![]() In the letter Jefferson alluded to a wall of separation between secular government and personal religion. Black was a fan of Thomas Jefferson and came upon an obscure letter Jefferson wrote to the Baptists of Danbury Connecticut assuring them that the government was not going to establish a state religion as existed in England. In 1947 Justice Hugo Black wrote a majority opinion for the Supreme Court, surprisingly dealing with schools and vouchers. Christians are also persecuted in the United States by activists, atheists and those who have not read the Constitution or its First Amendment. These days Christians are subject to severe persecution throughout the world. If you’re offended by that statement you can quit reading because I will not be silenced or ashamed of my Lord. What happened to the childhood ditty, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” I am an unapologetic Christian. It seems that everyday someone is offended about something. Lately, I’ve been considering the tyranny of the minority. The resurrected Jesus Christ changed everything. However, within a generation everything changed in the first century AD. Recently, I learned that cremation was the typical practice in the Greco-Roman world. ![]() In Islam and Judaism timely burial is mandated. She had chosen cremation which is increasingly popular these days, and therefore the burial time was not as important as in times past. I went to the funeral this week of a relative who died weeks ago in another town. Was he alluding to the internet of our day bringing the word to everyone? However, the Master did say that the end will not occur until the word has been preached to the world. Among other observations, the Master says that anyone who claims to know when the end will occur is a liar. I give more credence to a discourse found in the Synoptic Gospels where Jesus is asked about the end of the world. I did read the first and the last books in that series. We’ve heard of the “end times” throughout recorded history so I don’t take much stock in the Left Behind books. I watched a political drama the other night whose story line was written around an apocalyptic cult similar to that of Jim Jones in Guyana. But I ask, how many ancient Greeks can you name? How many Romans? However, is it possible that someone has not heard of Jesus Christ? Our Western Civilization was built upon Greco-Roman philosophy and laws. Jesus was convicted of blasphemy as well, and crucified to appease the mob manipulated by elitist rulers who were threatened by Jesus’ message. Socrates was executed for corrupting the youth of Athens and blasphemy. We know of Socrates through his pupil Plato, and we know of Jesus through the Gospels and the Apostle Paul. Like Socrates, Jesus never wrote anything. When asked about the absence of God in the statutes, Madison said, “I guess we just forgot.” James Madison was a principal architect of this great document written just eleven years after the Declaration of Independence. ![]() How interesting that the Constitution does not mention God, either. The political “journalist” of a major news organization did not know the difference, perhaps because she discounts the notion of God. Recently, I heard a discussion about the difference between God-given rights and statutes (laws) created by men. Jefferson wrote “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” What soaring thoughts and how far we have fallen. The Founders embraced Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and acme of Enlightenment thought. I found Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ far superior with more evocative, yet disturbing, imagery. I don’t particularly care for Bill O’Reilly, but because it’s Easter I watched the movie Killing Jesus adapted from O’Reilly’s book. I just see that man has forgotten God again. Some see “wars and rumors of wars” in apocalyptic terms. It’s hard not to be distracted by a world in flames. And I believe too many ignore the Creator and take liberty for granted. The poet Walt Whitman once wrote, “The world is too much with us.” I believe he was saying that we are so busy that we overlook the beauty around us. I think we too often take life for granted. ![]()
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