My Response to the “Red Herring” Constitutional Lawyer code named dougindeap….

The following is a response after receiving a comment about my posts concerning  the Separation of Church and State. This person only left an email address. He goes by the name of dougindeap of which I googled finding him to be an atheist lawyer. If I am incorrect about this, I am sure he will let me know.

I should be so honored that he would strive to search out bloggers like myself, whom he has never commented before on any other posts of mine. But of course, he would choose to argue his points that what I have written is a “red herring.” He replies in his “legal jargon” that supposedly makes him sound smart or “Constitutionally Unchallenged.”

For whatever its worth, at least he writes in a civil yet statistical tone. However, the following has been my feeling regarding the overall purpose of atheists. 

First of all there is nowhere that I have read in the constitution the separation of church and state is a bedrock of anything. In its makeup is the point being stated the GOVERNMENT HAS NO RIGHT TO INFERFERE WITH THE CHURCH, HOW IT IS RUN, WHAT IT DOES, WHERE IT WANTS TO PLACE NATIVITY SCENES OR THE CROSS OF CHRIST. Never mind the Founding Fathers had church services in the US Capitol until after the Civil War. Never mind there were over 1400 written, signed proclamations of prayer and fasting by these leaders. Never mind…..

Wait a minute….

Why is it atheist/agnostics/unbelievers spend all of their time fighting, suing, arguing against something they believe doesn’t exist?

Since you don’t believe in God the Creator of the Universe or his Son Jesus, the Savior of the world, then you really have nothing to say, write or sue. How can you write or sue something that simply isn’t anywhere?

If you believe God never existed, then you have no right to be upset, call others out or sue to remove a cross on a public hill because to you that cross isn’t there. How could it be?

If you truly stand by your atheist conviction, then you really should keep quiet, stay out of places where God is represented and……stop your efforts to pursue the “nothing” you continue to fight against. What is that like?

Why would you want to be caught up in any action or words where you mention the name “God?” How can you possibly stand by lawsuit after lawsuit against “a nonentity?” Since God isn’t anywhere, or he is nowhere then why do you seek out others who do believe?

If there is nothing there, it is empty space, zilch, zero, air.

If God isn’t there, anywhere or even worshipped by those who do believe in Him, why do you care?

For that matter we who do claim to follow Jesus, have the same authority as you do to believe in Him and regard His presence anywhere we choose without being concerned about those like yourself who don’t believe in him.

After all the Constitution gives us that right. You know that “separation of church and state” protects us; not unbelievers.

I didn’t hunt you down. I wasn’t “trolling” to find unbelievers but then how could I? If you don’t believe then you have nothing to say…..which means you shouldn’t be replying to anyone about what you know isn’t there. How do you choose words about nothing?

Your actions to continually “troll” bloggers such as myself to argue what you deem as “nothing” is laughable. Or maybe another “red herring.”

Therefore Mr. Dougindeap, all comments from your perspective don’t exist.

Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

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“Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”  “Political interest can never be separated in the long run from moral right”       

John Adams

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“Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.”  Thomas Jefferson

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LEADER OF THE SONS OF LIBERTY; ATTORNEY & JURIST; MENTOR OF JOHN HANCOCK AND SAMUEL ADAMS

Has government any solid foundation? Any chief cornerstone?… I think it has an everlasting foundation in the unchangeable will of God… The sum of my argument is that civil government is of God

James Otis

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The Division of Church and State is not the Division of Church and State (Part 3)

Thomas Jefferson made reference in the letter to the Dansbury Baptists that the sacred relationship between God and man should remain just that. The 90 Founding Fathers agreed the Constitution established the government would never be able to create a “federal denomination.”

Jefferson pointed out to this group their “natural rights” were inclusive of the Books of the Law and the Scriptures. “Natural Rights” was a significant lawful expression used during that time invoking the importance of inalienable rights by God to the people.

Jefferson believed so deeply that religion was a gift from God that government intervention of any kind would be a total detriment to the basic foundations of America.

 In 1794, Jefferson wrote a query in the “Notes of the State of Virginia” stating America could not survive without the liberties established by God.

