Political analysis
Huckleberry and the Will of God
- By NotYourDaddy
- January 22, 2008
On January 1, 1802, Thomas Jefferson addressed the following words to the Danbury Baptist association in Connecticut.
“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that 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 and state.”
On January 14, 2008, Mike Huckabee addressed the following words to a group of Christians in Michigan.
Separation of church and state has become a hot button phrase for many conservatives because of its frequent abuse by the ACLU to thwart the free expression of religion, rather than to protect it. This has driven some conservatives to deny that the first amendment actually establishes a separation of church and state, but Thomas Jefferson was pretty clear about that. So let me clarify that my opinion on this question is based on Thomas Jefferson’s interpretation, not the ACLU’s. (One can twist any precept beyond sense or recognition, but that doesn’t mean the original precept was unsound.)
I revere the principles on which this nation was founded, which define this nation and make this nation great. Those principles were profoundly influenced by the Judeo-Christian heritage of the culture in which our nation was conceived and brought forth. But I would not revere those principles less if had they originated from some other source. They stand on their own, and their merit is intrinsic. We do not need to amend the Constitution to insert God into it.
The reason the founding fathers believed it was important to separate church and state is because there is nothing more personal than one’s relationship with God, and it is nobody else’s business, least of all the government’s. Different religions, and even different denominations within the same religion, interpret God’s will differently. It is not the role of government to be the arbiter of the will of God, but rather to protect the rights and liberties of its citizens. The inherent danger of making the state an instrument of enforcing any interpretation of God’s will is that you end up with Shari’a, rather than representative government. As an inveterate American, I prefer representative government.
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Thanks for that. Excellent!!
212 days ago by scumby
This guy scares the hell out of me every time i hear him speak outside of a debate. He definitely wears religion on his sleeve in such a way that i wonder what the hell he might do if he had the riens.
211 days ago by Tek Jansen
I’m sorry, but this is simply a lack of knowledge when it comes to Jefferson and what he meant by separation of church and state. I could site countless examples, but the most undeniable one is the fact that Jefferson not only approved the proposal, but also himself attended regularly Church services within the CAPITAL building. It was just two days after his famous “Separation of Church and State” letter when he began his attendance. How do you proponents of a modern interpretation reconcile that fact?
209 days ago by Clyde Davies
I don’t understand your argument, Clyde. One can attend church services and still believe in separation of church and state. Just because one attends church doesn’t mean one thinks the government should be in the business of interpreting the will of God, or enforcing some particular interpretation of it.
Or are you suggesting that the fact that a church service was held in the Capitol violates the wall of separation between church and state? I disagree with that completely. The separation of church and state means that the government can neither impose nor restrict an individual’s religious beliefs or practices. As long as attendance at the church service was voluntary, it did not violate that precept. However, amending the Constitution to include any kind of religious doctrine would most certainly violate it.
I’d be interested to know what you think Thomas Jefferson meant by “building a wall of separation between church and state,” since you think I’m misinterpreting it.
209 days ago by NotYourDaddy