Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam
we're voting for a president, not a pastor
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Not a pastor in the sense of a state or national controlled religion - totally different than mere Christianity. That was the issue with separation of church and state.
I think we do need to be careful who we vote for -
Psa 33:12 "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance."
John Gill says, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,.... Who have an interest in such a wonder working God, both in creation and in providence, and especially in grace: which, though it may have a principal regard to the nation of Israel, whose God he was in a very distinguishing manner, yet must not be limited to them; for he is the God of the Gentiles also:"
It strikes me as particularly interesting that or Founding Father's attested to the fact that this nation was given to us by the hand of Providence. And while America did not have a Christian Founding in the sense of creating a theocracy, its Founding was deeply shaped by Christian moral truths. That is not a state religion, but a universal belief in God Almighty.
I don't consider Mormonism mainstream Christianity. Our country was founded on Judeo/Christian principles.
When I read Article Six of the Constitution - "...but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States", I think back to Thomas Jefferson and remember his quote - "I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature."
When he drafted The Bill for Religious Freedom in 1777, the Anglican Church was officially recognized as the state religion in Virginia. The draft was enacted in 1785, while Jefferson was in Paris, France.
Jefferson was especially hostile to the Catholic Church because of his time spent in France. It is my belief that the "no religious Test shall ever be required as a qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States", refers to a "one" religion, i.e. Catholic or Anglican Church type example. I don't believe it had anything to with religious views outside of Christianity. It just doesn't make sense as colleges and school text were based on the Bible.
The Virginia Act For Establishing Religious Freedom
Thomas Jefferson, 1786
"Well aware that Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do; that the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on others,..."
The three writers of the Federalist Papers claim their Christian heritage and beliefs.
John Jay spoke of his Christian faith. Jay shared an experience he had, in France, with some atheists. ""On one occasion I was at a party with several atheists. They spoke freely and contemptuously of religion. During the course of it, one of them asked me if I believed in Christ. I answered that I did, and that I thanked God that I did. Nothing further passed between me and them or any of them on that subject."
Before Alexander Hamilton died, he had plans to establish an organization that would preserve the basic values of Christianity and the Constitution. He was going to call the organization - The Christian Constitutional Society.
James Madison was a seminary student. He studied under Rev. John Witherspoon.
When these men studied law, they studied it from the premise of a higher law which all human law must conform. They studied Blackstone who stressed a higher law in God.
So, back to what I believe they were saying is based on their experiences with religion in France and England, they had a very poor opinion of orthodox Christianity. For instance, the founders of Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut instituted religious establishments—arrangements by which the civil government favored one church and penalized anyone who dissented from its teachings.
Giving the reigns of this country to any person, regardless, of their religious beliefs is a dangerous move, IMO.
Voting for Mormon Romney is Betraying Jesus Christ
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