The only intent on the government’s part to intervene in religion was in acts of “ill will to its neighbors.” It was considered a legitimate function of the government to intervene upon acts such as incest, polygamy, bigamy, human sacrifice, concubinage, infanticide, parricide or immorality.

It wasn’t until 1947 a case entered into the Supreme Court where the phrase from the letter of Jefferson to the Dansbury Baptist Association was spoken as if it was written in the Constitution; but it wasn’t.

 It isn’t a law, it isn’t an Amendment to the Constitution. Justice Hugo Black re-wrote the words in this court case that fundamentally changed the way people read the Constitution.

 “The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach.”

How could such a wrong make it into a mainstream court of law and filter into political society without notice?

This “phrase” has been twisted, misconstrued, taken out of context and beaten into the minds of people who don’t know what is in the Constitution so why not believe it?

Why not use it to the advantage of those who want religion out of the public arena when it is clear from the beginning from the pilgrims to the Founding Fathers days were set apart by the government for prayer, fasting, and feasting in Thanksgiving to God; the Creator who had blessed them over and over.

The lie that it is has left a trail of sinister unbelievers whose sole purpose is to rid the world of Jesus.

During the months of June 7 to September 25, 1789, records reveal Congress met over and over to discuss and debate the Constitution and the Amendments. Not one time did any of the 90 Founding Fathers even mention the words, “the Separation of Church and State.”

If this had been a questionable revision, arguments or dialog would have occurred and written down for posterity. There are no records pertaining to such examination because it never happened.

The Constitution and the Amendments of the United States are binding contracts. As written they are to be followed by the authorities as they were meant to be applied. Doing otherwise is a direct violation to the court of law and of the states the leaders are presently fighting to take over their religious liberties.

Never in the history of his nation has any other “phrase” been taken and used against itself as the separation of church and state has done. If the federal government and those choosing to battle the freedom of religion from the government would read the other articles, letters and private correspondences of Thomas Jefferson it would reveal the argument is invalid.

Anyone, including governmental officials who break this ruling should be subjected to the same legal accusations and penalties it is forcing upon those who are upholding the truth of this amendment as its original intent was written.

In reality, the words “the separation of church and state” are in
present day doing the very opposite of what the Founding Fathers intended.

So what are you going to do about this?

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The Division of Church and State is not the Division of Church and State (Part 2)

Let me clarify there is no sentence, phrase or wording in the Constitution claiming a division of church and state.  It was a reference made from Thomas Jefferson to the Dansbury Baptist Association of Connecticut in a letter which brought about the 1^st Amendment to the Constitution. This was a result of the providence of Rhode Island adaptation of Roger Williams’s theology that the churches such as the Baptists and/or Congregationalists were in some way still connected to the Church of England whom he believed to be “irredeemably corrupt.”

His efforts to deny those who were not “separatists” as he was remained too closely to the corrupt church.  Making it very difficult for anyone to worship who didn’t break away and begin a brand new church became a problem for those who wanted religious freedom in general. He spoke of how the church needed complete separation from the government; hence the Church of England’s influence.

Thomas Jefferson, like the Baptists was an anti-federalist.  As descendants of the pilgrims, these Christians wanted to continue their beliefs before Henry VIII split the church. The previous Presidents had not been as keen on the state’s authority more than the federal government so when Jefferson was elected mainstream Christians were elated.

The Constitution made the Baptists question the validity of the church as having its “inalienable rights” taken away. They believed God formed the church and it wasn’t the government’s alienable right to have access of any kind to religious liberty or the freedom to worship.

Thomas Jefferson agreed. The government should not have the authority to confine, limit, control or get involved with “religious expression.”

Besides the fact Jefferson believed in the “God” of the Bible as the Dansbury Baptists and other Christian churches, there was more at stake than religious independence. Efforts to obtain governmental power in other areas of liberty could have been affected also.

January 1, 1802 Thomas Jefferson penned a letter to the Dansbury Baptists pledging the federal government would never encroach or violate the spiritual and sacred position of the church.

So what happened?

To be continued…..

December 15, 1791 Adoption of Amendment to the Constitution

http://thebiblemeditator.wordpress.com/

http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2010/10/1920/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/billflax/2011/07/09/the-true-meaning-of-separation-of-church-and-state/

www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=123

The Division of Church and State is not the Division of Church and State

The origin of Thanksgiving (Part 1)

With Thanksgiving next week I decided to qualify statements from “history lane” that have and are plaguing our nation.

