Is this an advantage for Christians?
2007-10-07 04:04:08 · 6 answers · asked by twenteen 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Good question with a WHOLE LOT of history. Part of this history goes back to Europe in the "Peace of Westphalia" signed in 1659.
In Europe, the King or the ruling Duke would determine the religion (or flavor) of Christianity that would be practiced in his land.
This frustrated serious Christians to no end. Before the 1600s, no one really could get a hold of a Bible to read. A Bible cost about $50,000 in todays dollars because it required a scribe to write it out by hand, plus a few other scribes doing a review of his work to make sure that he copied out correctly.
Once the printing press was invented (circa 1600) the price of the Bible plummeted from $50,000 in todays dollars to 3 days wages of a person (or maybe a weeks wages....)
Bible's were much more affordable. Serious followers of Christianity began seeing that the Church was way off course from what the Bible had to say about things.
Therefore these believers started forming their own churches. The Kings and Dukes felt threatened by this as well as the priests and bishops in the Catholic church.
These renegade churches were highly persecuted by the official state churches. People were hung or burned alive. It was hideous.
Many of these persecuted Christians came to the colonies for their religious freedom and there they found it.
At the time of the writing of our Constitution, their were many flavors of Christianity. Our founders (and the people) were wise in looking at the past few hundred years of history and so wrote that amendment into our Constitution in the Bill of Rights.
Remember, the Bill of Rights were added on to the Constitution to get it ratified by the states. The people back then must've been hollering for this.
Is this an advantage for Christians? Heck YES!
There are many interpretations of certain parts of scripture. That's why we have so many Christian denominations. As a Christian, I can worship God and grow Spiritually as I fell God leading me. I don't need the government telling me how to be a Christian.
Is this an advantage for Christianity? I would say that one of the reasons that Christianity has flourished so greatly in America is because of the US Constitution.
About 3000 years ago, God gave the Israelites the 10 commandments. These 10 commandments said that no one was above the law. In the eyes of the law (or God) Kings and Dukes were equal to commoners and peasants.
This was ignored for 3000 years until 1776 when our founding fathers put together that great document: The Constitution of the United States of America. After that document we didn't have kings or dukes but we still had rich. There's nothing wrong with being rich; but in the eyes of the law they do not have special privileges. Their rights are the same as everyone else's.
2007-10-07 06:14:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The colonists who founded the US, came here to get religious freedom. In England it was the law that you had to be Anglican. The Puritans did not buy it. In France, the Huguenots were persecuted because of their religion.
All of the people who were involved with the formation of the US as a nation were Christians. The First Amendment does not say anyone has to be Christian. It says the US government cannot adopt a religion and make everyone in the country follow the state religion.
2007-10-07 04:09:48 · answer #2 · answered by regerugged 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, if that was the intent they would simply have made Christianity the official religion. This clause was specifically to permit any religion the right to free expression.
How some judges and lawyers can interpret "freedom of" to mean "freedom from" or "restrictions on" is obviously a deliberate attempt to subvert the Bill of Rights not to enforce it.
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2007-10-07 04:17:40 · answer #3 · answered by Jacob W 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because many of the people that fled to the new world and set up the United States were persecuted for their religous beliefs in Europe before they left.
2007-10-07 04:06:25 · answer #4 · answered by netjr 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
One reason is that England dictated that the official version of Christianity would be that of "The Church of England" and that church only.
Many of the settlers came to America to escape that and to practice religion as they saw fit.
2007-10-07 04:07:33 · answer #5 · answered by afreshpath_admin 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It was made for your protection from the early American Churches.
Like the Roman Church and its offspring.
2007-10-07 04:08:39 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