Monday, April 18, 2016

Twice I have read through the King James version of the Bible (#2635)

     I am sorry to offend many of you who have not read through the Bible even once but here goes. There is some messed up stuff in there. http://atheistnexus.org/profiles/blogs/a-compilation-of-biblical-nonsense-by-barbara-g-walker?xg_source=activity. Naturally most just point to the not messed up stuff as inspiring and the thought of going to heaven seems to be enough to assuage most that the messed up stuff is worthy of ignoring or dismissing. The reason I bring this subject up is that the republican party seems, forgive the pun, "hell bent" on insinuating biblical premises and actual policies into our democracy. It is as if republicans do not recognize that the first amendment to our national constitution forbids any cross over between church and state. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment.
     Yet in today's society we have so many laws now being legislated that take from religious dogma and applies it directly against our rights and freedoms as citizens of America. We are a secular society and that translates to this: "Secularism is the principle of the separation of government institutions and persons mandated to represent the state from religious institutions and religious dignitaries."-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism. We have many religious zealots among us who would change the nature of our federal government from one of being a democracy and instead making it into a theocracy. Imagine or not an American society similar to those in the middle east where religious dogma and religious interpretations are held in the hands of a few to determine the rights and privileges of the many. Are we becoming that which relies on myth and superstition as our guiding principles for governance?
     We have seen societies from our past and present attempt these religious societies and their anti science and anti intellectualism stances incoherently defy the logic of fact and reality. This is why our founders explicitly created our nation as free from religious intervention in making of our democracy. I on the other hand find that modernity and intellectualism is the path forward as it was naturally intended. The Bible and it's all too often elaborate machinations have no business being of any template to design a free and equal society.

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