DH> KK> Three questions:
DH> KK> Do you still stand with Mr Witherspoon if fundamentalism requires
DH> KK> millions of Christians to forcibly accept fundamentalism?
DH> KK> How many people on this echo believe that if one sect of Christianity
DH> KK> has federal power, its definition of "enemy of God" should be used
DH> KK> as a basis for deciding who is patriotic and who is not?
DH> KK> Does this give you some idea of why Congress was instructed to
DH> KK> make no laws respecting an establishment of religion?
DH> I have yet to see a case where the state has established a religion,
DH> although there have been numerous cases recently where the state has
DH> limited the practice of Christianity(see previous post).
You must have missed the "balanced treatment" cases of the late 70s
and early 80s, where creationists got laws passed mandating the
teaching of "creation science" in public school science classes.
When this was challenged in Arkansas, it became obvious that
"creation science" not only was not science by its own definition,
but that it was nothing more than Genesis 1-11 with all the religious
words removed.  The court showed that the people who wrote and
supported the law believed that evolutionary science was a plot
by Satan to undermine God's moral authority, and that one of them
pointed out in private correspondence that his real aim was to
"kill evolution."  In short, they were trying to make the views
and values of a very specific sect into the law of the land.
DH> RP>   "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon
DH> RP>   the power of government, far from it.  We have staked the future of
DH> RP>   all of our political institutions...upon the capacity of each and 
all
DH> RP>   of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of 
d."
DH> RP>      - James Madison, "Father" of the Constitution
DH> KK> Would you kindly show me those places in the Constitution where
DH> KK> the Ten Commandments are listed or incorporated?
DH> If you will study the Constitution, and our legal system, you will find
DH> that at least part of their basis are the Ten Commandments, ie laws
DH> against theft vs the commandment against stealing.
Any reasoably sane country would have something like that.
DH> KK> Could you explain why, when Mr Madison's admirable Constitution
DH> KK> (IMO the greatest political document in human history) was sent
DH> KK> around, a Bill of Rights had to be added before it could be ratified?
DH> KK> And why that Bill included an instruction meant to prevent Congress
DH> KK> from favoring any religion or sect?
DH> Simple, the people wanted to protect themselves from tyranny, your
DH> point?
Yes.
 * SLMR 2.1a * Cats: proof that not everything in nature has a function.
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