RP>KK>Brian, this issue is not about the Ten Commandments, or your
RP>KK>right to believe or disbelieve in them.  It's about the fact that
RP>KK>if the Ten Commandments are intentionally and prominently displayed
RP>KK>in a government building, that implies that the government is
RP>KK>favoring an establishment of religion.
RP>Not an establishment, Keith, simply a recognition of this nation's
RP>Judeo/Christian heritage.  Such a display is NOT the making of any law,
The US was and is populated mainly by Christians.  That does not mean
that our federal government is or should be officially Christian.
RP>   "It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of
RP>   almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and
RP>   humbly to implore His protection and favor."
RP>        - George Washington, Thanksgiving Proclamation, Oct. 3, 1789
RP>In the "Church of the Holy Trinity vs. United States" decision of 1892,
RP>the Supreme Court said:
RP>   "Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and
RP>   must embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind.  It is
RP>   impossible for it to be otherwise.  In this sense, to this extent our
RP>   civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian."
It's not hard to find quotes from the founding fathers and others
stating these things.  Jefferson and other deists had other opinions,
though I don't have those quotes anymore.
RP>That opinion was backed by one of the most extensive research efforts
RP>ever undertaken on the question and was further backed by 87 precedents
RP>that it cited.  The massive proofs they accumulated, both official and
RP>what it called "unofficial declarations" led the Court to further state:
RP>   "These and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of
RP>   unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this
RP>   is a Christian nation."
Note the word 'unofficial.'  I do not recall any passage in the
Constitution stating that Christianity is the official religion
of this country.  One would think that given the importance of
religion in everyone's lives, such a declaration would have been
entered as plainly as possible.  Yet the only instruction the
legislative branch is given on this point is not to use federal
power to favor any establishment of religion.
RP>The Supreme Court itself has the Ten Commandments displayed, and
RP>Congress has the office of Chaplain, established at the very beginning
RP>of this nation's history under the Constitution.  The buildings and
RP>monuments in Washington D.C. have this nation's original reliance on the
RP>God of the Bible written on them in stone, and as I've noted many times
RP>before in this forum, the Constitution itself closes by declaring the
RP>founders' belief in Christ as Lord.  One of the first Congress' earliest
RP>acts was to import 20,000 Bibles (the Handbook of The Patriots) at the
RP>government's expense, and those legislators included many of the very
RP>same men who were involved in drafting and ratifying the Bill of Rights.
Christianity was a basic part of the milieu of the time, certainly.
I also notice they didn't make it official.
RP>Your statements and position, Keith, are in complete ignorance of both
RP>the Constitution and history, and most certainly are directly opposed to
RP>the position, intent, and thinking of this nation's founders, which
RP>included not simply the men who drafted the Constitution, but the state
RP>legislatures who ratified it and insisted on the inclusion of the Bill
RP>of Rights.
RP>It should be noted that some of those states which supported the First
RP>Amendment also supported and established state religions, or had already
RP>established state religions when they ratified the Constitution and the
RP>Bill of Rights. They wanted the First Amendment in order to assure that
RP>the Federal government could not override their state religious
RP>establishments.
It should also be noted that if the authority of General Washington
had not been used to create and support the US Constitution, the
states could well have devolved into thirteen squabbling nations,
all vulnerable to the military power of Britain.
That shows two things:
1) Sectarian fractiousness could have been a serious threat
   to the Union;
2) The basic concepts of American liberty are not inherently religious.
You, a Quaker, a Zen Buddhist, a Puritan, and even space cadets like me
can all agree with the amazingly radical idea (embodied in the
Constitution) that the authority of our government comes from ourselves.
And therein we find the conflict: what if you are a Quaker in a state
where Puritanism is the official state religion?  In that case, your
American liberties can be taken away by someone else's religion.
  They would be utterly dismayed to know that the Supreme
RP>Court in this century has ignored them and totally trampled on the
RP>Amendment that was their safeguard.  They would be even more dismayed by
RP>the utter ignorance and plain wrong-headedness of the Keith Knapps of
RP>today with respect to both the historical and intended role of
RP>Christianity in this nation and its history.
Show me the line in the Constitution that makes Christianity
the official religion of the US.
RP>When the founders expressed concern about religious establishments by
RP>the federal government, it was particular Christian sects, or what today
RP>we call denominations that concerned them - they didn't want a federally
RP>mandated Christian denomination.  To them, impartiality between other
RP>faiths, and/or a lack of belief in God, and Christianity, was out of the
RP>question - Christianity was the faith of the nation, and they based our
RP>laws on that premise and that foundation, and not just assumed, but
RP>intended that would always be so.
They did _not_ base our laws on it.  They specifically stated that
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.
Christianity was very much the context of those times.  If they had
wanted it made into law, they would have said so.
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