This thought-provoking address was given by J. Brent Walker of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty at the Congress on Religious Liberty in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 28, 2008. It was originally posted on the BJC website (bjcpa.org) and is reposted here in its entirety with permission. Good morning! I appreciate the kind…
Category: Constitution
VIDEO: Michael Newdow in Panel at Boston College on Religious Freedom and the Pledge of Allegiance
This is particularly relevant this election year. From http://frontrow.bc.edu/program/newdow/ October 18, 2006 – Boston College – Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life Every day millions of schoolchildren pledge allegiance to the American flag and “the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Michael Newdow…
RAW MATERIALS: This week’s Obama / Dobson broughaha
To help understand what’s going on between Focus on the Family’s Dr. James Dobson and Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, we have assembled the raw materials and news stories about the subject. 1. Read Obama’s Speech from June 28, 2006 “Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a…
Dobson says Obama has “fruitcake interpretation” of the Constitution and is distorting Bible; still won’t vote for McCain
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – In a soon-to-be-aired episode of his non-profit, tax-exempt radio program “Focus on the Family,” Dr. James Dobson accuses Barack Obama of pandering to the “lowest common demoninator of morality” with his “fruitcake interpretation” of the U.S. Constitution and distortion of the Bible. “Am I required in a democracy to conform my…
Marriage Amendment: In California, your state constitutional rights are in the hands of your neighbors
There has been much discussion about the California ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriages from a moral / social / religious perspective, but not much about the concept of overturning court decisions by majority vote. Vikram David Amar at Findlaw writes in a post entitled, “The California Supreme Court’s Gay Marriage Opinion: The People…
Balancing Government Secrecy and Accountability – What Should the Next President Do?
In attempting to increase national security, has the Bush administration gone too far in sacrificing accountability for secrecy? What does this mean for the next president? The American Constitution Society (ACS) has recently published a new issue brief by Geoff Stone, entitled, On Secrecy and Transparency: Thoughts for Congress and a New Administration, in which…
VIDEO: John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. on Religious Liberty
It seems like issues of a Presidential candidate’s religion have always been an issue in elections going back to the 1960s. In this video clip, John F. Kennedy discusses how he believes church and state should relate to each other. It also features a brief clip of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech….
Religious Pluralism & America’s Christian Nation Debate: Revisiting the Intentions of America’s Constitutional Founders
By Gregory W. Hamilton The constitutional system of the United States of America remains the envy of the outside world despite the growing unrest of our European allies towards our country’s Administration, and the continual provocation against it by terrorists and a few hostile Arab-Muslim nations. Yet the greatest threat to our constitutional system comes…
Government, Religion, and a Mythical Past
By Karen Scott, Walt Pontynen, and Leigh Johnson In this article, originally published in Spectrum in 2002, the authors discuss the intent of the founders of the United States and how historical revisionism obscures our national heritage. (Re-posted with Permission.) AMERICAN PHILOSOPHER and poet George Santayana (1863-1952) wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are…
Learning from the Past
THE IMPORTANCE OF PREVENTATIVE PEST CONTROL FOR YOUR HOME OR RENTAL PROPERTY So much goes into renting or owning a home in today’s society. Utilities, structural maintenance, appliance upkeep, landscaping.. the list goes on! An important aspect of maintaining and caring for a home is often dismissed or forgotten. And that is preventative pest control. Pest control…