Free State Patriot

Mark Caserta: Amendment protects religious freedom

Jan. 09, 2014 @ 12:00 AM

It amazes me when otherwise intelligent people invoke the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and effectuate exactly what it was intended to prevent — the suppression of religious freedom.

Nevertheless, the words, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” are recurrently maligned in pursuit of a progressive agenda rather than to protect the religious rights of Americans.

While it’s true the word “God” is nowhere to be found in the text of the Constitution, it’s equally true the words “separation of church and state” do not appear.

In order to understand the framers’ intent in constructing this founding document, one must first understand their mindset and spiritual ideology.

The absence of the word “God” doesn’t mean the Framers were not spiritual people. It’s simply expositive of their belief that the “new” government should not involve itself in matters of religion and more precisely in the rights of the people to express their faith openly.

The phrase “separation of church and state” evolved from a Thomas Jefferson writing which described the First Amendment as a “wall of separation” between the church and the state. James Madison once said it “drew a line,” but it’s Jefferson’s term that is misused today.

Based on numerous writings, documents and speeches, nearly all of the framers of the Constitution were Christian, or at the very least, deists. Generally deists believe in a single God who set the universe on its course and allowed it to evolve. Some deists believe their “deity” is the same God of Judeo-Christian tradition, some do not.

Among the framers, more than a half-dozen sects of the Protestant side of Christianity were represented and no doubt there were disagreements about styles and methods of worship. It was the framers intent to ensure no one “sect” could ever seize control of a government or begin a theocracy.

So, let’s break it down. “Congress shall…”

“Make no law respecting an establishment of religion” is crystal clear. Government may never mandate a particular religion or favor one in legislation.

“Or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” denotes government is powerless in suppressing our religious expression — period. Sadly, this issue has been inflamed by Supreme Court justices appointed for their “predictable” interpretive ideologies.

But it is the height of hypocrisy for liberals to call for punitive action against Christian symbols and actions or refuse to honor their religious beliefs when these actions clearly violate the very amendment they inappropriately invoke!

Following Congress’ work on the First Amendment, President George Washington issued a Proclamation of “thanksgiving and prayer” to thank God for the freedoms we enjoy. The opening paragraph of his proclamation said:

“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor…”

To this day, every session of Congress begins with prayer.

Conservatives support the Constitutional interpretation of the law.

The First Amendment does not prohibit our religious freedom; it protects it.

Mark Caserta is a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

Mark Caserta: Christians must get involved in coming year

Jan. 02, 2014 @ 12:00 AM

I believe 2014 will be a defining year for our nation — one in which the progressive movement will attempt to accost the fundamental values and principles of our country in ways we’ve never even imagined.

And God is calling His people to get engaged in the fight.

Understand God has never required perfection in His people before calling them to a purpose. As with any loving father, He simply asks for our very best — our first fruits if you will — in serving Him.

I often ponder the life of Jesus and how He performed his everyday duties for his earthly father during his first 30 years before beginning his ministry.

A carpenter by trade, it’s almost certain Jesus learned his craftsman skills from his father Joseph. The custom in those days among the working class was that a trade be passed down from father to son and was often done through several generations.

I have little doubt Jesus was a master craftsman. I’d wager the work he and his father produced in their shop was widely known for its excellence in quality. Whether a table, a chair or part of an elaborate building project, I can envision him measuring and re-measuring to ensure accuracy while painstakingly cutting, fitting and molding each project to perfection!

No doubt, Jesus must have been encumbered by the same discomforts and emotions we face every day. There must have been days he certainly didn’t feel like working and felt the same “urges” to gripe and complain as the rest of us often do.

But Jesus was learning the importance of role-modeling excellence in all he set out to accomplish. He was learning that appearance profited little without an enduring structure and load-bearing foundation. His artisan training taught him the integrity of an entire structure depended upon the trueness of the first cornerstone laid.

And Jesus Christ himself would eventually become the Chief Cornerstone of the Church.

Now, some 2,000 years later, and eerily similar to those who nailed our Savior to that tree on Calvary, there are those who see Jesus and His followers as a threat to humanity and desire to “re-crucify” him by removing any reference to Christianity from public view and from any governing ideology.

At what point did God say it was acceptable for His people to idly stand by and allow the enemy to destroy the world He sent His Son to save? Does God’s Word not say, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”

Just as Jesus’ finished work as a carpenter represented the teachings of his earthly father, our work on earth represents our Heavenly Father. Jesus took 12 men and shook the world. What can Christians do today in comparison?

