A Nation Must Stand Divided
Blog, Writing December 3rd. 2009, 12:01am
Although this does not specifically address the issue of Separation of Church and State directly, I do believe it is very much a part of the discussion.
The First Amendment, specifically the “Establishment” and the “Free Exercise” clauses are at the very center of the debate, thus we cannot talk about it without understanding the history behind this important amendment.
Attached to this article is a copy of the research paper I submitted for my US Government class in which I touched briefly on the subject. To be honest, I wanted to go very much deeper into the subject, but I was limited by the requirements of the project. I am contemplating a larger work in which I will fully expose much of what I have learned and have yet to learn.
I think many people I speak with assume that because I come from a Christian worldview, that my opinion is biased or skewed in some way towards favoring the right-wing political agenda. Let me be clear that while I unreservedly hold a Christian worldview, it is that very point that helps me better understand this issue.
ALL of the founding fathers had a Christian worldview, but they were not religious activists. As you will see in my paper, these men wanted to be free to worship God as they understood Him to be, not as the government understood him to be. That is the underlying fundamental equation in the debate.
Was this nation founded as a Christian Nation? Not in the way we would understand that today. This nation was founded by Christians, yes, without a doubt! Did they utilize biblical ideas and morals in the forming of this nation? If you doubt that, I must assume you have read only second-hand resources that quote information out of context. I suggest that the only way to understand the real history of these ideas and philiosophies is to read entire primary sources, letters and texts and follow their responses and rebuttals.
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