[Vision2020] and speaking of religion in public places

[Mark Solomon]

Here is Bill Sali in today's Lewiston Tribune. If there's someone 
other than G_d that he listens to, will they please tell him that 
many religions share the same principles such as peace and compassion?

"when principles outside of the Judeo-Christian tradition begin to be 
promoted within Congress, we should all recognize that the government 
given to us by the Founding Fathers will be at risk."

m.

******

Turnabout: Congress should pray to God of the Bible

Bill Sali

Sunday, August 26, 2007

This nation was founded on the principle of freedom of religion - a 
principle that I emphatically embrace and have taken an oath to 
defend. But our nation's freedom of religion does not mean, as some 
history revisionists would like us to believe, that our Founding 
Fathers weren't religious, nor that they didn't embrace Christian 
principles. They most certainly did. The Founders recognized that "it 
is impossible to rightly govern the without God and the Bible." It is 
unfortunate those words, which come directly from George Washington, 
would be deemed narrow-minded or bigoted if they were spoken today.

James Madison and John Adams would also be viewed as bigoted. Madison 
spoke of how the Almighty had extended his hand at critical stages of 
the American Revolution, allowing our nation to survive and thrive.

Adams wrote, "The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved 
independence ... were the general principals of Christianity. ... I 
will avow that I believed and now believe that those general 
principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the 
existence and attributes of God."

Was Benjamin Franklin culturally insensitive when he noted that it 
was difficult to imagine that our country could have come into being 
without the guidance, influence and governance of God? Franklin wrote 
that the Founders had "daily prayers for divine protection," and that 
their prayers were "graciously answered."

"I have lived a long time," Franklin wrote, "and the longer I live, 
the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs the 
affairs of men! And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without 
his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?"

And when I say that continued reliance on Christian principles have 
benefited this country in its past and will in its future, you need 
only look to Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln urged "intelligence, 
patriotism, Christianity and a firm reliance on him" to get our 
country through our country's darkest hour, the Civil War.

He made a promise to God that once Union soldiers won the battle at 
Antietam, he would issue the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the 
slaves. And he did.

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I'm sorry that my comments in support of my faith have been taken 
grossly out of context. But I'm not sorry to defend my faith, nor 
should I be.

I believe it is important to reach out to the hand of God for 
guidance and his protective hand and continued blessings upon our 
country. That is something that I do each morning and each night. I 
believe the invocation in Congress is an important matter and that we 
ought reach out to the God of the Bible, because it is he who 
continues to allow this country to prosper and he is responsible for 
the country's longevity.

That is what I was trying to convey in the radio interview a couple 
of weeks ago. It was difficult to do that in a limited amount of 
time. I suppose I could have done a better job explaining my 
position, but I also think it is wrong to take one small part of that 
interview and claim that is the whole of my position.

The Judeo-Christian principles on which our republic was founded can 
be embraced, defended and practiced by people of any faith. Anyone 
doing so will find an ally in me. But when principles outside of the 
Judeo-Christian tradition begin to be promoted within Congress, we 
should all recognize that the government given to us by the Founding 
Fathers will be at risk. That should give every American serious 
pause.
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