Sunday, May 27, 2007
The seperation of Church and State
We receive a lot of e-mail and solicitations telling us what a shame it is that there is a separation between church and state. There are all sorts of ads and propaganda going around saying all sorts of things that all boil down to it is a shame that the government has taken religion out of influence. Today we must learn something important: The separation between government and religion is a good thing!
All throughout history there are many examples of what happens when a religion holds political and legal power; repression and suppression. There was a single religion that held power in most of Europe for over one thousand years. This reign is known as the dark ages. The church held power over governments, and a single religious leader was able to dictate to governments what was acceptable. This single religious leader was responsible for the crusades; true total religious war.
When a religion holds power over a government individual freedoms are randomly and arbitrarily taken away. Rules are enforced in the name of god that are usually not in mans best interest. Segments of society are stratified, and classes of people are created that are strictly enforced. Free speech is curtailed, as to speak against the church is heresy and blasphemy. Any view contrary to the church is brutally suppressed.
Let us look at a few examples:
- The young Jewish nation while conquering the land now known as Israel would kill every man woman and child of a city or province when they took over.
- The Romans invaded England to wipe out the Celtic druid religion.
- The very Catholic Spain had the lovely institution known as the inquisition. Any person of a different religious belief was arrested, tortured and executed.
- European countries had a few wars, the French raised an army to eradicate other religious factions, remember the Templers?
- The Catholic Church raised an army to wage war against the Baptists.
- We won’t even try to list all the witch hunts that killed more people than Hitler’s holocaust.
Think those days are over? Look again;
- Until recently Afghanistan’s ruling government made it illegal to listen to music unless it was first approved by the church.
- Women in most Middle Eastern countries can be killed by any male relative; as long as it is called an honor killing the man will not be prosecuted.
- In most of those same Middle Eastern countries women can not own property or have a business, they have to rely on male relatives to support them.
- Jim Jones moved his congregation so he could be the government as well as the spiritual leader, once a person was in his group they did not have the freedom to leave; they did not even have the freedom to make the choice between life and death.
- In modern day Iraq it is well documented that religious fanatics seize, torture and kill people of different religious views. These same fanatics will commit suicide and kill even children just because those people are in an area that supports a different sect of the same religion.
So it can be easily proven that when a religion hold power over the people it is a bad thing. It does not matter the actual name of the religion, the results are the same. Life becomes very hard for the individual, and many freedoms are lost.
Look at just the major religions, all of them have many different sects, or off shoots. If church had power in government then whatever church had the most votes would be in power and the rules you were used to living with would change. Every sect has slightly different rules for their religion. Some do not dance, some do not allow coffee, some women have to cover their face and only wear dresses, an so on. Imagine is you will what could happen: One day you are perfectly fine, the next you are in danger of being jailed for heresy just because of a change in the town’s mayor. One day you can go to the bar and dance. The day after elections the rules have changed, you are now a heretic and in danger of loosing all you have. Personally I would have to become a coffee smuggler if coffee was ever outlawed.
Could you imagine not being able to go where you want to worship when you want? Can you imagine being forced to worship your god in a way prescribed by someone else? Could you imagine being told what god you must worship?
Let us take this a bit further; organized religion is a money making business. If you do not believe that just do a little research, it is public record how much money a church makes. If you think about it most churches are franchises. They have a central office, a central training facility for management, and a standard set of rules for operation. Most have a recognizable trademark symbol so you can identify the building from that sign long before you can read the title. The similarities are amazing; it is a very viable modus opernendi.
Could you imagine if a set of fast food joints vied for political power? One day it would be fine to have your burger any way you wanted it, the day after elections you can only have square burgers. It wouldn’t make sense would it? So why should a person be forced to call their god by a certain name, or to worship in a certain way? Yet people get very worked up that their religious view is the correct one and all the others are wrong and should be converted. If you give those same people legal power to act on those views… I shudder at the possibility!
So it is a Very GOOD thing to have a godless government. By godless this does not mean that the individual office holders do not have a religion, only that the government itself does not endorse one religious view over another. Religion should never be allowed to have sway in areas where its’ doctrines can be enforced. Any area of common and public interest should remain free from religious domination.
The people remain free from oppression when the religions can not enforce their view. To be able to choose your religion instead of it being chosen for you is a fundamental choice that all humans should be allowed to have. A relationship is an individual experience. Your relationship to anyone else is different than any one else, it can not be regulated by any law how you relate to another person. So it is with your god, your relationship is your relationship, and no human can dictate to you how you should relate to your god.
Religion is a choice that is made by the individual. What style, type, sect, or denomination, if any, is solely the choice of the individual and this choice can never be regulated, or even hoped to be controlled.
