Separation Of Church And State?

This is a subject I have written on before and touched upon recently in the Liberty Jihad (1, 2, 3 ), but it looks as if the fundamentalist anti-Liberty Jihadists are gearing up for another push in Congress, using their leverage at the ballot boxes in order to advance their theocratic agendas. And, given the numbers of sympathisers in Congress who wish to retain their power it might just come to pass that these people could impose their theocratic will upon this country and its inhabitants using the bludgeon of government.

The Family Research Council, a leader in the anti-Liberty Jihad has issued numerous "fatwas" calling for restrictions on speech, scientific inquiry, freedom of association and are even tackling the current cause de jure, immigration. Their "Values Voters" are being organised to place pressure on legislators, at all levels to pass a number of anti-Liberty bills and to get at Amendments to the Constitution on ballots. An Amendment to "protect marriage", another to ban the burning of an American flag, new limits on abortion and scientific research into stem cells and a foray into the immigration issue, (90% of the respondents in an FRC poll on this issue favour arresting and deporting "illegals". 80% want a wall built along the US border with Mexico).

The fact that the Republican majority in Congress is willing to pander to these people for votes is more than obvious, given that their "leaders" have many times spoken to the "faithful" and promised to promote their agenda. We've seen it in the "faith-based initiatives" from the Bush White House. We see it in political endorsements (or condemnations).

One of the worst aspects of this is that most of these "Values Voters" will vociferously decry the actions of a group like the Taliban and will fail to see the similarities in what they wish to achieve. They pray for the day when this country is run entirely on Judeo-Christian precepts. All the while wrapping themselves in the flag and brandishing a lavishly re-interpreted and rolled up copy of the Constitution, presumably to whack the heathen dogs on the street into submission.

These same folks scream bloody murder when the government intrudes into their sphere and inconveniences them in some manner, (such as taxes) and yet...they will turn around and attempt to use the force of government to impose their will upon everyone else and gladly put out their hands for their own share of faith based tax money. The magnitude of this blind hypocrisy is phenomenal.

At a time when organised religions should be building the walls of seperation higher and stronger, they are climbing into bed en masse with their political masters and shattering any safeguards they may have been accorded by the 1st Amendment. Forgotten is the fact that when you deal with a devil he will extract his due, eventually. It has been painfully evident for decades that the government has broken with the 1st Amendment.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...."

And the race to further degrade it is being won by the very churches and religious organisations who wish to be protected by it. When any church, (regardless of religion) must petition the government for recognition as a "legitimate" church or religion, then there is no seperation of church and state. Churches are subservient to the government and exist at the leisure and pleasure of the Powers That Be. Now we get to see something that is almost incestuous in its depravity. Churches who are beholden to the government for their existence are willing to climb into bed with their masters for an epic orgy of anti-Liberty legislation which will do nothing but cement the power of the state over the rights of the individual. Many of these folks once upon a time denounced Communism as evil and yet they seemingly embrace the collectivist mindset with an unrivalled zeal in their rush to dictate morality for everyone else.

If this country, churches and idividual Liberty are to survive then people of good will must cease their attempts to use government to enforce their moral and ethical agenda on the people of this country. The time for you to live your own lives and cease interfering in those of others is here. If these folks, (and there are even a number of "libertarians" amongst them) cannot find it within themselves to resist the impulse to use the force of government in their rush to "Judeo-Christianise" this country then they had best prepare to face the Frankensteinian monster that they will help give life to.
While their zeal is commendable their goals are not, zealotry seldom renders the desired result, especially when government is involved.

So, grab onto your seats folks, in the months leading up to the November elections we are likely to see legislative pandering the likes of which we have never seen, as the overseers in Congress scramble to retain their power! May god/gods/goddess/fsm or whomever watch over us and protect us from his/her/their followers, because Nehemiah Scudder isn't just a fictional character, his spirit lives on.

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Republican, Family Research Council, Christian
Politics, Libertarian, Election 2006