American Theocracy and Decline

[firstfloor]

Are you related to Mickiel? He ALSO plagiarizes stuff in violation of the rules.

It's a fair cop. Sorry about that.

[Cow Poke]

It's a fair cop. Sorry about that.

It's pretty hard to get away with these days -- it had every appearance of "copied work", and is incredibly easy to Google.

[Cerealman]

How Christianity owns American culture and is successfully building an American Theocracy is described in this wonderful speech from 1972.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yflQd...ukTekgSRZrjadw
See how much has already been lost. With theocracy comes intolerance and decline. It is time for American atheists to stand up and be counted and take back their country from the theocrats.

hmmm if it makes you feel better, then go for it.

[Jedidiah]

I now begin to think maybe to comments suggesting mental illness on your part may be true. What are these insane comments supposed to show besides your lack?

American values = Christian values = Christian Nation = Christian Theocracy = Leading to Abolition of the Establishment Clause = Un-American values.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTLfLNA-nmo
The result will be wall-to-wall nonsense on television and in the schools about angels and the like, dumbing down and decline. Only so many will be prepared to fake it for the sake of jobs and promotion and the clever ones will go overseas to where they can live honestly.

[Jedidiah]

I actually started to answer this with a serious response, but I'm thinking you're just a nutter.

I have tried for a long while to avoid this conclusion. He makes it far too difficult, I give up. He is either completely nuts, or a carefully planning troll.

[Jedidiah]

Except the establishment clause did not necessarily mean what we claim it means today since many of the early states did have tax supported churches. So no, no national Church, but state churches were OK.

A whole lot has changed in that respect, as I mentioned in my first post.

[Jedidiah]

True, but some of the quotes I gave certainly imply that they did codify many of their beliefs.

ETA: Or at least believed that they had done so.

There's the rub. The intents of the founders are no longer politically correct and must be eliminated by lies.

[Jedidiah]

Whoa whoa whoa. Reread that first cite from the NC Constitution. That's NOT religious freedom. Religious freedom does not mean requiring someone to affirm the truth of God and the Protestant faith in order to hold office.

You mean that is not consistent with the way religious freedom has been changed to mean today. It was quite consistent with the original understanding of the Bill of Rights.

[Jedidiah]

You do realize, do you not, the original "keep government out of religion" protection referred to Christian denominations. At one point the United States Supreme Court ruled that it was not legal to start a college that was not based upon the Christian religion.

I seem to have forgotten the case in point in this comment. Do we have any scholars who can point to this specific case?

[Carrikature]

You mean that is not consistent with the way religious freedom has been changed to mean today. It was quite consistent with the original understanding of the Bill of Rights.

The establishment clause is part of the Bill of Rights. It would be pretty silly to say it wasn't consistent with itself. Further, the NC requirement is in direct violation of the "No Religious Test Clause".

ETA:
I do realize, ofc, that strictly speaking the "No Religious Test Clause" would not have applied to state constitutions at the time.

[lilpixieofterror]

p.s. The last bit of this video starting at 3:15 is amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBqa-...OHfIUXwIejK7xA

Translation: *sticks fingers in ears and screams:* "LALALALA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

[lilpixieofterror]

You will only have free exercise of religion so long as you maintain strict church/state separation because free exercise applies to everybody and all religions. Governments have the power to coerce which is why you must keep religion out of government. Only a strictly secular government can guarantee freedom for everybody. In a theocracy you are either with us or against us and that is not freedom.

In other words, Christians can't vote for people they agree with.

[Cerealman]

You will only have free exercise of religion so long as you maintain strict church/state separation because free exercise applies to everybody and all religions. Governments have the power to coerce which is why you must keep religion out of government. Only a strictly secular government can guarantee freedom for everybody. In a theocracy you are either with us or against us and that is not freedom.

Could you define that "freedom" for me?

[Jedidiah]

The establishment clause is part of the Bill of Rights. It would be pretty silly to say it wasn't consistent with itself.

Can you read? I did say with the "original understanding of the Bill of Rights." The point is what was originally intended has been changed to suit a much more liberal slant.

[firstfloor]

I now begin to think maybe to comments suggesting mental illness on your part may be true. What are these insane comments supposed to show besides your lack?

The preamble to the constitution begins “We the people” to indicate that the authority for government comes directly from the governed, not from God. It was made deliberately very unique and different form the situation in some European and Islamic constitutions that have established churches.

The Christian pathology is subversive because it wants to put God’s law above man’s law (see mega-church pastor Gregory Boyd – “The Myth of a Christian Nation”).