The Mis-used and Mis-interpreted “Wall of Separation”

“I have lived, sir, a long time; and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?” —Benjamin Franklin, Motion for Prayers in the Constitutional Convention, 1787

Ben Franklin was a diplomat to the fullest degree. His religious beliefs were not what any Biblical Christian might call Christian, but he also understood diplomacy. He understood that there was nothing to be gained in preventing prayer, and that even if it simply appeased those who wished to do so, there was no logical reason to object, so he pushed for daily prayer to open the convention sessions.

<a href="http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06.html&quot; target=”_blank”>Benjamin Franklin delivered this famous speech, asking that the Convention begin each day’s session with prayers, at a particularly contentious period, when it appeared that the Convention might break up over its failure to resolve the dispute between the large and small states over representation in the new government. The eighty one year old Franklin asserted that “the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this Truth–that God governs in the Affairs of Men.” “I also believe,” Franklin continued, that “without his concurring Aid, we shall succeed in this political Building no better than the Builders of Babel.” Franklin’s motion failed, ostensibly because the Convention had no funds to pay local clergymen to act as chaplains.

The issue of the “Wall of separation between Church and State,” originally referred to the current issue facing Jefferson concerning denominational favoritism.

It is no exaggeration to say that on Sundays in Washington during the administrations of Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) and of James Madison (1809-1817) the state became the church. Within a year of his inauguration, Jefferson began attending church services in the House of Representatives. Madison followed Jefferson’s example, although unlike Jefferson, who rode on horseback to church in the Capitol, Madison came in a coach and four. Worship services in the House–a practice that continued until after the Civil War–were acceptable to Jefferson because they were nondiscriminatory and voluntary. Preachers of every Protestant denomination appeared. (Catholic priests began officiating in 1826.) As early as January 1806 a female evangelist, Dorothy Ripley, delivered a camp meeting-style exhortation in the House to Jefferson, Vice President Aaron Burr, and a “crowded audience.” Throughout his administration Jefferson permitted church services in executive branch buildings. The Gospel was also preached in the Supreme Court chambers.

A Wall of Separation
The celebrated phrase, “a wall of separation between church and state,” was contained in Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists. American courts have used the phrase to interpret the Founders’ intentions regarding the relationship between government and religion. The words, “wall of separation,” appear just above the section of the letter that Jefferson circled for deletion. In the deleted section Jefferson explained why he refused to proclaim national days of fasting and thanksgiving, as his predecessors, George Washington and John Adams, had done. In the left margin, next to the deleted section, Jefferson noted that he excised the section to avoid offending “our republican friends in the eastern states” who cherished days of fasting and thanksgiving READ MORE

It’s interesting to me to observe how time, rather suddenly, eroded and perverted the interpretation of Jefferson’s famed “Wall of Separation” just after WWII – 1947. Jefferson wrote the letter in 1802, yet it wasn’t until the mid 20th Century that the Supreme Court, without legal precedent, began to establish the rule of separation. Up until that time, all three branches of government, including the Supreme Court, agreed that the phrase only meant to prevent the Federal government from selecting or identifying any Church denomination as its favorite. As indicated above, a non-denominational service was held inside the House of Representatives, for pete’s sake, routinely, until after the Civil War!

The rise of Hilter in Europe cast the shadow of doubt over many things globally, including legislation in the US. Hilter deceived the people on a number of fronts, but among them was the religious front. He antagonized Christians to hate Jews, as the murderer of Christ. Deception, to be effective, uses a touch of truth mixed with lies to turn the tide of public concern and compassion. This has been used repeatedly throughout history to turn a crowd. It is being used to day in the USA to erase and rewrite our heritage to waterdown who America is.

To know where we are going as a people and a nation, we MUST know where we are coming from.

RELATED READING:

The Mythical “Wall of Separation”: How a Misused Metaphor Changed Church–State Law, Policy, and Discourse

Church and State Separation

Smiling Miss Susie Q

Ms Suzie Q, as she likes to be called.

“Why is she smiling?” I whispered under my breath to no one in particular nearby. I stood along the cold sidewalk enjoying a smoke as a chubby, yellow-bathrobe-clad lady carrying 4 helium-filled balloons struggled off the bus with some plastic bins. I had seen this particularly woman several times around town, at various hours of the day, and silently realized this woman would make an excellent photo to complete her “photo of a stranger” assignment.

I finished my cigarette. “Can you help me?” the woman, who likes to be called Susy Q, asked, motioning to her bin. And so I helped her carry her bin to the edge of the ferry dock. Taking out her balloons, she handed me a lighter and motioned to her balloons. “Here,” she said, “light this.”

On our way to the ferry dock she told me that it was her husband’s birthday, and that he had died a few years ago. It was also her daughter’s birthday, but she didnt live around here, she said. One of the balloons, I noticed, read “Happy Birthday” and for the first time the presence of the balloons made a little sense.

Suzie Q waving goodbye to the balloons, "Happy birthday my dear husband. Happy birthday my daughter."

She was asking me to burn the strings of the balloons from the bag it was being held to, and me “only tried to light a lighter twice in my life” that I am, couldnt get it to work. So she tried, but couldn’t get it to work either. “Oh, well,” she said and looked at me, “You ready?” and she threw the balloons over the fence and into the ocean. “Happy birthday my dear husband. Happy birthday my daughter. Happy birthday my dear dear husband.” She said over and over again while waving to the balloons. I leaned over the fence and shot a picture of the balloons.

“Thank for letting me take your picture,” I said smiling at the old woman. “Oh you’re welcome! Thank you for taking it. Here… let me give you something.” And before I could say anything she dug through her bin and handed me some flowers. “Ohhh! Thank you!” I felt truly blessed by this strange homeless lady, and with a last minute thought, “Can I take your picture again?” She smiled and nodded. Taking out her hat again she gave me the happiest smile I had seen that day.

What I felt as a result of this experience was … something stronger than fate, for sure!

Thank you, once again, BEKINDREWRITE! It is such good exercise to write using prompts. I enjoy these weekly jaunts very much!

Has Our Government Overstepped its Authority?

“It is error along which needs the support of government.
Truth can stand by itself.”

Thomas Jefferson

Has Our Government Overstepped its Authority?

When a President continues in opposition to the will of the people, when the elected Congress takes no stand to remind that president of the restrictions of his power, and when the Supreme Court and DOJ can no longer be counted on to enforce the foundational Law of the land, the US Constitution … What recourse do We-the-People have?