Satan's Evil Twin Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Year Of The Bible?: Pa. House Urges ‘Faith In God Through Holy Scripture’ Is the Bible the “word of God”? Pennsylvania House members apparently think so. They just passed a measuredeclaring exactly that. Earlier this week, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 535, a resolution designating 2012 the “Year of the Bible.” Introduced by Rep. Rick Saccone (R–Elizabeth Township) and 36 other legislators, the measure insists that “biblical teachings inspired concepts of civil government that are contained in our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.” It also asserts that “renewing our knowledge of and faith in God through holy scripture can strengthen us as a nation and a people” and declares “our national need to study and apply the teachings of the holy scriptures.” The resolution was dubbed “noncontroversial” so it could be brought to the House floor quickly and without committee hearings. It passed unanimously. The measure is nonbinding, so it didn’t get much press attention. The only news account I saw was in the Examiner, an online publication. Scranton Atheism Examiner columnist Justin Vacula questioned the constitutionality of the resolution and wondered what the reaction might be if the wording were a little different. “One should wager that if Pennsylvania lawmakers were to pass a resolution calling 2012 ‘The Year of the Koran,’ noting that the Koran was 'holy scripture' that was the word of Allah, such a resolution would be problematic. Why not, then, concerning the Bible? “Governmental entities,” he concluded, “ought to remain neutral on matters of religion.” Vacula is exactly right. If church-state separation means anything at all, it ought to stand for the proposition that government stays out of religious debate. Lots of Americans believe in the Bible, but lots of others don’t. The Pennsylvania House has no constitutional authority to jump into a theological fray. One of the great ironies of this situation is that Pennsylvania was founded as a refuge for those seeking religious tolerance. In his “holy experiment,” William Penn famously welcomed religious dissenters of many different stripes to his colony. He thought God, not government, was the “only Lord of Conscience.” It’s a shame that today the Pennsylvania House has turned its back on that admirable tradition and sent a message of intolerance to those who do not share the majority faith. http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/year-of-the-bible-pa-house-urges-%E2%80%98faith-in-god-through-holy-scripture%E2%80%99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John316 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Fantastic! I actually believe the Bible as Holy and true inpsired by the Holy Spirit to be God's word!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savoytruffle Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Fantastic! I actually believe the Bible as Holy and true inpsired by the Holy Spirit to be God's word!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satan's Evil Twin Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 My favorite part is when this is found unconstitutional. Just as jebus would have wanted. Oh the Christian panties will be knotted then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucks since 77 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Govt by Bible? ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steveland Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 hence the quote, "In God We Trust". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xbox Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I was worried this had some relation to december 21st at first... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuckerbird Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 The US was founded on the idealsof freedom of religion and freedom from tyranny by a bunch of Freemasons who practiced rituals that are decidedly pagan in nature. This legislation is not only historically inaccurate, but also seems quite unconstitutional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perfect From Now On Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 If people have a problem with that, they don't have to like it, but they can deal. It's not a snub to other beliefs, it's just a recognition of the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etsen3 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I've got nothing against the Bible or anything, but whatever happened to separation of church and state? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 One of the great ironies of this situation is that Pennsylvania was founded as a refuge for those seeking religious tolerance. In his “holy experiment,” William Penn famously welcomed religious dissenters of many different stripes to his colony. He thought God, not government, was the “only Lord of Conscience.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remy Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I've got nothing against the Bible or anything, but whatever happened to separation of church and state? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satan's Evil Twin Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 The US was founded on the idealsof freedom of religion and freedom from tyranny by a bunch of Freemasons who practiced rituals that are decidedly pagan in nature. This legislation is not only historically inaccurate, but also seems quite unconstitutional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucks since 77 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 How Masonic of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savoytruffle Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 "In God We Trust" was adopted as the official motto of the USA in 1956. Hardly instituted by the Founding Fathers, wouldn't you say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remy Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Where did I say it was instituted by the Founding Fathers? I just mentioned the concepts and part of what America was built on. In this case it really doesn't matter if it was 1776 or 1956, the message and ideals still included the same thing - - a belief in God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savoytruffle Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 So arrogant and ignorant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savoytruffle Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Except that it's not at all what the country was built on, and that was his point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remy Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 People who knock religion and the idea of it need to get their heads checked because more often than not, religious people don't knock atheists. It really just comes down to respect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savoytruffle Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 You seem like a resonable and respectable person, but I cannot begin to tell you how wrong that statement is. It's all pretty subjective, and we've all had different experiences, but respect and tolerance from religious folk ... sorry, can't say I've seen too much of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.