Freedom of Religion

I planned on doing some editing to my last post because I wasn't finished with it, but people have already read it so I decided to put the rest of my ideas in a second post. Freedom of religion has to be kept within some bounds. Now you may think this is not freedom but the same as God gives us freedom that freedom is within some boundaries. First off I think religion should be defined as a group with specific rituals and practices that are centered around worshiping God as the creator of all things. This is a short loose definition and needs work but the idea is it eliminates satan worship as a recognizable religion and removes it from political protection. There are other weird concepts out there that this also eliminates. I also think that as a recognizable religion it should not tear down other groups of people or religions or promote violence against others.
Once we clearly define religion we can define the freedoms it has. The state or government should not have any influence in what religion its citizens participate in and should not sponsor or show favoritism towards any specific religion. It should also not oppress any religious group or idea. I love the saying Freedom of Religion not Freedom from Religion. I think as a community we should embrace what common threads we share with those of other faiths and celebrate and support each other as it promotes piece and happiness in a community. This is why the displaying of the 10 commandments in state owned buildings and prayer in school and in congress should be allowed, it brings us together as a people. By tearing those things down we are separated and secluded. Our beliefs in God are pushed back to the point we will only openly discuss Him on Sunday in church. To me this is not freedom it is oppression. By allowing small groups and individuals to take away our rights to freedom is wrong. I am offended that the 10 commandments are not more prominently displayed where others can see and be reminded of the way we live our lives I am offended that prayer is not being said in schools. I am offended by those who are offended.

Seperation of church and state

I've been thinking about what this means to me. Some have really strong feelings about it and are seriously missing the mark I feel. Here is what I think. The state has no say how a church runs its self as long as the church as a hole does not promote breaking laws. The church does have some say in how the state runs as its members are citizens of the state and its ideals represent in some cases large numbers of its citizens, our government should run by the people and for the people. However the state does have the responsibility of running its self based on the wants of the general public as a majority as long as those wants do not oppress the rights of others and as long as those rights do not negatively effect the general good of the community.
I also believe that the government is owned by the people and is a servant of the people. All government buildings are owned by the people and should be used as the majority of the people want them used, for example if the majority wanted prayer in school the school should allow it to be done. If a minority or individual does not wish this to be the case they are not forced to participate. If the people wish to have things like the 10 commandments displayed inside or outside a government building then they should be. If an individual feels they do not want them to be there they need not look at them. There is no statement in the constitution that an individual has the right to not be offended and we need not run our government based on this idea. If there is sufficient numbers of people that want something removed they have a right to petition and if they meet the requirements that item should be placed up for a vote. I am tired of small groups of people taking away the rights of the majority and forcing their will on the rest, this kind of thing is what causes the fall of a nation.

Easter with max

In charlie and the chocolate factory the kid gets one candy bar for his birthday, he is so happy to have it and he shares with the family. Its sad and heart warming at the same time. Well for Easter we decided to bring it down a notch for several reasons, watching what we spend and lower the stress level were 2 of them. I was at wal mart on sat. Easter weekend and it was like Christmas eve (man i hate that place). I grabbed Max a chocolate rabbit and figure that's good enough for this year. Max loves loves loves chocolate. So Sunday morning no presents, no baskets and he didn't notice anything was different. Then HD hands him the choco rabbit and he says "whats this?" then requests help opening it. He bites the ears off and puts it back into the box and hands it to me and says "I don't want it, you can have it." Sad and heart warming at the same time, just like the movies. Ok it was more funny and weird at the same time but hey at least he wasn't whining about no basket full of peeps. (i miss my peeps)