Here's a question for you (meaning anyone who wants to answer): The 1st Amendment guarantees the "free exercise" of religion.
According to the Gospel of Matthew, the last command Jesus gave his disciples was to "go and make disciples" (Matthew 28:19). This, then, is a central tenant of Christianity. You are command by Christ to convert unbelievers. A close reading the New Testament makes it pretty clear -- if you are not spreading the Gospel, you are failing in your Christian duty. You are, in fact, sinning. So, if you are a teacher, or a mayor or other government official, are you not sinning if you do not use every opportunity to spread the Gospel. As a teacher, aren't you commanded by God to spread the Gospel to your pupils? This, of course, is an extreme position that is terribly politically incorrect, but I'm sort of playing the devil's advocate here. Isn't it a violation of your "free exercise" rights if you are prohibited from preaching, praying and proselytizing no matter what your position in the government? Another question: If the government makes a law that says, "Thou shalt not pray in public," isn't the government showing a preference for irreligion, if not secular humanism. Even a secularist is taking a religious position based on faith (it takes as much faith not to believe as to believe). So, when the government says, "no prayer," it's really "establishing religion" by establishing irreligion as the religion of choice for the government. True or not? H. ______________________________________________________________________ Macromedia ColdFusion 5 Training from the Source Step by Step ColdFusion http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201758474/houseoffusion Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
