BAR wrote:
HK wrote:
BAR wrote:
HK wrote:
BAR wrote:
HK wrote:
Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Mon, 14 Jan 2008 07:57:37 -0500, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
"Reggie is Here wrote:

I can understand why people are atheist, agnostic and deists.

How do you feel about worshippers of Transcendental Meditative
Catholic Buddhist Fundamentalist Evolutionary Space Monkeys?


I don't care if they have sex with their monkeys, so long as they
don't try to shovel their religious beliefs onto my secular
society. No ayatollahs need apply.

"Your" society is our society and it is not secular.


Uh-huh. We have no state religion or official religious belief in
this country, at least for the moment. I believe in maintaining the
separation of church and state, the prevention of the adoption of
any state religion or state religious belief, the withdrawal of
state subsidies to K-12 religious schools, and the end of tax
exemption for churches. The state should be neutral on matters of
belief, and gives no state privileges or subsidies to religions.

There is no "separation" between church and state in the
Constitution, there is the first amendment. Are you going to throw
out the opening and closing prayers of the House and Senate? Why are
the re military chaplins? Religion is a critical component of our
society.



Elegant, ain't it?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It doesn't say that the public square is free from religion.

No law. That means no state religion or state religious belief. You
are free to exercise whatever religion you wish, but there is nothing
there saying you can try to shovel it onto me or onto the state.

Who said anything about a state religion? Nobody wants to shove it onto
you or the state they just want the freedom to freely exercise their
religion. And, who says that the first amendment won't be ignored in the
future. Congress and the president ignore the tenth amendment all of the
time.

As for chaplains, I believe their pay and benefits ought to be borne
by religious organizations, not by the taxpayers. But I wouldn't push
for that. That's just my belief.

Why wouldn't you push for that. Do you have a soft spot in your heart
for the military? Any attempt at getting rid of chaplains would cause
Congress to go into shock.

Yes, I would toss out the opening and closing prayers in Congress.

Why don't you get your ACLU buddies to go after Congress and get the
prayer removed?

Your assumption and the assumption of several of the other simpies
here is that I am anti-religion. I am not. I don't give a damn what
religion you practice, so long as you keep it in your church, in your
home, and *out* of my state. I am a disestablishmentarianist.

You are anti-religion when it comes to any religion that you don't
practice. Please remind me of which religion you are in favor of, it
will help clear up a lot of things. Oh, and for your information and the
dossier you keep on me, I do not practice any established religion.

Why don't you and Doug Kanter go and some some dope and slap each other
on the back talking about being disestablishmentarianists.


Aren't you glad I spelled that out for you? You'd be hopeless otherwise.