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It sure would. It would eliminate those who use religion for personal gain, leaving the truth. And, of course, totally piss off those who just want to get rid of anything they don't want to deal with, because what's left would be unassailable. That's usually when imprisonment and executions start.
Except, of course, that you guys can't prove God.
You see, here would be my standard. We take the top guy from each religion, to the top of the Sears Tower, and throw him off the top of the building.
Anyone who God Catches on the way down would be declared to have a valid and legitimate religion.
Anyone who goes splat was just using religion for personal gain.
Want to take a guess how many God would catch on the way down?
My point is it takes the irrationality of religious fervor to think that.
I'm not the only one that understands that it doesn't matter if you call it worship, that's exactly what you're doing.
Okay, not really.
you see, I used to worship a God. And I prayed to that God, "God, please don't let my mom die of cancer."
And she died of cancer, because there is no God.
No, my relationship to government isn't anything like that. I pay my taxes (begrudgingly, I could probably cheat a lot more than I do) and I expect government to do the things they promised. if they don't keep their promises, I vote them out and replace them with people who will.
Can't vote God out of office, so that's not even close to the same thing.
Have you read "Democracy in America"?
Do you know who de Tocqueville was?
Or...are you simply one more boilerplate government school grad?
"No novelty in the United States struck me more vividly during my stay there than the equality of conditions"
Democracy in America,
Anchor Books edition, 1969
Would you like the first sentence from the authors to Vol. 2?
Considering the authors intro in Vol 1, in respect to the BLM protest movement, one must question the authority of Alexis in this topic sentence. .PC uses the past with the reverence of a true believer, but what was considered true in past times, is not necessarily so today.
"PC uses the past with the reverence of a true believer, but what was considered true in past times, is not necessarily so today."
And once again we have recapitulated our traditional 'Punch and Judy' play.....
And now for your next 'punch'....and lesson:
1) Conservatives believe that custom and tradition result in individuals living in peace. Law is custom and precedent. Liberals are destroyers of custom and convention. To a conservative, change should be gradual, as the new society is often inferior to the old. We build on the ideas and experience of our ancestors. The species is wiser than the individual (Burke).
2) Liberals are impulsive, and imprudent. They believe in quick changes, and risk new abuses worse than the ‘evils’ that they would sweep away, since remedies are usually not simple. Plato said that prudence is the mark of the statesman. There should be a balance between permanence and change, while liberals see ‘progress’ as some mythical direction for society.
Learning isn't your 'thing'?
Well, then.....just be satisfied that you're the Michael Jordan of Chutes and Ladders.
"F" as in failure ^^^
Poli Sci for the Dummy:
- Conservatives are slow to react and resist change
- Reactionaries want to return to an earlier time
- Liberals are visionary and ask, why not
- Rebels want change yesterday.
Spoken like a bona fide FOOL.
My undergrad degrees are Poli Sci and US History, what are yours?
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists
The Final Letter, as Sent
To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.
Gentlemen
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.
Back to June 1998 - Vol 57, No. 6
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists (June 1998) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin
lol.... you just bit the big one on this thread, superchicky.................
Jefferson comforted the Baptists of Danbury, who feared that the federal government would impose a state religion.
Now....take notes, you dunce, so you don't embarrass yourself again:
"To provide some context, “the Baptists who supported Jefferson were outsiders — a beleaguered religious and political minority in region where a Congregationalist-Federalist axis dominated political life.” They were seeking reassurances of a religion friendly disposition from their new president who was horribly vilified during the election as an “infidel and atheist.” This rumor had become so widespread during the presidential campaign, New England housewives were known to have buried their family Bibles in the backyards so fearful that the new Administration would confiscate their Holy Scriptures.
So this famous letter having to do with the ‘wall of separation between church and state’ was a political statement giving his reassurances to the Baptists that he was a friend to religion, and a response to the vilification he received from the Federalist Congregationalist establishment in Connecticut. This was not a definitive manifesto on the relationship between government and religion.
President Jefferson supported the use of federal funds to be used to build churches and to help Christian missionary work among the Indians."
Protected Blog › Log in
a blog? lol.... i am addressing your OP, you silly little thing. no one is banishing your special brand of christianity. & the second i see 'saul alinsky' dragged into it.... blah blah fucking blah, .....any sense of credibility flies right out the window.
