Essential Baptist Principles™ Misc items of interest

5/1/2005

I Plead the First

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."  This First Amendment was ratified in September of 1789 shortly after the United States Constitution was ratified.  I believe wholeheartedly in the First Amendment and the Constitution.  However, today these freedoms have been twisted to have meanings our founding fathers never intended.  Let us reexamine our rights, look at the opinions of our founding fathers, and consider the original interpretation of the First Amendment.

A provision in the Northwest Ordinance adopted in 1787 by the Confederation Congress says, "Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to the good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."  Yet in 1985, the Supreme Court invalidated an Alabama statute that authorized a 1-minute period of silence in public schools for meditation or voluntary prayer because the statute advanced religion.  This decision violates the Constitution by preventing students in Alabama schools from exercising their religion on a personal, voluntary level.  The Supreme Court also invalidated a Louisiana statute that mandated teaching creation science along with evolution science in public schools.  The Court stated that the purpose was not, as the legislature said, to "protect academic freedom," but to discredit evolution by teaching creation science.  Where in the Constitution does it state that the government should promote the theory of evolution?  This ruling contradicts the freedom of speech by denying the right to express other views.

Recently, a school district in California prohibited a teacher from giving students handouts of historical documents that contain references to God and religion.  These documents included excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, the diaries of George Washington and John Adams, the writings of William Penn, and various state constitutions.  The history of our country was not allowed to be taught in class because it referred to God.

In 2002, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declared that the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance promotes religion and therefore ruled that it is unconstitutional to recite the Pledge in public schools.    The court stated in its decision that the Pledge is not "merely descriptive of the undeniable historical significance of religion in the founding of the Republic."  Even the court that opposed the recitation of the Pledge in public schools admits that religion played an important role in the founding of our country.  Michael Endow who filed the lawsuit was given the right to do so by a country that was established by a declaration saying all men have certain unalienable rights: "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  These rights were given to us not by our generous government but are "endowed by our Creator."  Thomas Jefferson, the same man who penned those words, also wrote in a letter to the Danbury Baptist association that the American legislature should establish a separation between church and state.  That phrase is often used as a reason to remove all references to God and religion from public proceedings.  However, it is clear that this was not Thomas Jefferson's meaning.

Many religious references are part of our nation's heritage.  Will our currency be declared unconstitutional because it states "In God We Trust?"  Will the inauguration of the President be declared unconstitutional because he states, "so help me God" in his oath of office?  John Adams wrote, "[R]eligion and morality alone can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand."  The founding fathers did not write the First Amendment to disallow any acknowledgement of God thus promoting atheism.  George Washington wrote in a letter, "We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land every person may worship God according to his heart."  The First Amendment promises Americans freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.

If our freedoms in this country are to be protected, we must return to the original interpretation of the First Amendment, not the misguided interpretation of the courts today.  The current jurisprudence on cases involving the freedom of religion is out of line with the original intent and the legal precedent of our nation's early history.  Separation of church and state should be followed as it was intended.  The government should not spend its money to support religious schools.  The government should not be at the head of a national church, nor should a school teach a church's beliefs.  Freedom of religion grants Michael Newdow the right to be an atheist and to teach his daughter to be one too.  Freedom of religion grants my father the right to be a minister and to teach me to be a Christian.  I have the right to go to church on Sunday morning, and you have the right not to go.  The government will not punish you because you aren't at a worship service every Sunday.  I don't want public schools to teach students Christian doctrine, but I want my right to follow my religion as I see fit.  Citizens and communities have the right of free speech and religious exercise even in public locations, provided the exercise is voluntary and not coercive.

John Adams stated in an address to the military, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."  Our founding fathers were a religious and respectful people.  They did not expect Americans to remove all traces of God and religion from their daily lives, and indeed they believed doing so would be harmful and dangerous.  The founders simply wanted to protect the right to worship for each individual, then and in the future.  By defying the founding fathers' intent, Americans are destroying the principles that form the very foundation our great country stands upon.   A line must be drawn as to what may or may not be construed as an establishment of religion.  Americans must return to the original interpretation of the First Amendment.

God bless America

Carla Mae Webb