We are no longer free to practice Christianity

[finity]

So your argument is that if these laws didn't come straight from biblical text b/c; it just makes sense that murder is wrong and really has no grounding relevancy to the bible.

Correct. If there are other non Christian societies who also have a law against murder (all do as far as I know), you cannot say definitively that the law against murder is a christian principle.

So lets look at other foundations of this country for Christian Heritage.

The President swears in on a bible.

Not if he is a muslim. He also doesn't have to swear in on a bible if he doesn't want to. There is nothing in the Constitution about swearing in on the bible; only the exact oath is stated.

Court systems use a bible to add a weight and balance of truth.

You don't have to swear in on a bible in court, I'd like go see them try to make me.

Indeed, the Declaration of Independence states, "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." These rights were derived not from a government that was transitory, but from a Governor who was eternal. It was the role of government to defend these rights and not dilute or remove them. (notice Creator is capitalized)

Again, I have never denied that the Founders were predominantly religious. I think it is important that you notice that they used the word Creator, not God. The word Creator was used to incorporate all religous beliefs, not just Christians. Even atheists believe in a creative force.

The Declaration was an important document in our history but it is not the document our system of government is based on. The Constitution (our true founding document) mentions nothing about religion except that there WILL BE NO RELIGOUS TEST for holding any office.

The nation's capitol has the Ten Commandments inscribed in the marble of the United States Supreme Court

I found this at Snopes.com ( snopes.com: Religious Symbols in the U.S. National Capital )after a 5 second search:

The depiction referred to here is a sculpture entitled "Justice the Guardian of Liberty" by Hermon A. McNeil, which appears on the eastern pediment of the Supreme Court building. (The eastern pediment is the back of the Supreme Court building, so this sculpture is not something one would see "walking up the steps to the building which houses the Supreme Court." The front entrance is on the western side.) The sculpture was intended to be a symbolic representation of three of the Eastern civilizations from which our laws were derived, personified by the figures of three great lawgivers: Moses, Confucius, and Solon (surrounded by several allegorical figures representing a variety of legal themes):


McNeil described the symbolism of his work thusly:

Law as an element of civilization was normally and naturally derived or inherited in this country from former civilizations. The "Eastern Pediment" of the Supreme Court Building suggests therefore the treatment of such fundamental laws and precepts as are derived from the East. Moses, Confucius and Solon are chosen as representing three great civilizations and form the central group of this Pediment.

Here is another interesting site on the ten commandments on the SCOTUS building:

The 10 Commandments and the Supreme Court Building

The building was not built until 1935 - 150 years after our founding. Not hardly a shining example of the Founders views on religion.

, that there is a beautiful stained glass window in the U.S. Capitol depicting President George Washington kneeling in prayer,

So? He was religious. No arguement there. Says nothing about our founding prnciples.

and that at the top of the Washington Monument - the highest point in the nation's capital is embedded a plaque which boldly proclaims in Latin, "Praise Be Unto God."

Since it was SO EASY to find lets return to Snopes again:

snopes.com: Laus Deo and Washington Monument

It is true that the words are there. But again, So what?

The building was finished in 1884 - almost 100 years after founding.

One last point to clear up a misleading impression one might form after reading the above paragraph: although many of the inscriptions associated with the Washington Monument do indeed include religious references and sentiments, they reflect the tenor of public thought in mid-19th century America, not the America of George Washington's time. Washington died in 1799, and the country he helped found was a very different place half a century later.

Here is another interesting statement from the above Snopes article:

Note that nowhere in George Washington's extant writings did he ever refer to Jesus Christ by name.

The fact that someone is insulted b/c they have to see the 10 commandments in stone and the government must tear it out, but I have to have a "tolerance" with my children and seeing PDA of two gay men is not just ridiculous, its a double standard and Constitutionally Hypocritical.

Those two gay men are not infringing on you religious freedom or implying that their religion is the "preferred" religion in this country.

Sorry, the Constitution doesn't support your theory of "hypocrisy".

 

[cce1302]

Correct. If there are other non Christian societies who also have a law against murder (all do as far as I know), you cannot say definitively that the law against murder is a christian principle.

"set the example" is known as a leadership principle. If it is used for anything other than leadership, say, for relationships with peers, or for conduct @ your place of employment, isn't it still a leadership principle?

 

[redneckmedic]

It is true that the words are there. But again, So what?

I ask this and only this... If Christianity wasn't the founding principles of this country, then why are surrounded by Government items with many Christian icons?

I see this as no different then Sotomayor's firearms quote....

Sotomayor explained that the Second Amendment to the Constitution did not actually afford individual citizens the right to bear arms, but only duly conferred organizations, like the military.


If this is really what the founding father's meant with the written laws, then you would have seen action taken at the time. Guns collected, and religious icons removed or not added to Government items.

The one quote you didn't debunk or dispute was the reason Our country was started...and that was religious freedom. The committed an act of treason in order to start a new country and practice Christianity. In the process realized that by making everyone agree they were no different than those they left. Therefore smart enough to state that the Government will not infringe on religion!...Not the other way around.

In the middle is a nice warm fuzzy middle place for us to agree to disagree. I can acknowledge this.

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