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The religious have gone insane!
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Oct 5, 2015 21:28:57   #
SamDawkins
 
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/26/the_religious_have_gone_insane_the_separation_of_church_and_state_and_scalia_from_his_mind/

The religious have gone insane: The separation of church and state — and Scalia from his mind
A "strong and passionate" belief in God does real harm -- look no further than the GOP or the Supreme Court
JEFFREY TAYLER
Share 13K 661
Post
467
TOPICS: RELIGION, ANTONIN SCALIA, MIKE HUCKABEE, RICK SANTORUM, LIFE NEWS, NEWS

The religious have gone insane: The separation of church and state -- and Scalia from his mind
(Credit: Jeff Malet, maletphotos.com/Reuters/AP/Patrick Semansky)
The headline on the News Nerd was almost too good to be true: “American Psychological Association to Classify Belief in God As a Mental Illness.” A study, the story beneath it read, had led the APA to conclude that “a strong and passionate belief in a deity or higher power, to the point where it impairs one’s ability to make conscientious decisions about common sense matters, will now be classified as a mental illness.” Faith’s recurrent lethality was adduced: “Every year thousands of people die after refusing life-saving treatment on religious grounds.” Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, said the article, refuse lifesaving t***sfusions (on account of biblical prohibitions against the drinking of blood).

Most gratifyingly, for a rationalist, the author quoted a certain Dr. Lillian Andrews, who opined that, “Religious belief and the angry God phenomenon has caused chaos, destruction, death, and wars for centuries. The time for evolving into a modern society and classifying these archaic beliefs as a mental disorder has been long overdue.”

Finally, I thought, the educated elite is beginning to awaken to the threat that accepting, without evidence, the t***h of comprehensive propositions about our cosmos (that is, religion, in all its inglorious permutations), poses to the mental health of our society!

A “strong and passionate belief” in a (nonexistent) God does our world immeasurable harm: look no further than ISIS or al-Qaida. In fact, look no further than the damage religion causes to progressive causes of every sort (and thus to our psychological well-being) in the United States, from women’s reproductive rights to same-sex marriage to teaching science in schools to depriving federal coffers of $82.5 billion a year (in tax exemptions). Consider the enrichment of all sorts of faith-charlatans who thrive off the gullibility of millions of Americans. Recall the sick “purity movements” that allow meddlesome parents to ruin the lives of their daughters.

I could go on. In any case, it was to be expected that sooner or later psychologists would catch on to the quasi-psychotic elements (including detachment from reality, belief in spirits, hearing “the voice of the Lord, and so on) inherent in religion.

But no! I was wrong! The fine-print disclaimer at the foot of the News Nerd’s page ruthlessly dispelled my elation: The story, like the others the site publishes, was “for entertainment purposes only,” and “purely satirical.” In other words, a spoof. The hour was not nigh; psychologists were not yet ready to diagnose firm belief in God as what it is: an unhealthy delusion. Men in white jumpsuits won’t be forcing the faithful into straightjackets any time soon.

(Yet would that it were so! Imagine, so many Supreme Court justices and Republican politicians, from Antonin Scalia to Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, disqualified in one fell swoop on mental health grounds from holding public office!)

In fact, religion, so potentially dangerous that the Founding Fathers established a “wall of separation” to keep it clear of our affairs of state, continues to enjoy an entirely unmerited imprimatur of respectability. Yet the satire in the News Nerd’s piece derives its efficacy from an obvious t***h: belief in a deity motivates people to behave in all sorts of ways — some childish and pathetic, others harmful, a few outright criminal — most of which, to the nonbeliever at least, mimic symptoms of an all-encompassing mental illness, if of widely varying severity.

Why childish? A majority of adults in one of the most developed countries on Earth believe, in all seriousness, that an invisible, inaudible, undetectable “father” exercises parental supervision over them, protecting them from evil (except when he doesn’t), and, for the mere price of surrendering their faculty of reason and behaving in ways spelled out in various magic books, will ensure their postmortem survival. Wishful thinking characterizes childhood, yes, but, where the religious are concerned, not only. That is childish.

True, belief, say the polls, is waning, but that it persists at all, given the advances of science in the past couple of centuries, and especially since Darwin published “The Origin of Species” in 1859, does nothing if not lead a rationalist to despair. Americans, by and large, cling to their religion (and, yes, their guns). To have all the resources to begin reliably fathoming the mysteries of the universe, and yet to cast them aside for slavish fidelity to primitive fables (most of which deserve no more “reverence” than tales from the Brothers Grimm) that no one past the age of six or seven should believe . . . well, such is the very definition of pathetic.

Harmful? Let’s leave aside the mass-market megachurch “God of Love” finding little or no textual support in the Old or New Testament, and take the terrifying deity as the sacred canon depicts Him. One Bible verse alone (Nahum 1:2) describes Him as vengeful, jealous, wrathful, and furious. Or let’s take His supposedly more clement son, who orders us (says Matthew 25:41) cast into everlasting hellfire for trivial t***sgressions. Who benefits from the misconception that a permanent, inescapable, unimpeachable tyrant oversees our thoughts and deeds, including those of a most intimate nature? The life- and society-damaging neuroses generated by this crazed delusion afflict many of those around us. That is harmful.

But the harm is greater than that. All in all, the most pernicious constellation of rubbish misbeliefs forming the core of the Abrahamic faiths concerns women, blamed for sin itself (the “original sin”), and the Fall of all mankind. Every mainstream misogynistic superstition stems from the rotten old myth of Genesis: woman as made not in God’s image, but from one of Adam’s spare parts, and thus inferior to man. Woman as temptress, woman as unreliable, woman as “unclean.” The rest of the Old and New Testaments inculcate an array of injurious ideas: that women depreciate after their initial sexual encounter, and serve only to bear children and satisfy the lust of their mates. That they must submit to their husbands “as unto the Lord,” keep silent in church, cover their (shameful) bodies and heads, and never have authority over men. It goes without saying that none of this fosters mental health.

Reply
Oct 5, 2015 22:03:59   #
Doc110 Loc: York PA
 
SamDawkins wrote:
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/26/the_religious_have_gone_insane_the_separation_of_church_and_state_and_scalia_from_his_mind/

The religious have gone insane: The separation of church and state — and Scalia from his mind
A "strong and passionate" belief in God does real harm -- look no further than the GOP or the Supreme Court
JEFFREY TAYLER
Share 13K 661
Post
467
TOPICS: RELIGION, ANTONIN SCALIA, MIKE HUCKABEE, RICK SANTORUM, LIFE NEWS, NEWS

The religious have gone insane: The separation of church and state -- and Scalia from his mind
(Credit: Jeff Malet, maletphotos.com/Reuters/AP/Patrick Semansky)
The headline on the News Nerd was almost too good to be true: “American Psychological Association to Classify Belief in God As a Mental Illness.” A study, the story beneath it read, had led the APA to conclude that “a strong and passionate belief in a deity or higher power, to the point where it impairs one’s ability to make conscientious decisions about common sense matters, will now be classified as a mental illness.” Faith’s recurrent lethality was adduced: “Every year thousands of people die after refusing life-saving treatment on religious grounds.” Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, said the article, refuse lifesaving t***sfusions (on account of biblical prohibitions against the drinking of blood).

