August 29, 2006

Auteur Fainéant

Okay! Yes, I am being lazy lately, I have been very busy (stupid work, so many buttons). So you get a little bit of U.S. History. These quotes were lifted from The Toad Report.

"Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law."
Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814

“Believing that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their Legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
Thomas Jefferson 1802

"I have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth. "
Thomas Jefferson

"I am for freedom of religion and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another."
Thomas Jefferson, 1799

"This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it."John Adams, Lawyer / 2nd President of the U.S.“Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together.”
James Madison - "Father of the Constitution" / 4th President of the U.S.

"The establishment of the chaplainship to Congress is a palpable violation of equal rights, as well as of constitutional principles."
James Madison

“Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every expanded prospect.”
James Madison

"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church. All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit."
Thomas Paine-Age of Reason

“I would not dare to so dishonor my Creator God by attaching His name to that book (the Bible).Among the most detestable villains in history, you could not find one worse than Moses. Here is an order, attributed to 'God' to butcher the boys, to massacre the mothers and to debauch and rape the daughters. I would not dare so dishonor my Creator's name by (attaching) it to this filthy book (the Bible).It is the duty of every true Deist to vindicate the moral justice of God against the evils of the Bible.Accustom a people to believe that priests and clergy can forgive sins...and you will have sins in abundance.The Christian church has set up a religion of pomp and revenue in pretended imitation of a person (Jesus) who lived a life of poverty.”
Thomas Paine

"as to religion, I hold it to be the indispensable duty of our government to protect all conscientious professors thereof, and I know of no other business which the government hath to do therewith."
Thomas Paine

"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute--where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote--where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference--and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him."
John F. Kennedy,1960

"Those who would renegotiate the boundaries between church and state must therefore answer a difficult question: why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly?"
Justice Sandra Day O'Conner, 2005

Here's one I think the U.S.'s current "leader", and his religious right-wingers would agree with:

"Secular schools can never be tolerated because such a school has no religious instruction and a general moral instruction without a religious foundation is built on air; consequently, all character training and religion must be derived from faith.... We need believing people."
Adolf Hitler, April 26, 1933

5 comments:

azgoddess said...

love it - thanks for visiting my blog...i shall add you to my side bar list...

Unknown said...

Well, I heard that Adolf Hitler loved children and animals, and now I know that he favoured moral instruction based on religion - what an ok guy. History had it all wrong about him.

Thomas Paine gets my vote for good sense.

Henry VIII in the time of the Reformation sorted all that out for the English, he torched all the monasteries and cut off all ties with the Pope, but only because he didn't agree with the Pope's view on divorce.

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

Anonymous said...

I have no problem with religion. I was very religious as a youth. It's the interpretation of religion that is the problem, and an inability of it's most vital adherants to follow their very own rules. Dealing with that disgrace was what drove me from religion. And still, I believe that the path to peace is not through denying faith, but through encouraging honesty however it is most palatable to people. If religion is on the path to where we ought to be-- the path of least resistance, than it is foolish to denigrate it.

FreakyNick said...

azgoddess - Love your blog, and the links at your blog, can keep me busy for hours - I dream of living in NM one day again. Your in Kingsolver country, read any of her writings? She's one of my favorite authors.

minou - I like your style, putting lyrics to meaningful songs in your comments. Excellent choice! "Imagine" as always been a favorite of mine.

cyndy lu - Religious Liberty is one of our countries greatest attributes. Some call it "separation", but I prefer Liberty. The right to practice religion, or no religion at all, is among the most fundamental of the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. One must do what is "right" for them spirituality without the fear of government denying, criticism or limiting religious beliefs.

The free exercise clause of the First Amendment guarantees the right to practice one's religion free of government interference. The establishment clause requires the separation of church and state. Combined, they ensure religious liberty.

Sorry, didn't mean to start in on a Civics Lesson. I am agreeing with
you. I also find that the most revolting and repulsive aspects of religion are the hypocrites that use religion and faith to justify their greed, violence and prejudice.

Anonymous said...

It's a pity we've forgotten so much as a species– as though someone spun us around in a blender for too long. After they shut the blender off they poured out all the liquid and collected all the "valuables" that had swirled from our pockets and sedimented at the bottom of the blender. LOL! And still, we dodder to and fro like diziots with paradise right at our fingertips the whole while. :)