Walton County Sheriff joins with other panhandle sheriffs

[Misty]

Meanwhile in 2014; The town of Jay Florida also removed their Nativity Scene after they were contacted by The Freedom From Religion Foundation.

 

[Teresa]

WTH? If God is not religion then what the hell is it?

God - a creator, omnipotent being, or the universe, or the heavenly Father or Mother... a part of universal culture since the beginning of man. Hard to define God.

Religion - a particular system of faith/beliefs with the goal of worshiping God.

God is not religion. That's my thought anyway. I know many people who believe in something but not religious at all.

However, I do believe that some do not realize the importance of separation of church and state. God has no role in government but try telling that to the masses who believe that our nation was founded on Christianity. Why did the US add the words "In God We Trust" to $$, and "one nation under God" to the pledge of allegiance - fairly recently?

The words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and the phrase "In God we trust" on the back of a dollar bill haven't been there as long as most Americans might think. Those references were inserted in the 1950s during the Eisenhower administration, the same decade that the National Prayer Breakfast was launched, according to writer Kevin Kruse. His new book is One Nation Under God.

In the original Pledge of Allegiance, Francis Bellamy made no mention of God, Kruse says. Bellamy was Christian socialist, a Baptist who believed in the separation of church and state.
"As this new religious revival is sweeping the country and taking on new political tones, the phrase 'one nation under God' seizes the national imagination," Kruse tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "It starts with a proposal by the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic lay organization, to add the phrase 'under God' to the Pledge of Allegiance. Their initial campaign doesn't go anywhere but once Eisenhower's own pastor endorses it ... it catches fire."
Kruse's book investigates how the idea of America as a Christian nation was promoted in the 1930s and '40s when industrialists and business lobbies, chafing against the government regulations of the New Deal, recruited and funded conservative clergy to preach faith, freedom and free enterprise. He says this conflation of Christianity and capitalism moved to center stage in the '50s under Eisenhower's watch...

One Nation Under God | interview
http://www.npr.org/2015/03/30/39636...ome-under-god-until-the-50s-religious-revival

 

[Jdarg]

God - a creator, omnipotent being, or the universe, or the heavenly Father or Mother... a part of universal culture since the beginning of man. Hard to define God. Religion - a particular system of faith/beliefs with the goal of worshiping God. God is not religion. That's my thought anyway. I know many people who believe in something but not religious at all. However, I do believe that some do not realize the importance of separation of church and state. God has no role in government but try telling that to the masses who believe that our nation was founded on Christianity. Why did the US add the words "In God We Trust" to $$, and "one nation under God" to the pledge of allegiance - fairly recently?

Amen.

 

[Misty]

Look up the history on how it came to be on bills...that did not happen until 1956 under the Eisenhower Admin.

The Constitution was written in 1787. The motto came to be on coins well after the Constitution in 1861. In fact, 74 years later because of increased religious sentiment during another bloody war known as (of all things)...the "Confederate" War!

 

[Jenksy]

That is quite possibly the most frightening statement I've ever seen on this forum.

Fear is the root of all religion. Fear is the mind killer.

 

[Jenksy]

God is love. Religion is man's invention. Which is why it needs to be out of politics. Religion is a political system. We only need one at a time as the founding fathers intended.

 

[kcornwell]

The un-separation of Church of state...

http://www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-eisenhower-signs-in-god-we-trust-into-law



Your right to religious liberty is not secure when the government presumes to promote religion over non-religion or favors one faith over another.

Separation of Church and State is not simply a good idea, it is a sacred principle which lays at the foundation of our American democracy and much of what we have achieved as a nation. "Separation", however, does not mean hostility to religion -- something hard core secularists fail to appreciate.

So how do we navigate between respect for faith, including in our public square, and the necessity to protect the dignity of all people, regardless of what faith or no-faith they follow?

• Religious liberty. Freedom of conscience.
• The right to believe – or not believe – whatever you want about religion.
• The right to share these beliefs with others and pass them on to your children.
• The right to contribute your hard-earned money only to the religious institutions of your choice (if any).
• The right to live your life as you see fit without interference from religious groups who want to impose their doctrines on you with the help of the government.

These ideas are all part of what makes America special. Enshrined in the First Amendment to our Constitution, they are central to our identity as a free people. Without freedom of religion, we wouldn’t be the nation that we are.


- See more at: https://www.au.org/about/why-we-care#sthash.WbRwtgx2.dpuf

 

[Misty]

Your right to religious liberty is not secure when the government presumes to promote religion over non-religion or favors one faith over another.

It seems to me that every single question one could ask in regard to "God" presumes to promote religious faith...from creation to eternity.

The written word of God, the bible, the living word of God, Jesus Christ the son of God, "trusting" God all promote religion.

 

[Andy A]

It depends on your definition of "religion". I prefer to see it as the belief in a higher being, the principles and mores thereof.

 

[Misty]

It depends on your definition of "religion". I prefer to see it as the belief in a higher being, the principles and mores thereof.

Andy I truly mean no disrespect!

Do you believe in Jesus Christ and/or the son of God and/or the written word (the Bible)? The majority of Walton County is predominately Christian (including the Sheriff by his own admission) and it could be argued that "In God We Trust" does in fact promote religion given those ideals.

I would think its not worth another frivolous lawsuit to find out given the fact that the County does in fact promote Christianity (IE) the 10 Commandments in the Courthouse, Christmas Reflections, the Nativity scene on Government land and the admitted beliefs of our elected officials.