Most gratifyingly, for a rationalist, the author quoted a certain Dr. Lillian Andrews, who opined that, “Religious belief and the angry God phenomenon has caused chaos, destruction, death, and wars for centuries. The time for evolving into a modern society and classifying these archaic beliefs as a mental disorder has been long overdue.”

Finally, I thought, the educated elite is beginning to awaken to the threat that accepting, without evidence, the t***h of comprehensive propositions about our cosmos (that is, religion, in all its inglorious permutations), poses to the mental health of our society!

A “strong and passionate belief” in a (nonexistent) God does our world immeasurable harm: look no further than ISIS or al-Qaida. In fact, look no further than the damage religion causes to progressive causes of every sort (and thus to our psychological well-being) in the United States, from women’s reproductive rights to same-sex marriage to teaching science in schools to depriving federal coffers of $82.5 billion a year (in tax exemptions). Consider the enrichment of all sorts of faith-charlatans who thrive off the gullibility of millions of Americans. Recall the sick “purity movements” that allow meddlesome parents to ruin the lives of their daughters.

I could go on. In any case, it was to be expected that sooner or later psychologists would catch on to the quasi-psychotic elements (including detachment from reality, belief in spirits, hearing “the voice of the Lord, and so on) inherent in religion.

But no! I was wrong! The fine-print disclaimer at the foot of the News Nerd’s page ruthlessly dispelled my elation: The story, like the others the site publishes, was “for entertainment purposes only,” and “purely satirical.” In other words, a spoof. The hour was not nigh; psychologists were not yet ready to diagnose firm belief in God as what it is: an unhealthy delusion. Men in white jumpsuits won’t be forcing the faithful into straightjackets any time soon.

(Yet would that it were so! Imagine, so many Supreme Court justices and Republican politicians, from Antonin Scalia to Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, disqualified in one fell swoop on mental health grounds from holding public office!)

In fact, religion, so potentially dangerous that the Founding Fathers established a “wall of separation” to keep it clear of our affairs of state, continues to enjoy an entirely unmerited imprimatur of respectability. Yet the satire in the News Nerd’s piece derives its efficacy from an obvious t***h: belief in a deity motivates people to behave in all sorts of ways — some childish and pathetic, others harmful, a few outright criminal — most of which, to the nonbeliever at least, mimic symptoms of an all-encompassing mental illness, if of widely varying severity.

Why childish? A majority of adults in one of the most developed countries on Earth believe, in all seriousness, that an invisible, inaudible, undetectable “father” exercises parental supervision over them, protecting them from evil (except when he doesn’t), and, for the mere price of surrendering their faculty of reason and behaving in ways spelled out in various magic books, will ensure their postmortem survival. Wishful thinking characterizes childhood, yes, but, where the religious are concerned, not only. That is childish.

True, belief, say the polls, is waning, but that it persists at all, given the advances of science in the past couple of centuries, and especially since Darwin published “The Origin of Species” in 1859, does nothing if not lead a rationalist to despair. Americans, by and large, cling to their religion (and, yes, their guns). To have all the resources to begin reliably fathoming the mysteries of the universe, and yet to cast them aside for slavish fidelity to primitive fables (most of which deserve no more “reverence” than tales from the Brothers Grimm) that no one past the age of six or seven should believe . . . well, such is the very definition of pathetic.

Harmful? Let’s leave aside the mass-market megachurch “God of Love” finding little or no textual support in the Old or New Testament, and take the terrifying deity as the sacred canon depicts Him. One Bible verse alone (Nahum 1:2) describes Him as vengeful, jealous, wrathful, and furious. Or let’s take His supposedly more clement son, who orders us (says Matthew 25:41) cast into everlasting hellfire for trivial t***sgressions. Who benefits from the misconception that a permanent, inescapable, unimpeachable tyrant oversees our thoughts and deeds, including those of a most intimate nature? The life- and society-damaging neuroses generated by this crazed delusion afflict many of those around us. That is harmful.

But the harm is greater than that. All in all, the most pernicious constellation of rubbish misbeliefs forming the core of the Abrahamic faiths concerns women, blamed for sin itself (the “original sin”), and the Fall of all mankind. Every mainstream misogynistic superstition stems from the rotten old myth of Genesis: woman as made not in God’s image, but from one of Adam’s spare parts, and thus inferior to man. Woman as temptress, woman as unreliable, woman as “unclean.” The rest of the Old and New Testaments inculcate an array of injurious ideas: that women depreciate after their initial sexual encounter, and serve only to bear children and satisfy the lust of their mates. That they must submit to their husbands “as unto the Lord,” keep silent in church, cover their (shameful) bodies and heads, and never have authority over men. It goes without saying that none of this fosters mental health.
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/26/the_religious_have... (show quote)



No such ever said or recorded word passage; "Separation-of-Church-and-State," found in the United States Constitution.[/b]

Look it up. ??????

Reply
Oct 5, 2015 22:10:44   #
SamDawkins
 
Doc110 wrote:
No such ever said or recorded word passage; "Separation-of-Church-and-State," found in the United States Constitution.[/b]

Look it up. ??????



I am aware of that fact. I believe it was first mentioned by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the "Danbury Baptist Association ".
Probably more for political reasons than anything else.
Regardless the wall persist, and that is as it should be.

Reply
 
 
Oct 5, 2015 22:14:43   #
Alicia Loc: NYC
 
SamDawkins wrote:
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/26/the_religious_have_gone_insane_the_separation_of_church_and_state_and_scalia_from_his_mind/

The religious have gone insane: The separation of church and state — and Scalia from his mind
A "strong and passionate" belief in God does real harm -- look no further than the GOP or the Supreme Court
JEFFREY TAYLER
Share 13K 661
Post
467
TOPICS: RELIGION, ANTONIN SCALIA, MIKE HUCKABEE, RICK SANTORUM, LIFE NEWS, NEWS

The religious have gone insane: The separation of church and state -- and Scalia from his mind
(Credit: Jeff Malet, maletphotos.com/Reuters/AP/Patrick Semansky)
The headline on the News Nerd was almost too good to be true: “American Psychological Association to Classify Belief in God As a Mental Illness.” A study, the story beneath it read, had led the APA to conclude that “a strong and passionate belief in a deity or higher power, to the point where it impairs one’s ability to make conscientious decisions about common sense matters, will now be classified as a mental illness.” Faith’s recurrent lethality was adduced: “Every year thousands of people die after refusing life-saving treatment on religious grounds.” Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, said the article, refuse lifesaving t***sfusions (on account of biblical prohibitions against the drinking of blood).

