The clergy, by getting themselves established by law and engrafted into the machine of government, have been a very formidable engine against the civil and religious rights of man. (Thomas Jefferson, as quoted by Saul K. Padover in Thomas Jefferson on Democracy, New York, 1946, p. 165, according to Albert Menendez and Edd Doerr, compilers, The Great Quotations on Religious Liberty, Long Beach, CA: Centerline Press, 1991, p. 48.)
The Bible, purported by Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, The Christian Right -many church goers as Americas original religious handbook - is guilty not only of abhorrent disdain from our Founding Fathers - but guilty of advocating and demanding complete criminal activity.
I have been humored by an onslaught of hopefully simply uninformed criticisms - I feel it dutifully responsible on behalf of the God fearing critics and Faith Based Initiative supporters to point out a very small percentage of text I am referring to: Text that are unequivocally guilty of condoning, advocating and demanding criminal behavior. If one insists on a religion of hate, separation and illegality - So be it - The In God We Trust Protection Act - premise is : simply not on the indulgence of Tax Exempt status.
The back bone of the In God We Trust Protection Act - petition -is this simple premise: if one is prosecuted for the action of criminality of religious text - the In God We Trust Protection Act - legislates expurgating religious public handbook text condoning, advocating, and demanding illegal activity, according to the laws of the U.S. For Tax Exempt Purposes Only. This is not about freedom of religion or speech.
Holy Bible text ( King James) Criminal behavior subject to real time U.S. criminal prosecution:
Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Ezekiel 9:6
And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain: Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took. Deuteronomy 2:33 - 35
And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. Joshua 6:24
Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.(Proverbs23:13)
And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. (Deuteronomy 21:20,21)
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. Leviticus 20:13
Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Exodus31:15
And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death. (Leviticus 24:16
Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise. (Deuteronomy 15:17)
But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you. (Deuteronomy 22:20)
Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. 1Corenthians 14:34
These few text example the foundation of the petition - text that fuel religious zealot hate crimes, discrimination - and suppression . If this is Bible bashing I find myself in very patriotic company. Our Founding Fathers and patriotic of freedom have fought tooth and nail against this abominable format for religious platforms for political purposes.
Although patriotic and explosively blasphemous - there is a softer - gentler side to the God on Trial on going 31k word essay - a kind of sit around and lets have a beer together - at Gods expense of course - Irregardless - one by one verses are drug up in religious text and startling as it may seem - these were the law of the land - as early ago as 1776 - Life was abhorrently cruel and ruthless - the church hadn't exactly been a setting for Brook Burke hosting Wild on E- which brings one to the seriousness of the In God We Trust Protection Act - a premise simply stating that religious text promoting criminal behavior must be eliminated from tax exempt status - seems a no brainer until one looks at the history of suppression and criminal behavior propagated by religious text. Albeit God on Trial is a baseball bat swinging in the glass china shop of the Christian Right religious zealots - In a much deeper sense it is a patriotic - moral and spiritual house cleaning as where we stand as a spiritually maturing nation - a lesson in the axiom" teach your children well".
There would not be an America if our Founding Fathers were religious Bible believers - Thou shalt have no other gods before me - is abhorrently in the face of freedom of religion.
"History I believe furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of which they’re political as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose." (Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Baron von Humboldt, 1813; from George Seldes, ed., The Great Quotations, Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press, 1983, p. 370) -
" Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be deprecated. I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society."(George Washington, letter to Edward Newenham, October 20, 1792; from George Seldes, ed., The Great Quotations, Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press, 1983, p. 726.)
I may grow rich by an art I am compelled to follow; I may recover health by medicines I am compelled to take against my own judgment; but I cannot be saved by a worship I disbelieve and abhor. (Thomas Jefferson, notes for a speech, c. 1776. From Gorton Carruth and Eugene Ehrlich, eds., The Harper Book of American Quotations, New York: Harper & Row, 1988, p. 498.)
And as a political point of financial favor - how can these premises of illegality -especially in a public house of worship be supported by our government? Here’s how and this biblical mentality is beneath the lowest contempt of any moral or spiritually based premise of family values - ( in my opinion) “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.“ 1John5:19
The In God We Trust Protection Act - (petition) is also a major international historic signal that silences the churches within the U.S. promoting hate crimes, bigotry and terror. Under the guise of freedom of religion is one thing - but freedom from taxation of religion where criminal text are publicly available in religious hand books is quite the other.
Nevertheless even the most common sense proposal falls unto the barren deserts of thirst where there are no signatures of support and no beer for the bugler . See the In God We Trust Protection Act (petition) at
www.familyvalues010.blogspot.com link from there to God On Trial - and when moved toast up a round of support for the bugler.