You can't beat something with nothing...and, of course, you have nothing and are nothing.
Jefferson's wall of separation was one way: preventing government from imposing a federal religion, not preventing religion and morality.....Judeo-Christian religion, from informing our government.
Get an education.
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists
The Final Letter, as Sent
To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.
Gentlemen
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.
Back to June 1998 - Vol 57, No. 6
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists (June 1998) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin
lol.... you just bit the big one on this thread, superchicky.................
Me thinks you are not understanding what Jefferson was saying in that letter. Perhaps you should take a class in the English language, and how it has changed over the centuries. What Jefferson is stating is that the GOVERNMENT may not proclaim a NATIONAL RELIGION (like the Anglican Church as an example, or Sharia for a more modern analog), but that he honors the religion of those who were praying for him.
..Probably oughtta tackle the fetuscide issue first...rewriting the bible was impracticle in 1776, that is no longer the case if cristians are unable to remedy the inequities in that book for societies well being the task should be done without their consent.
for future prosperity the contiued apliction of the present 4th century publication should be prohibited - under laws prohibiting child abuse.
Probably oughtta tackle the fetuscide issue first...
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), is a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. It was decided simultaneously with a companion case, Doe v. Bolton.
that issue since before civilization has been resolved, you simply disagree with the verdict that does not relegate servitude as the plausible outcome the decision serves instead to humanize, religiously. the same as reconciling the corrupt 4th century christian bible you cowardly refuse to "tackle" yourself.
What possible reason would you have to allow one person to murder another?
Unless you subscribe to the law of the jungle.......Leftism.
What possible reason would you have to allow one person to murder another?
Unless you subscribe to the law of the jungle.......Leftism.
your strawman was explained, your interpretation simply distinguishes your ignorance rooted in the artificial and corrupt religions of past centuries you are unable to overcome.
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists
The Final Letter, as Sent
To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.
Gentlemen
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.
Back to June 1998 - Vol 57, No. 6
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists (June 1998) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin
lol.... you just bit the big one on this thread, superchicky.................
You failed to see a couple things:
I reciprocate your kind prayers
common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Jefferson believed in God.
The US was founded by people that believed in God.
They even knew that without God in people's lives, more government is necessary, they didn't want that.
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists
The Final Letter, as Sent
To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.
Gentlemen
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.
Back to June 1998 - Vol 57, No. 6
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists (June 1998) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin
lol.... you just bit the big one on this thread, superchicky.................
Jefferson comforted the Baptists of Danbury, who feared that the federal government would impose a state religion.
Now....take notes, you dunce, so you don't embarrass yourself again:
"To provide some context, “the Baptists who supported Jefferson were outsiders — a beleaguered religious and political minority in region where a Congregationalist-Federalist axis dominated political life.” They were seeking reassurances of a religion friendly disposition from their new president who was horribly vilified during the election as an “infidel and atheist.” This rumor had become so widespread during the presidential campaign, New England housewives were known to have buried their family Bibles in the backyards so fearful that the new Administration would confiscate their Holy Scriptures.
So this famous letter having to do with the ‘wall of separation between church and state’ was a political statement giving his reassurances to the Baptists that he was a friend to religion, and a response to the vilification he received from the Federalist Congregationalist establishment in Connecticut. This was not a definitive manifesto on the relationship between government and religion.
President Jefferson supported the use of federal funds to be used to build churches and to help Christian missionary work among the Indians."
Protected Blog › Log in
a blog? lol.... i am addressing your OP, you silly little thing. no one is banishing your special brand of christianity. & the second i see 'saul alinsky' dragged into it.... blah blah fucking blah, .....any sense of credibility flies right out the window.
You can't beat something with nothing...and, of course, you have nothing and are nothing.
Jefferson's wall of separation was one way: preventing government from imposing a federal religion, not preventing religion and morality.....Judeo-Christian religion, from informing our government.
Get an education.
is that why there is no religious litmus test for presidency?
Ah, yes, the old witch test. You remember the good old days when you would throw a woman into the lake and if she floated, she was a witch and thus burned at the stake. If she sank, hey, she was innocent. Dead, but innocent. I find it interesting that your tolerance of those who disagree with you is so extremely high. You must be an atheist.
Can't vote establishment big government types out of office either. So, it is the same thing.
