Declaring a State Religion

[Creed of Heresy]

If the First Amendment does not apply to the states, neither do any of the other Amendments... in fact, if the Amendments do not apply to the states, then how can the rest of the Constitution apply to the states? In fact, what is it good for?

[festive1]

Wouldn't there be fewer stupid, corrupt politicians without Jesus? The religious right has the most consistently stupid politicians in the US system.

[Creed of Heresy]

Because Amendment One wasn't embarrassing enough.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/03...03401.html

the early church thrived under the persecution of the politicians of the roman empire
Christ doesn't need help from stupid, corrupt politicians

And the modern church is falling apart under the political allowance for religion to be optional, not mandatory.

[thesummerqueen]

Religion works well with politics: If you blame your problems on a lack of religion, you are essentially blaming everyone else but yourself for all the problems going on. "Y'all aren't prayin' enough!" easily covers up "I'm a corrupt official who can't be arsed to take care of my people."

[Minimalist]

Because Amendment One wasn't embarrassing enough.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/03...03401.html

the early church thrived under the persecution of the politicians of the roman empire
Christ doesn't need help from stupid, corrupt politicians

Bullshit.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-myth...0062104526

In The Myth of Persecution, Candida Moss, a leading expert on early Christianity, reveals how the early church exaggerated, invented, and forged stories of Christian martyrs and how the dangerous legacy of a martyrdom complex is employed today to silence dissent and galvanize a new generation of culture warriors.

According to cherished church tradition and popular belief, before the Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal in the fourth century, early Christians were systematically persecuted by a brutal Roman Empire intent on their destruction. As the story goes, vast numbers of believers were thrown to the lions, tortured, or burned alive because they refused to renounce Christ. These saints, Christianity's inspirational heroes, are still venerated today.

Moss, however, exposes that the "Age of Martyrs" is a fiction—there was no sustained 300-year-long effort by the Romans to persecute Christians. Instead, these stories were pious exaggerations; highly stylized rewritings of Jewish, Greek, and Roman noble death traditions; and even forgeries designed to marginalize heretics, inspire the faithful, and fund churches.

The traditional story of persecution is still taught in Sunday school classes, celebrated in sermons, and employed by church leaders, politicians, and media pundits who insist that Christians were—and always will be—persecuted by a hostile, secular world. While violence against Christians does occur in select parts of the world today, the rhetoric of persecution is both misleading and rooted in an inaccurate history of the early church. Moss urges modern Christians to abandon the conspiratorial assumption that the world is out to get Christians and, rather, embrace the consolation, moral instruction, and spiritual guidance that these martyrdom stories provide.

Fucking jesus needs all the help he can get. The church was always sucking on the king's cock in order to get its way.

[thesummerqueen]

Sort of like the Jews inventing the whole of Exodus. Jesus is just in the grand tradition of his forebears. Martyrs and liars.

[Minimalist]

Pretty much.

One of the benefits of leading "the faithful" is that they are normally stupid enough to believe anything they are told.

[Tonus]

I think that this kind of overreach is very useful. It reminds people of just how dangerous religious jackwads can be, and why they shouldn't be anywhere near a government position. I am hopeful that this is indicative of a downward spiral; that as the religious right's political influence wanes, they will push for more radical legislation, which will accelerate the loss of political influence.

[Jackalope]

If the First Amendment does not apply to the states, neither do any of the other Amendments... in fact, if the Amendments do not apply to the states, then how can the rest of the Constitution apply to the states? In fact, what is it good for?

They do. See the first clause of the 14th amendment (the "privileges and immunities" clause).

[LastPoet]

I recently found that I'm protected under the 21st article of the Portuguese republic constitution, on my computer fixing deals. Jobless, without any income, I have the right of resistance e.g. pay no taxes, as I am fighting for survival.

*LP shows the technocrats his big middle fingers*