Rewriting Religious Freedom

In school they taught us that this country was founded on religious freedom.  You know, that group of misfits and malcontents who wouldn't toe the line and obey the governmental regulations?  What were they called?

Pilgrims?

They had the outrageous belief that this one book, the Bible, ought to come first - even above the law and the official Church of England mandates.  So, they risked everything for the right to serve their God in the way they best saw fit.  And when their heirs created something called The Constitution of the United States, they made sure it had language in there to protect the private practice of religion - even if it wasn't the particular religion that they supported.

Let's take a little history refresher here.  Remember that guy, Thomas Jefferson?  The one who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution?  In 1802 (after the original Constitution was ratified), Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in which he stated, "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that the act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof', thus building a wall of separation between Church and State."

That phrase in the middle might tweak your memory a bit.  It's from the First Amendment to the Constitution.   The whole point is that government isn't allowed to tell you what you can and can't believe, or how you should worship.  The actual text is Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

Now, I'm not the last person to admit that religion has been used as an excuse for a wide litany of social wrongs.  Everything from the Crusades to Segregation to Homophobia has been pegged on religion.  That's  undeniable.  And it's wrong.  I'm a Christian, and the Bible teaches us that God is love.  It also teaches that sin is sin, and there's not a great deal of difference between a little bit and a whole big bunch of sin.  Either will cause spiritual death (separation from God).

As Christians, our job is supposed to be to hate the sin, but love the sinner.  The Bible teaches that we've all sinned, and have fallen short of Glory of God.  And the wages of sin are death.  So, acting in a hateful or divisive manner is not helpful, it's just more sin.  We're all the same, until we accept Jesus' sacrificial gift of salvation.

Dead.

However, there are some things in my Bible that I just haven't been able to erase.  They seem to re-appear any time someone prints a new copy.  Things like the ten commandments and specific warnings against witchcraft, necrophilia, homosexuality, lying, a haughty spirit, pride, and countless other sins.  Sorry, but it's true.  I didn't write it.

But now, our government has decided that some of these things are okay.  And we're not allowed to speak out against them.  That's "hate speech" and it can be a felony.  I could actually go to prison for quoting from my Bible.

The answer, I suppose, is to create a new Modern American Socialist version of the Bible.  We can simply edit out anything that's objectionable.  Heck, if they can take Christ out of Christmas, why can't we just edit Him out of the Bible?  It would be a whole lot easier to deal with religion without all that guilt and sin talk, wouldn't it?  And just think how much smaller and easier the MASB would be to carry around.  You could slip it into a shirt pocket, maybe even reduce it down to a pamphlet.

But what would the message be?  If you stop and think about it, we've already been given the Message by those two sages of the silver screen, Bill and Ted.

BE EXCELLENT TO EACH OTHER!

Makes a great bumper sticker, don't you think?

But does it really take the place of that dusty old tome full of hate speech called The Bible?

Think about it.  What would YOU chop out of the King James or New American Standard, if you were on the MASB editorial board?

And would your life really be the better for it?  How about your eternity?

A Prize Most Deserving

I'm not a social activist.  You're not going to see me marching, holding a sign, conducting a sit-in (remember those?).  I bitch and complain, but I'm a rabble-rouser, not so much a get-out-and-do-er.

But, I want to tell you about someone who is, and has been for most of his 93-year lifetime.  He is, without any doubt or reservation, a true American treasure.

His name is Pete Seeger.  You may have seen him at the last Presidential Inauguration, singing a song written by his old friend and mentor, Woody Guthrie.  A little ditty we all learned in grade school - This Land is Your Land (the original title was God Blessed America for Me, but that's another story).

He was involved in union organizing, war protesting, peace marching, and countless other causes great and small.  From international peace gatherings, to cleaning up the Hudson River, to a thousand benefit concerts to aid this or that cause.  He's written songs that you've probably heard all your life - If I Had A Hammer, Kisses Sweeter Than Wine and Turn, Turn, Turn.  He has an endless repertoire of songs at the ready.  I heard him sit through a jam session for several hours, and he knew EVERY song someone wanted to play.  I've also seen  him enrapture a crowd of several thousand, just one man and a banjo, alone on the stage.

Astonishing as his musical talents may be, they're not the reason that I consider him a true hero.

Over half a century ago, when he was called in front of the House Unamerican Activities Committee (how's that for an oxymoron?), he didn't claim the Fifth Amendment.  And, he didn't sell out his friends and colleagues.  The way that HUAC worked, you either had to admit to being a communist, or you had to name everyone you ever knew who "might be" a communist.  To call it a witch hunt would be far too polite.

When Pete Seeger was called up, he claimed the First Amendment (freedom of speech) and said that Congress didn't even have the right to ask him these questions.  Here's the transcript of his testimony.
Learn about HUAC and read the transcript.  It's IMPORTANT and it is NOT taught in our schools.

What did he get in return?  He was blacklisted, and his musical group, The Weavers was dropped by Decca Records, despite having several chart-topping hits.  He couldn't find a job anywhere.  Nobody would touch him, especially after he was charged with contempt of Congress.

So what did he do?  He rolled up his sleeves, packed up his banjo, and hit the road again - singing about peace and understanding and social justice.  He just about single-handedly started the folk music revival of the late 50's and 60's.  Literally hundreds of musical groups and vocal artists were born from that deep well of social relevance and activism.  From the Kingston Trio to Joan Baez to Peter, Paul and Mary - all owe a deep and lasting gratitude to this one man's courage and legacy.

I could go on for hours and days, but there is one true thing that I can say from the heart.  As I've grown older, had kids, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren I have become wiser, more jaded, less optimistic.  Even so, there are only two heroes left in my eyes - two people that I aspire to be more like.

Jesus Christ...

...and Pete Seeger

Now - finally - Pete is being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.  I can think of no other living person more deserving of this honor.  If you agree, please cast your vote by visiting THIS LINK.  And pass it on.

Don't sit around and do nothing.  Heaven knows I do enough of that for both of us.  Make a difference.