Where anyone ever got the idea that the term or phrase "Separation of Church and State" comes from the U.S. Constitution boggles my mind. Oh, wait,..... it's the ACLU and other Liberal organizations, that's it—.I almost forgot! There are people who truly believe that this phrase actually appears in the U.S. Constitution. But, is it really in the Constitution? No it is not! The correct phrase that they refer to is "building a wall of separation between Church & State".
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Show me where "God" or "Christianity" appears in the Constitution, and you may have a case (and, no, the old "Year of Our Lord" line doesn't count, since everyone in the western world was using a calendar based around the alleged birth of that Jesus guy).
FYI, the "building a wall of separation between Church and State" phrase to which you refer was written to explain to the Danbury Baptists what the First Amendment was all about (and since it was written by Thomas Jefferson who, along with James Madison, wrote the Constitution in the first place, I'm inclined to take it at face value).
Please, Jake Jones, just save us all some time. Admit that you want to live in a Christian theocracy, then find yourself an uninhabited island somewhere, relocate to it, and build the Christian nation you so greatly desire. Trust me; the rest of us won't mind.
The concept goes back to Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" pamphlet.
Long story short, no matter how you put it, churches should not have any say on state matters, and the state should not interfere with church matters. That's the intent.
Where anyone ever got the idea that the term or phrase "Separation of Church and State" comes from the U.S. Constitution boggles my mind.
Mine, too. Why do fundies think they're the only ones who know it came from Jefferson's Danbury Baptist letter.
No, the phrase itself is not in the constitution, however the concept is (it's the establishment clause of the first amendment). And I'm really not sure how the "correct phrase" is any different from the short version.
Repeal the First Amendment and watch the Fundies scream about how those evil, liberal, Democrats are plotting to persecute them.
Oh wait...the Fundies are already doing that.
Of course! They must have meant a literal wall, not a metaphorical wall! Well, that or you're an idiot grasping at straws. It could go either way, really.
"...a wall of separation between church and state."
In case you forgot, he was one of the guys who kinda wrote the Constitution.
That's where you're wrong Jake. If this was meant to be a Christian nation, explain the First Amendment put in place by the FOUNDING FATHERS, as well as the Treaty of Tripoli (Article 11) ratified unanimously by the US SENATE.
The correct phrase that they refer to is "building a wall of separation between Church & State".
It's "'... their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,'" thus building a wall of separation between Church & State". I.e., Jefferson is saying that the actual words of the Constitution are equivalent to building a wall of separation between church and state. How do you get from that that there is no wall?
"Separation of Church and State" versus
So your argument boils down to whether "of " and "between" mean the same thing in this context. I'd argue that "Separation of Church and State" is the better English but otherwise they seem to mean just about the same to me.
If religion can have a say in government, then government can have a say in religion. Since this is what the founding fathers were fleeing, the idea doesn't make sense for them to allow it here, while claiming to be leaving it behind in England. Dumb ass.
From Thomas Jefferson, who was BFFs with Thomas Paine.
However, It can be construed using the Religious test clause, the first amendment and the 9th amendment that religion and goverement are two seprate entities.
So the second amendment is absolutely a constitutional right (often considered the most important one by Republicans) and not subject to left-wing semantics while the prohibition of religious establishments to meddle in the affairs of state and vice-versa in the first amendment is not part of the constitution, just some graffiti.
I hate these people.
Where's the big difference between "separation of Church and State" and "separation between Church and State"?
The ACLU is defending people's constitutional rights, regardless of political viewpoint.
Where anyone ever got the idea that the term or phrase "Rapture" comes from the Bible boggles my mind. Oh, wait,..... it's the Charismatics and other Fundie organizations, that's it
.I almost forgot! There are people who truly believe that this word actually appears in the Bible. But, is it really in the Bible? No it is not!
Fixed.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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