"We establish no religion in this country, nor will we ever. We command no worship. We mandate no belief. But we poison our society when we remove its theological underpinnings. We court corruption when we leave it bereft of belief. All are free to believe or not believe; all are free to practice a faith or not. But those who believe must be free to speak of and act on their belief, to apply moral teaching to public questions.
I submit to you that the tolerant society is open to and encouraging of all religions. And this does not weaken us; it strengthens us....
Without God, there is no virtue, because there's no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we're mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we're One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under."
"....having no hope and without God in the world." Ephesians 2:12
Have a hopeful Sunday. I've written before that we can't have an America of the virtues we've celebrated since her foundation without faith, tolerance, moral teachings applied to public questions. I think Reagan was 100% correct, don't you?
Z
22 comments:
Atheist used to say that religion was used to keep the people docile.
But as we see from the last 20 yrs. or so with all these attacks on religion and the absence of G_d in the public - the people are no longer docile.
As most Teachers have seen a growing number of incidence in the classrooms, students attacking the Teachers and wreaking chaos in schools; where as most of their parents are from the generations of the 1980's and 1990's with the lack of G_d and religion in their lives and the lack of docile.
Though I would not explain religion as imposing docile.
They Say/ could you imagine the kind of problems in our schools if they still opened classes with prayer?
Most people just don't understand how important putting someone ELSE as more important than US is...and how trying to have the virtues that that someone else touts makes us better people, don't you thinK?
And scientest still try to explain God away. How very sad!
"Most people just don't understand how important putting someone ELSE as more important than US is..."
Amen
I think prayer is important, Z ... I just don't think it is appropriate in schools. Not if my children have to be exposed to prayers and dogma which I think are anathema to Christianity.
It isn't about "not believing." It is about believing in Jesus Christ as the son of God and the savior of mankind. If you insert this into public schools, then you must also make room for Allah the moon god, thousands of Hindu deities, animists, and people who believe in having sex with animals.
Religion is TOO IMPORTANT to leave in the hands of communist schoolteachers.
Like anything else, the power of religious faith can be [and has been] a force for good, and can be [and has been] perverted into evil.
The problem I have with religious faith being codified into law [where there is no secular value] is that man now has the force of law and religion to do with what man will.
For that reason, the most free societies are those that value the individual right to worship as one pleases, while keeping the toxic combustion of faith and governance at bay.
They say makes an excellent point. Atheistic libertines have chased God from the public square and derogated Judeo-Christian morality, but they haven't replace it with anything. They've created a void where anything goes.
I also agree with Mustang that I don't want school prayer.
This isn't something that can or should be enforced by the state, as CI points out. Unlike Islam, Christianity is voluntary.
I won't be able to say that I know what it seems like, but I think I understand how people might believe that religion has been 'chased from the public square'...but I think that has to be tempered with an assumption that religion [Christianity at least] deserves a preferential position in the public sphere.
It's been my perspective that much of the 'derogation' of faith has been not so much any infringement of religious liberty, but against compelling public recognition of religious practices.
The prayer would have be pretty 'vanilla'...no Jesus, no Buddha,no Mohammed.
And I still think it's important to acknowledge a higher being.
I long for the day when they could say prayers and my point was that things seem to have become so much worse since we stopped.
ConsOn Fire...and so MANY scientists give up when they realize they just can't anymore
am late...will be back and respond.
Thanks for being here today, everybody.
Z - Ronald Reagn was correct in what he said - that is written in your post.
We cannot survive without God - and we will not put God aside - it just cannot happen. It just seems that it will happen - but it won't.
There are too many believers for that to happen. And aren't we glad that we are among them - the believers, that is.
Have a good Sunday - Z.
I recently read a review comment on Rushdie's book "Satanic Verses." The most recent comments were from the brain-dead or Islamists. This particular comment said that those quantifying Islam as a religion couldn't even get that aspect correct. It was a way of life, not "just" a religion.
And in some ways I concur. It is a barbaric, deadly, judgmental, misogynistic, violent way of life practiced from its origins in bedouinism, tribalism, nomadism.
