‘I Disagree Strongly With The Concept Of Separation Of Church And State’

[Drew]

GOP Senate Candidate Ken Buck: ‘I Disagree Strongly With The Concept Of Separation Of Church And State’

During a debate last week, Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell (R-DE) repeatedly questioned whether the First Amendment laid out a separation between church and state. “That’s in the First Amendment…?” she asked her Democratic opponent, sending the crowd into fits of laughter.

GOP Senate candidate in Colorado Ken Buck is less equivocal about his view. At a forum for GOP Senate candidates late last year, Buck said that he “disagree[d] strongly with the concept of separation of church and state,” and that “it was not written into the Constitution,” and then went on to rip President Obama for supposedly getting rid of the White House Christmas tree:

   I disagree strongly with the concept of separation of church and state. It was not written into the Constitution. While we have a Constitution that is very strong in the sense that we are not gonna have a religion that’s sanctioned by the government, it doesn’t mean that we need to have a separation between government and religion. And so that, that concerns me a great deal. So I think there are cultural differences, I think there, we are as strong as we, our culture, our culture gives us our strength, I guess is the best way to put that. And, and I am worried about the fact that we seem to be walking away from culture. And, and one thing that President Obama has done that I would certainly speak about is calling the Christmas tree, which has historically been called a Christmas tree in Washington DC, a holiday tree. It’s just flat wrong in my mind.

Watch it:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v21H8Bs14I&feature=player_embedded

Needless to say, while the Constitution doesn’t contain the exact words “separation of church and state,” legal scholars and the courts agree it does prohibit the establishment or endorsement of religion, and that the involvement Buck wants is dangerous. As Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote in a concurring opinion in 1984, the government is prohibited from “making adherence to a religion relevant in any way to a person’s standing in the political community.” In 1801, Thomas Jefferson wrote that “religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God,” and argued the Constitution required “building a wall of separation between Church & State.”

From:  http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/26/buck-church-state/

[Richard Myers]

As Seventh-day Adventists we understand the Constitutional provision. We see that God blessed this country mightily and gave us freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. America WAS a Protestant nation. The ACLU has taken a position to force upon society laws that will further erode morality. They and their supporters who disdain Bible morality believe they have found in the first amendment a wall against moral laws. It would be laughable, but is not because there are so many who have bought into their lie.

On the other side of the fence are those who believe we need to enforce laws that deal with how or when we worship God. When we support the position of the ACLU and those who hate morality, we make it very hard to persuade some ignorant of the truth that Christians need to resist putting God in control of the government. America is not a theocracy. The last battle will not be against the Democrats and their outward immorality, but against those professing to serve the God of the Bible. They will be the ones who establish a religious law in order to persecute God's children who accept the Word of God as it reads.

As a people we understand the issue. America is to have moral laws. The only morality is that of the Bible. Those who want to live in peace with their neighbors will find the last six of the Ten Commandments as the foundation upon which they must build. To say that because these are of a religious nature, they cannot be legislated is silly. Of course we cannot legislate against coveting. That would be like legislating against hate speech. But, the other five deal with how we deal with each other and ought to be the basis of laws in all nations.

Why would any object? Because they either are immoral or wrongly understand the issue. Let us use this opportunity to educate the ignorant on the subject of separation between church and state. Obama's removal of the Christmas tree is an overt sign that he does not understand or he does not care. America is (was) a Protestant nation. The Constitution of the United States allowed for a Christmas tree at the White House. It allows for crosses at Arlington National Cemetery. America is not a Muslim nation, it is not a Catholic nation, it is not a Hindu nation, it is not a Buddhist nation, it WAS a Protestant nation. And it was her strength. It allowed for freedom of religion. Alas, that day is fast disappearing.