Researching the origin of Thanksgiving, I reviewed both secular and Christian articles. To my surprise, the secular versions included in most all of them reference to the first pilgrims giving thanks to “God, “or the “Creator” for the bountiful harvest given to them once they landed here.

The story goes in 1620 the Pilgrims embarked on a journey to Plymouth Rock. After a couple of months of battling the seas, finding ground was a welcome relief.

Upon settling, this group of travelers held a prayer service to thank God for their arrival. Sadly, unprepared for such harsh cold, many of them died.

In late spring of 1621, Indians approached their camp. Surprisingly, the Indians had learned their English language from fisherman and traders allowing them to teach the foreigners about the land and how to cultivate it. One of the Indians became a Christian which aided in a treaty between the two groups. The Governor thanked God for bringing the Indians to them considering them to be “gifts sent from heaven.”

In an effort to produce much needed food, prayer and fasting was a way of life. By the end of that year, a feast was planned to thank God for providing for them. 90 Indians and around 50 pilgrims came together for this 3 day celebration.

Thanksgiving became an off and on holiday until it was given a proclamation by Congress and Presidents Washington, John Adams and eventually established by James Madison in 1815. By that year, many states did their own holidays and issued at least 1400 Prayer Proclamations.

President Lincoln became a Christian after the Battle of Gettysburg. Walking among the graves of 60,000 soldiers he gave his life to Christ.  During his Thanksgiving address and his 2^nd Inauguration in 1865 Lincoln was clear in the country’s need for prayer and fasting. Lincoln lost his son at Gettysburg which had a profound effect on his spiritual life.

These pilgrims left England for the sole purpose of freely exercising their own faith. In 1534, King Henry VIII became the Supreme head of the Church of England splitting off from the Roman Catholic Church. This resulted from the King desiring a divorce from Catherine of Aragon to marry Ann Boleyn hoping she would bear him a son for an heir. The Pope refused his divorce so he left the church and formed his own.

The Reformation began hindering the liberty to worship as many chose to do, so they left seeking refuge in other lands.

King Henry VIII left his legacy not only as a King of 6 wives of whom most he beheaded, but ripping the church apart. As a result, the Monarch forced allegiance upon its people.

America today was formed out of the freedom to worship from those who the King had persecuted for not supporting the Church of England.

Centuries later we are in crisis mode over the very reason the Pilgrims left England; religious liberty.

Which brings me to my next post; what is the separation of church and state?

http://www.plimoth.org/learn/MRL/read/thanksgiving-history

http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving

http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=17984

The Refiners Fire

One of the lessons I have learned about prayer is the more I talk to God about a specific issue, the more knowledge and understanding he gives me.  

As I have written in the past, I pray daily and have been for the last few years for our nation, the people and especially our leaders. God has a unique method of changing the heart of those who pray. There is a saying,

“By the time you get your prayer answered, the reason you began praying about a certain problem will have changed.”

So it is with the President. Initially I began praying for certain policies he was introducing, changing or ramming down the throats of anyone who disagreed with him. Over time, the more I prayed the more God began showing me his heart, his unstable childhood, the principles and ideals he was taught.

God’s word is infinite. Seeking him consistently opens doors of understanding and knowledge only he can share.

The Bible is the bottom line, the core of his knowledge to base the difference between right and wrong. His book is an outline of our existence giving us guidelines to follow. His arrangements of creation lend the resources for all our needs in abundance.

Life and death belong between the pages of Genesis to Revelation. Encompassed on every sheet is the heart of God forming the circle that begins and ends with his love.

When we aren’t taught or learn on our own these vital standards, straying from the truth is inevitable.

Dr. Keith Ablow wrote this summary:

“This president was lied to by his father who abandoned him, by his mother who abandoned him and by the grandmother who hugged him, but also revealed that she distrusted men of color. 

Now, he wants to be the only adult in town. He needs that much power to feel safe, because he was that dis empowered and unsafe in the past. So, to him, we’re incompetents.”

