The Phrase “Separation of Church and State” is not in the U.S. Constitution?

This is Amendment I of the United States Constitution:

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.

Most Americans would be surprised to see that the phrase “separation of Church and State” is not in the United States Constitution. So where then does that phrase come from? It’s taken from a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists in 1802:

Believing that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their Legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.

-Letter to the Danbury Baptists, 1802

More and more, we are becoming aware of situations like this:

• Judge Orders San Diego Cross Removed – v.s. – (RELATED ARTICLE)
  
• Should the phrase “Under God” be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance? (This post is for) v.s. (This post is against).

• The ACLU Declares Jihad on Abstinence Education – and – (RELATED ARTICLE)
  
• Christian literature Ordered to be removed from prisons.
• Jackie Mason did a video blog that juxtaposes the social acceptance of pornography and immorality but increasingly condemns teachings of religion.
• This is a post from csadispatch.blogspot.com who feels the Bible is under attack in North Carolina.

This list could go on and on.

After a strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, is it right for people to attack religion (including Christianity)? The question I pose is this: “What is less constitutional: having a Cross or other religious symbol on public land or denying prisoners access to Judeo-Christian literature?”

Would your response be the same if the question was: “What is less constitutional: forbidding Crosses or other religious symbols on public land or allowing prisoners optional Judeo-Christian reading material?”

Is it possible, like Jackie Mason suggests, that the Constitution was designed to PROTECT individuals from the majority (Christians) but it has somehow been turned upside down in that now the Constitution is used to attack Christianity?

What say you?

Can Christians Cuddle before Marriage?

 There’s plenty to read about sexual immorality.  Some related links are:

www.broadcaster.org
www.libchrist.com
www.preachingtoday.com

Adultery,  bestiality, incest, and so on are very clearly condemned in the Bible.  Most agree that premarital sex is also condemned though there is a bit more controversy about that.  Posts at www.layhands.com and www.goodmorals.org suggest premarital sex is forbidden.  Posts at www.libchrist.com and www.youdebate.com offer the alternative standpoint.  This post, at www.beliefnet.com says that the reason premarital sex is a bit foggy in the Bible is because in those times, premarital sex was sort of considered a type of marriage (becoming one flesh).  You don’t actually commit sin until you have sex with the next person and at that point you’ve committed adultery on whomever you lost your virginity to.

Regardless, this post is not about adultery, incest, or even premarital sex.  It’s about cuddling.

THE INTRODUCTION:
Matthew 5:28
But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

This scripture tells us that it’s possible to fall to lust even looking at someone.  I think we can all relate to that.  There are some people that we can look at, talk to, etc without lust ever entering our heart.  There are those, however, who we may not know at all but at a glance lust enters our heart.  How does this relate to cuddling?

Perhaps the most relevant scripture I could find is this:

2 Timothy Chapter 2 (NLT)
22 Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.

Under this light, the question becomes this:  “Is it possible for people to cuddle without stimulating youthful lust?  In other words, is it possible for cuddling to incite emotional intimacy, rather than physical lust.

Both this post, and my previous post about Alcohol both present situations of the “slippery slope.”  For example:
“Alcohol is not, in and of itself, tainted by sin. It is, rather, drunkenness and addiction to alcohol that a Christian must absolutely refrain from.”

-gotquestions.com

The other thought is that given, alcohol alone may not be sinful, but because it leads to drunkenness and it can lead to addiction why not play it safe and abstain all together?  The same could be said for cuddling.  Perhaps it is possible for two young people to cuddle without things getting out of hand but it is less likely for things to get out of hand if they are miles away from one another.  The question would be: “why tempt lust?”

Chris Taylor left a comment on my previous post about alcohol that I found very astute.

He said “I say we Christians get too bogged down with this issue when there are people perishing out there because we’re inward focused.”

Upon reading this, I did feel a bit convicted.  I remember thinking “in the time it took to write this blog, I could have prayed for fifteen people in need.”  Is it valuable for us to obsess over questions like these or should we be spending our time as Christians serving Christ?

What say you?

Should Christians drink any alcohol at all?

I ask this question primarily of people who would describe themselves as practicing Christians, but am indeed open to hearing from anyone who has anything to say. I will do my best to keep my opinions out of the introduction. I hope to start a conversation in response to this question:

Should Christians drink any alcohol at all?

INTRODUCTION:
Here are a few thoughts/scriptures to start on.

What does the following passage mean? Is Solomon (or whomever wrote this specific Proverb) suggesting that it is alright for the downtrodden to drink?

4 “It is not for kings, O Lemuel—
not for kings to drink wine,
not for rulers to crave beer,

5 lest they drink and forget what the law decrees,
and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

6 Give beer to those who are perishing,
wine to those who are in anguish;

7 let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.

Others say that this verse is not implying that it is right to consume any alcohol but is intending to address the medical use of alcohol at the time it was written. Is this a reasonable response?

One of the most obvious things to bring up at this point is in the 2nd chapter of John, when Jesus turns water into wine.

6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the very top. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the head steward,” and they did. 9 When the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper wine when the guests have become drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!” 11 Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, in Cana of Galilee. In this way he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

Chuck Northrop offers an interesting prospective in his article, Did Jesus Turn Water into Wine? Northrop’s explanation is that Jesus did not create wine as we know it today, but grape juice. Is this a reasonable response?

Did Jesus Drink Wine?
There is another post at www.humblefishmall.com that is similar and also very interesting. The author of this post says that Jesus had to make the wine because His mother asked Him to, and he need to honor His mother in order to remain sinless. Both the humblefishmall post and Northrop’s post condemn harshly the abuse of Alcohol and I don’t expect they have much opposition to that statement. However, the question I intend to raise, is this:

Is it possible to have (in moderation) reasonable amounts of alcohol and not stumble? In other words, will even small amounts of alcohol send folks into a spiral of chaos?

I have provided a few examples that seem to imply any consumption of alcohol is wrongdoing. Below are a few examples that suggest perhaps consumption of alcohol is not a sin.

Gotquestions.org has a post about this specific topic, and the thesis is this: Alcohol is not, in and of itself, tainted by sin. It is, rather, drunkenness and addiction to alcohol that a Christian must absolutely refrain from (Ephesians 5:18; 1 Corinthians 6:12).

Biblestudy.org offers a similar prospective. In fact, this author’s stance differs from Northrop’s on the grape juice v.s. wine issue. The thesis here is basically this: The proper relationship between alcohol and Christians is really quite plain. It is merely a matter of moderation. As Paul told Timothy, “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine . . . .” When he wrote to the Ephesians he specified, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess . . . .” He said to not get drunk, but he did not say to totally abstain from wine. What is absent is just as important as what is present. “Let your moderation be known unto all men” (Philippians 4:5).

So… should Christians drink alcohol? What say you?