Most gratifyingly, for a rationalist, the author quoted a certain Dr. Lillian Andrews, who opined that, “Religious belief and the angry God phenomenon has caused chaos, destruction, death, and wars for centuries. The time for evolving into a modern society and classifying these archaic beliefs as a mental disorder has been long overdue.”

Finally, I thought, the educated elite is beginning to awaken to the threat that accepting, without evidence, the t***h of comprehensive propositions about our cosmos (that is, religion, in all its inglorious permutations), poses to the mental health of our society!

A “strong and passionate belief” in a (nonexistent) God does our world immeasurable harm: look no further than ISIS or al-Qaida. In fact, look no further than the damage religion causes to progressive causes of every sort (and thus to our psychological well-being) in the United States, from women’s reproductive rights to same-sex marriage to teaching science in schools to depriving federal coffers of $82.5 billion a year (in tax exemptions). Consider the enrichment of all sorts of faith-charlatans who thrive off the gullibility of millions of Americans. Recall the sick “purity movements” that allow meddlesome parents to ruin the lives of their daughters.

I could go on. In any case, it was to be expected that sooner or later psychologists would catch on to the quasi-psychotic elements (including detachment from reality, belief in spirits, hearing “the voice of the Lord, and so on) inherent in religion.

But no! I was wrong! The fine-print disclaimer at the foot of the News Nerd’s page ruthlessly dispelled my elation: The story, like the others the site publishes, was “for entertainment purposes only,” and “purely satirical.” In other words, a spoof. The hour was not nigh; psychologists were not yet ready to diagnose firm belief in God as what it is: an unhealthy delusion. Men in white jumpsuits won’t be forcing the faithful into straightjackets any time soon.

(Yet would that it were so! Imagine, so many Supreme Court justices and Republican politicians, from Antonin Scalia to Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, disqualified in one fell swoop on mental health grounds from holding public office!)

In fact, religion, so potentially dangerous that the Founding Fathers established a “wall of separation” to keep it clear of our affairs of state, continues to enjoy an entirely unmerited imprimatur of respectability. Yet the satire in the News Nerd’s piece derives its efficacy from an obvious t***h: belief in a deity motivates people to behave in all sorts of ways — some childish and pathetic, others harmful, a few outright criminal — most of which, to the nonbeliever at least, mimic symptoms of an all-encompassing mental illness, if of widely varying severity.

Why childish? A majority of adults in one of the most developed countries on Earth believe, in all seriousness, that an invisible, inaudible, undetectable “father” exercises parental supervision over them, protecting them from evil (except when he doesn’t), and, for the mere price of surrendering their faculty of reason and behaving in ways spelled out in various magic books, will ensure their postmortem survival. Wishful thinking characterizes childhood, yes, but, where the religious are concerned, not only. That is childish.

True, belief, say the polls, is waning, but that it persists at all, given the advances of science in the past couple of centuries, and especially since Darwin published “The Origin of Species” in 1859, does nothing if not lead a rationalist to despair. Americans, by and large, cling to their religion (and, yes, their guns). To have all the resources to begin reliably fathoming the mysteries of the universe, and yet to cast them aside for slavish fidelity to primitive fables (most of which deserve no more “reverence” than tales from the Brothers Grimm) that no one past the age of six or seven should believe . . . well, such is the very definition of pathetic.

Harmful? Let’s leave aside the mass-market megachurch “God of Love” finding little or no textual support in the Old or New Testament, and take the terrifying deity as the sacred canon depicts Him. One Bible verse alone (Nahum 1:2) describes Him as vengeful, jealous, wrathful, and furious. Or let’s take His supposedly more clement son, who orders us (says Matthew 25:41) cast into everlasting hellfire for trivial t***sgressions. Who benefits from the misconception that a permanent, inescapable, unimpeachable tyrant oversees our thoughts and deeds, including those of a most intimate nature? The life- and society-damaging neuroses generated by this crazed delusion afflict many of those around us. That is harmful.

But the harm is greater than that. All in all, the most pernicious constellation of rubbish misbeliefs forming the core of the Abrahamic faiths concerns women, blamed for sin itself (the “original sin”), and the Fall of all mankind. Every mainstream misogynistic superstition stems from the rotten old myth of Genesis: woman as made not in God’s image, but from one of Adam’s spare parts, and thus inferior to man. Woman as temptress, woman as unreliable, woman as “unclean.” The rest of the Old and New Testaments inculcate an array of injurious ideas: that women depreciate after their initial sexual encounter, and serve only to bear children and satisfy the lust of their mates. That they must submit to their husbands “as unto the Lord,” keep silent in church, cover their (shameful) bodies and heads, and never have authority over men. It goes without saying that none of this fosters mental health.
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/26/the_religious_have... (show quote)

****************
You came up with another goody! I'm anticipating quite a bit of discussion from this one. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :wink:

Reply
Oct 5, 2015 22:14:43   #
Alicia Loc: NYC
 
SamDawkins wrote:
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/26/the_religious_have_gone_insane_the_separation_of_church_and_state_and_scalia_from_his_mind/

The religious have gone insane: The separation of church and state — and Scalia from his mind
A "strong and passionate" belief in God does real harm -- look no further than the GOP or the Supreme Court
JEFFREY TAYLER
Share 13K 661
Post
467
TOPICS: RELIGION, ANTONIN SCALIA, MIKE HUCKABEE, RICK SANTORUM, LIFE NEWS, NEWS

The religious have gone insane: The separation of church and state -- and Scalia from his mind
(Credit: Jeff Malet, maletphotos.com/Reuters/AP/Patrick Semansky)
The headline on the News Nerd was almost too good to be true: “American Psychological Association to Classify Belief in God As a Mental Illness.” A study, the story beneath it read, had led the APA to conclude that “a strong and passionate belief in a deity or higher power, to the point where it impairs one’s ability to make conscientious decisions about common sense matters, will now be classified as a mental illness.” Faith’s recurrent lethality was adduced: “Every year thousands of people die after refusing life-saving treatment on religious grounds.” Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, said the article, refuse lifesaving t***sfusions (on account of biblical prohibitions against the drinking of blood).

