Reblog: ‘No One Cares About Your Damn Religion’ by Larry Womack

Had to share this one, because I think it is deserving of attention.  Mr. Womack’s assertions are spot on, well thought out, succinct, and articulate.  Like many of the commentators mention, this is a piece I wish I had been able to write, as it pinpoints many of the key issues that are part of my own ideology. 

Even the comments are worth a read.  This particular exchange brings to light a few things I did not know about the history of the United States and the intellectual environment in which this country was founded.

Justice Seeker (Justice_Seek3r)

Classic. An outsider misinterpreting a group's sacred texts. Almost every assertion the author makes is based on false premise, mistranslation or misunderstanding.

The fact of the matter is, god-fearing Christians and deists created what would become the most religiously and racially tolerant country in the world.

There's a reason Ben Franklin's submission for the Seal of the United States showed the Hebrew's exodus from slavery in Egypt. There's a reason the Liberty Bell was inscribed with a verse from Leviticus. There's a reason the words "In God We Trust" are emblazoned in huge letters above the chambers of congress, and on every US coin. The Founder's values were Judeo-Christian values. Our ideas of justice come from the biblical demand for justice. Our legal system was influenced by biblical law.

To say "no one cares about your damn religion" is to deny the reality of your own history. The United States of America was an aberration. The idea of people ruled by themselves, not by a monarch, was unheard of. To understand how this country came to be, one must acknowledge the religious values of its founders.

11 FEB 1:12 PM

Alder W. (A_Dub)

Nonsense.

If the U.S.A. was founded on the Christian religion, the Constitution would clearly say so but it does not. When the Founders wrote the nation's Constitution, they specified that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." (Article 6, section 3) This provision was radical in its day giving equal citizenship to believers and non-believers alike. They wanted to ensure that no single religion could make the claim of being the official, national religion, such as England had.

Nowhere in the Constitution does it mention religion, except in exclusionary terms. It mentions "We The People". The words "Jesus Christ, Christianity, Bible, and God" are never mentioned in the Constitution not once.

The Founders were students of the European Enlightenment.

Half a century after the establishment of the United States, clergymen complained that no president up to that date had been a Christian. In a sermon that was reported in newspapers, Episcopal minister Bird Wilson of Albany, New York, protested in October 1831: "Among all our presidents from Washington downward, not one was a professor of religion, at least not of more than Unitarianism." The attitude of the age was one of enlightened reason, tolerance, and free thought.

11 FEB 1:33 PM

I think Alder W. just handed Justice Seeker his own ass. But then discussions regarding the validity of the Bible and the hypocrisy of so-called ‘Christians’ are guaranteed to raise hackles and bring out the worst in people who are ill-equipped to argue their point of view.

Here’s a link to the article.  Enjoy!  It’s a great read. 

And hats off to Larry Womack for nailing this one to the door of common sense!

‘No One Cares About Your Damn Religion’ by Larry Womack

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-womack/religion-and-politics_b_4764865.html