The one god, the Supreme Being, seeks only our love, and does not want your love unless you are giving it freely.
Be Blessed
How to Have Anything You Want
All throughout history there are many examples of what happens when a religion holds political and legal power; repression and suppression. There was a single religion that held power in most of Europe for over one thousand years. This reign is known as the dark ages. The church held power over governments, and a single religious leader was able to dictate to governments what was acceptable. This single religious leader was responsible for the crusades; true total religious war.
When a religion holds power over a government individual freedoms are randomly and arbitrarily taken away. Rules are enforced in the name of god that are usually not in mans best interest. Segments of society are stratified, and classes of people are created that are strictly enforced. Free speech is curtailed, as to speak against the church is heresy and blasphemy. Any view contrary to the church is brutally suppressed.
Let us look at a few examples:
- The young Jewish nation while conquering the land now known as Israel would kill every man woman and child of a city or province when they took over.
- The Romans invaded England to wipe out the Celtic druid religion.
- The very Catholic Spain had the lovely institution known as the inquisition. Any person of a different religious belief was arrested, tortured and executed.
- European countries had a few wars, the French raised an army to eradicate other religious factions, remember the Templers?
- The Catholic Church raised an army to wage war against the Baptists.
- We won’t even try to list all the witch hunts that killed more people than Hitler’s holocaust.
Think those days are over? Look again;
- Until recently Afghanistan’s ruling government made it illegal to listen to music unless it was first approved by the church.
- Women in most Middle Eastern countries can be killed by any male relative; as long as it is called an honor killing the man will not be prosecuted.
- In most of those same Middle Eastern countries women can not own property or have a business, they have to rely on male relatives to support them.
- Jim Jones moved his congregation so he could be the government as well as the spiritual leader, once a person was in his group they did not have the freedom to leave; they did not even have the freedom to make the choice between life and death.
- In modern day Iraq it is well documented that religious fanatics seize, torture and kill people of different religious views. These same fanatics will commit suicide and kill even children just because those people are in an area that supports a different sect of the same religion.
So it can be easily proven that when a religion hold power over the people it is a bad thing. It does not matter the actual name of the religion, the results are the same. Life becomes very hard for the individual, and many freedoms are lost.
Look at just the major religions, all of them have many different sects, or off shoots. If church had power in government then whatever church had the most votes would be in power and the rules you were used to living with would change. Every sect has slightly different rules for their religion. Some do not dance, some do not allow coffee, some women have to cover their face and only wear dresses, an so on. Imagine is you will what could happen: One day you are perfectly fine, the next you are in danger of being jailed for heresy just because of a change in the town’s mayor. One day you can go to the bar and dance. The day after elections the rules have changed, you are now a heretic and in danger of loosing all you have. Personally I would have to become a coffee smuggler if coffee was ever outlawed.
Could you imagine not being able to go where you want to worship when you want? Can you imagine being forced to worship your god in a way prescribed by someone else? Could you imagine being told what god you must worship?
Let us take this a bit further; organized religion is a money making business. If you do not believe that just do a little research, it is public record how much money a church makes. If you think about it most churches are franchises. They have a central office, a central training facility for management, and a standard set of rules for operation. Most have a recognizable trademark symbol so you can identify the building from that sign long before you can read the title. The similarities are amazing; it is a very viable modus opernendi.
Could you imagine if a set of fast food joints vied for political power? One day it would be fine to have your burger any way you wanted it, the day after elections you can only have square burgers. It wouldn’t make sense would it? So why should a person be forced to call their god by a certain name, or to worship in a certain way? Yet people get very worked up that their religious view is the correct one and all the others are wrong and should be converted. If you give those same people legal power to act on those views… I shudder at the possibility!
So it is a Very GOOD thing to have a godless government. By godless this does not mean that the individual office holders do not have a religion, only that the government itself does not endorse one religious view over another. Religion should never be allowed to have sway in areas where its’ doctrines can be enforced. Any area of common and public interest should remain free from religious domination.
The people remain free from oppression when the religions can not enforce their view. To be able to choose your religion instead of it being chosen for you is a fundamental choice that all humans should be allowed to have. A relationship is an individual experience. Your relationship to anyone else is different than any one else, it can not be regulated by any law how you relate to another person. So it is with your god, your relationship is your relationship, and no human can dictate to you how you should relate to your god.
Religion is a choice that is made by the individual. What style, type, sect, or denomination, if any, is solely the choice of the individual and this choice can never be regulated, or even hoped to be controlled.
The one god, the Supreme Being, seeks only our love, and does not want your love unless you are giving it freely.
Be Blessed
How to Have Anything You Want
http://www.staffofpower.com