Most gratifyingly, for a rationalist, the author quoted a certain Dr. Lillian Andrews, who opined that, “Religious belief and the angry God phenomenon has caused chaos, destruction, death, and wars for centuries. The time for evolving into a modern society and classifying these archaic beliefs as a mental disorder has been long overdue.”

Finally, I thought, the educated elite is beginning to awaken to the threat that accepting, without evidence, the t***h of comprehensive propositions about our cosmos (that is, religion, in all its inglorious permutations), poses to the mental health of our society!

A “strong and passionate belief” in a (nonexistent) God does our world immeasurable harm: look no further than ISIS or al-Qaida. In fact, look no further than the damage religion causes to progressive causes of every sort (and thus to our psychological well-being) in the United States, from women’s reproductive rights to same-sex marriage to teaching science in schools to depriving federal coffers of $82.5 billion a year (in tax exemptions). Consider the enrichment of all sorts of faith-charlatans who thrive off the gullibility of millions of Americans. Recall the sick “purity movements” that allow meddlesome parents to ruin the lives of their daughters.

I could go on. In any case, it was to be expected that sooner or later psychologists would catch on to the quasi-psychotic elements (including detachment from reality, belief in spirits, hearing “the voice of the Lord, and so on) inherent in religion.

But no! I was wrong! The fine-print disclaimer at the foot of the News Nerd’s page ruthlessly dispelled my elation: The story, like the others the site publishes, was “for entertainment purposes only,” and “purely satirical.” In other words, a spoof. The hour was not nigh; psychologists were not yet ready to diagnose firm belief in God as what it is: an unhealthy delusion. Men in white jumpsuits won’t be forcing the faithful into straightjackets any time soon.

(Yet would that it were so! Imagine, so many Supreme Court justices and Republican politicians, from Antonin Scalia to Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, disqualified in one fell swoop on mental health grounds from holding public office!)

In fact, religion, so potentially dangerous that the Founding Fathers established a “wall of separation” to keep it clear of our affairs of state, continues to enjoy an entirely unmerited imprimatur of respectability. Yet the satire in the News Nerd’s piece derives its efficacy from an obvious t***h: belief in a deity motivates people to behave in all sorts of ways — some childish and pathetic, others harmful, a few outright criminal — most of which, to the nonbeliever at least, mimic symptoms of an all-encompassing mental illness, if of widely varying severity.

Why childish? A majority of adults in one of the most developed countries on Earth believe, in all seriousness, that an invisible, inaudible, undetectable “father” exercises parental supervision over them, protecting them from evil (except when he doesn’t), and, for the mere price of surrendering their faculty of reason and behaving in ways spelled out in various magic books, will ensure their postmortem survival. Wishful thinking characterizes childhood, yes, but, where the religious are concerned, not only. That is childish.

True, belief, say the polls, is waning, but that it persists at all, given the advances of science in the past couple of centuries, and especially since Darwin published “The Origin of Species” in 1859, does nothing if not lead a rationalist to despair. Americans, by and large, cling to their religion (and, yes, their guns). To have all the resources to begin reliably fathoming the mysteries of the universe, and yet to cast them aside for slavish fidelity to primitive fables (most of which deserve no more “reverence” than tales from the Brothers Grimm) that no one past the age of six or seven should believe . . . well, such is the very definition of pathetic.

Harmful? Let’s leave aside the mass-market megachurch “God of Love” finding little or no textual support in the Old or New Testament, and take the terrifying deity as the sacred canon depicts Him. One Bible verse alone (Nahum 1:2) describes Him as vengeful, jealous, wrathful, and furious. Or let’s take His supposedly more clement son, who orders us (says Matthew 25:41) cast into everlasting hellfire for trivial t***sgressions. Who benefits from the misconception that a permanent, inescapable, unimpeachable tyrant oversees our thoughts and deeds, including those of a most intimate nature? The life- and society-damaging neuroses generated by this crazed delusion afflict many of those around us. That is harmful.

But the harm is greater than that. All in all, the most pernicious constellation of rubbish misbeliefs forming the core of the Abrahamic faiths concerns women, blamed for sin itself (the “original sin”), and the Fall of all mankind. Every mainstream misogynistic superstition stems from the rotten old myth of Genesis: woman as made not in God’s image, but from one of Adam’s spare parts, and thus inferior to man. Woman as temptress, woman as unreliable, woman as “unclean.” The rest of the Old and New Testaments inculcate an array of injurious ideas: that women depreciate after their initial sexual encounter, and serve only to bear children and satisfy the lust of their mates. That they must submit to their husbands “as unto the Lord,” keep silent in church, cover their (shameful) bodies and heads, and never have authority over men. It goes without saying that none of this fosters mental health.
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/26/the_religious_have... (show quote)

****************
You came up with another goody! I'm anticipating quite a bit of discussion from this one. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :wink:

Reply
Oct 5, 2015 22:16:26   #
SamDawkins
 
Alicia wrote:
****************
You came up with another goody! I'm anticipating quite a bit of discussion from this one. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :wink:


Yes I quite enjoyed this article. :thumbup:
Glad you approve. :-)

Reply
Oct 5, 2015 22:23:32   #
Doc110 Loc: York PA
 
SamDawkins wrote:
I am aware of that fact. I believe it was first mentioned by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the "Danbury Baptist Association ".
Probably more for political reasons than anything else.
Regardless the wall persist, and that is as it should be.


Madison papers.

Reply
 
 
Oct 5, 2015 22:39:29   #
Doc110 Loc: York PA
 
SamDawkins wrote:


I am aware of that fact. I believe it was first mentioned by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the "Danbury Baptist Association ".

Probably more for political reasons than anything else.

Regardless the wall persist, and that is as it should be.


Know your History of America's and the royal 13 Colonies, Charters and articles of confederation, and the State constitutions and the U.S. Constitution regarding Christianity.

Before the passage of the Constitution of the United States. The 13 State's-Colinie's practiced "State sponsored Religion." https://sites.google.com/site/americachristiannation/home/religion-in-the-13-colinies

I will provide more Historical facts that supports this claim and that most Secularist and modern day Americans fail to grasp the early Religious backgrounds and the European migration to the British colonies from the mayflower charter to all the 13 charters by the British royal crown.

Religion in the 13 Colonies
Procon.org has researched Religion in the Original 13 Colonies, and and concluded: “All 13 American colonies had some form of state-supported religion. This support varied from tax benefits to religious requirements for v****g or serving in the legislature.” All colonies were predominantly Christian. Eight of the colonies had state-sponsored churches. Five did not.

