At last we see the legit case for what Thomas Jefferson was addressing when he wrote his now famous letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. Here is the direct quote:
“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, prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between church and State.” [Emphasis Mine].
Mr. Jefferson simply quoted the first amendment then emphasized it’s meaning that it is the People whom the first amendment protects from government established religion, thus the wall of separation was to keep the state out of the church, not the other way around! But Mr. Jefferson did not anticipate the Warren supreme court. A supreme court which would re-interpret the first amendment to mean that it was the government who should be protected from the people. A people who if given the chance, would force a Theocracy upon our land.
And of course that is exactly why the First Comers left England for Holland then Plymouth Rock in the early 17th century. Actually, no. The Pilgrims as you remember fled Britain because of the oppressive government founded Church of England (COE) which forbade them to worship God freely and independently of the “State Church (COE)” doctrines. These Christians wanted to worship God unreservedly, from their hearts, not through government mandated religious ritual. The penalties for non-conformity were severe!
The first amendment was drafted to ensure that the citizens of our new nation would never again have to fear the state dictating to the people who and how to worship; much less punish them for expressing their religious beliefs. And what a blessing this has been to our nation. Since 1787 we’ve been just fine. But not so fast.
As it turns out, there is a provision in the present administration’s healthcare law that calls for employers to pay for contraceptives and other birth control medications including the morning after pill for any women whom they employ. And although the law excludes churches and houses of worship it does not exclude Catholic, Christian, Jewish or other religious schools and universities. And of course it does not exclude any business whose owner(s) may have a very personal and Biblical objection to providing for what in some cases they would considered an abortion.
THIS is where the separation of church and state should be shouted from the housetops. This is what Mr. Jefferson was writing should never happen in America! The first amendment was written to protect us from this type of government intrusion; forcing citizens to violate their own conscience and religious beliefs. And why? To accommodate the ideology of those in power.
To make matters worse, when the Catholic church issued a strong letter of protest against the new law, the government censored the letter! The government prohibited Army Chaplains from reading to their parishioners a certain line which they felt might be seditious. Does this sound like America to you?
In this year’s pre-Super Bowl interview our President said, “Our Founders designed a system that makes it more difficult to bring about change than I would like sometimes.” To take matters up the ladder any more than this really leaves only one place to go. As for me, I am fine with our founding father’s wisdom and just in case, for the future; I am also fine with how God made man.
I thank God for our founding fathers who did have the foresight to see that there may come a day when some of our future leaders would pine for America to return to Europe (they have kings), and for that reason, make certain our form of government would never allow it. However, it certainly seems that our present administration is bound to take us as close as we can get.
There is an urgent need for the prayers of the righteous to be lifted up in America, for our nation and our leaders like no other time in our generation.
I Call You A Champion!
PRG