His view of dishonesty is based upon protection of others. His justification of lying to the American people he honestly believes is for our good. Instead of informing people eons ago they would lose their current health care coverage, raise the rates and deductibles etc. he chose to cover it to keep people safe from the truth until it was necessary to dump it on them.

He learned to lean on the government for everything. This in no way excuses his deceitfulness or obvious use of discrimination. (Acts 10:34) We all reap what we sow and he is no different.

After the reality Mitt Romney would not be our President, serious reflection began. Now, a year later it is clear had Romney won, the conservative base across America would have been totally annihilated. As cruel and merciless as the liberal base has been towards any conservative, anarchy would have risen creating a 2^nd civil war.

Somewhere between the President’s re-election Nov. 2012 and the day of his 2nd Inauguration God intervened.

The unraveling of “Obamacare” or now the ACA, is more than a failed piece of legislation.

God has allowed it to fall apart on its own with the liberals in office.

Why? The government is not God.

The democratic theory government is everybody’s source for everything has just been blown to pieces by a law they passed and signed by their President.

God wants the Commander- in- Chief to understand relying on anyone other than the Almighty is useless.  

Why?

So the President will understand what he was taught as a child was wrong; leaning on the government is not God’s will for anyone.

So the President’s eyes, ears and hearts will open up wide to see God is our source for all our needs and begin to seek him for assistance.

God knew the only way to get the President and his Democratic base to realize their failure was to create their own failure.

Dr. Ablow believes the President thinks most Americans are incompetent therefore raising himself to a standard of an all knowing god to save our day. 

Success according to God is obeying his will and using his mindset to reveal it to those around us so that it might be worked out in their lives also.

 God’s words to live by.

Ecclesiastes 9: 17 “The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.”

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/11/18/why-it-is-easy-for-president-obama-to-lie-to-american-people/

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Is there anything worth laughing about?

Sometimes you just have to laugh! LOL!

I know the world around us is no reason to laugh right now, but someone has to be cheerful or how will anyone see the light?

Our Pastor spoke this past weekend of how funny God must be. I agree with him.

Think about it.

The Bible is full of far-fetched and at times preposterous stories!

What right minded, stable adult would believe God actually parted the Red Sea?

What Ivy League Professor would be able to accept this guy who ran from God ended up in a huge fish?

And how about Daniel? Thrown in the Lion’s Den and they weren’t hungry?

Growing up I never thought twice about “not” believing any of the Bible. It was what it is.

I never questioned the validity of Adam and Eve living in a perfect garden until Eve talked to a slithery snake or David knocking out a giant with a slingshot.

However, as an adult now I can see why some people might question the accounts of Paul and Silas chained to a dungeon wall praising God in the middle of the night as a fairytale, legend or narrative.

Imagine waking up one morning thinking, “I’ll join the Peace Corp; go to China and teach Farsi.

Or write on your to-do list for your spouse,

“Honey, I am going to California to pan for gold. Be back soon!”

Your other half may be glad you find gold but think “have you lost your mind?”

So it is with God’s great imagination and unlimited eye-catching scenes. Many have found his ingenious resourcefulness to be improbable.

Revelation 1: 5 “and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”

Whose idea was it to create a perfect world?

Or part the Red Sea?

How did Jonah get into that whale and survive 3 days? (Just the thought of what he might have been sitting in is revolting)

Not only are these tales true, they are miraculous, bizarre, extraordinary and clever!

The Bible is one big story with one Big God as the writer and administrator.

If God is the author of such awesome exploits, would that imply he has a wit about him? A side of slapstick satire? A source of comicality or sparkle?

So here we are in a world of disarray, nations falling apart with people who have no clue, where is God?
What is he up to?

Parting the Nile?

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Quote

“If you look at the world you will be oppressed; if you look at yourself you will be depressed; but if you look at Jesus you will be at rest.”

Corrie ten Boom

Jesus is our “Shield” Genesis 15: 1 “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I [am] your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

The Light that Waits

Graduating anything takes work, time and sacrifice.  Most of the time, the diploma received makes it all well worth it in the end. Forget the misery, sleepless nights of study and coffee breaks full of caffeine induced moments. Once it is over, looking back we wonder “how did we do that?”

