IT TAKES COURAGE TO SAY "NO" TO GOD

I disagree with the premise that it takes courage to say no to God. I think it takes ignorance - not courage. I sympathize with him in his ignorance. I also disagree with the the premise that the constitution requires seperation of church and state. I know better. I have read it. It says only that Congress shall establish no religion. It meant that unlike the European nations at the time, the United Staes was not going to have an established or official religion. The writers of the constitution very much made religion and belief in God a part of the state.
Fred

The toleration cited by B J Roan is what we need, not calling someone ignorant because they don’t believe in the mythology of religion. Lots of judges, lawyers, constitutional scholars and other not-ignorant interpreters of the Constitution agree that in the context of contemporary society it does indeed grant freedom FROM as well as freedom OF religion, and certainly prohibits the making of public policy on the basis of a belief or pretended belief in God or any other religious fiction.
Dick Meister

First, you imply I was engaging in name calling, which is false. The meaning of the word "ignorance," is a lack of knowledge. The staement implied a lack of knowledge of God. There was no name calling, nor intolerance. I am in agreement that the Constitution grants freedom FROM as well as OF religion. Your statement regarding, "belief in God or any other religious fiction," is a glaring display of your bias and intolerance. It is also a statement the vast majority will not agree with and has no factual basis. It is merely a minority opinion. As for the toleration you speak of, it seems to me there has been a rather large display of intolerance in evidence by those who do not believe in God.
Fred Wickert

If calling someone ignorant and intolerant and doing so because they don’t agree with your beliefs – that is to say, your opinions -- is not name calling, I don’t know what is. Do you really mean to say that the concept of God, who exists only in the imaginations of believers, is based on fact rather than faith? That the concept of religion generally is based on fact rather than faith? That it is fact rather than fiction? I am indeed biased – biased in favor of reason over religion in crafting and carrying out public policy. Which, as I said, is what the Constitution promises, regardless of the religious beliefs of the majority, vast or otherwise. You apparently agree, since you acknowledge the constitutional guarantee of freedom from as well as of religion.

This is going to be my final comment on the subject. Whatever comment I make you will spin into something other than what I have said. I will not yield my beliefs and you will not yield yours so the discussion is going nowhere and is pointless to continue.
Fred

Whether one agrees or disagrees with Stark’s religious beliefs, he must be doing his job or he wouldn’t have been re-elected for 18 straight terms. Religious/atheist, rich/poor, black/white, our government should be working for the good of all people. Politicians should be judged on their ability to get the job done, not on their personal beliefs.