From: popec@unkaphaed.gbdata.com (William C. Barwell)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
Subject: Re: Soul of the Republican Party
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 92 05:17:44 GMT
Organization: Unka Phaed's UUCP Thingy, Houston, TX

mvp@netcom.com (Mike Van Pelt) writes:

> In article <1992Dec20.165342.1@cubldr.colorado.edu> stegner_g@cubldr.colorado
> >As regards your statement on separation of church and state, If George 
> >Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin could hear you now, 
> >they'd all be turning in their graves.  The clause stating that "there 
> >shall be a clear separation of church and state..." was intended exactly 
> >to prevent people like you from imposing your morality on the rest of us.  
> 
> Just where is this clause stating that "there shall be a clear
> separation of church and state..."?  It is nowhere in the
> Constitution.  The word "church" does not appear anywhere in the
> constitution.  The only two places were religion is mentioned are
> 
> (1) Article VI Section 3, "... no religious test shall ever be
>     required as a qualification to any office or public trust under
>     the United States."
> 
> (2) Ammendment 1, " Congress shall make no law respecting an
>     establishment of religion, OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE
>     THEREOF..."
> 
> (Fanatical, intolerant anti-Christians conveniently "forget" the
> free-exercise part of the Bill of Rights.)
> 
> -- 
> Mike Van Pelt          | What happens if a big asteroid hits Earth?
> mvp@netcom.com         | Judging from realistic simulations involving a
>                        | sledge hammer and a common laboratory frog, we
>                        | can assume it will be pretty bad. -- Dave Barry


There aint any such clause.  However.   Thomas Jefferson and James 
Madison were the fathers of the first amendment.  In a letter to a group 
of Babtists, the Danbury Babtists, jefferson uses the phrase "Wall of 
seperation".  He makes it very clear that there is to be a STRONG wall of 
seperation between Church and State.

When Jefferson was president, one Rev. Millar, wrote to ask him to 
institue an oficial day of prayer, which Jefferson refused.  Rev. Millar 
then wrote again to ask him to institute an UNOFFICAL day of prayer, 
which Jefferson pointedly refused.

  "I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the 
Constitution from meddlim=ng with reigous institutions, their doctrines, 
discipline or exercises.  This rresults not only from the provision that 
no law shall be made respecting the establishment, or free exercise of 
religion,....
  But it is only proposed that I recommend not prescribe a day of fasting 
and prayer.  That is, I should indirectly assume to the United States an 
authority over religous exercises, which the Constitution has directly 
precluded them from..."

You could imagine what Jefferson would say about prayer in public 
schools, or Creches on government property, or what he would say about 
the pious legeal frauds that declare such creches as 'secular' rather 
than religous as some courts have done.

Remember, Jefferson was one of the two men most responsible for there 
being a first amandment, and actually wrote the final version of that 
amendment.  HE definitly is the one person that knows what it meant and 
how strongly it was to apply.

If anything, the first amendment has definitely been stepped on by our 
politicians in the last half century.  Putting in 'God we trust" on our 
dollars....

We need to go back to following the Constitution, not subverting it for 
the benifit of right winged evangelicals and the like.

Pope Charles   SubGenius Pope Of Houston.     Just a patriot, that's all.

--
popec@unkaphaed.gbdata.com (William C. Barwell)
Unka Phaed's UUCP Thingy, Houston, TX, (713) 943-2728
After December 31, (713) 481-3763
1200/2400/9600/14400 v.32bis/v.42bis
Newsgroups: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh,alt.politics.clinton