Official Church of Colony at Founding:

Anglican - Church of England:
Maryland, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia

Puritan / Congregational Church:
Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire

No Official Church:
Delaware, Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island

Even those colonies without a state-supported church were “Christian” by charter. Some examples of the colonies mandating religious activity in their charters:

The colonial governor of Virginia in 1617 declared it a crime not to go to church on Sundays and Holidays.

Connecticut Colony Charter in 1662 called for all residents to have“the knowledge and obedience of the onely true God and Saviour of mankind, and the Christian faith.”

Charter of Rhode Island, 1663: Called for residents to pursue "the holy Christian faith and worship”.

New York's Charter of Liberties and Privileges in 1683 dictated that anyone professing “faith in God by Jesus Christ” will not be punished for any difference of opinion. In other words all Christian denominations were free to practice in New York.

Charter of Delaware, 1701: “All Persons who also profess to believe in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World, shall be capable (notwithstanding their other Persuasions and Practices in Point of Conscience and Religion) to serve this Government in any Capacity, both legislatively and executively...”


The majority of the 13 colonies did write religious restrictions into their states constitutions. Most restrictions applied to office holders in the state governments, requiring a belief in Protestant Christianity.

Maryland State Constitution, Article XXXIII, in 1776 stated: “That, as it is the duty of every man to worship God in such manner as he thinks most acceptable to him; all persons, professing the Christian religion, are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty...”

Delaware State Constitution Oath of Office, 1776: “I _______, do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, One God, blessed for evermore; and I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament to be given by Divine Inspiration.”

North Carolina Constitution, 1776: “That no person, who shall deny the being of God or the t***h of the Protestant religion, or the divine authority of the Old or New Testaments …., shall be capable of holding any office or place of trust or profit in the civil department within this State.”

Pennsylvania Constitution in 1776 required oath for elected representatives: “I do believe in one God, the Creator and Governor of the Universe, the rewarder of the good and punisher of the wicked. And I do acknowledge the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by Divine inspiration.”

New Jersey Constitution (1776): “That there shall be no establishment of any one religious sect in this Province, in preference to another; and that no Protestant inhabitant of this Colony shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil right, merely on account of his religious principles....”

Georgia Constitution in 1777 allowed for citizens to have free exercise of their religion, but also required that Representatives be of the Protestant religion.

South Carolina Constitution, 1778, requirements for a state authorized church: “That there is one eternal God, and a future state of rewards and punishments. That God is publicly to be worshipped. That the Christian religion is the true religion. That the holy scriptures of the Old and New

Testaments are of divine inspiration, and are the rule of faith and practice”.
The Massachusetts Constitution in 1780 mandated that all elected officials take an oath of office that included their professing the Christian faith.

New Hampshire Constitution in 1784 required all elected officials to be of the Protestant (Christian) religion.

Connecticut Constitution (1818). Article I. Section 4.: “No preference shall be given by law to any Christian sect or mode of worship.”



Reply
Oct 5, 2015 22:42:48   #
Doc110 Loc: York PA
 
SamDawkins wrote:

I am aware of that fact. I believe it was first mentioned by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the "Danbury Baptist Association ".

Probably more for political reasons than anything else.

Regardless the wall persist, and that is as it should be.




Text from Historical Documents, Showing State Support of Religion in all 13 British colonies and even as late

1. Virginia Apr. 10,1606
Official Religion: Anglican/Church of England, Original Charter Date: Apr. 10,1606 The First Charter of Virginia, Ended Support: 1830
http://undergod.procon.org/sourcefiles/VirginiaCharter.pdf

2. New York June 7, 1614
Official Religion: Anglican/Church of England, Original Charter Date: June 7, 1614, Charter of the Dutch West India Company, Ended Support: 1846, http://undergod.procon.org/sourcefiles/NewYorkCharter.pdf

3. Massachusetts Mar. 4, 1629, Official Religion: Congregational Church, Original Charter Date: Mar. 4, 1629, The Charter of Massachusetts Bay
Ended Support: 1833, http://undergod.procon.org/sourcefiles/MarylandCharter.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://undergod.procon.org.." rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://undergod.procon.org/sourcefiles/MassachusettsCharter.pdfhttp://undergod.procon.org...

4. Maryland June 20, 1632, Official Religion: Anglican/Church of England, Original Charter Date: June 20, 1632, The Charter of Maryland, Ended Support: 1867

5. Delaware 1637, Official Religion: None, Original Charter Date: 1637, Chartered by the South Company of Sweden, Ended Support: 1792

6. Connecticut Jan. 14, 1639, Official Religion: Congregational Church, Original Charter Date: Jan. 14, 1639, The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut , Ended Support: 1818, http://undergod.procon.org/sourcefiles/ConnecticutCharter.pdf

7. New Hampshire Aug. 4, 1639, Official Religion: Congregational Church
Original Charter Date: Aug. 4, 1639, Agreement of the Settlers at Exeter in New Hampshire, Ended Support: 1877, http://undergod.procon.org/sourcefiles/NewHampshireCharter.pdf

8. Rhode Island Mar. 14, 1643, Official Religion: None, Original Charter Date: Mar. 14, 1643, Patent for Providence Plantations, Ended Support: 1842, http://undergod.procon.org/sourcefiles/RhodeIslandCharter.pdf

9. Georgia 1732, Official Religion: None, Original Charter Date: 1732, Charter of Georgia, Ended Support: 1798, http://undergod.procon.org/sourcefiles/GeorgiaCharter.pdf

10. North Carolina Mar. 24, 1663, Official Religion: Anglican/Church of England, Original Charter Date: Mar. 24, 1663, Charter of Carolina, Ended Support: 1875, http://undergod.procon.org/sourcefiles/CarolinaCharter.pdf

11. South Carolina Mar. 24, 1663, Official Religion: Anglican/Church of England, Original Charter Date: Mar. 24, 1663, Charter of Carolina, Ended Support: 1868, http://undergod.procon.org/sourcefiles/CarolinaCharter.pdf

12. Pennsylvania Feb. 28, 1681, Official Religion: None, Original Charter Date: Feb. 28, 1681, Charter for the Province of Pennsylvania, Ended Support: 1790, http://undergod.procon.org/sourcefiles/PennsylvaniaCharter.pdf

13. New Jersey Mar. 12, 1702, Official Religion: None, Original Charter Date: Mar. 12, 1702, Surrender from the Proprietors of East and West New Jersey, of Their Pretended Right of Government to Her Majesty, Ended Support: 1844
http://undergod.procon.org/sourcefiles/NewJerseyCharter.pdf



Reply
Oct 5, 2015 22:55:10   #
Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
 
Doc110 wrote:
No such ever said or recorded word passage; "Separation-of-Church-and-State," found in the United States Constitution.

