SEPARATION OF CHURCH & STATE

In the last half of this century, this has become quite a political issue in the only country in the history of the world that put "In God We Trust" on its coin, and understandably so.

From the time of Christ up until the period of the reformation in the 1500's through the 1700's, Christianity, as it was practiced in different corners of the world and by people of different statures in life, went through many changes. It started out as a religion of humility; "Love thy neighbor as thyself." In the beginning, it gained a following in spite of the persecution of Christians. I would say how the Christians handled the persecution is what set it apart and gained it the following it was enjoying. Then, the Emperor Constantine became a Christian taking it to new heights and, although he demonstrated Christian strength and humility, later church leaders started to set themselves up as intermediaries between the people and God. The veil in the Temple that was ripped apart at the time of the crucifixion of Christ giving all people direct access to God, was being mended symbolically by people who had ascended to leadership roles in the Church.

In the year 330AD Constantine founded the city of Constantinople which is today's Istanbul in Turkey. It was the Capitol of Rome during his reign. It had been named Byzantium. The official Church was called Byzantine and those practicing Christianity were called Byzantine Christians. It followed Christ's teachings. Then, when the Capitol was moved back to Rome, Christ teachings were brought into the existing Roman church with all its trappings instead of replacing it. Focus, with the exception of the learned, shifted from Christ to the leaders of the Church which were also/either the political leaders or their Counselors. The Papacy came into being. One man was set up as the intercessor while others, guided by his thoughts, acted as intercessors with the people. Christians, because they were denied access to the scriptures, were taught to believe the church/political leaders had some sort of special relationship with God: as some who say they come in the name of God would have Christians believe today. The Crusades entered the pages of history from 1095 to the mid 1500's. Church leaders, at the persuasion of Pope Urban, decided to invade Palestine and surrounding areas right up to Spain, France and England where there were concentrations of Muslims or other people who they judged did not live up to their concept Christian standards with the intention of driving them out or annihilating them. A terrible interpretation of their God given power. Christianity became part of the State in many countries in Europe to a point it had its own armies. Cardinal Richelieu in France is an example. "Formal" Christianity had nothing to do with the teachings of Christ. The period called the inquisition in Europe started during the period of the crusades and continued up until and to some extent through the Reformation. The "Christian" Inquisitors set themselves up as judge, jury and executioner of people to the point horrendous persecution was meted out on those who they judged to be heretics. The state and "Christianity" became partners in, genocide for all practical purposes. All of Europe became "Christian" in name but not necessarily in practice. If I call myself a Christian, does that make me one? What is it they say? Actions speak louder than words.

Then, with the Reformation, (The invention of the Printing Press brought Gods word once again directly to the people enlightening them regarding their position in relation to those who could be called a "Command Class") upheaval in Europe started. The common man started to realize, although he might not have as much equity (material things) as church/political leaders, he did share equality with them in the eyes of God. He started to question the existence of a "Command Class" which lead to the persecution of the church body and the slaughter of protesters (protestants) and many other horrific acts by the church/political leaders. In France in 1452 Catherine de Medicies, in the massacre of St. Bartholomew killed over 8,000 protestants or Huguenots as they were called in one night. In 1611 King James of England had the scriptures interpreted into what became the King James Bible, not to let the people know their rightful place before God, but to prove the Divine right of Kings. Although James was a benevolent King, it backfired. God, through the scriptures (the King James Bible) enlightened people to a point they saw themselves as equal to their leaders in the eyes of God. The idea Kings had some divine power was dismissed out of hand.

