This is why I cringe everytime I hear a president say "god bless america"... they break the first ammendment EVERY TIME!

There are two clauses in the First Amendment that are relevant.

The Establishment Clause states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." This prohibits the government from creating a national religion. It says nothing about recognizing a religious holiday. It says nothing about government figures referencing God or their own personal religious beliefs.

The Free Exercise Clause states "Congress shall make no law... prohibiting the free exercise [of religion]." This prohibits the government from interfering with the religious observance of its citizens.

The thing to keep in mind when reading the Constitution is that the framers mindset was one of fear of governmental power and control. The Constitution is written to restrict what the government can do to its people.

The term "separation of church and state" actually comes from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson. In this letter, Jefferson was assuring the Danbury, Connecticut Baptists that the government could not interfere in their business.

So, in essence, the concept of the separation of church and state is actually a one-way street. Jefferson was saying the government must stay the fuck out of religion's business.

Ham

why?

Let me rephrase that...this thread makes me very sad. It makes me sad to see such hatred against God, just because His existence can't be scientifically proven. If its such a myth...could so many gazillions of people be believing in a hoax all these thousands of years, worldwide? Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc all believe in God in their own ways. My faith in God has gotten me through so many tough times, it just makes me sad to see the hatred is all. God is my Father (I know, that sound so religious, but its how I feel) and see see the hatred for Him feels a lot like if you were on here going, "I just HATE when people start talking about how great Dick Burgess (my dad) is...I just hate that guy!" Seriously, that's how I feel about it. I pray lightly through the week when I think of something and profusely during church every Sunday and, although I respect your opinion regardign the subject, it makes me sad to hear it so vehemently. That's all.

Carry on...

Let me rephrase that...this thread makes me very sad. It makes me sad to see such hatred against God, just because His existence can't be scientifically proven.

Questioning the existence or non-existence of a supreme being shouldn't be interpreted as 'hating' that being. It's just a question. Some people can accept the dogma of a faith on it's face, others have to question it and decide for themselves how they believe.

Doesn't make anyone right or wrong, just makes them people.

Personally I don't think that religion is a hoax. What really bothers me is that it seems that every major religion is adamant that they've got it absolutely right.

Christianity, Islam, and Jews all have the "same" God, with just slightly different ideas of what the Almighty wants.

If you combine church and state you'll fuck up both church and state.

I think that if you look deeper, you'll find that those three religions have some pretty significant differences between their concepts of a supreme being.

There are two clauses in the First Amendment that are relevant.

The Establishment Clause states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." This prohibits the government from creating a national religion. It says nothing about recognizing a religious holiday. It says nothing about government figures referencing God or their own personal religious beliefs.

The Free Exercise Clause states "Congress shall make no law... prohibiting the free exercise [of religion]." This prohibits the government from interfering with the religious observance of its citizens.

The thing to keep in mind when reading the Constitution is that the framers mindset was one of fear of governmental power and control. The Constitution is written to restrict what the government can do to its people.

The term "separation of church and state" actually comes from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson. In this letter, Jefferson was assuring the Danbury, Connecticut Baptists that the government could not interfere in their business.

So, in essence, the concept of the separation of church and state is actually a one-way street. Jefferson was saying the government must stay the fuck out of religion's business.

Ham

I agree with this completely. The religious restrictions were made to protect the church from the state not the state from the church.

The Abrahamic religions have similar viewpoints on the nature of a supreme being, but even they differ enough that it's unfair to lump them all together.

However, beyond the 'big three' , there are countless other religions that look at a supreme being much differently than the Abrahamic ones. Some of those ideas about a supreme being are nothing like what what Christianity, Islam, and Judaism think.

Well by similar view points they believe we have different Gods but in reality if you go all the way back to the origins is technically the same God with different names.... sorry thats just what I found.... your perfectly welcome to disagree but... thats just how I see it

Holy fucking fuck...Boyes couldn't suck a dick if it landed in his mouth.