Look it up. ??????
Atheists like Dawkins (both Sam and Richard) will never comprehend the founding of America, Doc.

They incessantly throw the "separation of church and state" in our face like it is some sort of absolute excuse to ignore our history and condemn only Christians.

Jefferson used the phrase simply to assure the Danbury Baptists that the new government would not establish a state religion, that it would not in any way influence or control the affairs of the church. It also implies the reverse, that the church would have no influence or control of government affairs. However, what is ignored is that the Constitution was framed based on the moral principles and doctrines of decency embodied in Judeo-Chistianity. The Constitution (and the DoI) reflects those principles, it does not preach them. L*****ts are either unwilling or unable to make this distinction.

"We hold these t***hs to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness . . . " This paragraph is undeniably a Christian principle.

It must be noted that salon.com is a l*****t ideologically driven hack site. The sock puppets there can't see the difference between the t***h of our nation's founding and a pile of horses**t.

Reply
Oct 5, 2015 23:06:30   #
Bad Bob Loc: Virginia
 
SamDawkins wrote:
Yes I quite enjoyed this article. :thumbup:
Glad you approve. :-)


:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:







Reply
 
 
Oct 5, 2015 23:37:33   #
Doc110 Loc: York PA
 
Blade_Runner wrote:
Atheists like Dawkins (both Sam and Richard) will never comprehend the founding of America, Doc.

They incessantly throw the "separation of church and state" in our face like it is some sort of absolute excuse to ignore our history and condemn only Christians.

Jefferson used the phrase simply to assure the Danbury Baptists that the new government would not establish a state religion, that it would not in any way influence or control the affairs of the church. It also implies the reverse, that the church would have no influence or control of government affairs.

However, what is ignored is that the Constitution was framed based on the moral principles and doctrines of decency embodied in Judeo-Chistianity.

The Constitution (and the DoI) reflects those principles, it does not preach them. L*****ts are either unwilling or unable to make this distinction.

"We hold these t***hs to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness . . . " This paragraph is undeniably a Christian principle.

It must be noted that salon.com is a l*****t ideologically driven hack site. The sock puppets there can't see the difference between the t***h of our nation's founding and a pile of horses**t.
Atheists like Dawkins (both Sam and Richard) will ... (show quote)


Well said, and spoken. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:


History needs to be revisited from time to time, and which guides us forward in these interesting times in 2015. Where "Up is down," "down is up," "Inside-out" and "Outside-in," "Right-is-wrong," and "Wrong-is-right.

Ultimately this is just a way to discredit and is an excuse to ignore our history and condemn only Christians. The European Christian settlers forever changed England, the United States and forever the World.

Look at the revolution and the shot heard around the world, for peoples dignity and freedoms.

America is still the shining beacon with its cultural faith and spiritual belief in God. Despite the undermining of our Judeo-Chistianity beliefs our moral principles and Christine doctrines.



FIRST AMENDMENT RELIGION AND EXPRESSION:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/free_exercise_clause


The Free Exercise Clause reserves the right of American citizens to accept any religious belief and engage in religious rituals. The wording in the free-exercise clauses of state constitutions that religious “[o]pinion, expression of opinion, and practice were all expressly protected” by the Free Exercise Clause.[1]

The clause protects not just religious beliefs but actions made on behalf of those beliefs. More importantly, the wording of state constitutions suggest that “free exercise envisions religiously compelled exemptions from at least some generally applicable laws.”[2]

The Free Exercise Clause not only protects religious belief and expression; it also seems to allow for violation of laws, as long as that violation is made for religious reasons. In the terms of economc theory, the Free Exercise Clause promotes a free religious market by precluding taxation of religious activities by minority sects.[3]

Constitutional scholars and even Supreme Court opinions have contended that the two religion clauses are in conflict. E.g.,

Thomas v. Review Board, 450 U.S. 707 (1981). As mentioned previously, the Free Exercise Clause implies special accommodation of religious ideas and actions, even to the point of exemptions to generally applicable laws.

Such a special benefit seems to violate the neutrality between “religion and non-religion” mandated by the Establishment Clause. McConnell explains:

If there is a constitutional requirement for accommodation of religious conduct, it will most likely be found in the Free Exercise Clause.

Some say, though, that it is a violation of the Establishment Clause for the government to give any special benefit or recognition of religion. In that case, we have a First Amendment in conflict with itself—the Establishment Clause forbidding what the Free Exercise Clause requires.[4]

Reply
Oct 5, 2015 23:55:22   #
Doc110 Loc: York PA
 
Blade_Runner wrote:


Atheists like Dawkins (both Sam and Richard) will never comprehend the founding of America, Doc.

They incessantly throw the "separation of church and state" in our face like it is some sort of absolute excuse to ignore our history and condemn only Christians.

Jefferson used the phrase simply to assure the Danbury Baptists that the new government would not establish a state religion, that it would not in any way influence or control the affairs of the church. It also implies the reverse, that the church would have no influence or control of government affairs.

However, what is ignored is that the Constitution was framed based on the moral principles and doctrines of decency embodied in Judeo-Chistianity. The Constitution (and the DoI) reflects those principles, it does not preach them. L*****ts are either unwilling or unable to make this distinction.

"We hold these t***hs to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness . . . " This paragraph is undeniably a Christian principle.

It must be noted that salon.com is a l*****t ideologically driven hack site. The sock puppets there can't see the difference between the t***h of our nation's founding and a pile of horses**t.
br br Atheists like Dawkins (both Sam and Richar... (show quote)


Here is what I think is Jesus's message to Christians and to the world and to secular atheists.

Disclaimer to Atheist and Secularist's:

You can choose to believe Jesus's message or reject it his message of The only person recorded in all of history, to live after crucifixion and in performing miracles. Jesus Christ the Son of God. You all have free-will.

These are Jesus Christ's message to the peoples around the world and to Israe, God's chosen people. I believe this is his number one theology the, "Golden Rule" "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the God's Law and the Prophets message." Matt 7:12

b. "Care for Those in Distress", For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me," Matt 25:34-36.

c. "Love One Another," This commandment of Jesus summarizes all the others. "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you," John 15:12. d. Matthew 22:37-30 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Jesus criticized the Pharisees and the scribes they t***sgressed God for Commandment and their traditions Matthew 22. Tested the Pharisees, hoped to trick Jesus,“Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the law?” Jesus, was speaking to Pharisees the the religious leaders of the day they knew the law backwards and forwards; brilliant expositors of Scripture, but poor lovers of people.

