I got this comment from John Aman of the Coral Ridge Ministries this morning, in response to my Every Ace I have drawn post:
Dear Blue Heron:
I have to differ with your conclusion that Christianity in America is exclusionary. The Christian message is not, as you put it, "This is our country and if you don't like it get the hell out."
Instead, Christians, just like any other group, have the right to seek to vote their values and, as Jay said, prefer those for public office who share their values. That's life in a constitutional republic. It's also what secular humanists who want to purge the public square of religious expression, and gay activists, who want to impose their moral framework on the nation, do every day.
Liberty of conscience flourished in America because of the Christian and biblical outlook of its founders. Don't believe me? Consider these words from Thomas Jefferson (not a believer but one who had a largely biblical framework for his thinking). He wrote the Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom, a seminal expression of conscience rights. The Act recognized that "Almighty God hath created the mind free" and drew up a formula for freedom taken from the life of Jesus Christ. Jefferson wrote in the Act: "that all attempts to influence it [one's mind or conscience] by temporal punishment or burthens ... 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 his Almighty power to do . . ."
So the example of Jesus Christ, who did not coerce belief, offered the template for religious liberty in America. His teaching laid the foundation for our freedom.
Which is why, as Knight wrote, "America is a unique beacon of freedom precisely because of its founders' Christian perspective, which has protected the right of conscience and thus freedom of religion for Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and nonbelievers. Try to identify another nation on Earth that similarly advanced individual rights without being influenced by Christianity."
Here's one more witness to the welcoming posture toward other religionists adopted in early America as a consequence of the Christian idea of liberty of conscience. This is from Benjamin Rush, a Chrisitan and signer of the Declaration, commenting on festivities in Philadelphia after the ratification of the Constitution:
"The Clergy formed a very agreeable part of the Procession - They manifested, by their attendance, their sense of the connection between religion and good government. They amounted to seventeen in number. Four and five of them marched arm in arm with each other, to exemplify the Union. Pains were taken to connect Ministers of the most dissimilar religious principles together, thereby to shew [sic] the influence of a fiee government in promoting christian charity. The Rabbi of the Jews, locked in the arms of two ministers of the gospel, was a most delightful sight. There could not have been a more happy emblem contrived, of that section of the new constitution, which opens all its power and offices alike, not only to every sect of christians, but to worthy men of every religion."
A good introduction to our heritage of religious liberty for all can be found in the book, The Sacred Rights of Conscience: Selected Readings on Religious Liberty and Church-State Relations in the American Founding.
Godspeed,
John Aman
Coral Ridge Ministries
I appreciate John writing, but can not exactly say that I understand his point exactly. In fact the first two paragraphs are a perfect non sequitur. He disagrees that christianity is exclusionary (it pretty much is but did I ever make that specific statement?) but then goes on to say it is the Christian's right to vote their conscience as do the gays and secularists.
Well, exactly John. It's a pure numbers game and we lose. As I said before, I get it. That is why you will never see any of the alternate belief brands hold the highest office in this country and why many christians in this country are making such a fuss about the sincerity of Obama's piety.
Those of us who are not members of your club only ask a couple of things. We want you to understand that your moral and religious beliefs stop before they get to our bedrooms, our classrooms and our obstetrician's office's. Majority rule has its place but the rights of the minority are also recognized in our country thanks to those same founding fathers we both revere. If the will of the majority was paramount, we would probably still have slavery in the south and separate drinking fountains.
***
There is an interesting story in the paper this morning about my local San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn getting his hand slapped for continuing to fund religious programs with taxpayer money. Read about it here. Life Perspectives, a group that produces pro-life lesson plans for K-12 schools and has received over $80,000 in county funding over the last several years, was held by the County Attorney to be a religious organization. No kidding. Life Perspectives curriculum web page is replete with references to the sanctity of life and God's great plan for you. Kindergartners are taught about zygotes, shown models of fetuses and taught a biblical psalm to emphasize “God’s creation and the value of human life.”
A lesson plan for high-school students claims that assisted suicide and abortion related to “fetal abnormality” mean that “people are being euthanized because they’re considered to be a burden.” The lessons cover a range of religious issues in addition to abortion, including abstinence and the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. The brochure explains,“Whole Life Curriculum cultivates a worldview that’s rooted in the heart of God and the value He imparts to human life.”
What is worth noting is that this organization describes itself as "nonreligious" in nature. Life Perspectives conveniently omitted any reference to Christianity on its application for a Neighborhood Reinvestment Program Grant. Instead, it declared: “Funds raised through Life Walk are used to underwrite educational programs that empower students to make healthy choices. Educational material and curriculum developed by Life Perspectives equips students with critical thinking, goal-setting and decision making skills.”
In a statement, Horn defended the group and said he was disappointed with the county’s decision to cancel the grant, which was approved by the supervisors in June.
“Life Perspectives is not a religious organization and I do not believe this is a religious matter,” Horn said. The nonprofit describes itself as a non-religious nonprofit but develops a “biblically-based” curriculum for private schools.
Apparently, the members of Life Perspectives, who share a strip mall with the Journey Community Church, do feel that they are a religious organization.
According to the webpage, The Watchdog, the county has awarded more than $315,000 to local faith-based organizations and groups with religious ties during the past two years. Among them are the nonprofit Pastors on Point, which describes itself as a "dynamic, Christ-centered ministry" and conducts prayers at programs, and the Pregnancy Resource Center, which provides women with information on their options when it comes to pregnancy and suggests they consider the spiritual consequences of having an abortion, according to the center's website.
This kind of obfuscation and subterfuge regarding the true aims of the Life Perspectives program may be what gives us nonbelievers the notion that some Christians are being less than honest either about their goals or their belief in the notion of a separation of church and state.
I support anyone's right to believe in the creator, religion or myth of their choice. You can teach your kids that Jesus walked with his pet dinosaur and that the world is flat, it's your business. Just don't make me subsidize it and keep it out of the public schools and arena.
Having said this, I would be remiss if I did not state that the Supervisor has been a great friend to my community on a host of other issues, including helping us obtain funding for our new library. My problems with him are entirely with him crossing the line and promoting matters publicly that are of a personal and religious nature.
Postscript- 9/3/10
The head of the local Republican party on Friday questioned the county's decision to cancel a $20,000 grant to a local nonprofit on the grounds of separation of church and state.
On Twitter on Friday morning, San Diego County Republican Party chairman Tony Krvaric (pictured below) wrote, "Where in the Constitution does it say that?"
