Since public school was originally established by the Christians for the purpose of educating the young people in Godly principles and virtues, along with the essential tenants of things like reading , writing, and arithmetic, prayer must remain a fundamental right. Also, almost every old and well established college was founded upon Christian principles as well.
Really ?.... Read on....
PUBLIC EDUCATION, is funded by GOVERNMENT funds, be those, Local, State or Federal, (originating from tax receipts, from ALL TAXPAYERS, christians, atheists, and otherwise). Therefore, Public Education MUST follow the law of such government, the last time I checked, Federal, State and local Law followed the reasoning of the original government of this country. Which was established NOT as a christian government. So...... your assertion is:
# 1. False.
This position is best summarized by President John Adams who wrote:
"Although the detail of the formation of the American governments is at present little known or regarded either in Europe or in America, it may hereafter become an object of curiosity. It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service had interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the influence of Heaven, more than those at work upon ships or houses, or laboring in merchandise or agriculture; it will forever be acknowledged that these governments were contrived merely by the use of reason and the senses." [A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, 1787]
In addition:
Adams signed the Treaty of Tripoli. Article 11 states:
"The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."
More:
Thomas Jefferson:
"I have examined all the known superstitions of the word, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth."
SIX HISTORIC AMERICANS,
by John E. Remsburg, letter to William Short
And......
John Adams, the country's second president, was drawn to the study of law but faced pressure from his father to become a clergyman. He wrote that he found among the lawyers 'noble and gallant achievments" but among the clergy, the "pretended sanctity of some absolute dunces". Late in life he wrote: "Twenty times in the course of my late reading, have I been upon the point of breaking out, "This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it!"
It was during Adam's administration that the Senate ratified the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which states in Article XI that "the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion."
More on the Treaty of Tripoli
U.S. and Christianity
by William Edelen
se1.com
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The Treaty of Tripoli, signed when George Washington was President, begins article XI with these words: "The Government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."
President Washington approved it, and this treaty was ratified by the Senate in 1797 without a single objection. By the time it reached the Senate for ratification John Adams was President, and it was he who presented it to the Senate. President Adams confirmed the Senate's ratification in June 1797. John Adams, in his proclamation of the Treaty, said that he had "seen and considered the said Treaty and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, had agreed to accept, ratify, and confirm the same, and every clause and article thereof."
This has appeared in all treaty collections since SESSION LAWS of the Fifth Congress (1797) and IN THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES, edited by Folwell (1799). Article VI of the United States Constitution made this treaty doubly binding by saying "all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding."
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This is a basic document for the American doctrine of the separation of church and state, and it would be good for us all to remember that, now that many candidates favoring church-state mingling have been elected to Congress.
We also should remember, when the religious and political "right" mangle history, that all of our major Founding Fathers, our first six Presidents, were Deist and Humanist and passionate in their determination to keep a giant wall of separation between church and state. In 1993, Pat Robertson of the Christian Coalition said that "separation of church and state is a lie of the left and the liberals." Either Robertson is religiously and historically illiterate, or worse, does not have an ounce of honesty, integrity or truth in his system of values.
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In short, you are full of CACA.
# 2. Irrelevant as current law indicates.
# 3. Thank you for, reveling your true colors. (and your knowledge of history, yet again !).
# 4 Prayer IS NOT A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT. It is your twisted view of the world that assumes so.
# 5 Which Prayer, might that be ? Jewish, Muslim, Catholic ? or ? The assembly of the sacred cow.? or Budist ?... or ??
# 6 Assuming, the government were to allow prayer and indeed general religious education, which religion..... ??
In addition, who is going to pay for those religious instruction, teachers, books, etc.
Should we then assume that federal tax dollars will go to support ALL religions..... even MARGINAL ONES ?
How about Property tax dollars ?? will they be sufficient to cover the EQUAL coverage of ALL religions ??
Your agenda is so stupid that does not even address any of these issues. In fact it lies to millions of unsuspected morons.
But of course, what I am talking about!! Under your agenda it is the ONLY ONE RELIGION that should be supported right ??? The Christian Coalition religion.... right ??
No thanks.... no need for more Zombitrons.
I want to see any of the "new" sectarian religious sit idle and watch as our dear "christians" get the benefit of government subsidies.
How about if I organize the Apostles of the Green Earth, we would worship the tall red woods of Northern California and the ancient NW Sitka Spruces, qualify as religion tax free status, and under anti-discrimination principles, demand "equal treatment" under the law, for subsidies for the FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT for School prayer and indeed indoctrination.
We would demand no less than those other infidels that read bibles and believe in mystic gods, Yes sir !! We would be the real religion !!
Or What about the "Enshrined Gamblers of Las Vegas" praying to our god Black Jack ?
Or, The Church of the Illegal Migrant Worker ? praying to Cesar Chavez all mighty god of the wet back., (now scratched arses since they have put a barbed wired fence).
Or, The Brand New Church of the Unborn Again Infidel ?
Or, How about federal funding for Satanism, yeah why not !! if the Jesus Wackos have access to Federal funds, why not the Apostles of Lucifer......
Yes sir, what an absurd proposal......
As a matter of fact, the first amendment protects the fact that You can pray all you want in your churches, your homes, wherever you want, but it does NOT say that you are allowed to impose YOUR particular prayer upon million of other unwilling listeners of your prayers. Again, Why ONLY your prayer.
By the time (under the theory of anti-discrimination), the 10 or so religious prayers and classes that would be forced upon the student population, there would be no time for real educational stuff such as Math, English, Physics, Chemistry etc. etc.
But hey! what do we care about those idiotic subjects, first we must pray !! (and remain ignorant)....
Again, go preach to the mirror, your arguments have no logic whatsoever.
Z. |