Luke 6:27, 44-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and h**e your enemy.’ But I say to you, alove your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who h**e you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Exodus 20:2-17 The Ten Commandments
Ddeuteronomy 6:1-25 4 Foundation of Jesus's message
Matthew 5:3-11 The Beatitudes
Luke 6:20-26 The Beatitudes

e. Deuteronomy 6:1-5-9 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.* 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Isaiah Chapter 49 verse 6-8 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. Isaiah Chapter 51-12 even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;



Here is short summarization of my "top-ten" Jesus's message's:

1. Jesus's Message was that he came to earth, was born a human man, so that he could die. Did you know that it is impossible to k**l God? God is a supreme spiritual power and it is impossible to eliminate God from existence. When Jesus said it is finished, He fulfilled His number one purpose for coming into the world. His death accomplished more than you can imagine and forever has changed the world. Matthew 20:28, "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of Jesus, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. John 18:37 You are a King then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the t***h. Everyone on the side of t***h listens to me." Pilate reply: "What is t***h."



2. Jesus's message was that he came to preach the message and deliver the "The Good News" Gospel of God. John 12:44-50 [/b]Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.[/b] John 12:46, "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness." John 10:10, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”



3. Jesus's message was to save the sinner 1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. We of course are like everyone else and we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). Are we not worthy of God's salvation. Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."



4. Jesus's message was to tell's us that He was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel God's chosen people. Mat 15:24). Do you understand that people are spoken of in the Bible as being lost, which Jesus was talking about, Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.



5. Jesus's message was that he came for the resurrection of the dead and all that have fallen asleep. Death ruled man, from the beginning of tine and to this day, we will all know death. Man feared death, death is an enemy to man and God came to solve the problem of death. Scripture verse helps us to see: 1Co 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. It’s all a part of God’s great exchange offer. Exchange your life for His life and you shall have salvation!



6. Jesus's message was to undo the works of the Devil, Satan, Lucifer. I hope you understand that Satan is not on God’s payroll and does not work for God. God gave man “freewill” by God's design? Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.


And please don't tell me that there is no "Evil in this world."



7. Jesus's came and died, for the Holy Spirit could come, and Abide in us. Without Jesus’ death we would not have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us. The Holy Spirit is only in those who received Him and not in everyone. God does not force the spirit it has to be accepted by the person. John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; The comforter residing on the inside is a benefit, that nobody possessed before Christ died. Jesus told us that it was better that he go away so that he could send us the Comforter (John 16:7).



8. Jesus's message was to fulfill the prophesies some 800 in God's Law's in the old Testament Torah and Septuagint Greek t***slation. Isaiah 61:1-3 Jesus made several statements, one of them was that heaven and earth would pass away but the law "God’s Word" would never pass away Luke 21:33. This would indicate that the Word of God is something that is eternal. Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. God’s words are prophetic and contain information about coming events and also tells us that the “End is declared from the Beginning” Isa 46:10. Therefore God knows the outcome even before He started.



9. Jesus's message was to "reveal the hidden wisdom and word of God. Jesus tried to teach as many who would hear the t***h, but not very many people actually grasped the t***h. What you must realize is that the Bible was written in a manner that concealed information making it difficult for natural men to understand. I believe that Jesus came to give us understanding and teach us the t***h. This understanding has been made available to us by the work of the Holy Spirit within us.

Mat 13:35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. You can go into many of the verses in the New Testament and see what Jesus revealed to His disciples. Jesus went through the Old Testament starting with Genesis and showed these followers that He was written about on almost every page. All of this was secrets hidden from the plain view of man. Hiding the t***h in plain sight.

Did you know the word term “mystery” only occurs in the New Testament? While God wrote the mysteries in the Old Testament, God did not specifically tell anyone that they were there. Jesus came along and in reading scriptures He reveals al that are open to the Spirit to see and understand the hidden secrets in the Word of God, since the Author of the Word was inside of Him. [/b]Jesus took these secrets and opened them up for people to see and after He was raised from the dead the disciples finally got it. The misunderstood Jesus.[/b]


10. Jesus's message was to build a New Spiritual City, Jesus Christ became the chief a cornerstone to a new spiritual "City of God," called the New Jerusalem. This spiritual city reflects a new beginning, with a spiritual people who are called those who are righteous in the eyes of God. Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. God tells us very clearly that each of us in the church is a “Living Stone” in a “Spritual House”. Do you understand this type of building project? Probably not, but yet God is using natural things to describe a spiritual structure made up of people. This new spiritual house is the Bride of Christ, called the New Jerusalem in Revelation.


Finally. Jesus's message was to divide ! Luke 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: This is a controversial reason for the coming of Jesus Christ, because it is not widely taught nor understood by many. As you read this statement that Jesus makes, it would appear to contradict what the Bible says in other place. Jesus is called the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6), yet here in Luke Jesus said this is not why I am here. Matthew 5:17, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Jesus Christ came into the world to be a Divider of men. Matthew 10:34, 35, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law." (Christ makes it necessary to choose between relatives and the t***h. This choice often causes division.)


That is a pretty radical statement being made by the Son of God.


Jesus's message was that He came into the world as the spiritual Light of the World and His Word causes illumination in the hearts of men and women so that they no longer live in darkness. Being children of the light and children of the day, we are the ones that have been divided from those that remain in the darkness. (1 Th 5:5). All of this is a division that is taking place in the spiritual realm. God is dividing those who belong to Christ from those who belong to Satan. The end result is said to be completely different for both of these groups. Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Jesus speaks of two divisions of people in this one basic statement. Those that are righteous go to a realm of life everlasting, and those that are unrighteous to everlasting punishment.

Jesus's message had two very different results, two different people, two different divisions. This was one of the key reasons Jesus came to the earth and God declares it. John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."



The Word of God invokes the Jesus's message, In order to preach the gospel, a person must be called and gifted to do that work. That is what it is talking about when it says, “the LORD hath anointed me.” And it makes it very clear in Isaiah 61:1, “He hath sent me.” Isaiah Chapter 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”


One of Jesus's message and first t***hs spoken publicly is to notice this passage, that Jesus Himself quoted Isaiah 61:1-2. Jesus went into the synagogue in Nazareth at the start of His work of preaching “good tidings” to the word “gospel.“ And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written.


Jesus's message is, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down.

Jesus's message stops mid-verse in the reading of Isaiah notice that Jesus stopped preaching and closed the book or scrolls. Jesus's new message will be for a future date to come, Judgement." And the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”

Jesus's message profoundly upset many in the synagogue and all that were present and heard his word spoken before them. And the eyes of all them in the synagogue that day were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” What did Jesus of Nazareth so when He stood up in the synagogue to preach also shows the right method to use to preach a sermon, preach boldly. He read and spoke the word of God, and then He explained what it meant. Now that is amazing sermon.


