Comment

Comment by Joe Story on April 6, 2011 at 9:42am

We as individuals have the power to bring the power of the shining light of God into the public schools.

 

It is more important to understand how we are allowed to doe this today than when Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story[i] gave his opinion about the difficulty in ascertaining the limits, to which our government may rightfully go in fostering and encouraging religion, today our very existence depends upon it. In the early years of the United States of America there were probably few people who would deliberately contend, that it was unreasonable, or unjust to foster and encourage the Christian religion generally, as a matter of sound policy, as well as of revealed truth. In fact, every American colony, from its foundation down to the revolution, with the exception of Rhode Island, did openly, by the whole course of its laws and institutions, support and sustain, in some form, the Christian religion; and almost invariably gave a peculiar sanction to some of its fundamental doctrines. Yet they felt that it was impossible, that there should not arise perpetual strife and perpetual jealousy on the subject of ecclesiastical ascendancy, if the national government were left free to create a religious establishment. The only security was in extirpating the power. But this alone would have been an imperfect security, if it had not been followed up by a declaration of the right of the free exercise of religion, and a prohibition (as we have seen) of all religious tests. They did not expect that the interpretation of this aspect of our constitutional law designed to “cut off the means of religious persecution” would be used to create a country where every decision is tested to make sure that it is anti-Christian, all other religions being given greater weight and Secular Humanism in effect being the national religion.

 In Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), the Supreme Court created a general test to be used in all establishment-clause cases. Thereafter every law challenged under the establishment clause would pass constitutional muster only if it:

• Had a secular purpose.

The very foundation of the laws of our nation ceased to exist with that decision. An anti-religious test was established. A nation with no standards upon which to base its laws will fail as it stands for nothing. Anything goes and the people in charge of the laws set the rules. Laws become elastic and open to interpretation according to the needs of the people in charge. By its very nature this is worse than any potential religious tests the amendment was written to address. 

 

Want to see where we are headed as a nation? Read Gibbons, "Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire." In the 19th and very early 20th century, the Bible and Gibbon's monumental work were nearly required reading for anyone with aspirations for leadership or government service. Today, you may have a hard time finding a public library that has a copy of either work. Someone once said something to the effect that "those who will not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." It would appear that we have not only thrown God out of our government, our schools, many of our churches, and our society as a whole, but we have thrown out any desire to know what happens to nations and people when they do such things. You should read Deuteronomy Chapter 28 to see the answer. Never have so many been so foolish. How long can we survive as a Secular, Humanistic Atheist nation?

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[i] Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States; With a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States, Before the Adoption of the Constitution, vol. 3 (Boston: Hilliard, Gray, and Company, 1833; reprint ed., New York: Da Capo Press, 1970), pp. 726-27.