Wow. I didn't mean to cause a forest fire with my dissagreement over the chartacterization of Mr. Pauls view of gay marriage.
I guess I hit a nerve, huh?!
Let's be clear about this...
brigadier said:
Declaring any branch of the government "Christian" is also a blatant violation of the 1st amendment.
This is what the 1st Amendment says:
"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."
I said: "...it(his view) is not the view of conservative Americans who associate their political ideology with a strong faith in the Bible, and a reverence for the Constitution and The Declaration of Independence."
I didn't declare any branch of the government "Christian". There is no violation of any amendment at all in what I posted.
Your comment clearly distorts my post.
Then
brigadier said:
While the constitution was written by Christians, they made it very clear that the government it's self is to know no religion.
So... the government is to know NO religion?
I wonder why we have so many reminders of our Christian faith in the trappings of our government?
For instance, let's look at the building that houses The Supreme Court of The United States...
There he is, chisled in stone - Moses holding the Ten Commandments!
And at the entrance to the high court we see images of The Ten Commandments on the huge oak doors.
Just look around Washington - References to Christianity are everywhere.
And what about ol' James Madison, the fourth president, the 'The Father of Our Constitution' and this wise crack he made:
' 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.'
The Christian faith is widely entertwined in our government. While we respect all faiths, America is Christian, through and through.
We are a Christian nation!
Then
brigadier implied that I was for meddling?
So basically, you are all for meddling in the affairs of other countries, doing military ops in conjunction with the UN and going to war with other countries, all without the congressional declaration of war that our constitution mandates? The oath to uphold the constitution means nothing to you?
I didn't say anything like that. You are trying to put words in my mouth.
I said that Mr. Paul's position on national isolation and his wanting to turn back the clock are not only impractical, the concept is narrow minded and flies in the face of everything we hold dear, our capitalist way of life.
Mr. Paul's position is archaic.
Then you want to lecture me about violations of constitutional law!
...everything that has happened since then (minus the hunt for Al Queda) has been a blatant violation of constitutional law. Even the hunt for Al Queda stretched beyond constitutional limits when we decided to metal with the infrastructures of countries that they were hiding in rather then just get the purps and get out like we were suppose to.
The President has important inherent authority as leader of the Executive Branch and Commander-In-Chief. I emphasize Commander-In-Chief because we are at war. Did you forget we have several interests, both military and business interests in foreign lands?
We are not about to allow them to be nationalized or threatened by thugs and bullies. We will protect America's soverignty.
And,
billwiese, sir, I am not a member of the 'religious right' but my Bible is a companion.
I would never consider using it to 'prop up' my sofa!
Somewhere along the path we got confused and the definition of 'conservative' got taken over by Religious Right: conservatism, however, has nothing to do with religion or the Bible. I and many other conservatives are complete nonreligionists.
I'm a conservative, and my strong faith in the Bible is restricted to the knowledge that it'll reliably prop up the corner of my sofa.
If you had treated the Muslim holy book with such disrespect I doubt you would have seen the next sunrise. There's something seriously wrong with America when Americans disdain the Christian Bible in such a fashion.
Conservatism has everything to do with Christian values.
Conservatism is based on our culture, our religion, our history, our language and our traditions.
Merriam-Webster defines Conservatism thusly:
... a disposition in politics to preserve what is established b: a political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing established institutions, and preferring gradual development to abrupt change; specifically : such a philosophy calling for lower taxes, limited government regulation of business and investing, a strong national defense, and individual financial responsibility for personal needs
While the one great tradition in America is freedom of religion, America is a Christian nation. It always has been, and it always will be.