Levels of growth are not always within the pages of Shakespeare or Chemical equations. After class or graduation, the hard work begins. And we thought it was difficult staying awake to read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s Matryona’s Place.

So it is with learning the ropes of how the world works or making the list of the “survival of the fittest.”

That phrase really doesn’t apply to Biblically speaking formulas. No one is prepared much less able to live one day without God’s intervention. Many believe life is one big cliff waiting to happen or the step-ladder to fame and fortune is not far off.

Either way is a misconception of what God intended.

We tend to believe on the road to life after dissecting innocent frogs in Biology lab or Sweetheart Dances, bumps, potholes and major interruptions to our plans hit from all sides won’t happen to us. But, they do. Memories of those sleepless nights of reading boring Russian authors all of a sudden don’t seem so dull.

Unfortunately it may take years of alternate testing and problematic intrusions before we understand the Creator has been waiting to supernaturally intervene in those hard places. Had we done so early on the rest of the journey may have turned out completely different.  The brutality of life blocks the view that any remote thought of joy or peace even exists.

After so many blows we yearn for answers to stop the beatings. Knowing who to run to for help is an answer in itself, but getting to know him personally is the height of harmony.

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Reaching for his presence, reading his word and speaking to him as you would your best friend opens the door to entering into his Holy Place. It is there the mysteries of God reveal themselves. It is in that holiness miracles occur, visions appear and prayers are answered before our very eyes.

As much as we may want out of our dire straits, God has waited since the beginning of time for that moment when we seek him for the first time.  We were born for his company; to enter into a union of perfect love from him that allows us to begin to discover his character and nature.

Hearing over and over that “Jesus is the answer” doesn’t make any sense when there is no relationship with him.  Finding that out can be done by the saint or desperate non-believer who extends to God their hands for a heart to heart makeover.

John 8:12 “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

As he answers the calls he places the “Lampstand of Light” before us so that we might see his spirit upon our soul.  You might say it is “bonding” with “Abba” or the Father of us all.

Freedom comes from repentance bringing with it a purification of our guilt and shame. Once our conscience is clear, he begins a process of giving us revelation which is…

Jesus Christ resurrected; the Light of the World shed for us to shine for others.

 

Photo by Freddy Winter
Media4lifephotography

 Copyright @ 2013 All Rights Reserved

Photos from around the World

Surfing the net yesterday I came upon these photos. There were many others, but it struck me how many places are remote or alone in their own little corner of the map.  Then I was reminded how God knows about all of them; he is there too.

Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.”

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“He doesn’t wear it on his Sleeve”

Those were the words from Joshua DuBois, author of “The President’s Devotional” speaking to Bill O’Reilly the other night. I am not a fan of O’Reilly but TV was terrible so I listened to this interview.

DuBois is a former WH staffer and close friend of the President earning the name “Pastor-in-Chief.” Graduating cum laude with a B.S. in Political Science from Boston University in 2003 he then pursued an M.S. Degree in Public and International Affairs from Princeton.

Every morning, even now DuBois sends the President a devotional which he greatly appreciates.

DuBois speaks openly how the President relies heavily on his relationship with Jesus and his faith in God; reads his Bible every morning and prays.

O’Reilly pumped the message to DuBois that the President rarely goes to church, never uses the name “Jesus” in public and never discusses his faith.

Many claim to be Christians and that is between them and God, just as DuBois spoke of the President. When he remarked the President doesn’t make the habit of speaking of his relationship with God, O’Reilly went off on a small rant.

While on staff at the WH, DuBois spoke out against the President’s fight against religious liberty especially when it came to the abortion pill mandate.  He made no reference to anything else that he disagreed with but laid down 3 goals to aid in the President’s walk of faith.

While it is very clear God is our judge, he expects those who claim Jesus as their Savior to represent him. He holds us accountable for our actions and words and especially those he has placed in leadership roles.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15)

A personal relationship with Jesus occurs once we let him in to every area of our life; especially our need for forgiveness.

The truth is God only knows the heart and soul of any individual.

However, outward behavior, the words we speak and our personal motives automatically reflect the condition of our hearts.

It is my prayer that the President would begin wearing his faith on his sleeve, act accordingly and use his time left leading by doing what God tells him to do.

Luke 12:48 “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

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