Oh. Em. Gee.
My Aunt Linda is a good person. But sometimes, she sends me really, really stupid email forwards. Forwards such as this one:
DID YOU KNOW? As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view ... it is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandment
DID YOU KNOW? As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.
DID YOU KNOW? As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall, right above where the Supreme Court judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments!
DID YOU KNOW? There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C.
DID YOU KNOW? James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of Our Constitution" made the following statement:
"We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."
DID YOU KNOW? Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said:
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ".
DID YOU KNOW? Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.
DID YOU KNOW? Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies.
DID YOU KNOW? Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making law an oligarchy... the rule of few over many.
DID YOU KNOW? The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said:
"Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."
How, then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional?
Please forward this. Lets put it around the world and let the world see and remember what this great country was built on.
Thank you!!
I was asked to send this on if I agreed or delete if I didn't. Now it is your turn...
It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore...
I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a mess about having the 10 commandments on display or "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!! OR, go back to their own country to live. (PS, I really should have commented on the "their own country" thing. Because that? Is just DUMB.)
If you agree, pass this on... if not, simply delete... what say you?
My response:
"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." -- PRESIDENT JAMES MADISON, 1803 letter objecting to church use of government land.
Dear Aunt Linda,
I know that this email said to simply delete it if I didn't agree, but I have to say, I found part of it incredibly offensive. This part, in particular:
"I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a mess about having the 10 commandments on display or "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!! OR, go back to their own country to live."
As an American, I reserve the right not to shut up, and the creator of this email would do well to remember that. There is a separation of church and state for good reason, and it is not there to persecute Christians. Though I completely support the right of all people to worship as they choose, provided they harm no one else, I cannot support a government run on biblical law alone. This is for many reasons, not the least being the following:
--All Americans *are not* Christian. We are a diverse society of many voices, voices that should be heard. For the government to endorse any religion over the others would effectively silence minority voices. Sorry, I'd prefer to not live in the 1700's.
-- Christians are people. As people, they are also capable of twisting religious doctrine to achieve particular political gain, perverting the gospel and using many passages out of context. Historically, when any group does this, it leads to loss of civil liberties and the silencing of minority groups. Lest we forget the Spanish Inquisition that used religious doctrine to slaughter THOUSANDS, I'd like to maintain political neutrality with regards to religion.
-- You want a theocracy? Be prepared to give up football and poly-cotton blends (Leviticus, anyone?). I'm just sayin'.
Lest anyone think that I am anti-Christian, no, I am not. We may all pray and worship as we choose, and that is something amazing about this country. America is also not anti-Christian. It is simply that we cannot govern a diverse society by only the rules of one of its components. No matter what one's religious beliefs may hold, I consider it completely unacceptable to demean or nullify someone else's beliefs or values. This is *exactly* what would happen if we had a Christian Theocracy.
In closing, I would like to leave you with some quotes:
--"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma." -- Abraham Lincon, speech in New York, 1864
--"George Washington's practice of Christianity was limited and superficial because he was not himself a Christian... He repeatedly declined the church's sacraments. Never did he take communion, and when his wife, Martha, did, he waited for her outside the sanctuary... Even on his deathbed, Washington asked for no ritual, uttered no prayer to Christ, and expressed no wish to be attended by His representative." -- "George Washington: The Making of an American Symbol", Barry Schwartz
--"The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion..." -- Treaty with Tripoli, passed unanimously by the senate, signed by President John Adams on June 10, 1797
--"No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever..." Thomas Jefferson, in the Virginia Act for Religious Freedom, 1786
--"Christianity neither is, nor ever was, a part of the common law." -- Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814
--"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 1787
--"Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private schools, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and the state forever separated." -- President Ulysses S. Grant
I doubt that this email will become a forwarded letter, and that is fine with me. However, as an American citizen, I did want to take the time to voice a conscientious objection and explain my reasoning for doing so. Perhaps the writer of the FWD to which I am replying should learn similar courtesy. After all, I do believe that the Christian religion preaches to love one's neighbor, not to suggest they should move out.
Yours,
Christina
*Edited for a few typos because I should not type when angry.
