Originally posted by: Genx87
Just cant stand people who have an open mind do you?
No, I can't stand people who try to use that as a buzzphrase for themselves just because others see how retarded their ideas really are.
How about opening your mind to the possibilty that creationism is a valid theory? Nobody is asking you to dump what little is left of your brain.
Creationism *isn't* a valid theory. In scientific terms, it's NOT a theory at all!
Please do, you have been so effective upto this point.
Yes, it's a testament to how "open-minded" you really are.
Yes this has been bastardized also. He was assuring the baptists that another religion would not become the state sanctioned religion. I believe the other religion was called the congregationalists or something.
Typical reconstructionist re-writing of history.
What did Jefferson really say?
"Because religious belief, or non-belief, is such an important part of every person's life, freedom of religion affects every individual. State churches that use government power to support themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of the church tends to make the clergy unresponsive to the people and leads to corruption within religion. Erecting the "wall of separation between church and state," therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society."
-- Thomas Jefferson, to the Virginia Baptists (1808). This is his second use of the term "wall of separation," here quoting his own use in the Danbury Baptist letter.
This wording was several times upheld by the Supreme Court as an accurate description of the Establishment Clause: Reynolds (98 U.S. at 164, 1879); Everson (330 U.S. at 59, 1947); McCollum (333 U.S. at 232, 1948)
One classic example of christian values being placed into our govt is the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. This sounds awfully like 'The lord is our lawgiver, the lord is my judge, the lord is our king" from Issaiah 33:22
What kind of crazy ad-hoc BS is this? How are a bunch of deistic philosophers supposed to be inspired by that when they were formulating a government that would be in direct opposition to the Christian monarchies of Europe?
Let's review some of the main concepts of our government:
Freedom of religion? Direct contrast to 1st Commandment. Don't think so.
Freedom of speech? From a religion whose god kills those who speak out against him left and right? Don't think so.
Freedom of press? See above. Don't think so.
Freedom from illegal search and seizure? The Bible's justice system is quite a bit more primitive than that.
Outlying of the powers of the federal government and state government's? Nope.
You have no case.
That doesnt mean it wasnt founded on Chrisitan principles. Dont let your closed mind block out everything.
Yes, how dare I reject ideas that have no basis in fact. Are you for real?
It is a faith thing. Where is the proof it didnt happen that way?
And where is the proof evolution created the universe and this world?
After having been shown repeatedly that evolution has nothing to do with the origins of the universe, solar system, planet, or even first organism, you still continue using this phrase. Are you a liar?
It is not science's job to prove a negative. That's impossible, just as it's impossible for you to disprove that I'm really getting my ideas from an ethereal, invisible pink unicorn (cheers to anyone who understands THAT reference! :-D) sitting beside me.