Carolinian

Issue date: 12/9/08 Section: Letters to the Editor

Jamie Freeze, don't worry; your rights as a Christian aren't being threatened. You still have every right to go to a church of your liking and pray to your Judeo-Christian-Islamic God in your own special way. You can still openly call yourself Christian without the fear of suppression and violence. Name me anywhere in this country that states in official school documents that you cannot bring your bible to school for your own pleasure reading or wear your "I Heart Jesus" shirt to class. No one is trying to take that away from you. I am surprised that you seem outraged that teachers who pray in school get fired. You seem angry that teachers "lead their classes in recitations of the Koran." Isn't prayer in school the same as reading the Koran in school? Also name me anywhere in the U.S. where students are forced to read the Koran because, honestly, I don't believe you. Regardless, teachers who lead their classes and students in prayer or religious reading ought to be fired. That is the real violation of religious freedom, not this faux-oppression you see.

It doesn't matter that the phrase "Separation of Church and State" does not exist in the Constitution, because the idea behind it does. As you noted, the government cannot establish a religion. The opposite of separate is together. If church and state are together then the state has established a church. Phrase it as you want, it is the same thing. The "separation of church and state" isn't what is "oppressing" you. Your "oppressor" is the First Amendment. So your tirade against "separation of church and state" as being unconstitutional is uninformed and pointless to your argument of your religious oppression.

If you want to know how the Ten Commandments "interfere with anyone's religion" perhaps you need a refresher on the Ten Commandments itself. Is it possible you forgot the first three? You know, the ones that state the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God as the one true God and commands that there be no other gods before Him and prohibit the creation of idols. Now personally, I think that may interfere with somebody else's religion, especially if they don't believe in this God or perhaps use idols in their worship. How about the Commandment about honoring the Sabbath-do you think people who don't believe in your God want to be subjected that that law too? How many people do you know who observe the Sabbath anyway? Of course, we cannot ignore the main issue of the fact that religious law has no standing in our court system and thus has no place in courthouses.

By now if you still think you're being oppressed may I remind you of the Holocaust or the plight of the French Huguenots? Because these were people oppressed and killed for their faiths by their own governments. You can complain when they start to officially ban your Bible and T-shirts. Or when they forcibly close your church and force you under penalty of death to denounce your God and convert. Then you can cry for your liberty, but I think the ACLU will stop that kind of hate before it happens.

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