The Protestants of all denominations, Baptist, Lutherans, Methodist, Presbyterians and so on, in order to avoid the persecution in Europe, they set out for what would become America. During the war with their tyrannical government, England, they tried to enlist the services of the Baptist in the Carolinas. Because of the relationship between the Congregational Church and the Government, the Baptist had been persecuted and forced to take refuge away from others. Massachusetts and other colonies collected tax dollars for the Congregational Church infuriating people of other denominations. The Congregational Church was the Church of the Puritans and, in those days, people recognized God far more than they do today, sometimes to a point their was little tolerance between denominations. That is not to suggest their lack of tolerance was a Godly principle. The Secular religion, (man is a god in his own right) that seems to dominate today, was almost nonexistent and frowned on by practically all. It played NO role in writing the Declaration of Independence or Constitution. When the leaders of the rebellion tried to enlist the Baptist residing in the Carolina's support for the Revolution, the Baptist made it conditional on their agreeing to a separation of church and state (there would no longer be a state sponsored or supported or denomination). Instead, those engaged in the rebellion would give equal status to all who practiced Christian principles in their religion. They agreed and the first and only country of any significance to honor the idea of the separation of church and state was born. The government they formed recognized all from Baptist to Catholics, Jewish people etc. Right to citizenship without persecution. The "Laws of Nature and Nature's God" applied to all, individually and collectively. Right of passage to citizenship required one recognize and respect the Ten Commandments as the Transcendent Law, the Law on which the validity of all man's laws could be and should be judged. God's rightful place was not abandoned but strengthened.

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 Commandments.

As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of the door.

As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see on the wall, right above where the Supreme Court judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments!

There are bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington D.C.

James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of the 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 according to the Ten Commandments of God."

Patrick Henry, that patriot and one of the Founding Fathers of our country said:

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionist but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.

Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies.

Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making the law .an oligarchy .the rule of a few over the many. (How right he was.)

The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said:

"Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."

After all this evidence of America's relationship to God and His transcendent law's; in the 21st Century, Judge Roy Moore of Alabama was thrown off the bench as Chief Justice of the State, because he dared to post the Ten Commandments in the State Supreme Court building. The prosecuting (persecuting) attorney, who calls himself a Christian, was rewarded for his efforts by George W. Bush, the man who calls himself a Christian. Bush appointed this man to the Federal Judicial bench while congress was not in session to insure the appointment would go through. Congress had other issues with him that had nothing to do with this incident that was holding up his appointment. The two faces of the Bush.

The situation in modern America (Get God out of our political affairs) God fearing people try to defend, instead of taking an offense against, has NOTHING TO WITH SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE.

Consider, every man without exception is religious. Atheist, Agnostic, Humanist, New Agers, Budhist, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Catholics etc., they are all religious. Religion is ones heart felt beliefs: Nothing more. We express our religious beliefs in our political and social conduct. Godless societies like the Nazis who worshipped the "Fatherland" and the Communist who worshipped the "Motherland" political and social behavior mirrored their religion. The "Common Man" was not a steward of his environment but a part of it to the point those who saw themselves as gods, could use and destroy them at will. Their Command Class (would be gods) governments filled the spiritual void in men and became the source of life, liberty and property "rights." Freedom as a status dictated by government mandates replaced LIBERTY, a gift from God to all who lived by His code of conduct for action and interaction. Religion was practiced to a point you could justly call their religious/political/social architects, religious fanatics. The will and appetite of the "would be gods" was the source of all the edicts the people were taught to accept and be bound by. Much like in the "New Amerika". K is intentional.

The heart believes, the mind thinks, the mouth speaks and the body acts. The question is; what does the heart believe?

In England, the Queen is the head of the Anglican Church of which the Episcopal Church is an off shoot. Tax dollars flow from the government to the Anglican church. In Germany the Lutheran church is supported with tax dollars. You know the state/church relationships in the Muslim, Hindu, Budhist, Secular, Jewish, Catholic etc. countries. Countries where there is little or no tolerance for people of other faiths, regardless of whether they are willing to live by the rules dictated by the government. All countries political and social activities are offshoots of the dominant religion, as it is practiced, not necessarily how it should be.

