by David Furritus

Created on: January 22, 2010   Last Updated: January 23, 2010

There has been a lot of talk about divisions of church and state going back all of the way to the founding of the United States. The concept of the government not creating a national religion is one of the main principals that our nation holds. So, why is it, that a symbol of only ONE religion being used in courtrooms, elected offices or the military?

In courtrooms, when a person takes the stand, they are not being told to swear on the laws of God to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. They’re being told to tell the truth so that they’re not guilty of perjury, a human law.  This human law carries human consequences like fines and jail time. This is how it works.  Their relationship with The Almighty can stay outside of the courts, thank you very much.

Another problem: The Christian Church is waning in numbers in America. Each year, more people are turning to other religions like Judaism, Islam, Wicca, and even no religion at all in the form of Atheism. What do you do for them? Carry copies of the Torah, the Koran, a Book of Shadows, or some scientific texts? What about the agnostics? How do you convince them to tell the truth?

As we’ve seen in recent elections, there have been some non-Christians elected to Congress. A few years ago, we saw our first Islamic Legislator elected and someone had to dig up a Koran for him. There is a lot of talk about our President being a Muslim. Whether this is true or not, one has to ask if it is still okay to force him to put his hand on a Bible when swearing in. What happens when the United States finally elects an admitted non-Christian?

In the American Military there are countless people that have “No Religious Preference” on their dog-tags. How do you swear these people in? Should they still have to say, “so help me God” every time they’re sworn in? It’s kind of insulting to ask someone to defend the rights of others to freedom of religion if you’re taking away theirs.

The last time I looked, God does not serve on the Supreme Court. No matter how many of His followers might be there, He’s not one of the folks that’s up there determining if laws are constitutional. He also doesn’t serve in Congress creating laws that are supposed to uphold his personal laws – despite the fact that many people that serve there claim to be upholding His doctrines. He most assuredly does not serve in the military no matter how many wars have been fought in His name. Thus, he has no place in courtrooms, swearing-in ceremonies, or oaths of enlistments.

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