It truly does adhere to the phrase "Me against my brother, me and my brother against my cousins; me, my brother and my cousins against our nonrelatives; me, my brother, my cousins and friends against our enemies in the village; all of these and the whole village against the next village.”
Mr Reagan advocated for all religions. I would submit that Islam should not be one of those condoned in the US for the simple reason of its current form and practice. Be assimilated or be killed. That simple.
There is NO religion with that kind of mindset that should ever be embraced or condoned.
BZ
Absolutely WONDERFUL remarks from Mr. Reagan, Z!
Anyone who would oppose such high quality thinking expressed so simply, directly and succinctly would have to be a person who subscribes -- either intentionally or inadvertently -- to the insidious plan of attack against the foundations of our society that has the full intent of breaking our WILL, destroying our SPIRIT, and eradicating all trace of our IDENTITY as a people.
Mr. Reagan's fine words should be repeated and reprinted with great frequency in as many venues as might be possible.
~ FreeThinke
BZ, Islam is not only violent, hopelessly insular and mysogynistic; it is also NECROPHILIC.
Islamaniacs are avowed NECROPHILES.
~ FT
FT..NECROPHILICS? Is that true?
WHAT?!!!
BZ, he does advocate for all religions, doesn't he. But, you see, maybe he didn't realize that the Muslims were still killing to get their way, that their koran was so rife with subjects needing reformation.
One need not change the word of one's god, but one must realize times change and, while we'd never condone abortion just because people have started to look at life as not God-given and not precious, we do understand we don't kill those who commit abortion or have abortions, for example.
Not muslims...at least many, many of them, right?
Z, I was referring to a quotation I read from some Muslim fanatic quite a few years ago -- probably at FPM as a matter of fact. It said something to this effect, "You love Life, but we love Death."
The "you" he was referring to when he said, "You love life," was us "Westerners" of course.
Necrophilia has two meanings -- one a morbid fascination and preoccupation with death -- the other a perverse desire to have sexual intercourse with dead bodies.
I was referring to the first meaning, of course, though heaven knows what those savages are capable of once they get their dander up.
Probably the relatively new term "Rage-Addiction," now fashionable among "psychobabblers," applies better to Islamaniacs than any other group I can think of other than feminazis.
Whenever I think of the word "rageaholic," the image of Gloria Allred surfaces in my consciousness. ;-)
At any rate, there's just too much ANGER in the world EVERYWHERE. How could that possibly be healthy?
Surely chronic ill will is a sin, and as we know, "the wages of sin is death."
So yes, in a very real sense the Muslimanics really ARE necrophiliacs.
The advantage they have over us, is that THEY don't see their "ideology," as SINFUL. Apparently THEY regard their love of death as VIRTUOUS.
It's enough ti give one the shivers.
~ FreeThinke
SilverFiddle,
When I was a child, school prayer was not FORCED on us by the State, it was simply a tradition of longstanding that no ever dreamed of questioning or objecting to, until the intellectual aggression of Cultural Marxists and the Alinskyite thugs began their assault on the American Establishment through the courts in earnest -- just about the time I graduated from college.
Since 1963 all hell has broken loose in this country, and, despite the brief, beautiful interlude of the Reagan Administration, I'm very much afraid that
Nobody's horses and Nobody's men
Could ever put U.S. together again.
~ FT
What a day to rejoice...I prayed that I could afford to fill my gas tank last week...and today my prayers were answered. Gas dropped 1/3 of a cent today....Hallelujah ...Obama's energy plans are working to give is relief.
I'm so grateful that we have a sensitive, caring leader who can feel our pain.
I'm going to have to cast my vote for the One now.
I agree.
@Kid
"I agree..."
That you're now ecstatic that you've saved 5 cents on your fill-up?
Good thing McDonalds is giving free coffee to anyone this week...all ya gotta do is drive up and ask. Cause a Goddamn nickel won't do it.
Yeah, Reagan was a great Christina. Just ask anyone in South America.
@IMP. ;-) I Agree with Z's Post content.
@Kid...
Ooof.
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