You can choose to believe it or reject it the message of Jesus Christ the Son of God. The only person recorded in all of history to live after crucifixion and in performing miracles.

You have "freewill" to accept Jesus' message and fulfillment of his word spoken that day. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Amen Amen.

Reply
Oct 6, 2015 00:05:06   #
AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State
 
What a wonderfully desipteous post.

SamDawkins wrote:
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/26/the_religious_have_gone_insane_the_separation_of_church_and_state_and_scalia_from_his_mind/

The religious have gone insane: The separation of church and state — and Scalia from his mind
A "strong and passionate" belief in God does real harm -- look no further than the GOP or the Supreme Court
JEFFREY TAYLER
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TOPICS: RELIGION, ANTONIN SCALIA, MIKE HUCKABEE, RICK SANTORUM, LIFE NEWS, NEWS

The religious have gone insane: The separation of church and state -- and Scalia from his mind
(Credit: Jeff Malet, maletphotos.com/Reuters/AP/Patrick Semansky)
The headline on the News Nerd was almost too good to be true: “American Psychological Association to Classify Belief in God As a Mental Illness.” A study, the story beneath it read, had led the APA to conclude that “a strong and passionate belief in a deity or higher power, to the point where it impairs one’s ability to make conscientious decisions about common sense matters, will now be classified as a mental illness.” Faith’s recurrent lethality was adduced: “Every year thousands of people die after refusing life-saving treatment on religious grounds.” Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, said the article, refuse lifesaving t***sfusions (on account of biblical prohibitions against the drinking of blood).

Most gratifyingly, for a rationalist, the author quoted a certain Dr. Lillian Andrews, who opined that, “Religious belief and the angry God phenomenon has caused chaos, destruction, death, and wars for centuries. The time for evolving into a modern society and classifying these archaic beliefs as a mental disorder has been long overdue.”

Finally, I thought, the educated elite is beginning to awaken to the threat that accepting, without evidence, the t***h of comprehensive propositions about our cosmos (that is, religion, in all its inglorious permutations), poses to the mental health of our society!

A “strong and passionate belief” in a (nonexistent) God does our world immeasurable harm: look no further than ISIS or al-Qaida. In fact, look no further than the damage religion causes to progressive causes of every sort (and thus to our psychological well-being) in the United States, from women’s reproductive rights to same-sex marriage to teaching science in schools to depriving federal coffers of $82.5 billion a year (in tax exemptions). Consider the enrichment of all sorts of faith-charlatans who thrive off the gullibility of millions of Americans. Recall the sick “purity movements” that allow meddlesome parents to ruin the lives of their daughters.

I could go on. In any case, it was to be expected that sooner or later psychologists would catch on to the quasi-psychotic elements (including detachment from reality, belief in spirits, hearing “the voice of the Lord, and so on) inherent in religion.

But no! I was wrong! The fine-print disclaimer at the foot of the News Nerd’s page ruthlessly dispelled my elation: The story, like the others the site publishes, was “for entertainment purposes only,” and “purely satirical.” In other words, a spoof. The hour was not nigh; psychologists were not yet ready to diagnose firm belief in God as what it is: an unhealthy delusion. Men in white jumpsuits won’t be forcing the faithful into straightjackets any time soon.

(Yet would that it were so! Imagine, so many Supreme Court justices and Republican politicians, from Antonin Scalia to Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, disqualified in one fell swoop on mental health grounds from holding public office!)

In fact, religion, so potentially dangerous that the Founding Fathers established a “wall of separation” to keep it clear of our affairs of state, continues to enjoy an entirely unmerited imprimatur of respectability. Yet the satire in the News Nerd’s piece derives its efficacy from an obvious t***h: belief in a deity motivates people to behave in all sorts of ways — some childish and pathetic, others harmful, a few outright criminal — most of which, to the nonbeliever at least, mimic symptoms of an all-encompassing mental illness, if of widely varying severity.

Why childish? A majority of adults in one of the most developed countries on Earth believe, in all seriousness, that an invisible, inaudible, undetectable “father” exercises parental supervision over them, protecting them from evil (except when he doesn’t), and, for the mere price of surrendering their faculty of reason and behaving in ways spelled out in various magic books, will ensure their postmortem survival. Wishful thinking characterizes childhood, yes, but, where the religious are concerned, not only. That is childish.

True, belief, say the polls, is waning, but that it persists at all, given the advances of science in the past couple of centuries, and especially since Darwin published “The Origin of Species” in 1859, does nothing if not lead a rationalist to despair. Americans, by and large, cling to their religion (and, yes, their guns). To have all the resources to begin reliably fathoming the mysteries of the universe, and yet to cast them aside for slavish fidelity to primitive fables (most of which deserve no more “reverence” than tales from the Brothers Grimm) that no one past the age of six or seven should believe . . . well, such is the very definition of pathetic.

Harmful? Let’s leave aside the mass-market megachurch “God of Love” finding little or no textual support in the Old or New Testament, and take the terrifying deity as the sacred canon depicts Him. One Bible verse alone (Nahum 1:2) describes Him as vengeful, jealous, wrathful, and furious. Or let’s take His supposedly more clement son, who orders us (says Matthew 25:41) cast into everlasting hellfire for trivial t***sgressions. Who benefits from the misconception that a permanent, inescapable, unimpeachable tyrant oversees our thoughts and deeds, including those of a most intimate nature? The life- and society-damaging neuroses generated by this crazed delusion afflict many of those around us. That is harmful.

But the harm is greater than that. All in all, the most pernicious constellation of rubbish misbeliefs forming the core of the Abrahamic faiths concerns women, blamed for sin itself (the “original sin”), and the Fall of all mankind. Every mainstream misogynistic superstition stems from the rotten old myth of Genesis: woman as made not in God’s image, but from one of Adam’s spare parts, and thus inferior to man. Woman as temptress, woman as unreliable, woman as “unclean.” The rest of the Old and New Testaments inculcate an array of injurious ideas: that women depreciate after their initial sexual encounter, and serve only to bear children and satisfy the lust of their mates. That they must submit to their husbands “as unto the Lord,” keep silent in church, cover their (shameful) bodies and heads, and never have authority over men. It goes without saying that none of this fosters mental health.
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/26/the_religious_have... (show quote)

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Oct 6, 2015 00:09:04   #
AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State
 
Bad Bob wrote:
:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:


I see you are being your usual bromidic self.

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