 By Dave Person September 27, 2005
Hopefully, folks will actually start to read our constitution, bill of rights, and declaration of independence before exposing their ignorance in public. James Madison, the prime author of the constitution and bill of rights, detested organized religion. He was probably not an atheist, but he hated the ignorance, intolerance, and corruption that resulted from unions between government and religion. Educated people in the 18th century (when the constitution was written) remembered the hideous wars of religion in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries; a time when Catholics killed protestants, protestants killed Catholics and other protestants, and everyone hated the Quakers. During that time Princes, kings, politicians and religious leaders learned how to manipulate the masses for their own economic and political ends using religious belief as the tool. In his pamphlet "Concerning the Jews and Their Lies" (1542) that old beer lover himself, Martin Luther, advocated the burning of synagogues and forcing Jews to convert or have their tongues torn out. Madison and many of the founders of our country knew that history and it scared them to death. Some of the letters to Sitnews condemning the action of the 9th circuit court on the Pledge of Allegiance exhibit the same religious intolerance and bigotry that Madison and Jefferson urged us to vigorously oppose. Dave Person Related Viewpoint:
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sitnews.
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