Do christians understand that freedom of religion now serves to protect others from them?

Question

Its no longer about allowing someone to pray to jesus, in america thats a given. Its about protecting those that DO NOT want to.

Or is the dream of persecution (that ALL christians secretly desire) still alive and kicking?

free 1 indeed...

Your dream of persecution is alive and well i see :P

Answer 1

*No, they do not realize it because preachers are telling them that they are persecuted and losing their rights. They do not realize that when us pagans are denied the same rights as they it is against the freedom of religion claus in the constitution. *

Answer 2

Protestants have no dreams of persecution. And I don't think Catholics do either, although their establishment definitely has that capacity. I do believe a marriage between Christianity and the government would rekindle persecution against heretics and non-believers, so it is my desire as a Christian to keep government away from religion and vice-a versa. I do not desire to be persecuted, but I would SO much rather see Christians persecuted for Christ's sake(which is what Jesus said would happen) than for us to persecute others in His name. God never forces anyone to listen to Him or even believe in Him, why should we be any different?

Answer 3

I think you are missing the bigger picture. This nation was founded on the concept of sharing power and checks and balances. The idea was.....the founding fathers were such a diverse group...that no one group would be able to rule the others. We'd have shared power...and checks on what could and couldn;t be done to protect all of them from the rest of them.

Freedom of and from religion protects agnostics, Jewis, Atheists, Muslims, etc. etc. etc.....

But what a lot of the Chrisitans don;t understand is that it protects them as well. From one another. If prayer in school becomes the standard...it;s only a matter of time before the battle begins on WHICH denomintion's prayer. That is why we prevent the establishment of a religion...to prevent them from being dominated by OTHER Christian groups. And it works...the largest single denomination in this country now is Catholic. When these laws were being determined, there were very few Catholics. And they were hated by the Protestants who'd fled them to be here. Those laws prevent Catholicism from dominating them.

Answer 4

It always has been. The First Amendment guarantees the right to pray whenever, and wherever you wish. That includes school, football games and everywhere else. The state is powerless to stop you. At the same time, you cannot be compelled to pray.

Why is it that nobody understands that the Bill of Rights places NO restrictions on the individual. ALL restrictions are on the state. How could the Founders have made it any simpler?

Answer 5

Then, does freedom of speech actually mean freedom FROM speech?

Freedoem of religion means you have the freedom to worship or to not worship as you choose. Exactly when has anyone forced you to pray when you did not want to? Even when prayer was in school, you had the constitutional right not to bow your head and pray before lunch. If a teacher ever FORCED you, then yes, your rights were infringed upon and you should be outraged, but if not, then I don't see how you can complain. You didn't have to participate.

Same with prayer before a football game. You have the right not to believe in God, you have the right not to participate, and you even have the right to sing zipadee doo da while others heads are bowed. So, exactly in what ways have your rights been infringed upon?

I think what you really want is a constitutional right to not ever be offended. Do you think that just because someone believes differently than you that they shouldn't have the right to express their beliefs anywhere in your vicinity because it might offend you? Sorry, but with freedom of speech someone is bound to be offended at some point. I sure don't agree with those white supremacist groups, but they have the constitutional right to say whatever they want. So, suck it up like the rest of us, and stop trying to limit the rights of those you disagree with because to limit our rights is to limit yours!

Answer 6

..Oddly enough those who preach "tolerance"
and demand "tolerance" are not tolerant toward Christians. Many of these same folk like revised (skewed) American history.
...How many think the Pilgrims only came to American for "religious freedom"? That is a partial truth. Read this line from the Mayflower Compact: "Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia".
...How about that - "for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith..." - sounds like they had an agenda, doesn't it?
...We should expect persecution - 2 Timothy 3:12 tells us that, "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." It should come as no surprise.
...Most of the media has little or no belief in God, and uses their opportunities to push its agenda, and for the most part they dislike or hate Christianity, which proclaims Jesus as Lord, as the only way to God, and it sets up moral standards, which those in the media dislike. Again, Jesus said if they hate you, know that they hated Me before you.
...2 Thess 2:14-15 says this:
...14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
...15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
...Hold fast to the Lord Jesus Christ and His word.

Answer 7

It amounts to what your interpretation is of the 1st amendment. If you want to believe what the ACLU wants you to believe then you go right ahead. If you want to believe what the 1st amendment really says then in today's culture you better be ready to fight for it. The 1st amendment has been twisted and words added that aren't there so that most everyone believes the lie. Actually it still is about being able to pray to Jesus if you want too. That hasn't changed at all. What has changed is who you listen to that tells you it isn't true. Question is: will you let them tell you what it says or will you stand up for your beliefs?

Answer 8

Freedom of religion is for those who DON'T WANT TO. But why is it when somebody prays in public, they get these looks from other people like it's a crime? And as far as persecution; Yeah, whatever, sport.

Answer 9

Before anyone implies the Founding Fathers were a mixed bunch they should go back and research their letters and documents. One said it is impossible to rule w/o a moral standard. Should this country ban 'America, God shed His grace on thee' because it offends someone who doesn't accept God? Or should we forfeit the country's blessing so they don't have to endure the word God?

Answer 10

Nope. They have forgotten that the reason most settlers came to America to begin with was for religious freedom. Sure it turned into "taxation without representation", but that wasn't the origanal reason.