Sunday, August 17, 2008

The Church in the White House.

There are countries where there is a separation between Church and State.
The Church and its moral hullabaloo is allowed to apply it within their buildings only.
However, there are countries where the Church and its leaders are the dominating force and decide how the population should live.

These countries that are politically and socially dominated by religion are often applying the Sharia.

Sharia is the body of Islamic religious law.
It is a legal framework within which the public and private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system.
Sharia decides many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business, family, sexuality and social issues.

Countries in Europe and a country like the United States have always been opposed to religion as a power to control a society.
Already in 1802 Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptists explaining that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution creates a wall of separation between Church and State.

We could say therefore that the United States is a secular country.
On one side of the wall is the Church and on the other side of the wall is the State.

But is that really so?
Not last night.

A political forum was organised between the two contenders to become the new President of the United States.
Was this forum taking place in a University?
In a theatre?
In a TV studio?
No, it took place in a Church.

And was the forum leader and the person asking the questions a neutral journalist?
Or maybe a wise and older objective person?
The forum leader also asking the questions was the leader of that Church Mr. Eric Warren.

Did the audience consist of persons interested in politics?
A selection of Democrats and Republicans?
The people inside the church were the supporters of Eric Warren and his beliefs.

Was this therefore a separation between Church and State?
Not at all.
It was a situation where the Church had the political contenders appear in front of a very judgmental and doctrinal religious person to check in how far they matched his Christian Sharia.

It was all very disgusting and sick making.
Obviously Eric Warren, the self-indulged leader of the Saddleback Church, had his preference: John McCain.
As a forum leader he was totally subjective: creating a platform for propaganda for John McCain and a scaffold for Barack Obama.

It is difficult to understand why the campaign management of Barack Obama agreed to this forum in the Saddleback Church and the forum leader Eric Warren.
Maybe it was to get supporters among the religious Americans.

But it is a fundamental principle, and therefore the First Amendment, not to mix Church and State.
Political forums should never be inside a Church with a Reverend leading the discussion.
It is like the Mullah from the Mosque telling the politicians coming to pray how to run the country.

If we imagine a United States having as a President John McCain behind who will stand Eric Warren to control and direct him, Thomas Jefferson’s wall between Church and State will have crumbled and the Constitution needs to be rewritten in a way as it was in Afghanistan in the days the Taliban were ruling there.

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To learn more about the Saddleback Church, click on:
http://www.saddleback.com/flash/story.asp

To learn more about Sharia, click on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharia








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1 comment:

Fred Wishnie said...

Excellent observation Michel. Sadly, the majority of Americans, apparently don't see that our country is slowly having it's core principals eroded and changed by the dogmatic pressure of our own home grown Taliban

Fred