Actually, Ron Paul says, "The notion of a rigid separation between church and state has no basis in either the text of the Constitution or the writings of our Founding Fathers." Which is completely true. And, "Certainly the drafters of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, both replete with references to God, would be aghast at the federal government’s hostility to religion." It should be obvious that this statement is true for the Declaration of Independence: "the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them" "they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights" "appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world" As such, it is obvious that those authoring the Declaration of Independence, many of who also signed the Constitution, considered God to be the reason that Independence and a Constitution were possible and that all rights, laws, and procedures thereof should be in accordance with His ways. The Constitution does provide for an oath to be taken by government workers, including the President, which for religious men (as the founders were) would mean an oath before God and would only be important in the sense that it was to God. This is the purpose for having the oath be sworn on a Bible. Also, in article 3, section 3 of the constitution, it states, "No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act." This is extremely similar to Deuteronomy 19:15 which reads, "One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." It should also be noted that the first ammendment starts, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This obviously means that the Federal Government should not have anything to do with religion. States and Individuals should be able to practice religion in any way they deem fit. Indeed, at the time of the ratification of the Constitution, many states had individual religious laws and requirements. These did not cease as a result of the signing of the constitution. On the contrary, they are the reason that this ammendment was included. Some states wanted to continue to have religious rules, laws, and requirements, whereas others did not want to be subject to the same. This if further held up in the Tenth Ammendment: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." This should make it plainly obvious that the US Congress should have nothing to do with religion, but individual states, conties, and cities DO have the right to make whatever laws they choose in regard to religion.
Closed AccountOct 20, 2007
I love that this is in USA Today.Not that it will do much (unfortunately), but one can dream.
kent4jmjOct 21, 2007
Anti war and I'm sorry you don't like being a woman. One of my adopted daughters is the product of a rape and i couldn't picture my life without her.
tiakOct 21, 2007
It takes a good 30 seconds and gives me noticeable slowdowns as a whole.
manchu2Oct 21, 2007
You Ron Paul types are hilarious!
manchu2Oct 21, 2007
Actually, the Constitution isn't a law. Didn't get to that part in civics yet, eh?
corrosionxOct 21, 2007
Wrong, THE CONSTITUTION ONLY APPLIES TO THE US GOVERNMENT.
coslenchipOct 26, 2007
Actually, Ron Paul says, "The notion of a rigid separation between church and state has no basis in either the text of the Constitution or the writings of our Founding Fathers." Which is completely true. And, "Certainly the drafters of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, both replete with references to God, would be aghast at the federal government’s hostility to religion." It should be obvious that this statement is true for the Declaration of Independence: "the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them" "they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights" "appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world" As such, it is obvious that those authoring the Declaration of Independence, many of who also signed the Constitution, considered God to be the reason that Independence and a Constitution were possible and that all rights, laws, and procedures thereof should be in accordance with His ways. The Constitution does provide for an oath to be taken by government workers, including the President, which for religious men (as the founders were) would mean an oath before God and would only be important in the sense that it was to God. This is the purpose for having the oath be sworn on a Bible. Also, in article 3, section 3 of the constitution, it states, "No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act." This is extremely similar to Deuteronomy 19:15 which reads, "One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." It should also be noted that the first ammendment starts, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This obviously means that the Federal Government should not have anything to do with religion. States and Individuals should be able to practice religion in any way they deem fit. Indeed, at the time of the ratification of the Constitution, many states had individual religious laws and requirements. These did not cease as a result of the signing of the constitution. On the contrary, they are the reason that this ammendment was included. Some states wanted to continue to have religious rules, laws, and requirements, whereas others did not want to be subject to the same. This if further held up in the Tenth Ammendment: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." This should make it plainly obvious that the US Congress should have nothing to do with religion, but individual states, conties, and cities DO have the right to make whatever laws they choose in regard to religion.
s35wfOct 28, 2007
Hey Ron Paul needs to run this again; only erase mccain's name.Ron Paul 2008!
johnwjones72Nov 8, 2007
Our Constitution has been weakened, no doubt. That will prove to be the easy part. Restoring it will take effort.
Closed AccountNov 22, 2007
he he, I am using Ubuntu. Still hate windows :)