded exclusively upon Christian values and principles, and the Holy Scriptures themselves. It is the G-d inspired writing of the Constitution that allows a Buddhist for instance to be a practicing Buddhist in America, and to be known for doing it, and have the ability to be shown respect for their decision to believe the way they so choose. However, those who seek so aggressively to remove the Christian faith from our nation do not realize that in most of the rest of the world (Muslim world for instance) you would be executed for being a Buddhist or a homosexual for that matter. This certain death of course would be after they were most likely raped and tortured, and the torturers made that Buddhist or homosexual recant their beliefs or die a painful death.

Ok, so back to the Amendment in question, which does not say anywhere in it “separation of church and state”. The reason for the Amendment was the result of an oppressive government in England that controlled the Church in an effort to control the people. In her defense (the commenter on my original blog found on FaceBook), I do understand why there are those in our society (America) that are glad ‘Christianity’ and the moral guidelines that originally came from this G-d centered way of life are being removed from our country. The moral pillars of Christ’s Church cast a dark shadow on immoral behavior or self-consumed lifestyles. But, what these proponents of a ‘godless society’ do not realize is that removing G-d/Christ from our country will not remove the nagging feeling of guilt or the growing animosity towards anyone or anything that would stand in opposition to their willful choice to lead such a lives.

This ideology of self-exaltation and self-awareness that would seek to overturn the moral laws of G-d (a religion in and of itself) that the 2% of our country who are homosexual who want their life style to become a mainstream way of life, taught as acceptable to our preschool and elementary aged children, and have a law that says you cannot even say it is wrong without being charged for a federal crime, is by its very nature an aberrant religious order. Should we as a nation not also reject and rise up against this self gratifying religion? (Religion defined: Man made philosophy that helps man feel good about him self that is based on his own needs and not others).

This all said, the First Amendment in no way constitutes the stripping of G-d out of our society, nor the oppressive behavior towards those who profess faith in Christ. But it would make sense given the growing hatred for Christians. We (myself included) are the most persecuted ‘religion’ in America and around the world. I believe I heard that last year almost 300,000 Christians were killed simply because they were Christians. The majority of the millions killed in Africa through starvation and ethnic cleansing have been Christian. And, through abortion alone, children that G-d sees as His very own, over 45,000,000 have been murdered for nothing more than a convenience in all but very few isolated cases. Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but is there a pattern forming here that is paramount to a tribulation period of Biblical proportions?

I’m getting off track again… sorry. The First Amendment as written clearly says that the government cannot force people to believe a certain way. It does not say that our government – a government of the people by the people and for the people – cannot have a preference to believe in and adhere to the values that have shaped every civilized culture since the beginning of recorded history (being repetitive here to make a point).

What do you think about all this? I would love to hear what you have to say on this either way.