HUMANIST MAN GODS (RELIGIOUS FANATICS) HAVE GAINED CONTROL OF THE GOVERNMENT IN AMERICA. THEY ARE NOT PURSUING SEPERATION OF CHURCH AND STATE BUT RATHER SEPARATION OF GOD AND COUNTRY: AS THEIR RELIGION MAKES THE STATE THE CHURCH, AND THE CHURCH THE STATE. They are gods in their own eyes. Humanist, Secularist, New Agers and all those that believe like that, hate the idea of accountability to the CREATOR as that puts restraints on their wills and appetites in their dealings with the rest of us. The "religious" teachings of Marx, Darwin, Lenin, Stalin, Chase, Dewey, Pierce etc. became the "bible" for such leaders as Roosevelt, Clinton, Gore, Lieberman, Dodd, Nancy Johnson, Christopher Shays, Earl Warren, Thurgood Marshall, Janet "Waco" Reno and the myriad of other man gods who have achieved positions of power and influence in the nation that professes to be "One Nation Under God." Bush 11 seems to see himself as doing the work of God, as he has determined God should do it, which is a Secular concept in that he sees his will as God's will. His constant referral to God coupled with the comment he frequently makes in his speeches, "my vision," bares that out. He, along with his "disciples," the Neo-Cons, believe his plans (visions), which they play a role in formulating for the world, are God's. He ought to read the book of Job. It is a good lesson in humility before the Almighty. The Tyrannical Emperor Caligula expressed people like this views when he stated "If I am man, then my subjects are something else. If they are men then I am something more".

Tell me, aside from Humanist, Secularist, people in the New Age movement and other amoral religious fanatics (would be gods); who is paranoid over America's relationship with God? They want to be your source and need to replace the only legitimate Source in your life: God. Sadly, they have support from people who say they believe in God, but whose actions speak otherwise, which causes untold confusion in true believers, not knowledgeable in their ways. The gospels refer to that point in time when this will occur. This one and that one will come in my name but I never knew them.

America, without recognition of God and His moral code of conduct for action and interaction will cease to exist as that is its foundation. All people that recognize accountability to God as fundamental for their peace and harmony can appreciate this. Many of those that are godless pose as God fearing and are more to be suspected and feared today than those that deny Him outright. They try and persuade those that understand the black and white of God's code of morality, there might be common ground with their godless amorality. They abide in Clinton's definition of "is" and Bush's definition of "truth," just to name two who have brought this once glorious nation to the point it is in now.

The Bush administration suggested early in its coming to power that it would siphon tax dollars to charitable organizations and churches for their use in charitable giving. Although this might sound good, one must consider just exactly what this would be doing. It would, beyond any reasonable doubt, tie a link between the State and Church. Obviously the money could not be handed to any group without first scrutinizing it to be sure it met GOVERNMENTS qualifications which would lead to the acceptance or rejection of the applicant according to GOVERNMENTS not GODS COMMANDMENTS. Any other way of distributing it would be considered irresponsible. A "Catch 22."

Second, we cannot overlook the fact that these dollars were taken by coercive force from citizens. This would take INVOLUNTARY SOCIALISM: The criminal act of taking something from one person and giving it to another to a new low, if that were possible. The intentions are not the issue, unless you believe stealing for good causes/your causes, is right and proper. Should the Church be participating in activities that are totally contradictory to its God given principles? The purpose of the Church is to teach citizens that the activities of a government conceived on Godly principles must function on Godly principles, "Thou shalt not steal." It doesn't say "Thou shalt not steal" unless you plan on using the loot for good causes.

Some might say, "But his heart is in the right place." NO! His heart is NOT in the right place. His entire administration has and is shoving what is right and proper in the corner to accomplish his agenda, not God's. This administration is based on dangling what some might perceive as dainties in front of people that can and is causing confusion about what is right and what is wrong. Compassion and Justice do not go together in any way, shape, form or manner. Justice can be meted out compassionately, as it should be in a God fearing people but it cannot replace it as justice is an ordinance from God, not government. The inference that his administration functions under Godly principles defies reason and should lead people to verify what he says, not accept it as if it came in the form of a "vision" from God to him.

The fact that the government and governor would think of doing something like this is bad enough but when Churches even debate engaging in it, it further illustrates the degree depraved minds have crept into roles of leadership in this country. The purpose of the Church is to instill sound Christian principles in hearts and minds so that, that type of thinking will dominate the legislative process. If one were to search for where the seeds of corruption first entered our society, I would hate to say it, but it would be the Church. More by apathy and a desire to increase membership by being conciliatory to wrong than by design maybe. But the end result is the same. We have sunk to a point where too many people have no idea where the line between right and wrong must be drawn for us to continue to exist, while others feed on this lack of knowledge taking us lower by the moment.