Liberty of Conscience

For anyone who feels that church and state should not be kept separate, consider this:

History has shown us that freedom of conscience cannot exist with the establishment of religion. The establishment clause, the 'wall of separation', is unique to the United States. It is essential to protect church and state from each other. The wall took centuries to construct, at great cost. During the Dark Ages, the Medieval Church executed millions of human beings as heretics for not following its teachings. The horrifying images of a pickup truck in an Afghan soccer field delivering a sky-blue swathed woman to be shot in the head by Taliban officials is contemporary proof that a partnership between religion and state is a treacherous concept. Unfortunately, human arrogance and the supposition that 'it could never happen in our country' are the very ingredients which spawn such intolerance. Add to the mix a disaster like September 11 and a fearful populace begins to elevate the need for security over the need for freedom.

If God did not believe in liberty of conscience, sin would not exist. He'd have wiped it out at the very first hint of rebellion in Lucifer's mind. He is merciful enough to allow this sin experiment to come to its natural end to prove once and for all to the greater universe that His way is the better way. For human beings, whether they are terrorists, Muslim fundementalists, Christian Fundementalists, politicians or just well-meaning citizens, to feel that they have the right to tell another person how to worship and what to believe is to attempt put themselves in the position of God - the very definition of blasphemy and the basis of Lucifer's original rebellion. If God is unwilling to force conscience, what human being can feel he has a legitimate right to do so?

Perhaps people do not believe that they are immediately affected by government establishment of religion and that is why there is such apathy or perhaps ambivalence about this - but any time our Constitution is violated without so much as a murmur from our citizens, we bring disaster upon ourselves. Remember the Martin Niemoller peom about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power...

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Remember, fascism has to start small and grow in the most insidious manner to grow at all. To burst onto the stage of civilization in full regalia would reap its own eradication as a ridiculous and ill-conceived notion. To seep into our homes and hearths unchallenged, in the guise of security, we find ourselves entrapped before we've become aware of the danger.

--Heidi Sutton

The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve, nor will he ever receive, either. ~Ben Franklin