In a message dated 7/13/07 12:56:24 P.M. Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Moore lost his case based on a false assumption of a separation of church > and state which was perpetuated since the late 1940's by the then Supreme Court. Wrong. In effect, the US Constitution essentially upheld the idea of the separation of church and state from the outset. Nowhere in the Constitution does it contradict the following statements by Jefferson and Madison. In fact, later Supreme Court decisions, except for the Pledge of Allegience case, also upheld those ideas. "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and 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 and State." ~~ Thomas Jefferson The Constitution does contradict the separation of Church and state as it is currently applied. Try reading the first amendment. The congress shall make no law establishing nor prohibiting the free exercise of religion. Clearly this means the Government can not establish by law an official state Church or religion as was the custom in Europe. However the government can not pass a law prohibiting the elected from expressing the religious values of the people they represent through legislation. Laws regarding the Sabbath, Sodomy, Adultery as well as laws regarding financial restitution are or were very common in state governments since their inception<The quote of Jefferson's you refer to is not in any government document. It is a personal letter to the Baptists of Danbury Connecticut who feared the Government might establish a State Church such as Anglican or Presbyterian and the Federal government would be controlled by that denomination. Jefferson's letter was meant to reassure him that was not the intent. ************************************** Get a sneak peak of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
