Editor:
I want to talk about the separation of church and state.
Our constitution declares that no religion shall have legal effect on the general populace. And the government shall not demand obedience to any particular religious concept.
It’s the principle of the thing, but abortion happens to be the current problem. Prohibiting abortion impinges on the civil freedom promised to all of us by our constitution.
Abortion is a religious issue … many religions have no objection, and non-religionists should not be held to religious laws. Several religions value community above individual life. Ancient Spartans took a look at a new baby, and if it was weak or deformed, it was tossed over the cliff.
A very small proportion of Muslims are very militant; thus, their motto is “kill the infidels.” No freedom there. Would we Christians want to live under that regime? Government by religion.
Jews in Florida have contested this law, and I am glad. I do not tout abortion, but the freedom to live according to one’s own convictions, not someone else’s.
Christian tradition sounds good and merciful, but non-Christians should not be held to Christian values.
Common law is common sense, is not religious, but civil, and most religions promote it. It is the way for gregarious humans to live in groups.
In Exodus 20 the first four commandments concern the worship of God… religious. The following commands are civil: don’t steal, don’t murder, don’t accuse others falsely (it doesn’t say “don’t kill, don’t lie.” Read it as it is written, not as you were taught as a child.).
My point is, there are many ways that a minority tries to impose their values on others not of their persuasion. If we value our constitutional freedom, abortion is only a crack in the wall for minority domination, and must be speedily mended for the fair freedom for all.
Jesus didn’t lead riots, or bomb abortion clinics, but informed and enticed people to voluntarily follow Him if they found his precepts reasonable and useful… which many of them did. Those who opposed Jesus were just looking out for their own power, and felt threatened.
Christians claim to follow Jesus but many church leaders, both Protestant and Catholic, have wandered far astray, and have defiled the concept of Christianity to such an extent that many people are abandoning the church. Too much of what passes for Christianity today is an armload of unscriptural traditions, many centuries old.
They should set aside much of what they have been taught, and go back and pursue and apply basic biblical precepts. It would make a drastic change in our concept of Christianity.
I am dismayed at the prospect of living my remaining years amid the current chaotic moral corruption, but I still believe morals should not be legalized. I don’t want others telling me I must accept their “truth.”
Live and let live.
Joan Scofield
Sweet Home