I had hoped to leave you with the Winter Solstice Celebrations article for the holidays, but the following news is very disturbing, and if you are an American citizen in favor of the freedoms granted by the Constitution, I hope you tell your Representative in the House of Representatives how you feel about this threat to the equality of religion in the United States that he or she may have favorably voted for. See Roll Call below.
Thomas Jefferson, in his Autobiography 1743 – 1790 said: "The bill for establishing religious freedom, the principles of which had, to a certain degree, been enacted before, I had drawn in all the latitude of reason & right. It still met with opposition; but, with some mutilations in the preamble, it was finally passed; and a singular proposition proved that it's protection of opinion was meant to be universal. Where the preamble declares that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed, by inserting the word "Jesus Christ," so that it should read "a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion." The insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of it's protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo, and infidel of every denomination." (Bold emphasis added by Michelle) (
No mention of any God or any God's prophet or messenger was allowed into the statement for the freedom of religion in order that all people of all religions would be accorded equal – let me emphasize EQUAL – respect and rights and freedoms.
If anyone happens to be in the vicinity of Thomas Jefferson's grave and feels a rumble in the ground, don't be surprised. It's not an earthquake. It's
He's heard that the U. S. House of Representatives has just taken the first major step toward undoing the religious freedom granted to American citizens by the U. S. Constitution, or laying the foundation to make Christianity the state religion and enabling the prosecution of anyone who disagrees with it, thereby making religious prosecution legitimate in the
The members of the House have passed a declaration pointing out that Christianity is the leading religion in the United States and the World, it has contributed greatly to the development of western civilization and by extension to the United States because its civilized roots are in Christianity, and they promise to deeply respect Christians in the US and around the world.
Just what does this declaration of respect for Christians and Christianity mean for the people who practice other religions in the
A lot of people think this bill on "Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith" is stating the obvious. Well, yes, it is, and people only go out of their way to state the obvious in order to set up action on it later.
For those of you who may think this is just "a nice thing to do at Christmas time," guess again. It is one of two things (maybe even both):
- It's a set up for the declaration of Christianity as the state religion of the
- It is the set up to restrict the freedom of speech by declaring any words spoken against Christians or Christianity as being "persecuting toward Christians" because the declaration "rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the
Either way, it's a pretty nasty subversion of the principles of the Constitution of the
The next logical step is all too obvious: declare Christianity the state religion, and to support the prosecution of anyone who speaks out against Christians and Christianity. As a believer in the religious rights of all people, not to mention the freedom of speech, I would not want to put this ability to prosecute into the hands of an administration that isn't sure "water-boarding" is really torture. Would you?
Below is a commentary on this Bill. Below that is the complete wording of HR847 and the list of Representatives who voted for it, voted against it, and didn't vote.
I hope that if you find this Bill as disturbing to religious tolerance and as threatening as I do to the freedom of speech and the freedom to practice your chosen religion, you will visit the website for the U. S. House of Representatives at http://www.house.gov/ , locate your Representative – they have a very easy search-by-zip-code option near the top of the page – and call or write to tell your Rep how you feel about the erosion of religious freedom in the United States.
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The following post is from The Crypt Mysteries, a website of political commentary on Capitol Hill.
Congress to say Christmas is important. Sun and Moon declared good too
This is one straight from the headlines of the Onion. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) has introduced a resolution (H.Res. 847) saying, and I am not making this up, that Christmas and Christians are important. The House is scheduled to vote on this groundbreaking resolution on Tuesday.
As someone with a Christian background, I can safely say this may be the silliest resolution ever introduced by, or voted upon, by Congress, although I am a little curious to see if anyone will vote against it.
Do we really need Congress to say Christmas and the Christian faith are important? Isn't that pretty self evident by now? Don't Christians already pretty much run everything in this country, except for the mainstream media, which is of course controlled by a Jewish-Illuminati-Bill Gates cabal? Don't we already get Dec. 25 off? Wasn't I forced to shell out $65 for a scrawny Christmas tree this weekend? Won't I have to go to
So, in the war on Christmas, I must declare myself a warrior for the anti-Xmas side. Bill O'Reilly, please take note. You too, Mr. King.
Update - The House passed this bill today. The vote, surprisingly, was 372-9, with 10 members also voting "Present," meaning they took no position on the legislation, and 40 not voting. One of the "Present" votes was cast by Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.). More Democrats -195 - voted for the bill than Republicans, 177.
The nine members who voted against the bill - God bless them! - are Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Pete Stark (D-Calif.) and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.).
Here's the text of H.Res. 847, just so you know how important Christianity and Xmas are:
"Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.
Whereas Christmas, a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other cultures and nationalities, is celebrated annually by Christians throughout the United States and the world;
Whereas there are approximately 225,000,000 Christians in the United States, making Christianity the religion of over three-fourths of the American population;
Whereas there are approximately 2,000,000,000 Christians throughout the world, making Christianity the largest religion in the world and the religion of about one-third of the world population;
Whereas Christians identify themselves as those who believe in the salvation from sin offered to them through the sacrifice of their savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and who, out of gratitude for the gift of salvation, commit themselves to living their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Bible;
Whereas Christians and Christianity have contributed greatly to the development of western civilization;
Whereas the United States, being founded as a constitutional republic in the traditions of western civilization, finds much in its history that points observers back to its roots in Christianity;
Whereas on December 25 of each calendar year, American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ;
Whereas for Christians, Christmas is celebrated as a recognition of God's redemption, mercy, and Grace; and
Whereas many Christians and non-Christians throughout the United States and the rest of the world, celebrate Christmas as a time to serve others: Now, therefore be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;
(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;
(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;
(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;
(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and
(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world."
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Here is how the voting went, from the official voting results page:
FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 1143
(Democrats in roman; Republicans in italic; Independents underlined)
H RES 847 2/3 YEA-AND-NAY
QUESTION: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree, as Amended
BLL TITLE: Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll1143.xml
| -- YEAS 372 --- | | |
| Abercrombie | Gallegly | Napolitano |
| ---- NAYS 9 --- | | |
| Ackerman | Hastings (FL) | Scott (VA) |
| ---- ANSWERED | "PRESENT" | 10 --- |
| Conyers | Pence | Welch (VT) |
| ---- NOT | VOTING 40--- | |
| Alexander | Hunter | Moore (WI) |
