It's always important to define terms.

By Church, I'd imagine most people mean: the institutions that primarily identify with the one who gave us the phrases... "Peace I leave you, not as the world gives, give I to you." "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." Or the phrase, "He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, made to be acquainted with disease. And He took our hideous guilt from us." Or even, "Blessed are the peace makers, for theirs is the kingdom of God." and "These things I have spoken to you, that you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation. But be of good courage, I have overcome the world."

By state, I'd imagine most people understand the term to mean: any and all those institutions (theoretically representing us citizens...) that identify with local, regional, state, and federal bureaucracies that give us... tripled-car tax, pot-holded streets, poor public transportation, threats in cut backs in public library and park funds rather than in their own offices that exist to sustain themselves... unsecure borders that are more like sives than boundaries, over-expenditures into trillions of dollars worth of debt, back-door deals and promises..., new high-rise office spaces to accomodate their expanding government departments... higher taxes, higher fees (without representation)... oh, those who have already brought us an unprotected "Bill of Rights" and a state of less freedoms - pushing for the identification and tracking of movement and activities of all its citizens... (while 100's of 1000's and millions of illegals, drug traffickers and others including cell groups spawing terrorism and anarchy against the United States are free to roam...)

By the way, did you know?

• 1 - As you walk up the steps to the Capitol Building which houses the old Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view - it is Moses and the Ten Commandments!
  
  
• 2 - As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.
  
  
• 3 - As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall right above where the Supreme Court judges sit a display of the Ten Commandments!
  
  
• 4 - There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C.
  
  
• 5 - James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of Our Constitution" made the following statement "We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."
  
  
• 6 - Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country who said, "Give me liberty or give me death." also said, "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians; not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ".
  
  
• 7 - Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.
  
  
• 8 - Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies.
  
  
• 9 - Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making law; an oligarchy, the rule of few over many.
  
  
• 10 - The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said, "Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."
  
  

  How times, neglect, laziness and man-pleasing political correctness have changed things, eh?

In President George Washington's Opening Address to the FIRST meeting of the Congress of the United States... we read where Washington states he would be remiss... if he didn't "recognize the hand of God, without Whose intervention... the success" of the Revolution would NOT have happened.

So please tell any pumpkin-headed friends you might know... not to go around muttering the tired phrase "Separation of Church and State" like some goonie bird-brain attempting to appear intelligent and sound correct. There's hundreds more quotes from speeches and letters of our very past that can be used to establish... and "not neglect" our religious voice and religious rights... (or, as the early fathers called it: our religious duty).

And for all the "Johnny-come-lately" religious folk whose religion and philosophic principles weren't the ones present when this Nation was founded. My advice is simple. Three things:

1. No need to try and re-write America's history. Like it or lump it... America was founded by imperfect men, many... the vast majority... who held... and attempted to live by Christian (primarily: Protestant Christian) principles.

2. Be welcomed... and be thankful that THIS Nation (unlike almost ALL other nations)... THIS Nation... more than blabbin' about it... THIS Nation actually permits diversity of religious and political practices. Be thankful, especially if the religion and philosophy -- (including "the religion of NO religion")... be thankful that whatever Eastern or Western philosophic mindset dominates the country of your origin or ancestry is different. Be thankful that THIS Nation, even in the absence of your historic religion and political agenda during America's formation, provided for you and your religion to be a welcomed guest in our national home called: America.

But realize... that unless the faith and philosophic practice is that which formed and fashioned this Nation, it is merely a guest. We all know what religious faiths and political practices have formed in other nations.

3. Which nation... other than the Christian ones (and I don't mean: the wierd stuff... the intolerant Inquisition-churchianity stuff... and all those who won't deal with the dark side of their past! That churchianity ain't NO Christianity... I know.) But I still ask: which nation or nations... really and actually... in practice... promote tolerance toward religious and political diversity in all its people? Which nation? Which Hindu nation? Which Islamic or Buddhist nation? Which animistic? Which atheistic or communistic nation?... welcomes such diversity?? To those that do -- Bravo!! I just can't think of too many!!

(By the way... I have endless friends in you-name-the-country... and can send anyone a longer list of names of people I directly help in more countries around our world... than anybody I personally know. I'll compare my list of friends to anybody's. So don't cry: racist!... prejudice!... or bigot! At least, don't cry it my direction.)


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Having said all that, STRONGLY do I support and promote the idea as well as the practice of the NON-Constitutional principle called: the Separation of Church and state. It's NOT Constitutional; but neither is the problem of "drunk driving" and "living on park benches".

Without a doubt... there are way too many religious people in the Land today... who seem to love ruling and sitting in judgment over the lives of all those who make up this pluralistic society (no matter their faith...). Equally... and without a doubt... there are way too many governmental bureaucrats and politicians who present themselves almost as God... or at the very least... pretend to be some self-appointed savior of some pet social reform. I have especially noticed how Government loves the Church... especially when the Church takes care of all those folk Government makes and keeps poor!

Thankfully, the Separation of Church and state... which is equally... the Separation of state and Church... does NOT mean that both institutions must be adversarial and constant enemies of each other. The continual caution is that neither institution court the other until the marriage of both takes place.

Incredibly, for those who hold a religious view, that day -- the marriage date when both powerful institutions are finally wedded... will come. And the prophetic "666"... the mark of beastial government... signifying ownership will come, too. But, it cannot happen to this last, tired generation of people... until the "substitute deliver" called government (instead of God Himself...) ... offers to save its people (the actually meaning of: anti-christ). And this cannot happen, the people will not be convinced to take the mark... without the blessings of influential religious leaders and institutions of the day -- without the convenient marriage of these institutions. Isn't it an interesting time we're living in?

Since 9/11... we are now dealing with issues of placing micro-chips in our hands and/or digital imagining of our foreheads. Of course, we are told it is for security purposes (which is absolutely true)... though we will be marked and scanned and identified ... just like an ordinary can of tomatoes. After all, the public school children are already being conditioned and scanned with personal identification numbers when they take their norm-reference tests. In 2005 and on, all students applying for University of California, and California State University campuses... are required to use the Internet. No more paper applications... because the information is more accurate and easier to read.

It's as if we're boxed in. The Hand of History is boxing us in. It's really not a matter of: Will there be a numeric, or digital mark? It is only a matter of: When...?

Until then... until that last moment to resist the inevitable, Church: Keep to your assignment. state: Back in your box, too! But I digress...

Reggie Keith

Christmas - The Holidays we all Hold Dear - Part I

Easter - The Holidays We All Hold Dear - Part II

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