MO Bill Would Make Christianity Unofficial Official Religion

[Savonarola]

The right-wing nutjobs are at it again.

State bill proposes Christianity be Missouri’s official religion
Okay, so KMOV's headline is a tad misleading.

Proposed House resolution on religion irks some here
Here's a snippet:

The proposed resolution states that "voluntary prayer in public schools, religious displays on public property, and the recognition of a Christian God are not a coalition of church and state."

It was recently approved by the House Rules Committee along party lines - five Republicans backed it, three Democrats did not - and could come for a vote before the full House next week. It would also have to pass in the Senate.

The resolution, sponsored by Rep. David Sater, R-Cassville, and co-sponsored by Rep. Barney Joe Fisher, R-Richards, is not a bill and therefore cannot become a law.

Rep. John P. Burnett, D-Kansas City, a House Rules Committee member who voted against passing the resolution to the full House, dismissed it as "a political statement about Christianity."

So fortunately, it appears to be more benign than a law. Still, it's ridiculous.

Text of Resolution

Whereas, our forefathers of this great nation of the United States recognized a Christian God and used the principles afforded to us by Him as the founding principles of our nation; and

But most of our Founding Fathers did very much not recognize a Christian God.

Whereas, as citizens of this great nation, we the majority also wish to exercise our constitutional right to acknowledge our Creator and give thanks for the many gifts provided by Him; and

And according to the First Amendment, you already can.

Whereas, as elected officials we should protect the majority's right to express their religious beliefs while showing respect for those who object; and

The majority's right to express their religious beliefs while showing respect for those who object already exists. (And this resolution, by the way, is not how it's done.)

Whereas, we wish to continue the wisdom imparted in the Constitution of the United States of America by the founding fathers; and

Then why pass such a ludicrous bill? The Founding Fathers said nothing about Christianity in the Constitution. (In fact, most of the Founding Fathers said rather unsupportive things about Christianity, just not in the Constitution.)

Whereas, we as elected officials recognize that a Greater Power exists above and beyond the institutions of mankind:

But as evidenced by the above, you lawmakers are morons. If elected officials "recognize" that the sun goes around the earth, does there need to be a proclamation to that effect?

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-third General Assembly, Second Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, that we stand with the majority of our constituents and exercise the common sense that voluntary prayer in public schools and religious displays on public property are not a coalition of church and state, but rather the justified recognition of the positive role that Christianity has played in this great nation of ours, the United States of America.

Translation: "We religious wackos recognize only the effects of the First Amendment that we happen to like, and we think that Supreme Court Justices who spend nearly their entire lives considering the law actually have no idea what the law means."

Republicans say they want to minimize government involvement, which would include not passing meaningless or unnecessary laws. Yet not only does this proposal supposedly not do anything, its "justifying" purposes are redundant, which is to say unneeded. An actual Republican would vote against this "resolution"; instead, these aren't mere Republicans, they're RWNJs. Why follow the Constitution when we can piss all over it for Jesus?

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Maybe this is a ploy to see how far to the right the now right-leaning SCOTUS will take us? "Hey, it's not an official religion..."

[Doug]

Here's a snippet:

The proposed resolution states that "voluntary prayer in public schools, religious displays on public property, and the recognition of a Christian God are not a coalition of church and state."

DOUG
Saying it's not a coalition doesn't mean it isn't.

I'd like to see some Missouri legislators come here to our forum to debate whether the founding fathers intended this country to be Christian.

And of course this is exactly the kind of "Christianity" that Jesus would have despised. Jesus did not want public displays of piety.

Matthew 6 (NIV translation)

1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

DOUG
So keep your religiosity a private matter, Jesus declares. Note this next part in particular:

6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

DOUG
So prayer should be done in private, certainly not in the schools.

Skip ahead a few verses:

16"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

DOUG
So prayers and other acts of piety should not be public or they have the opposite effect than that which is intended, Jesus suggests. God will not reward you or look favorably on these public displays of piety.

In Missouri, state legislators seem to think Jesus' teachings should be ignored.

[Dardedar]

In Missouri, state legislators seem to think Jesus' teachings should be ignored.

DAR
No where in the Bible do we see groups of people being led in prayer. It was to be a private thing not done for show. Yet we see Christians doing this all the time, and worse, fighting to impose such group prayer on other people. The hypocrisy is just amazing.

D.
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"If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be — a Christian."
--Mark Twain

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

Public display and led prayers are in the bible by implication if nothing else - why else would Jesus keep telling his followers not to do it? Who do we see about filing a law suit for refund of our tax dollars, if they are being used to pay for religious display of a religion we don't belong to? THAT might make the Holy Joes sit up and take notice.

[Dardedar]

Public display and led prayers are in the bible by implication if nothing else - why else would Jesus keep telling his followers not to do it?

DAR
Right, I mean the good guys in the Bible story. You don't see Jesus or Paul leading large groups in prayer, ever. Instead he said to go off and do it in private, as he did several times. Jesus ranted a lot about the religious hypocrites around him and there is still no shortage of them on Sunday morning TV.

D.
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In Matthew 5:22, Jesus clearly and unequivocally warns us that, ". . . whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire." But he apparently had a short memory because a little in Matthew 23:17 & 19 he refers to the Pharisees as “fools”. He does it again in Luke 11:40. In Luke 24:25 he calls the two men on the road to Emmaus “fools”. In Luke 12:20 he addresses the rich farmer as “Thou fool.” The God of Love Jesus also called people names. The Lamb of Peace calls people vipers, evil, hypocrites, blind, child(ren) of hell, whited sepulchres, unclean, iniquitous, thieves, robbers, sheep, fools, dogs and swine. He really shouldn’t be telling other people that they are not to call other people names.

–Louis Cable

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

No shortage of religious hypocrites in Congress or state legislatures, either, more's the pity.

[JamesH]

Now you know why we drive down from Springfield every month. Even though it is not a bill it is more of a test case. "Lets run it up the flag pole and see who salutes!" If they do not get much oppostion then they will try to make it a bill and push it through. So if we do not show up for a meeting or we stop posting anything you can bet we have been rounded up!

Can you tell me again where you read this article?

[Savonarola]

Can you tell me again where you read this article?

I first ran across it on 4forums.com, if I'm not mistaken. There are links to the (apparently) original story, another story, and the text of the bill in the OP.