Christianity, Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence, and the Danbury Baptist Letter: We Are a Judeo-Christian Republic

Here's a timely post from our brother-in-blogging... BUNGALOW BILL

There is a movement in this country by atheist and left-wing groups that pushes to rewrite history and redefined philosophies of the United States. Some base their opinion because they claim they are offended by Judeo-Christian symbols such as the Ten Commandments on a courthouse wall, even though our own laws are based on these ten laws. Others' claim the separation of church and state demands these symbols be removed. If you remove these symbols, what's next? The Declaration of Independence?

Like our Constitution, the founding fathers had the wisdom to document the meanings behind their two great documents which led to our Republic's self-government. Thomas Jefferson, not only left behind documents that defined the meaning of the First Amendment, he clearly spelled out who the Creator is he wrote of in the Declaration of Independence.

Of course, that hasn't stopped those with special interest from distorting Jefferson's words as separation of church and state is a typical argument used ignorantly by the left-wing, which we saw just a few days ago as Senate candidate Martha Coakley pushing the idea abortion is protected by separation of church and state. Does Martha Coakley really feel she is capable of taking an oath to follow, protect, and defend the Constitution? She like Claire McCaskill have no clues what the Constitution means.

Let's take a look at what separation of church and state really means. First off, you will never find the term in the Constitution, but people talk as if it's there. The term is a Jeffersonian term, but it is in no official document of the United States government. It also has a different meaning according to Jefferson than how it's being used today.

This all goes back to the Declaration of Independence, which clearly shows we are a nation founded in the belief of God. Before Jefferson described the injustices to the colonies by King George of Great Britain, he describes the rights given to all men by God. Here's the text:

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

OK, I hear the left scream, but that doesn't really point out one God. That could take on many different meanings. Like the ignorance so many Americans show with their knowledge of the Constitution, too lazy too dig deeper into the meanings of these great documents. The Federalist Papers and many letters written to constituents define the meanings of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. In the day's of our founding fathers, states' rights were critical for the passage of the Constitution. To form a union, no state wanted to be considered a lesser or agree to a union that would economically hurt the state. The Federalist Papers and various letters were written to the people of the states before ratification, and they explain what was decided on at Independence Hall by the framers of the Constitution. These papers are available on the Internet, but because they expose truths, politicians like Claire McCaskill choose to ignore them.

To back the United States is a Christian nation, we look at the Danbury Letter. Jefferson wrote the letter to address the concerns of the Danbury Baptists about Congress forming a national religion. That's the key to the First Amendment.

To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.

Gentlemen

The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.

I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.

Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.

Jefferson writes of the common father between him, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, and the Baptist. In his letter he clearly points out the common father between him the Baptist is also listed as the creator of man. Now being raised a Baptist, I don't need any reinforcement as to the God that I have in common with Jefferson. It is the Christian God, which is the foundation of our country, which many of our original laws are based from.

As for Coakley and her belief that emergency room workers should give up their jobs based on separation of church and state, justifying abortion without considering any sense of right or wrong based on core principles is scary enough, but the fact that Coakley believes separation of church or state is a principle to force hospitals and hospital workers into performing abortions is another clear distortion of the separation. The term has nothing to do with abortions, rather the First Amendment which it has been connected protects the people from the Congress choosing the Catholic religion over the Protestant religion, which shifted back and forth in the Church of England causing oppression. That's all it is intended for. You have the freedom to worship in this country without Congress demanding you choose a certain denomination or church to represent the country. It has nothing to do with abortion as Coakley claims, nor does it have anything to do with putting religious symbols on courthouse walls, a manger in the town square, or the words Merry Christmas on a firehouse.

America is a Judeo-Christian republic founded on the principles of the Creator, the common father of myself, Jefferson, and the Danbury Baptist. Jefferson never intended the term separation of church and state to limit religion in American, rather it was termed to increase religious freedom.

Posted by Bungalow Bill