Get on your knees boy and open wide for your central planning masters. You've asked for it.
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists
The Final Letter, as Sent
To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.
Gentlemen
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.
Back to June 1998 - Vol 57, No. 6
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists (June 1998) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin
lol.... you just bit the big one on this thread, superchicky.................
You failed to see a couple things:
I reciprocate your kind prayers
common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Jefferson believed in God.
The US was founded by people that believed in God.
They even knew that without God in people's lives, more government is necessary, they didn't want that.
he believed in a higher power but there was a wall. he meant wall.
Gads, you're a dunce.
The 'wall' had a one-way door.
The state could not dictate one's religion......but every individual is free to determine their own version thereof.
And that includes Christian bakers.
Ah, yes, the old witch test. You remember the good old days when you would throw a woman into the lake and if she floated, she was a witch and thus burned at the stake. If she sank, hey, she was innocent. Dead, but innocent. I find it interesting that your tolerance of those who disagree with you is so extremely high. You must be an atheist.
Well, you miss the point. Certainly if there was a God, and we started throwing religious leaders off the tops of buildings, he'd catch them.
Can't vote establishment big government types out of office either. So, it is the same thing.
Sure we can. We just don't want to. It's why the Libertarians only get a couple percentage points despite their billionaire sugar daddies. People want government to look out for them.
Get on your knees boy and open wide for your central planning masters. You've asked for it.
Yawn, guy, I'd trust government before I'd trust business any day of the week.
Gads, you're a dunce.
The 'wall' had a one-way door.
The state could not dictate one's religion......but every individual is free to determine their own version thereof.
And that includes Christian bakers.
They are still totally free to keep whatever backwards ass superstitions they want.
But they still have to obey the law.
You see, it's why we aren't burning witches tomorrow, becaue even though the bible says to totally burn them, the state still calls that murder.
"PC uses the past with the reverence of a true believer, but what was considered true in past times, is not necessarily so today."
And once again we have recapitulated our traditional 'Punch and Judy' play.....
And now for your next 'punch'....and lesson:
1) Conservatives believe that custom and tradition result in individuals living in peace. Law is custom and precedent. Liberals are destroyers of custom and convention. To a conservative, change should be gradual, as the new society is often inferior to the old. We build on the ideas and experience of our ancestors. The species is wiser than the individual (Burke).
2) Liberals are impulsive, and imprudent. They believe in quick changes, and risk new abuses worse than the ‘evils’ that they would sweep away, since remedies are usually not simple. Plato said that prudence is the mark of the statesman. There should be a balance between permanence and change, while liberals see ‘progress’ as some mythical direction for society.
Learning isn't your 'thing'?
Well, then.....just be satisfied that you're the Michael Jordan of Chutes and Ladders.
"F" as in failure ^^^
Poli Sci for the Dummy:
- Conservatives are slow to react and resist change
- Reactionaries want to return to an earlier time
- Liberals are visionary and ask, why not
- Rebels want change yesterday.
Spoken like a bona fide FOOL.
My undergrad degrees are Poli Sci and US History, what are yours?
I have a PHD in owning morons like you.
You do? How come you don't know the proper abbreviation for a Doctorate Degree? But I'm sure it's a typo, isn't it Doctor?
In which U. did you matriculate, and in what field of study? Is your dissertation on line, many are, and I'd enjoy reading it.
So, what street do you own?JoeB141 said:Why? Abortion is a good thing. I wouldn't want to share my street with millions of people whose parents didn't want them.
"WhatJefferson is stating is that the GOVERNMENT may not proclaim a NATIONAL RELIGION "Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists
The Final Letter, as Sent
To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.
Gentlemen
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.
Back to June 1998 - Vol 57, No. 6
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists (June 1998) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin
lol.... you just bit the big one on this thread, superchicky.................
Me thinks you are not understanding what Jefferson was saying in that letter. Perhaps you should take a class in the English language, and how it has changed over the centuries. What Jefferson is stating is that the GOVERNMENT may not proclaim a NATIONAL RELIGION (like the Anglican Church as an example, or Sharia for a more modern analog), but that he honors the religion of those who were praying for him.
Probably oughtta tackle the fetuscide issue first...
Why? Abortion is a good thing. I wouldn't want to share my street with millions of people whose parents didn't want them.
My point is it takes the irrationality of religious fervor to think that.
