10 Comandments - Aug 31, 2005
Following are excepts of an email that is making the rounds.
DID YOU KNOW?
As you walk up the east steps to the U.S. Supreme Court you can see, near the top of the building, Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments!
There are Bible verses etched in stone all over Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C.
Every session of Congress begins with a prayer.
How, then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional? It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore, it is very hard to understand why there is such a mess about having the Ten Commandments on display or "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the other 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!!
The number of Christians in the United States is now about 75%. The fact that about 1/4 of the people in the United States are not Christians is not the only reason it is wrong to promote inclusion of Christianity in government. Complete separation of church and state is in the best interest of all religions. One does not have to look very far back in history to see the negative result of inclusion of religion in governments. Many of the original immigrants to the United States came from England to escape a government that enforced religious rules and that was a Christian government!
I am sure most people that defend and promote the inclusion of Christianity in government do it with good intent. I expect they feel it will promote Christianity and attempts to remove God from government are an attempt to stifle Christianity.
Church attendance in the United States is high compared to other developed countries. According to a 2003 Harris poll, 36% of the people in the United States attend church once a month or more. In Scandinavia where they have a Christian State religion, church attendance is extremely low - about 5%. If 2+2 still equals 4 it should be obvious that inclusion of religion in government does not help and it likely has a negative effect on religion.
People and leaders of all religions should be insisting that our government avoid inclusion of religion in anyway. I don't think we need to remove existing religious manifestations in government places but we certainly should not allow the inclusion of religious manifestations in/by new buildings, on new money issues, etc. And yes, "under god" should not be used in the pledge of allegiance when it is repeated in public schools or at government events.
I was raised a Christian and do not want anything to happen that has a negative effect on Christianity. That is exactly why we need complete separation of church and state. Religious leaders need to continue to work hard to increase religious participation, but promoting religion in government is the wrong approach.
