WHAT alleged "Separation of Church and State??"

     Ok, I admit it. I knew very little about the documents that founded our country when I started this. Just what I learned in school, and that was (oh, a few years ago). But as I research the quotes, the documents, the astonishing thing in my mind is:

     The reason I wrote this particular Michael file is this: I have read and heard repeatedly about some alleged 'Separation of Church and State' the is supposedly covered somewhere in our constitution. So, being the curious soul that I am, I went looking for that. Guess what? After reading the entire constitution, along with the Bill of Rights, and all the amendments, it's not there! "Really??" Yes, my friends, REALLY. There is not one place in any of those documents that even mentions anything about a "Separation of Church and State." And thus this file was born.

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government -- lest it come to dominate our lives and interests."

     Ok, let's do this by the book so to speak. What, exactly, is the this country founded on? And where do we find out? I say the best place to look would be the very documents that were used to establish this country. We still have them, but what do they say?
     I don't know if they even teach this stuff in American History anymore. I'm beginning to think they don't really care WHAT (if anything) you know when they graduate you these days, as long as your self-esteem hasn't been damaged. But THAT will be in another file, so enough of that here.
     Do we still have these original documents? YES.
     Does the public know what they actually contain? I seriously doubt it.
     Why? Because if the majority of the US citizenry knew what they REALLY say, this country wouldn't be in this condition. Well, no that's not accurate either, the vast majority of the people in this country (in my opinion) don't CARE what happens, as long as it doesn't rock their particular boat. But THAT is for another file too.

"It can not be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!"

     The focus of THIS file is the following: the Supreme (I use the term loosely) Court keeps hitting us with the phrase "separation of Church and State." I personally challenge where they got this phrase in the first place. It is NOT in the Constitution of the United States, or any of the amendments thereof. You remember the Constitution? It's the document that the Court is supposed to base all it's findings on. So how do they keep coming up with things that aren't even in it? One way is to try and interpret the "intentions" of the founding fathers.
     OK, I have no problem with that, IF we do it fairly. And what would be fair? Let's read what they actually said (and wrote down for us), and interpret those statements in the light of what we are seeing now. I am going to subdivide this section, with a page devoted to the gist of the intention of each of the founding documents that established it, starting with the very first document; The First Virginia Charter.
     Let's explore what our founders believed, and wrote for us, and then look at what the supreme court "thinks" their intentions really were.

     The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity. From the day of the Declaration...they (the American people) were bound by the laws of God, which they all, and by the laws of The Gospel, which they nearly all, acknowledge as the rules of their conduct.

     Links to the documents in their entirety will be provided on each page. Sanctuary is grateful for to the US Historical Document Archive for the historical documentation presented here. And to The Tribulation Forces for the supportive text on this page.

·The First Virginia Charter
You might want to learn about the first act performed by the settlers who founded the Jamestown colony. First thing after they had landed at Cape Henry in April of 1607, they erected a large wooden cross and held a prayer meeting! That first act in this new land, my friend, was on publicly chartered land!
·The Mayflower Compact
Governor William Bradford described the first thing the Pilgrims did when they landed on these shores. He write, "Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven..."
The first written constitution which created a government in this land was the fundamental Orders of Connecticut in 1639.
·The Orders of Connecticut
·The First Thanksgiving Proclamation

Duty is ours; results are God's. The first and almost the only Book deserving of universal attention is the Bible. In what light soever we regard the Bible, whether with reference to revelation, to history, or to morality, it is an invaluable and inexhaustible mine of knowledge and virtue.

I pray you have found this article interesting and I would be pleased to read any comments you may have. However, I may not be able to respond to all e-mail. Address any comments to Michael Burt.

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