Faith.
This oft-used expression, used as an excuse to shut down and shut out, Bible believing Christians, is found nowhere in our founding documents. Article One, not accidently the priority, simply states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Our focus in this article is on the religious aspect of this First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. Let us not forget that the purpose of the Bill of Rights was to hold in check the federal government, not to limit the rights of the states or the people.
I taught high school Civics for a number of years, and I would tell my students, tongue-in-cheek, that the country would be much better off if the founding fathers would have put a period after the first five words of the First Amendment.
The Russian constitution, adopted in 1918, includes “The Decree on Separation of Church from State and School from Church”. Our Supreme Laws of the United States-the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution- contain neither those words nor that intent. Roger Williams is quoted in the mid-1600’s as having written of the need for “a wall or hedge of separation” between the secular world and the sacred church. In 1801, the Danbury (CT) Baptist Association expressed concern to Thomas Jefferson about the danger of a national church denomination. His response to them included the phrase “wall of separation between church and state”. Both situations were an attempt to limit the federal government from establishing a national church. Neither were ever an attempt to limit religious liberty, nor the rights of those who held religious viewpoints, from involvement in government nor any other aspect of the public square. At the time of the writing of the letter to Jefferson, the Baptists of Connecticut were living under a denomination that was legally supported by the state of Connecticut-the Congregational Church. That issue was not addressed in their concern-the issue was only the federal government. At the time of the writing of the Constitution, nine of the thirteen states had religious requirements for office holders. While we may not agree with that practice, the point is that it was not prohibited by the Constitution on a state level, only on the federal level.
In more recent years, along with other usurped powers, the Supreme Court has been applying the Bill of Rights to the states, which was never the intent of the founders. Regardless, applying the First Amendment to the states does not reverse the intent of the founders-that the government cannot through laws or taxes support one denomination over another. It was never their intent to keep God nor godly people out of government nor prevent them from publicly voicing their beliefs.
Dr. Lonnie W. Stine, Pastor
Badger Community Church
11198 Badger Drive, Waupaca, WI
An independent, Bible teaching, local church
Sunday: 9:00 am Bible Study, 10:00 am Morning Worship
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