Re: Woman arrested after damaging Satanic display at Florida Capitol
Greetings, Vesper. :2wave:
I'm so happy that you took the time to research this! :thumbs: I'll bet I was not the only one who did not know that every State Constitution makes reference to a Supreme being. How fitting for this time of year, and the holiday we just celebrated!
Hi Pol, I found it ironic as our Constitution does not mention a Supreme being yet the Declaration of Independence does. It references a Supreme Being 5 different times.
"Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God" are the first two. Actually these are the words of Cicero the philosopher, 1st Century B. C like other early philosophers believed there was a source of higher law that never changes. From Cicero “Nor may any other law override it, nor may it be repealed as a whole or in part… Nor is it one thing at Rome and another at Athens, one thing today and another tomorrow, but one eternal and unalterable law, that binds all nations forever.” Of “Nature’s God,” the second reference to deity is, of course, more explicit and needs no explanation.
The third reference to God is the word “Creator” found in the second paragraph. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The fourth is Supreme Judge in the last paragraph. “We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown…”
The fifth and last reference to a Supreme Being is Divine Providence. “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”
In this great country you have the right to believe or not believe in anything you want. And people need to respect that because if they don't they risk losing their own religious freedom.
However, the closer government becomes to the people (state, local) the less secular it becomes as evident in state constitutions. But even then, no one has the right to "force" their beliefs onto another. While I am sure the Satanist display was set up to mock those of faith during the holiday season, what do you expect from a Satanist? Same with some atheist groups who seem to be working overtime to tear down religious symbols important to others. Or recently in the news where Muslims complained about a crucifix and it was removed. There are plenty of examples of intolerance in our society.
