Geof,
Regarding your last question: Do you not acknowledge that ethics/morality can come from common sense / intellect / logic alone? -Mark _____ I can buy most of your reasoning. The only thing I have trouble with is that you try to deny that Western morality is based on Judeo Christian principles. Not to kill, not to steal, not to covet the private property of your neighbor. All these things are the basis of the ethics of life and liberty. These colonies, and the states which they became were settled by Puritans. They were versed in the Calvinist and Lutheran traditions which opposed the need for priests and Popes to achieve grace and salvation. Thomas Paine spoke out against the churches of nations. That is exactly what the 1st Amendment was designed to prevent. Of that, there is no doubt. They may not have based the law on the Bible as law, but that heritage is what formed their morality. To then infer that the Founders morality is not based on their own Judeo Christian heritage, as followers of Christ, not the Christian church makes no sense. Their morality did not spring from some pagan well. For the sake of argument, if they intended to completely discount the teachings of Christ and the Deity as a source of morality, then from whence does Western morality and ethics come? _____ _____ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ForumWebSiteAt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
