There he goes again. Fellow Examiner, Jake Jones has written an article, National Day of Prayer under attack, in which he shows again that he has a misunderstanding of what atheists and others want and what they are fighting for. Jones does what so many religious people do when they talk about the fight for separation of church and state. He says that advocates:
...attempt to prevent prayer in public places...
and that they
...attempt to whitewash all religious language, belief, and practices from the public square.
I have to wonder if they do this on purpose or if they truly do not get the difference between the government and the public. In general, advocates of church and state separation aren't trying to remove religion from the "public square." Rather, they are trying to remove it from the government arena.
I pointed this out in a previous article in response to what the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) (which seems to be responsible for the "Save the National Day of Prayer" Web site) said of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF). I said:
They say that 'like the ACLU, the Freedom From Religion Foundation has been relentless in their drive to silence public expression of faith.' If they stopped for one moment to be honest, they would say that these organizations fight to stop government expression, not public expression. There is a difference. A huge difference.
Jones states in the opening of his article that:
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is at it again. They have filed a law suit in Wisconson [sic] Federal Court which asserts that the National Day of Prayer is in violation of the 'Establishment Clause of the Constitution'. There’s that word 'establishment' again.
He goes on to question:
Is it just me or is there something sinister about those who attempt to use the word 'establishment' to their advantage...?
Do Jones and others like him honestly believe that this all boils down to one word? Really? Does he think we all just fell off a turnip truck? (I am not sure what that means, but it cracks me up.) And does he really think that those of us who fight to be treated equally are "sinister?"
Does he really not realize that it goes much deeper than just one word? It comes down to the government showing favor to a particular religion and seemingly promoting it. So the response to Jake's pondering:
It makes one wonder just what the likes of the ACLU, FFRF, and American Atheist, and American’s United would do if Congress were to declare a Muslim Day of Prayer. I don’t believe that they would blink an eye!
is, yes, Jake, they would bat an eye - most likely two eyes. It isn't about Christianity. It is about religion. In the grand scheme of things, its source is irrelevant. It just so happens that Christianity imposes itself everywhere in government so that it puts itself in the line of fire.
These groups, and individuals like me, tend to look for the intention of the law. We don't try to make it mean what we want it to. We don't "attempt to twist verbiage in the U.S. Constitution, State Constitutions and local laws," as Jones attests. We look to the verbiage and the legal interpretations thereof and precedents to arrive at our understanding of the verbiage. We consider things like other documents written by the Founding Fathers that give us insight to their intentions.
The problem with people like Jones is that they operate under the delusion that this is a Christian nation and therefore think that the government should support and even endorse that notion. But, it was made quite clear in the Treaty of Tripoli that "the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion...."
Although Jones seems to think that proponents of separation of church and state are against Christianity, the truth of the matter is that they are against exclusivity and feel that all citizens should be supported and treated equally. But as it stands, with government repeatedly showing favor to Christianity, it sends out the message, that so many Christians seem to use as their mantra, that this is a Christian nation and that those who do not agree should either shut up or get out. And having a National Day of Prayer, such as it is, is a shining example of how this government crosses the line by showing favor to one religion over another and religion over non-religion.
Comments
It's sad that the Internet need people like you, Trina, to counter the shamelessly dishonest propaganda of people like Jake Jones.
Thanks for showing how transparent his techniques in lies, omissions, distortions and suggestions are.
I agree with you 100%, of course, but I had to comment because I could SO see Mr. Jones riding in the back of a turnip truck with his .308 ready to blast away... (This, of course, is in reference to his "Johnny Get Your Gun" column where he advised his readers to arm up and get plenty of ammo, believing that Christians may become "prime targets.")
Nutty much?
I doubt anything can get through to him, and you're probably fueling his persecution complex with this article (as most dissent seems to be labeled).
When you apply reasoning to his posts, you're accused of being hateful and mean, arrogant and foolish. Maybe that's more a statement of his position than anything, or I'm being too naive to hope that people might change.
Has anyone seen a passing turnip truck? I need very much to get back on it so I can establish away someone's right to pray. It's what I do!
On a more serious note, I will say that if this *were* an officially Christian nation, and the separation of church and state were *not* enshrined in our Constitution, I would fight every day to make us a nonreligious nation and to keep church and state as far away as possible. If the Founders had not thought of it first, that would not have made it a bad idea.
This is not a Christian nation. A day of prayer sanctioned by the US gov would be a direct violation of the establishment clause. The fact that some Christians would deny and subvert these simple constitutional truths is quite dangerous and threatens the welfare of the union. Such religious extremism must be opposed by all good people.
"I doubt anything can get through to him, and you're probably fueling his persecution complex with this article (as most dissent seems to be labeled)."
Good. Jake Jones and people like him need to understand that the great majority of Americans do not agree with them and see through their lies and demagoguery.
Tell me a "pea-brained" Christian the difference between a National Day of Prayer and Black History Month, Asian-Pacific Heritage Month, Pearl Harbor Rememberance Day, Memorial Day, MLK Day, etc. Why don't you just lobby Congress for an National Atheist Day, given the current bunch we have inside the beltway, it probably won't require as many attorneys and I am sure someone will find a way to create an historical mandate for it.
John:
The difference between a National Day of Prayer and Black History Month, Asian-Pacific Heritage Month, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, Memorial Day, MLK Day? The formal separation of church and state. The other days/months are observances not related to religion.
Hasn't anybody told Jake that he can pray (silently) anytime or anywhere he wants? Nobody wants to prevent that. If Christians need a national day of prayer to pray, THEY'RE DOING IT WRONG!!
Matthew 6:5-6
"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father in secret shall reward thee openly. "
John : Atheist already have a national day !
"Tell me a "pea-brained" Christian the difference between a National Day of Prayer and Black History Month, Asian-Pacific Heritage Month, Pearl Harbor Rememberance Day, Memorial Day, MLK Day, etc."
The difference is simple: there is the establishment clause of the Constitution; there is no equivalent restriction on race or veteran status.
The establishment clause exists because many people came to the US fleeing religious coercion.
The problem with the National Day of Prayer in particular is that it has been hijacked by religious extremists, and those extremists are government-financed. If we had a National Day of Reflection that was actually neutral with respect to religion, it would be fine.
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