FREEDOM OF RELIGION? When the Framers of the Constitution attempted to protect the concept of ?
Freedom Of, Freedom From! The framers were primarily Deists , not Christians. The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion.” THOSE WORDS, PENNED IN ARTICLE 11 of the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli, are as succinct a statement as we have from the Founding Fathers on the role of religion in our government. Their authorship is ascribed variously to George Washington, under whom the treaty was negotiated, or to John Adams, under whom it took effect, or sometimes to Joel Barlow, U.S. consul to Algiers, friend of Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, and himself no stranger to the religious ferment of the era, having served as a chaplain in the Revolutionary Army. But the validity of the document transcends its authorship for a simple reason: it was ratified. It was debated in the U.S. Senate and signed into law by President Adams without a breath of controversy or complaint concerning its secular language, and so stands today as an official description of the founders’ intent. The framers of the Constitution were descendants of the first immigrants perhaps, but the original English immigrants had been here since 1620. Over 20,000 came in1630. Quite a long time to the late 1700's, and they were the first citizens of the United States. And yes, they meant everybody, Jew, Muslim, or Atheist! I add my pet peeve: Why do people ignore the fact that the original 13 colonies, later States, were not here waiting for the first settlers..the country had been populated and developed over a period of over 150 years before the Revolution!
If Islam is not a violent and intolerant religion, why don't we hear more Muslims then we do speaking out against the violence carried out?
Islam was founded on violence. The first thing Mohammed did after taking control of Medina (before conquering Mecca) was to wipe out a thousand Jews residing there. And they have been spreading the word of their prophet BY THE SWORD ever since.
Did you know that the founding father of secularism was a Muslim ?
Fair enough, we all have our views on Islam. However, for this kind of 'issue' we all have to cast our minds back to the era. In those days, Islamic nations were among the most liberal in the world and, arguably, second only in that respect to India. So, many Arab and Turkish scholars had translated the works of the Greeks. Even before the fall on the near east. Thus, works such as Hippocrates's "four humor" medical theory were translated and elaborated on. The same of course, can be said for much of the Greek philosophy, including Platonic and Aristotelian works. Though I hate to include 'maybes' here, _maybe_ if they hadn't, most of these works would have been destroyed at some point or another during the Medieval era, as indeed, a VAST amount of ancient works were. So, having said all this, I'd say that it isn't surprising at all that a 'muslim' wrote about Secularism. In fact, I doubt there was much though on this subject until the 1800s in the 'Xristan' world. P.S. I'm not taking sides here. I hold Taoist beliefs myself (although I don't adhere to the 'organised' religion as such). I'm just stating historical facts. ~Peace~ S.
Will religious pluralism ruin the United States?
This country was founded on religious pluralism. The First Amendment of the Constitution prohibits the government from establishing a "national" religion and, by extension, from promoting one religion over the other. As people immigrate to this country, they might maintain the faiths of their homelands, but eventually they or their descendants become Americanized culturally. As the variety of viewpoints increases, so does the variety and quality of ideas, and that will help the country to continue to prosper. Ask yourself: Would we be better off if the government prohibited all religions except Christianity? And if the government endorsed Christianity, which variety should it select? Catholicism? Protestantism? And if the government selected Protestantism, which denomination should it choose? Also, most of the debate about immigration to the U.S. these days is focused on Latin America, especially Mexico. The vast majority of Mexicans are Christian Catholics. The best approach, I believe, is to live your life as best you can -- and let others live theirs according to their own choosing. The main rule is the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If everyone followed that, there'd be no more war.
A serious question to Christians who claim America was founded on Christian values?
Here's some quotes from founding fathers: "It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." (Thomas Jefferson / 1743-1826) "I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance, or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others." -- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Edward Dowse, April 19, 1803 "Millions of innocent men, women, and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch toward uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one-half the world fools and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth." -- Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781-82 "I know it will give great offense to the clergy, but the advocate of religious freedom is to expect neither peace nor forgiveness from them." -- Thomas Jefferson, to Levi Lincoln, 1802. ME 10:305 "I am for freedom of religion, & against all maneuvres to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another." Thomas Jefferson, letter to Elbridge Gerry, 1799 “No man [should] be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor [should he] be enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor ... otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief ... All men [should] be free to profess and by argument to maintain their opinions in matters of religion, and ... the same [should] in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities." - Thomas Jefferson: Statute for Religious Freedom, 1779. Papers “To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical.” - Thomas Jefferson "Gentlemen, we are not, nor have we ever been a Christian Nation...The United States is not a Christian nation any more than it is a Jewish or Mohammedan nation." --- John Adams, Treaty of Tripoli (1797)
Why Do Indian Muslims Have Such Disdain For Hinduism When They Are All From A Hindu Ancestory???
The amount of posion that they have for Hinduism, as evidenced from the rubbish that they post about Hinduism on yahoo India R and S board, obviously means that they have forgotten that they have more Hindu ancestors than Muslim ancestors. May I kindly remind Indian Muslims that had Hinds been capable enough of defending India from the mongols, instead of fighting between themselves, today all you people would have been sitting here as Hindus and would have been singing the praises of Hinduism rather than defaming Hinduism. Just remember that you are only Muslim because your ancestors were all traitors and they converted in order to either save their necks or to obtain economic benefits under the Mughals. That, in my opinion, is nothing to be proud about. Just remember THAT before you start insulting the majority religion of India. http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070812094107AA3AIzz&pa=FZB6NXXtFWMW0cLWwuMf9iUm2._dmLKR2gm3aOsSurbQrid1hTA-&paid=add_watch