Constitutionalism & Separation of Church and State

Submitted by Robert (United States), Oct 1, 2022 at 06:30

Dear M Tovy,

Since you quote my directly I decided to respond. It seems you are a devout (non-Roman Catholic) Christian I decided to respond to your proselytizing. You reminding me of how the 13 Colonies of the USA came into being. The original settlers were by and large Christians fleeing the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Church. They all had not only Religion, but Christian Religion (the Gospel). But each Sect maintained its own Church where the Real Truth was followed, allegedly.

What the Founding Fathers did was Simple and Brilliant: they effectively abolished the notion of a Church Religion; they did not thereby give us Freedom FROM religion, but Freedom FOR Religion. Each person is free to go to her or his Church/

Incidentally, even the Enlightenment Thinkers had Religion: they were all Theists (they believed in God). But in their "religion" God Created the World, and then Let it Be (no Miracles or Divine Intervention).

I do not know if Dr. Daniel Pipes is a Theist in this sense. As for me, I'm neither a Theist, Agnostic nor an Atheist. I am not someone who will affirm or deny His Existence because I do not presume to know what you mean in your heart who or what Providence is. The Analytic Philosophy of Bertrand Russell has opened my mind to the distinction of Syntax and Semantics. Semantics raises the difficult question of MEANING. Russell wrote a book, "Why I am Not a Christian." I would rather write a book of why an Austrian (Catholic?) Hitler almost caused me not to be born just because my parents were Jews. Holocaust survivor Eli Weisel put God on Trial for that.

So you can go to your Church whenever you want, and I thank you for your Invitation to come along.

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