Sunday, January 26, 2014

AMERICA WAS NOT FOUNDED ON CHRISTIANITY


 

Susanne Atamus, a Chicago congressional runner, opened her mouth and let the condemnation of God effervesce as if she had the power to point fingers in judgment. Her words condemned the gay community and those who have had abortions. Her claim: Tornados, autism, and dementia are punishment from The Almighty for the gay rights movement and abortions. She continued: "God is angry. We are provoking him with abortions and same-sex marriage and civil unions. Same-sex activity is going to increase AIDS. If it's in our military it will weaken our military. We need to respect God." Discussing this issue with three different friends, I was shocked by their defense of the Atamus claims. The three call themselves Independents, but always vote Republican.  I tried to explain the separation of church and state was in place to prevent anyone from using the dogma of their personal religion to persecute another by creating laws secular to suit their personal beliefs. I heard responses that told me differently, one said she hated Muslims, because they killed people for being Christian. She also stated that in today’s world, Christians were the ones being killed and persecuted. All three, at the end of the conversation, said: “This country was founded on Christianity!”

This is not true. Let’s do some history.

America, unlike the Muslim countries, does not have a national religion. The sister country to the United States, England, killed, maimed, and slaughtered those who refused to follow the changing dogmas.

In 1604, King James VI ordered the Geneva bible, which he despised, to be retranslated. This bible was to follow original text, but to omit anything he thought would create a revolutionary thought. The translation mandate was clear and detailed by the King.  He demanded this new translation to reinforce a clear-cut royal political agenda, to be done by elite scholarly committees, reviewed by a self-serving bureaucracy, with ultimate approval reserved to an absolutist monarch. Hence, the birth of the King James Version of God’s words and the record of Jesus Christ was created.  

Globally there were others fleeing their countries in the name of God, for fear of persecution by their leaders. The French pilgrims fled France in the name of religious freedom.  In 1564, the French established a Huguenot (Protestant) colony at Fort Caroline, (near Jacksonville, Florida.)

In 1565, Commander Pedro Menendez de Avile, who had established a base at St. Augustine, slaughtered the French colony. In a letter to Spanish King Philip II he said he: “…hanged all those we had found in Fort Caroline because they were scattering the odious Lutheran doctrine in these Provinces.”  Soon after, a shipwrecked French fleet washed up on the beaches of Florida and they, too, were slain by de Avile. This time they were killed by sword. They died next to a river the Spanish called Matanzas (“slaughters.”)  

The Lutheran French, fleeing religious persecution, were slaughtered because they didn’t share a specific dogma with the Catholic de Avile. This was the first religious war on American soil.

In 1620, the Mayflower landed.  There were 102 passengers. Not all were Pilgrims/Separatists, some were Anglicans, some were Puritans, and some didn’t have any religious affiliation at all. The Separatists were fleeing religious persecution. They were escaping the Church of England, the national religion of England. Most Separatists carried their Geneva bible, while other’s carried their King James Version. Before long, even though seeking religious freedom in a new land, there was fighting, stealing, and bloodshed. Again, this violence was due to unshared dogmas of religion. They even viewed the Indians, who helped them learn survival techniques, as heathens.

Because of the global, religion based, empowerment and persecution, the Enlightenment was born. The world’s scientists and teachers questioned the dogma of religion. Through scientific analysis they highly doubted many religious laws. When Galileo discovered the earth moved around a still sun, his findings were outlawed and hidden. The bible says differently, it says the earth is stationary and the sun moves around the earth. Science, though needed to develop, was seen as anti-God. Soon the group of the intelligent scholars, after seeing religion creating violence on many levels, created the Enlightenment. These were highly intelligent individuals that wanted to move past the dogma of religion so, as in the word of Jesus, people could live together and form a free society in the new land of America.

This is where the founding fathers kick into play. They had lived the immigration in flee of religious persecution and they watched each group persecute each other solely based on the differences of religion. It is because of the actions of the Anglicans, the Separatists, and the Puritans that it soon became obvious that America could have no national religion. It was imperative to the founding fathers that America had to be protected from all they have watched evolve in the name of God. The only way to do this was to grant those the freedom to choose their personal beliefs, no matter what their choice.

Many of the founding fathers were from the Enlightenment. They believed God created the earth and its people, then left. They didn’t believe God loomed over our lives and watched every wrong we did. They believed good works was superior to paying penance to an unseen God, calling it a fallacy, at times.

Below are Quotes from some of the most famous founders of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

John Adams in a letter to John Taylor: “The priesthood has, in all ancient nations, nearly monopolized learning.  And ever since the Reformation, when or where has existed a Protestant or dissenting sect who would tolerate A FREE INQUIRY?  The blackest billingsgate, the most ungentlemanly insolence, the most yahooish brutality, is patiently endured, countenanced, propagated, and applauded.  But touch a solemn truth in collision with a dogma of a sect, though capable of the clearest proof, and you will find you have disturbed a nest, and the hornets will swarm about your eyes and hand, and fly into your face and eyes."