I'm not the only one that understands that it doesn't matter if you call it worship, that's exactly what you're doing.
Okay, not really.
you see, I used to worship a God. And I prayed to that God, "God, please don't let my mom die of cancer."
And she died of cancer, because there is no God.
No, my relationship to government isn't anything like that. I pay my taxes (begrudgingly, I could probably cheat a lot more than I do) and I expect government to do the things they promised. if they don't keep their promises, I vote them out and replace them with people who will.
Can't vote God out of office, so that's not even close to the same thing.
Oh boy, here we go....cue the goofy voodoo..Probably oughtta tackle the fetuscide issue first...
Why? Abortion is a good thing. I wouldn't want to share my street with millions of people whose parents didn't want them.
My point is it takes the irrationality of religious fervor to think that.
I'm not the only one that understands that it doesn't matter if you call it worship, that's exactly what you're doing.
Okay, not really.
you see, I used to worship a God. And I prayed to that God, "God, please don't let my mom die of cancer."
And she died of cancer, because there is no God.
No, my relationship to government isn't anything like that. I pay my taxes (begrudgingly, I could probably cheat a lot more than I do) and I expect government to do the things they promised. if they don't keep their promises, I vote them out and replace them with people who will.
Can't vote God out of office, so that's not even close to the same thing.
I would like to see your face when after you die you are reunited with your mother and you embrace her. You will then understand that life goes on and that this mortal life was only temporary. We all will die, but thanks to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we shall all be resurrected and live an immortal life and be reunited again in the hereafter. I understand your pain because I lost my father when I was young. The joy of that eternal reunion will be overwhelming. I pray that you will take hope in the Lord and find comfort to your soul in his grand message of immortality and the resurrection.
"WhatJefferson is stating is that the GOVERNMENT may not proclaim a NATIONAL RELIGION "Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists
The Final Letter, as Sent
To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.
Gentlemen
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.
Back to June 1998 - Vol 57, No. 6
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists (June 1998) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin
lol.... you just bit the big one on this thread, superchicky.................
Me thinks you are not understanding what Jefferson was saying in that letter. Perhaps you should take a class in the English language, and how it has changed over the centuries. What Jefferson is stating is that the GOVERNMENT may not proclaim a NATIONAL RELIGION (like the Anglican Church as an example, or Sharia for a more modern analog), but that he honors the religion of those who were praying for him.
100% , ass-backwards wrong. Jefferson is saying he cannot intervene in their plight against their State because even the appearance of federal protection of one specific religion to any degree whatsoever could be construed as violating the establishment clause. Jefferson is making it abundantly clear that the establishment clause goes much further than simply preventing the establishment of a national religion.
What a bunch of nonsense. Jefferson's letter was in direct response to a veiled request for federal involvement to protect their right to observe their religion as they wished, not a request to establish their religion as the national or even State religion. "We will not establish a national religion" would not be an appropriate response, and to state this as Jefferson's meaning is absurd and bizarre. His meaning was clearly that the establishment clause goes further than simply prohibiting the establishment of a national religion. This letter makes that crystal clear, in Jefferson's own words."WhatJefferson is stating is that the GOVERNMENT may not proclaim a NATIONAL RELIGION "Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists
The Final Letter, as Sent
To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.
Gentlemen
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.
Back to June 1998 - Vol 57, No. 6
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists (June 1998) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin
lol.... you just bit the big one on this thread, superchicky.................
Me thinks you are not understanding what Jefferson was saying in that letter. Perhaps you should take a class in the English language, and how it has changed over the centuries. What Jefferson is stating is that the GOVERNMENT may not proclaim a NATIONAL RELIGION (like the Anglican Church as an example, or Sharia for a more modern analog), but that he honors the religion of those who were praying for him.
100% , ass-backwards wrong. Jefferson is saying he cannot intervene in their plight against their State because even the appearance of federal protection of one specific religion to any degree whatsoever could be construed as violating the establishment clause. Jefferson is making it abundantly clear that the establishment clause goes much further than simply preventing the establishment of a national religion.
No, only constitutional revisionists ever make those claims. The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution very carefully, and for a reason. Namely, they knew that people like you would come along sooner or later so they wrote the COTUS as simply as possibly so as to remove as many possible avenues for you to corrupt its meaning as possible.
