Re: A VERY POWERFUL CARTOON....

why are Christians banned from
praying in public and from erecting religious displays on their holy
days?
---
The case of Allegheny County v. Greater Pittsburgh ACLU, 492 U.S. 573.

What happened to our National Day of Prayer?
---
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution
and laws of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 6,
2010, as a National Day of Prayer.

Most of the early colonies were generally not tolerant of dissident
forms of worship, with Maryland being the only exception. For example,
Roger Williams found it necessary to found a new colony in Rhode
Island to escape persecution in the theocratically dominated colony of
Massachusetts. The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were the
most active of the New England persecutors of Quakers, and the
persecuting spirit was shared by the Plymouth Colony and the colonies
along the Connecticut river.[29] In 1660, one of the most notable
victims of the religious intolerance was English Quaker Mary Dyer who
was hanged in Boston, Massachusetts for repeatedly defying a Puritan
law banning Quakers from the colony.[29] As one of the four executed
Quakers known as the Boston martyrs, the hanging of Dyer on the Boston
gallows marked the beginning of the end of the Puritan theocracy and
New England independence from English rule, and in 1661 King Charles
II explicitly forbade Massachusetts from executing anyone for
professing Quakerism.[30]

Another notable example of religious persecution by Puritans in
Massachusetts was the Salem witch trials in 1692 and 1693. Thirty-one
witchcraft trials were held, convicting twenty-nine people of the
capital felony of witchcraft. Nineteen of the accused, fourteen women
and five men, were hanged. One man who refused to enter a plea was
crushed to death under heavy stones in an attempt to force him to do
so.

Freedom of religion was first applied as a principle of government in
the founding of the colony of Maryland, founded by the Catholic Lord
Baltimore, in 1634.[31] Fifteen years later (1649) the Maryland
Toleration Act, drafted by Lord Baltimore, provided: "No person or
persons...shall from henceforth be any waies troubled, molested or
discountenanced for or in respect of his or her religion nor in the
free exercise thereof." The Maryland Toleration Act was repealed with
the assistance of Protestant assemblymen and a new law barring
Catholics from openly practicing their religion was passed.[32] In
1657, the Catholic Lord Baltimore regained control after making a deal
with the colony's Protestants, and in 1658 the Act was again passed by
the colonial assembly. This time, it would last more than thirty
years, until 1692,[33] when after Maryland's Protestant Revolution of
1689, freedom of religion was again rescinded.[31][34] In addition in
1704, an Act was passed "to prevent the growth of Popery in this
Province", preventing Catholics from holding political office.[34]
Full religious toleration would not be restored in Maryland until the
American Revolution, when Maryland's Charles Carroll of Carrollton
signed the American Declaration of Independence.

Reiterating Maryland's earlier colonial legislation, the Virginia
Statute for Religious Freedom, written in 1779 by Thomas Jefferson,
proclaimed:

"[N]o man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious
worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced,
restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall
otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but
that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain,
their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no
wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities."

Those sentiments also found expression in the First Amendment of the
national constitution, part of the United States' Bill of Rights:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

The United States formally considers religious freedom in its foreign
relations. The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 established
the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom which
investigates the records of over 200 other nations with respect to
religious freedom, and makes recommendations to submit nations with
egregious records to ongoing scrutiny and possible economic sanctions.
Many human rights organizations have urged the United States to be
still more vigorous in imposing sanctions on countries that do not
permit or tolerate religious freedom.

On Apr 16, 10:24 am, Bear Bear <thatbear...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Got this one from my mom of all people. WE don't have muslims praying in
> the streets here yet. Just in the public schools.
>
> **
>
>    **
>
>  **
>
>      A VERY POWERFUL CARTOON....
>
> **
>                      *A very  powerful cartoon.....please keep it  going*.
> This should  be posted in every school in the Canada and the USA
>
> [image: Description: cid:94ECEE59A8424E918AE9A27AD9A4BCF7@computer]*
> Only 31  words -- Think about it!*
>      *
> Isn't  life strange?  I never met one Veteran who enlisted to fight for
> Socialism!
> 86% will send this on.*
>
> If  Muslims can pray on Madison Avenue, why are  Christians banned from
> praying in public and from  erecting religious displays on their holy  days?
>
> What  happened to our National Day of Prayer?
> Muslims  are allowed to block off Madison Ave. , in N.Y.C.,  and pray in
> the middle of the street! And, it's a  monthly ritual!
>
> Tell me, again, whose  country is this?
>                                 Ours or the Muslims?
>
> I was  asked to send this on if I agree, or delete if I  don't.
>
> It is said  that 86% of Americans & Canadians believe in  God.
>
> Therefore, I have a very hard time  understanding why there is such a
> problem in  having 'In God! We Trust' on our money and having  'God' in the
> Pledge of Allegiance or the Lord's prayer said in our schools or public
> meetings.
>
> I  believe it's time we stand up for what we  believe!
>
> If you agree, pass this on; if  not, delete.
>
> Thank  you
>
> ****
> **
> ****
> ****
>
>  Mail122.jpg
> 165KViewDownload
>
>  ATT000~111.JPG
> 19KViewDownload

--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum

* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.