...I doubt I'll get a response. And thanks to
paganrose, whose quotage I referenced.
DID YOU KNOW? As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view ... it is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandment
DID YOU KNOW? As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.
DID YOU KNOW? As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall, right above where the Supreme Court judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments!
DID YOU KNOW? There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C.
DID YOU KNOW? James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of Our Constitution" made the following statement:
"We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."
DID YOU KNOW? Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said:
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ".
DID YOU KNOW? Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.
DID YOU KNOW? Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies.
DID YOU KNOW? Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making law an oligarchy... the rule of few over many.
DID YOU KNOW? The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said:
"Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."
How, then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional?
Please forward this. Lets put it around the world and let the world see and remember what this great country was built on.
Thank you!!
I was asked to send this on if I agreed or delete if I didn't. Now it is your turn...
It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore...
I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a mess about having the 10 commandments on display or "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!! OR, go back to their own country to live. (PS, I really should have commented on the "their own country" thing. Because that? Is just DUMB.)
If you agree, pass this on... if not, simply delete... what say you?
My response:
"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." -- PRESIDENT JAMES MADISON, 1803 letter objecting to church use of government land.
Dear Aunt Linda,
I know that this email said to simply delete it if I didn't agree, but I have to say, I found part of it incredibly offensive. This part, in particular:
"I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a mess about having the 10 commandments on display or "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!! OR, go back to their own country to live."
As an American, I reserve the right not to shut up, and the creator of this email would do well to remember that. There is a separation of church and state for good reason, and it is not there to persecute Christians. Though I completely support the right of all people to worship as they choose, provided they harm no one else, I cannot support a government run on biblical law alone. This is for many reasons, not the least being the following:
--All Americans *are not* Christian. We are a diverse society of many voices, voices that should be heard. For the government to endorse any religion over the others would effectively silence minority voices. Sorry, I'd prefer to not live in the 1700's.
-- Christians are people. As people, they are also capable of twisting religious doctrine to achieve particular political gain, perverting the gospel and using many passages out of context. Historically, when any group does this, it leads to loss of civil liberties and the silencing of minority groups. Lest we forget the Spanish Inquisition that used religious doctrine to slaughter THOUSANDS, I'd like to maintain political neutrality with regards to religion.
-- You want a theocracy? Be prepared to give up football and poly-cotton blends (Leviticus, anyone?). I'm just sayin'.
Lest anyone think that I am anti-Christian, no, I am not. We may all pray and worship as we choose, and that is something amazing about this country. America is also not anti-Christian. It is simply that we cannot govern a diverse society by only the rules of one of its components. No matter what one's religious beliefs may hold, I consider it completely unacceptable to demean or nullify someone else's beliefs or values. This is *exactly* what would happen if we had a Christian Theocracy.
In closing, I would like to leave you with some quotes:
--"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma." -- Abraham Lincon, speech in New York, 1864
--"George Washington's practice of Christianity was limited and superficial because he was not himself a Christian... He repeatedly declined the church's sacraments. Never did he take communion, and when his wife, Martha, did, he waited for her outside the sanctuary... Even on his deathbed, Washington asked for no ritual, uttered no prayer to Christ, and expressed no wish to be attended by His representative." -- "George Washington: The Making of an American Symbol", Barry Schwartz
--"The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion..." -- Treaty with Tripoli, passed unanimously by the senate, signed by President John Adams on June 10, 1797
--"No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever..." Thomas Jefferson, in the Virginia Act for Religious Freedom, 1786
--"Christianity neither is, nor ever was, a part of the common law." -- Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814
--"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 1787
--"Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private schools, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and the state forever separated." -- President Ulysses S. Grant
I doubt that this email will become a forwarded letter, and that is fine with me. However, as an American citizen, I did want to take the time to voice a conscientious objection and explain my reasoning for doing so. Perhaps the writer of the FWD to which I am replying should learn similar courtesy. After all, I do believe that the Christian religion preaches to love one's neighbor, not to suggest they should move out.
Yours,
Christina
*Edited for a few typos because I should not type when angry.
...I doubt I'll get a response. And thanks to
paganrose, whose quotage I referenced.