From The Homepage: June 2007

With the approach of the Fourth of July holiday, I'm reminded that the greatest blessing that comes from living in the United States is our right to religious freedom!

Please take time to stop by our Library Blog and read The Separation of Church and State, an article I wrote a few years ago concerning the intended lack of separation of church and state.

I also recommend watching the "Your Vote Makes the Difference" series of webcasts with Kenneth Copeland and David Barton, in which they discuss how your vote affects your religious freedom (May 28 - June 1, 2007) as well as the "Education Based on the Word of God" series (June 4 - June 8, 2007) which shows what happens when you begin to give up the basic rights this country was founded on!

The Separation of Church and State

Politics and Religion
by Barb Darbey

Let's start this article off with some basics: There is no real separation between church and state as the statement is being used!

It was stated in a letter by Thomas Jefferson as "I contemplate with solemn 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 and State."

The "wall of separation" was not intended to keep religion out of politics, but to preserve the freedom of religion as stated in the First Amendment (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….”).

Let's keep in mind that this was during a time of recent separation from England, and was designed to prevent the governing body from forcing the religion that they have chosen on the peoples of this country.

Today, it is unfortunate that the "non-religious few" have taken so much from the "religious many". Perhaps more Christians need to stand up and lobby for thier religious freedoms instead of standing silently by and allowing others to make thier decisions for them.

After all, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord….” (Psalm 33:12), right?

Links for more info:
Jefferson’s Wall of Separation Letter
Separation of Church and State: what does it really mean? *PDF file