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Edited on Fri Jan-25-08 05:02 PM by johnlal
A fellow Catholic sent it to me, so my reply may be a little heavy on Catholicism, but here's my reply: Being the nitpicker that I am (especially on First Amendment issues) I thought I would alert you to some inaccuracies in your recent e-mail: YOU SAID: 10 THINGS... DID YOU KNOW?? #1. As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S Supreme Court... you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers... and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view ... it is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments!
DID YOU KNOW?? #2. As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door?
DID YOU KNOW??
#3. As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall,
right above where the Supreme Court judges sit, there is a display of the Ten Commandments!
My Comments: 1. There certainly are biblical symbols incorporated into the design of the US Supreme Court building. However, your e-mail laments that "everything we have done for 220 years in this country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional". I would point out that the Supreme Court Building wasn't built 220 years ago. Construction didn't begin until 1932.
2. In comment #1 above, you state that Moses is depicted among lawgivers. In fact, he is depicted twice. Justice the Guardian of Liberty, is a sculpture by artist Herman MacNeil, depicts Moses as one of a trio of three Eastern law givers (Confucius, Solon, and Moses). The trio is surrounded by a variety of allegorical figures representing legal themes.
In the South Courtroom Frieze, artist Adolph Weinman depicts a procession of 18 important lawgivers: Menes, Hammurabi, Moses, Solomon, Lycurgus, Solon, Draco, Confucius, Augustus, Justinian, Mohammed, Charlemagne, King John, St. Louis, Hugo Grotius, William Blackstone, John Marshall, and Napoleon. Moses is holding blank tablets. The Moses figure is no larger or more important than any other lawgiver.
It is interesting to note that Moses and Mohammad are given equal prominence in the South Courtroom Frieze. Would the author of this chain letter be in favor of teaching about Islam in the public schools? Mohammad is depicted holding the Koran. Does this mean that passages from the Koran should be posted in Courthouses, public schools, and governors' mansions?
3. You say in #3 above that there is a display of the Ten Commandments in the courtroom. Although this is undoubtedly a depiction of the Ten Commandments, it is only two blank tablets with roman numerals on them. The full text of the ten commandments are not carved into this decoration.
http://candst.tripod.com/tnppage/arg8a.htm http://www.supremecourtus.gov/about/courtbuilding.pdf http://www.supremecourtus.gov/about/north&southwalls.pdf
YOU SAID: #5 .James Madison, the fourth president, known as 'The Father of Our Constitution' made the following statement:
'We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.'?
My Comment: Here are some other things James Madison Said: James Madison: “Every new & successful example of a perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matters is of importance.” -- James Madison, letter to Edward Livingston, July 10, 1822
“The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries.”
"Religion flourishes in greater purity, without than with the aid of Government”
YOU SAID: DID YOU KNOW??
#6. Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said:
'It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ'.?
My Comment: George Washington THE Father of our Country, in his letter to the Touro Synagogue said: It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support."
YOU SAID DID YOU KNOW??
#7. Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.
My comment: NOT TRUE!
--For a period between 1857 and 1859, Congress suspended its practice of appointing congressional chaplains. This was due to several citizens’ complaints regarding the separation of church and state, and criticism that the appointments were political. The practice continued when it became difficult to find clergy who would voluntarily serve in this capacity.(i.e. for no money) http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RS20427.pdf
Sounds reasonable to me--- Why SHOULD the US taxpayers pay for a preacher to pray in Congress? If our politicians are as religious as they make themselves out to be, shouldn't they already HAVE preachers of their own? By the way, the Chaplain of the House of Representatives is The Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin, a Roman Catholic priest. He also holds the distinction of being the FIRST Catholic Chaplain of the House of Representatives in US History. The first and only Catholic Chaplain in the Senate was Charles Constantine Pise in 1832. (Doesn't seem like us Catholic taxpayers are getting a lot for our money, does it?) The current Chaplain of the Senate is Barry C. Black, a Seventh Day Adventist. The Seventh Day Adventists have traditional seen themselves as "the remnant church", viewing the Roman Catholic Church as the Antichrist- or as Babalon. Why should our tax dollars go to this guy?
YOU SAID: DID YOU KNOW??
#8. Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies?
MY Comment: Who were the other three, and what did THEY believe? I find this more interesting than the other statement. After all, you didn't have too much diversity among the signers of the Constitution. They were all male, all white, and all had property. So how did three non-Christians sneak in?
YOU SAID: DID YOU KNOW??
#9. Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making law and become an oligarchy? the rule of few over many?
MY COMMENT: Here's a good Jefferson Quote: Thomas Jefferson: "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781-82
You mentioned 'In God We Trust' on our money.
MY Comment: Again, we haven't been doing this for 220 years. --The words “In God We Trust” did not appear on our money until 1864, 88 years after the birth of our Nation. We survived without it until then. --“In God We Trust” did not become the United States motto until 1956.
http://www.ustreas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.html and having God in the Pledge of Allegiance in our schools....
--The Pledge of Allegiance was written by a Baptist Minister and Christian Socialist, Francis Bellamy, in 1892. Our Nation got by for 116 years before somebody decided we needed a Pledge of Allegiance. Bellamy was pressured to leave his church in Boston because of his socialist sermons. In his retirement in Florida, he stopped attending church because he disliked the racial bigotry he found there. --The original pledge was as follows: “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” -- It was not until 1942 that Congress officially recognized the pledge of allegiance. --It was not until 1954 that “God” was wedged between “one nation” and “indivisible”. Bellamy’s daughter said he would have objected.
AND NOW THE BIG ONE: Why don't we just tell the other 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!!?
To think that 14% of the population of the United States (more than 42 million people) should be expected to "Sit down and shut up" is untenable.
The 86 percent of people who "Believe in God" (according to your e-mail), include Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jehovah's Witnesses, Sikhs, and a number of other religious adherents. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States There are about 38,000 different denominations of Christianity worldwide. If teachers were given the freedom to talk about religion in the Public schools, which of these would you want to teach YOUR child about religion? Or should these people also "Sit Down and Shut Up"?
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