Judge Condemns National Day of Prayer

While on the Fox News site this afternoon I found an article by Mike Levine, Judge: Natl Day Of Prayer Unconstitutional .

“In a 66-page opinion issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb said the holiday violates the “establishment clause” of the First Amendment, which creates a separation of church and state.”

Of late I’ve been going over a talk given by former Secretary of Agriculture, Ezra Taft Benson, The Proper Role of Government . The same thought keeps making its way to the surface, that there is a concerted effort to remove the link between American citizens and their Creator.

In that talk, one which should be required reading by anyone who considers his/her citizenship this nation of worth, Benson reminded us of the words of Thomas Jefferson:

“Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath?”


Benson continued:


“Starting at the foundation of the pyramid, let us first consider the origin of those freedoms we have come to know are human rights. There are only two possible sources. Rights are either God-given as part of the Divine Plan, or they are granted by government as part of the political plan. Reason, necessity, tradition and religious convictions all lead me to accept the divine origin of these rights. If we accept the premise that human rights are granted by government, then we must be willing to accept the corollary that they can be denied by government. I, for one, shall never accept that premise. As the French political economist, Frederick Bastiat, phrased it so succinctly, “Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.”


There are other areas which Benson expressed insight; but none more eloquently as his distinction on the separation of church and state, the topic of the day, one which U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb fails to comprehend.


“I support the doctrine of separation of church and state as traditionally interpreted to prohibit the establishment of an official national religion. But I am opposed to the doctrine of separation of church and state as currently interpreted to divorce government from any formal recognition of God. The current trend strikes a potentially fatal blow at the concept of the divine origin of our rights, and unlocks the door for an easy entry of future tyranny. If Americans should ever come to believe that their rights and freedoms are instituted among men by politicians and bureaucrats, then they will no longer carry the proud inheritance of their forefathers, but will grovel before their masters seeking favors and dispensations – a throwback to the Feudal System of the Dark Ages. We must ever keep in mind the inspired words of Thomas Jefferson, as found in the Declaration of Independence:


“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. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” (emphasis added)

It should come as no surprise, “The opinion comes in a case filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based group of self-described “atheists” and “agnostics.”’


Here is the wording of the 1st Amendment as found in the Bill of Rights:


Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.


Only a wicked and perverse generation, to include the Supreme Court, could interpret such a sentiment as reason to preclude gratitude to that God who provided this nation its founding documents through men specifically raised up for that purpose . The eternal Creator having set aside this land for a worthy cause protected our efforts during the war of independence and has blessed each successive generation.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb would rather not include “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” because the separation of church and state referred to had to do with establishing a specific denomination such as had been done on the other side of the pond with The Church of England. At no time will history show that our founding fathers were derelict in their recognition or their gratitude for all the many blessings from God.

A vicious circle has been brought into play here in America, the idea that our nation’s founding documents mistakenly assigned credit for our inalienable rights to God. There are many among us who would alter history, have us forget our grand heritage; may we always hold dear, “in God we trust” as we offer our prayer of thanks.