Thomas Jefferson:

"They [preachers] dread the advance of science as witches do the approach of daylight and scowl on the fatal harbinger announcing the subversions of the duperies on which they live."

"I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the world, and do not find in our particular superstition (Christianity) one redeeming feature.  They are all alike founded on fables and mythology."

"We discover in the gospels a groundwork of vulgar ignorance, of things impossible, of superstition, fanaticism and fabrication."

"No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever."     

George Washington in a letter to Edward Newenham, 1792:

"Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause.  Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by the difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be depreciated.  I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society."

Benjamin Franklin:

". . . Some books against Deism fell into my hands. . . It happened that they wrought an effect on my quite contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a thorough Deist."

Thomas Paine:

"Take away from Genesis the belief that Moses was the author, on which only the strange belief that it is the word of God has stood, and there remains nothing of Genesis but an anonymous book of stories, fables, and traditionary or invented absurdities, or of downright lies."

James Madison:

"Experience witnesseth that ecclesiastical establishments, instead of maintaining the purity and efficacy of religion, have had a contrary operation.  During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial.  What have been its fruits?  More or less, in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution."    - Ibid, 1785

Those were statements for the founders. Where is the dependence on Christianity of the nation?

The 1796 Treaty with Tripoli states that the United States was "not in any sense founded on the Christian religion.” This treaty was written under the presidency of George Washington and signed under the presidency of John Adams. 

This was not a treaty signed to trick the Muslims or lead them falsely. These two particular founding fathers knew that Christianity didn’t play any role in the founding of the United States of America. After all, they were founding fathers.

The Pledge of Allegiance, which was first published in 1892 in The Youths Companion, didn’t contain the words “under God.” It wasn’t until Eisenhower, in 1954, that the words were added, against the will of Francis Bellamy’s, the author’s daughter’s wishes. Again, the American Government was out of line by changing the words, and the meaning, of another’s works, to benefit his anti-communist fears.
“In God we trust” didn’t appear until Congress passed it on April 23, 1863, almost 100 years after the signing of the Constitution. It was first suggested by a minister to the Secretary of State. His stance was he wanted protection from God during the fears of the civil war. The first time it was printed was on a two cent coin.

The 84th Congress passed a joint resolution making the motto “In God We Trust” the national motto. President Eisenhower signed it into law on July 30, 1956. It was added to paper money over a period from 1957 to 1966, however, because constitutionally there is not a national religion this should have never been signed, by Congress or by President Eisenhower, but the looming fear of Communism was in full swing and God was manipulated to the people. In a communist world there is no room for Christianity.

In America, our founders found it necessary, due to the fierce, violent, and persecuting demeanors of those that label themselves the followers of God, the Christians, that the protections were written.  Freedom of Religion was written to protect our country from the affliction of heathenistic judgment by those who feel they hold the challis. How dare any American, much less one that is running for a political office, use God and speak on the punishments God is bestowing upon people.

Christians, with their long history, have verbally and physically slayed, beheaded, hanged, or condemned those that don’t believe as they do. They pull out their King James Version, which was censored by King James himself, to cast stones.  A real believer in Christ could not comment or judge the life of a homosexual, nor could they comment or judge those that have abortions. Frankly, it isn’t any of your business. Shouldn’t you be focused on loving your neighbor instead of looking for political stones to throw at people that don’t concern you? You can’t believe only part of what you say. How can you worship Jesus, but use Leviticus to propagate hatred towards others?  Leviticus is outdated by the blood of Jesus. If you choose to resurrect the Old Testament, you better start leading your children to the gates and start throwing the stones until death, because that was what we were supposed to do with children talked back.  Jesus didn’t speak on any sexual issues. You can’t live in the forgiveness of the blood of Jesus and shout out to the world “Jesus is my Lord and Savior” if you are going to desecrate his meaning by going back to Leviticus to support your hatred and judgment toward what you either don’t like, or don’t understand. I think when the hands of eternal justice come; it will swipe away Susanne Atanus and all of those that think they have to right to pass judgment. That’s Gods place, not ours. Quit persecuting, and if you feel you have to, do it in front of a mirror, that’s where it will do the most good.

Till the next time.

Pam

2 comments:

  1. Get your facts straight, and don't ever use me as an example in your twisted story. never said I hate Muslim as a whole, don't like the SIN nature of terriost, jihad or anybody else who kills for the liking. Sounds like your pushing the envelope to get a story out.

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  2. Guess I hit a sore spot. The direct quote was: "You know what I hate, I hate the Muslims, them and their jihadist crap. They kill Christians for no reason." I tried to explain to you that the Middle Eastern countries have a national religion, you didn't want to hear it. I tried to explain that Christians have been killing people in the name of Jesus for centuries. I'm sorry the reflection of your own words is upsetting to you, because it wasn't meant to do that, but I didn't use your name and I will not apologize for the truth. I find it interesting that after all that, the only thing you took away from it wasn't the facts, but that you were afraid that people would know who you were. No worries, nobody knows.

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