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CharmingSophisticate Tom Curren status Reged: 03/07/09 Posts: 11950 Loc: In Gods Country The "wall of separation"       10/29/10 06:33 PM Edit   Reply   Quote   Quick Reply   Forgetting the Constitution; The assurance that “separation of church and state” is in the Constitution shows our elites’ ignorance. The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States begins, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” There is absolutely nothing in the Constitution about a “wall of separation” between church and state, either directly or indirectly. That phrase was used in a letter by Thomas Jefferson, who was not even in the country when the Constitution was written. It was a phrase seized upon many years later, by people who wanted to restrict religious symbols, and it has been cited by judges who share that wish. There was no mystery about what “an establishment of religion” meant when that phrase was put into the Constitution. It was not an open-ended invitation to judges to decide what role religion should play in American society or in American government. The Church of England was an “established church.” That is, it was not only financed by the government, its members had privileges denied to members of other religions. The people who wrote the Constitution of the United States had been British subjects most of their lives, and knew exactly what an “established church” meant. They wanted no such thing in the United States of America. End of story — or so it should have been. For more than a century, no one thought that the First Amendment meant that religious symbols were forbidden on government property. Prayers were offered in Congress and in the Supreme Court. Chaplains served in the military and presidents took their oath of office on the Bible. But, in our own times, judges have latched onto Jefferson’s phrase and run with it. It has been repeated so often in their decisions that it has become one of the brassiest of the brass oldies that get confused with golden oldies. http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/251250/forgetting-constitution-thomas-sowell -------------------- "...now tell me that wasn't fun!" Capt. Jack Aubrey Post Extras

Entire topic Subject Posted by Posted on The "wall of separation" CharmingSophisticate 10/29/10 06:33 PM Re: The "wall of separation" sirfun   10/30/10 08:15 AM Re: The "wall of separation" Sirfunn   01/21/12 04:01 PM Re: The "wall of separation" Fuller   10/30/10 10:15 AM Re: The "wall of separation" grimeflush   10/31/10 01:20 AM Re: The "wall of separation" geedee   10/29/10 10:36 PM

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