Does our country constantly contradict itself?

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Is this realistic?

Honestly, this idea will always be that, an "idea". There will always be a disagreement between people regarding religion because of the constantly growing population of America. On top of that, our Country has always had some kind of religious roots within it. The reason for this is, many of our presidents have been Christians, especially the republican candidates. Furthermore, as in history, there will always be debates concerning how our country should be run. Everyone has their own opinions and it's impossible to try to make everyone happy. Lastly, many processes in our government, such as our President's prayer will always be debated. Things such as this suggest that our country is mostly Christian, and those who aren't often object such things being practiced on a national level. So, in brief, there is honesty no realistic way to make a distinct separation between church and state.

6 comments:

Anne said...

I don't think that our president's religious affiliations have implications on our religion in our overall country. I think that this arguement is extremely flawed. When has the President ever inflicted his views on the country?

Elizabeth said...

You haven't researched very well if you say that "many of our presidents have been Christians, especially the republican candidates." All of the presidents have been Christian, all of them, even the democrats. This is such a blatant error. I think you are right in saying that Christianity is so deep rooted in American government that fully separating will be impossible.

Vilese11 said...

In response to anne, I never said that he inflicted his views onto us, I was simply giving an example of how religion is still a role in our government. My pointing that out was to simply say that, many of his decisions and acts will still have religious references within them.

Vilese11 said...

In response to elizabeth, me pointing out the religious preferences of the presidents was just an example and really was not that important. That was not the main purpose of my argument in this post. I didn't want to say all and not be accurate so I said many. Either way, that was not the basis of the argument and you using words such "blatant error" really was unnecessary. I am a growing thinker like yourself and I am learning so therefore, your negative critiques are not needed.

Elizabeth said...

That wasn't a negative critique, I would want to know if I had messed up something like that. Sorry.

Anonymous said...

I wanted to offer a correction on the question concerning the seperation of curch and state.

The founding fathers were all affiliated with specific religious belief grounded in Christianity. Their move to America had to do with freedom to pursue religion far from the King of England and the Anglican church. The same type rebelion occured during the enlightenment period of the 1450's-1500's and Martin Luther's disgust with the Pope and the Catholic Church; primarily their abuse of papal indulgences, the sacraments and the fact that the bible was only available to clergy and not the people.

Just to clarify further, this question [church/state]is not a long time concern for America. Its historic roots are only about 80 years or so ago. The issue started as a joke and turned into something different with the infamous Scopes Trial. The issue of the day was evolution...not school prayer nor religious biblical studies and certainly not seperation of church and state!

The Scopes trail of 1925 was "one of the greatest trials of the twentieth century" and a defining event in shaping the debate over science and religion in this nation. In the tiny hamlet of Dayton, Tennessee, a young school teacher, John Thomas Scopes, became the centerpiece for a move designed partly as a publicity scheme and partly as a test of a newly enacted anti-evolution law.

Scopes agreed to be arrested for teaching Darwin's theory of natural selection in the public schools.

The antagonist, the brilliant trial lawyer Clarence Darrow, was pitted against three-time presidential candidate and fundamentalist Christian, William Jennings Bryan. For twelve days, the controversy held the nation's attention and branded Tennessee for years to come as "a backwater of anti-intellectualism and Bible-thumping education-haters."

The controversy stemmed from the Butler Act that declared that no book should be adopted to teach Darwinism; Genesis should be taught. The debate brought to a head some topics resulting from the conflict between science and the Bible: the limits of individual freedom, the authority of science, the basis for government, the truth of the Bible, and the teaching of controversial theories, especially one that "threatened a child's faith."

With these issues at the forefront, the Scopes Trial became what some people called "the most famous nonfelony trial of the twentieth-century" and others deemed an unabashed ruse instigated to establish a faltering state economy.

Legally, the trial was inconsequential. Symbolically, it defined the science-religion debate for the modern times.

From then on issues such as civil rights movement of the late 50's and early 60's, the abortion issues of the mid to late '60's Roe v. Wade,became areas of fringe concern that developed into mainstream law/plicy issues for America.

The Scopes Trial has had a long-lived effect not only on Tennessee but also on the nation's education system as a whole. The Scopes Trial is an ideal single source to begin to fuly understand the church/state issue on this notorious subject.

Just for further thought...I grew up in a system in America where prayer was part of the daily agenda along with the pledege of allegiance. That was up to the mid to late 60's and by the time of the ealry '70's it was all but changed to the current lack of prayer and lack of focus on allegiance we se today.

What is of even greater concern...without God in schools there is basically no bases for maorality or right and wrong. These all become suppositional and each person defines for themslves what they are and how they play out in the lives of others.

The result has been a bell weather changein america like never before seen. Major corporate corruption, such as Enron, Worldcom; insider trading trading scandles of epic proportion, etc. The net being that without prayer in schools there is a lack of God in school and lack of morality in America.

Now medal detectors are more imporant due to concerns of school safety because of the morally depraved---students shootings such as Columbine, and drug free zones around schools rather than books.

We have traded morality in Christ for personal freedom, only---we arent free at all!

Further a lack of Christ in schools has given rise to concerns that have led to a lack of a revelant social agenda for America.

It has shown up in foriegn policy and has lead to major problems in the treatment of humanity. Global issues such as drought and tribal war in the Sudan, genocide in Rowanda & Dafur and a failed policy on the war in Iran are the result.

America has developed no Presidential/Congress green policy that is positively impactful to future generations. Instead there ar policies in place that are more favorable to corporate america than Ameica as a whole.

Global warming concerns have to take a back seat to profits-which is interesitng since we are no longer a manufacturing based economy vs the early 70's. There is no real American effort to resolving any moral global issue. No public outcry [compared to what we have seen in this country in the '50's and earlier historically] as morality is devoid of God.

Profit is now more important than anythng....not God!

WDW-