Cannot Condone

Published On: April 30, 2010|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|0 Comments|

Accessibility Notice

This post was created on the previous version of the MRFF website, and may not be fully accessible to users of assistive technology. If you need help accessing this content, please reach out via email.

Hi (name withheld)
Thanks for your note to MRFF.
First, let me thank you for your service to America.  As a former Air Force Officer and Pilot, I can join you in honoring  our oath to the Constitution of the United States to uphold and support it against all who would defile it.
We consider religious freedom to be free exercise of all religions within the boundaries established by the First Amendment.  Now you say there is no such phrase as “The Separation of Church and State” in the Constitution. You would be correct. The First Amendment is just a few lines long.  But what I’m afraid you have missed is the many thousands of words added to the First Amendment and made a part of it by the US Supreme Court.  If you Google  “US Supreme Court decisions on Separation of Church and State”, you will see many decisions and rulings  that in fact establish a separation  between Church and State.  I will include a couple for your examination.
The Supreme Court interpretation of our founders intent was for America to be a secular nation in which all religions may flourish but none dominate.  Because of this interpretation, the government or it’s sub-divisions, may not favor, prefer, advance or promote one religion over another or religion over non-religion.
A militant and orthodox Christian movement known as “Dominion Christianity” has undertaken a mission in the Arrned Forces and Service Academies to  convert non-Christian troops and to elevate Christian troops to a level of obedience and homogeneity to become proficient  in and deployment of  weapons of immense destructive power  for the purpose of  world conquest and conversion.
MRFF has received in excess of 17,000 complaints  from our young men and women in the military  relative to coercive and command centered  Christian proselytizing. This a constitutional violation.  Our job is to intercede for these troops and make sure their beliefs are honored. You may not believe this but there are those who call themselves “Christian” but are something else entirely.
We also do not believe that anyone, including a God, should be in the business of silencing anyone; least of all our most vulnerable young Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, Marines and Service Academy cadets.
You may join us at our web site for more information on our goals. militrayreligiousfreedom.org.
Thanks again for your message
Rick Baker
Regional Coordinator
MRFF
Church and State: How the Court Decides

The Constitutional guarantee for separation of church and state is provided for in the “Establishment Clause” of the First Amendment:”Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,”
Over many years and many cases mainly involving religion in public schools, the Supreme Court has developed three “tests” to be applied to religious practices for determining their constitutionality under the Establishment Clause.
The Lemon Test

Based on the 1971 case of Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602, 612-13, the Court will rule a practice unconstitutional if:
1.It lacks any secular purpose. That is, if the practice lacks any non-religious purpose.
2. The practice either promotes or inhibits religion.
3. Or the practice excessively (in the Court’s opinion) involves government with a religion.
The Coercion Test
Based on the 1992 case of Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 the religious practice is examined to see to what extent, if any, pressure is applied to force or coerce individuals to participate.
The Court has defined that “Unconstitutional coercion occurs when: (1) the government directs (2) a formal religious exercise (3) in such a way as to oblige the participation of objectors.”
A  religious body may not interfere with or attempt to disrupt the  practice of other religions.
A religious body is subject to civil law and may not practice  acts which are deemed illegal under law.
The Endorsement Test

Finally, drawing from the 1989 case of Allegheny County v. ACLU, 492 U.S. 573, the practice is examined to see if it unconstitutionally endorses religion by conveying “a message that religion is ‘favored,’ ‘preferred,’ or ‘promoted’ over other beliefs.”
Source: FindLaw’s Constitutional Law Center
“Wherein ‘core religious viewpoints’  are contrary to or abrogate other Constitutional protections, ‘ the free exercise clause’  and or freedom of  ‘expressive association’ as well as its rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion may be curtailed.”
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other…” [Matthew 6:24] This means man cannot effectively serve a religious and a secular government simultaneously. One must be subordinated to the other.  In America secular government prevails under the constitution while at the same time preserving religious freedom of worship.
Conversely, where religious governments prevail, the freedoms guaranteed under the American secular system do not apply.



You know, with all respect for your right to express your ideas and to be Jewish and have Christian associates in the org you have here. After reading to posts and articles I cannot help but think that yours is one more organization that uses the “Religious Freedom” name to take away religious freedoms from the one religion that is actually the foundation for you to be able to express your ideas. The Christian faith, the true Christian faith is not hateful of spiteful EVER. So, those that call you names are at fault for doing so. Now, since I said that I must say that the Constitutation NOWHERE has the “separation of church and state” in it. But you know this I am sure and exploit the ignorance of the ones that do not. The anti-Christian movement is spreading and even when it is not specific the movement to remove the freedom of the Christians will result in the rights of the Jewish people going down the tubes too. I am a Retired Air Force NCO and al the time in the military I saw the erosion of these freedoms, first overseas and then at base chapels in the States to the point that we had to go to off base fellowships if we wanted to have true freedom of the expression of our Christian faith. THe history of this country shows that if not for the Christian faith this country would not exist. This history is easily found if one looks for it. Just want you to know that I pray for you and your org that it will repent and come to the truth of the warfare that surrounds us, both Christian and Jew. I pray for the peace of Jerusalem, but that The Lord of Eternity, the Eternal One, will silence the ones that resist Him.
Proverbs 30:4
In His Service,
(name and rank withheld)
I have but a single purpose for my life,
To know Jesus & to make Jesus known.

Share This Story

Leave A Comment