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Tapsel, You are so right. I'll keep sharing Christ.
Merry Christmas!
posted by
Amanda__
on December 17, 2005 at 1:25 PM
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Merry Christmas, JanesOpinion!
posted by
Amanda__
on December 17, 2005 at 1:23 PM
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MandaLee, I just read an interesting tidbit of info. According to a recent Gallop poll, a whopping 97% of Americans see no problem with referring to this winter holiday of ours as CHRISTMAS! So essentially it's thanks to a wimpy and simpering need to kowtow to the remaining 3% of Americans that the Christian component of this holiday is being so severely eroded.
97% can you believe it?
God bless YOU, and Merry Christmas!
posted by
JanesOpinion
on December 16, 2005 at 7:58 PM
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Tapsel-T is right...
about Christ remaining in your heart.
You asked about the Founders' idea of church-state separation. Definitely very different from our idea of it today. Although I think the Founders disagreed among themselves about the issue. Some of them were less orthodox than others. I think they all agreed that it was a bad idea to have a state-established religion. They had had enough of that in England! But they definitely talked about divine providence, speaking in very evangelical terms. It was taboo for anyone to be publicly an atheist.
However, we have to be careful about interpreting the Founders' intentions. First because their intentions were not uniform, as I mentioned before, and second because what the Founders intended for their time might not be right for our time. It was for this reason that Jefferson suggested a new constitution every 20 years or so (I do not share that opinion).
posted by
Dyl_Pickle
on December 16, 2005 at 5:14 PM
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Mandalee, No one can take him out of our heart. No one can keep you from sharing him with others.
posted by
TAPS.
on December 16, 2005 at 3:36 PM
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Dylan, I agree with you about the church making a lousy politican.
This could be one reason why the, "Christian right" is often sterotyped negatively, misjudged, and wrongfully accused by politicans of allegedly having an agenda. I also agree that there should be a separation between government and religion. However, I think the forefathers intentions regarding that separation are often misinterpreted. What are your thoughts on this?
As always, I appreciate your wonderfully insightful and thought provoking comments. Merry Christmas!
posted by
Amanda__
on December 16, 2005 at 10:10 AM
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Manda Lee,
I completely agree with you about keeping Christ in Christmas, but not necessarily about the pledge and currency.
Some have suggested that it's downright blasphemy to put God on something as profane (non-sacred) as money. I'm not sure whether or not that is right, but I wouldn't assume that taking God's name off of money is an indictment of God. More likely, it's sheltering faith from the corrupting influence of money. That's why we have to keep the profane separate from the sacred.
Similarly, God's name was inserted into the Pledge of Allegiance in the 1950s as a way of distinguishing ourselves from the atheist Soviet Union. I think one can argue that was an objectionable use of God's name, as a political tool.
Religious people should feel free to express their beliefs in public venues, but we have to be careful about conflating the religious with the civic. It's not that religion corrupts politics -- politics corrupts religion. As I say, the church makes a great prophet, but a lousy politician.
posted by
Dyl_Pickle
on December 16, 2005 at 9:45 AM
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