Restoring America's Honor
"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and State.
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Danbury Baptist Association, CT., Jan. 1, 1802
New York Times: At the Lincoln Memorial, a Call for Religious Rebirth
Glenn Beck marches on Washington and stands before a crowd estimated from 300,000 to 500,000 people, standing in the same place that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood 47 years ago to the day, and and proclaims that America is in need of a religious revival.
Mr. Beck goes so far as to compare this event's significance in history to that of Dr. King's march in 1963 and to Woodstock. Except that Woodstock was anything but a conservative rally, and Dr. King's march was a rally demanding equal rights for all men that are guaranteed under the constitution.
For those of you who support Glenn Beck and the social conservatives in believing that America is a strictly Christian nation, I urge you to dig a little deeper than the new Historty text books provided by the Texas State Board of Education and consider the following: None of the founding fathers were Christians.
Allow me to explain. The founding fathers were not athiests. They believed in a divine creator and they even subscribed to the teachings of Jesus, but they did not subscribe to the faith that Jesus was a divine being, nor did they take the gospel as Truth. For this, the founding fathers were men of reason and were able to separate advice from doctrine, fact from opinion, right from wrong. They all understood that a man's relationship with God was personal, and that matters of faith could not be forced upon any other man. And they understood that to keep religion personal, it must not enter the domain of the government. I don't just speak of Thomas Jefferson, but also Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, James Madison, and John Adams.
Glenn Beck asks to restore America's honor with a religious revival in America, but we all know he really means a Christian revivial, a domination of Christianity over all things American: society and politics. This is a dangerous game. If the religious right cites that the country is founded by Christianity, they are probably citing the pilgrims who came over from England to practice their strict religious intolerance in peace. But that was not the founding of America. That was an extension of England. And in fact, when Christianity did dominate the law, reason was substituted by madness. In Puritan society, there was no free thought, only the forced doctrine of the church. Those who strayed or spoke out were either hung or burned at the stake. That is not freedom. And religious revivals were used to justify intolerances and witch hunts. In the century after the Civil War, Christianity was used to justify the killing of those who were not White enough. In the 50's, Christian rhetoric was used to justify the persecution of those who subscribed to socialist philosophy. It has been used to hunt gays. And, of course, throughout history, religion has been used to justify the slaughter of those who subscribe to other religious views.
I fear that Beck's call for a religious revival stems from the debates over gay marriage, immigration, and the proposed Muslim center near Ground Zero. I hope that Glenn Beck and the religious right remember in their plight for a strict interpretation of the Constitution that these words appear in the first ammendment of that document: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." In other words, the founding fathers wished to respect the right of any man to believe what he may without fear of consequence from any governing body. Keep religion out of government, and keep government out of religion. That will restore America's honor.
Glenn Beck is no Martin Luther King, Jr. He is no Thomas Jefferson or any founding father. He is not a politician. He is an entertainer and makes his money making ludicrous statements with lack of logic and reason aimed at invoking an emotional response rather than an intelligent and logical debate.
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Danbury Baptist Association, CT., Jan. 1, 1802
New York Times: At the Lincoln Memorial, a Call for Religious Rebirth
Glenn Beck marches on Washington and stands before a crowd estimated from 300,000 to 500,000 people, standing in the same place that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood 47 years ago to the day, and and proclaims that America is in need of a religious revival.
Mr. Beck goes so far as to compare this event's significance in history to that of Dr. King's march in 1963 and to Woodstock. Except that Woodstock was anything but a conservative rally, and Dr. King's march was a rally demanding equal rights for all men that are guaranteed under the constitution.
For those of you who support Glenn Beck and the social conservatives in believing that America is a strictly Christian nation, I urge you to dig a little deeper than the new Historty text books provided by the Texas State Board of Education and consider the following: None of the founding fathers were Christians.
Allow me to explain. The founding fathers were not athiests. They believed in a divine creator and they even subscribed to the teachings of Jesus, but they did not subscribe to the faith that Jesus was a divine being, nor did they take the gospel as Truth. For this, the founding fathers were men of reason and were able to separate advice from doctrine, fact from opinion, right from wrong. They all understood that a man's relationship with God was personal, and that matters of faith could not be forced upon any other man. And they understood that to keep religion personal, it must not enter the domain of the government. I don't just speak of Thomas Jefferson, but also Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, James Madison, and John Adams.
Glenn Beck asks to restore America's honor with a religious revival in America, but we all know he really means a Christian revivial, a domination of Christianity over all things American: society and politics. This is a dangerous game. If the religious right cites that the country is founded by Christianity, they are probably citing the pilgrims who came over from England to practice their strict religious intolerance in peace. But that was not the founding of America. That was an extension of England. And in fact, when Christianity did dominate the law, reason was substituted by madness. In Puritan society, there was no free thought, only the forced doctrine of the church. Those who strayed or spoke out were either hung or burned at the stake. That is not freedom. And religious revivals were used to justify intolerances and witch hunts. In the century after the Civil War, Christianity was used to justify the killing of those who were not White enough. In the 50's, Christian rhetoric was used to justify the persecution of those who subscribed to socialist philosophy. It has been used to hunt gays. And, of course, throughout history, religion has been used to justify the slaughter of those who subscribe to other religious views.
I fear that Beck's call for a religious revival stems from the debates over gay marriage, immigration, and the proposed Muslim center near Ground Zero. I hope that Glenn Beck and the religious right remember in their plight for a strict interpretation of the Constitution that these words appear in the first ammendment of that document: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." In other words, the founding fathers wished to respect the right of any man to believe what he may without fear of consequence from any governing body. Keep religion out of government, and keep government out of religion. That will restore America's honor.
Glenn Beck is no Martin Luther King, Jr. He is no Thomas Jefferson or any founding father. He is not a politician. He is an entertainer and makes his money making ludicrous statements with lack of logic and reason aimed at invoking an emotional response rather than an intelligent and logical debate.