Make the most meaningful New Year’s resolution you could possibly make. Get the fire, get the facts and get involved in 2014.

It’s up to Christians to return Godly values and biblical principles to our nation’s government.

Ye are the light of the world.

Mark Caserta is a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

Man’s wisdom is fallible, not God’s word

Oct. 17, 2013 @ 09:27 AM

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And 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?”

Those words from Thomas Jefferson, our third president and drafter of the Declaration of Independence, are paramount for the time in which we live. For if we are to continue as the prosperous society which God intended, we must have full faith and confidence that God’s Word is unlike the “grass which withers” and the “flower which fades,” but is eternal and “stands forever.”

It’s true that some of our country’s founding fathers were not Bible-believing Christians. But the very fabric of our nation was divinely inspired of God! The reference to God and his omnipotent power is reflected throughout all of our nation’s founding documents, so I do not propose to “re-try” this argument before the court of our readers.

But we’ve all been subjected to the “guise” and “stratagem” of the progressive movement. For over a century, its goal has clearly been to methodically remove God and His influence from our society, rendering it “as a wave of the sea, tossed and driven by the wind.”

God prepared us for this time by providing the “full armor” and power of His Word so we could stand firm against the schemes of all who would attempt to challenge and bring uncertainty to the biblical statutes that have governed our lives for centuries.

Liberals see God’s Word not as truth, but as the primary obstacle for fundamentally changing America. They understand the efficacy of the Bible cannot be diminished all at once, but through gradually questioning its accuracy, interpretation and intent over time.

Now, while no one knows the heart of man, it’s indefensible that anyone would attempt to decry the legitimacy or inerrancy of God’s Word in a day and age when our country needs it so desperately.

The truth is the liberal contestation of God’s Word is inconsequential in deciding the outcome of this “battle.” God has already prevailed through his son, Jesus. His only desire in prolonging our life on earth is to allow as many believers to enter into His Kingdom as possible.

Defiance arises within the spirit of a believer when God’s Word is questioned! Why would anyone claiming to be a believer spend more time questioning God’s Word than sharing the good news of Jesus?

Even “earthly” wisdom suggests that the “unbeliever” who wrongly chooses a path to eternal destruction has more to lose than a Christian who enjoys life according to God’s commandments.

Questioning the inerrancy of God’s Word seeks to transcend the wisdom of The Almighty and typifies man’s arrogant and pernicious nature.

I certainly don’t claim to have all the answers, but I know a God who does. And I’m confident that the truth may be unequivocally found in His Word — the Holy Bible.

Rest assured, fallibility lies in man’s wisdom — not God’s.

Mark Caserta is a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

Dec. 21, 2011 @ 10:00 PM

The brilliance and imagery of the Charles Dickens classic, “A Christmas Carol,” offers a timeless reflection of the magical consequences of human kindness.

Of his tale, Dickens wrote, “I have endeavored in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.”

And “haunt” us it has for over 150 years with its sustained relevance for mankind and its sobering look at the sanctity and purpose of life.

Ebenezer Scrooge was a man lost within his own maize of anxiety, stripped of his compassion for others whose significance diminished as his wealth grew.

Yet, Scrooge, although unworthy of his journey of recompense, was given an opportunity to witness the chains he forged in life from the third person as he was led on a journey by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.

I can only surmise Dickens chose Christmas as the setting of his tale of repentance because of the depth of purpose he envisioned it had for his fellow man and the opportunity it offered for reflecting upon one’s life choices.

I do, however, submit Dickens is prompting us to invoke similar introspection.

How would your journey fare with the three apparitions?

How sound are the choices in your past?

Life choices in today’s world are exceedingly complex and follow a path dimly lit and laden with distractions proprietary to our times.

A popular phrase the past few years has been, “What would Jesus do”?

Psalms 25:4 says, “Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.”

More than ever before, we need a spiritual compass to help with our decision-making.

What about the present day?

As you woke this morning and prepared for interaction with others, what was your expectation? What, do you suppose, was theirs?

James 1:19 tells us, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…”

A simple recommendation which would undoubtedly help each day become more productive for many of us!

What about your future? Surely thoughts of our future should consume us! After all, we’re taught from a young age to prepare for this period of life!

But isn’t that exactly what Ebenezer did?

Today is yesterday’s future!

God doesn’t want us consumed with hoarding riches in this life.

Matthew 6:19 advises, “Do not store up yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”

God wants us to love each other and build our eternal riches in heaven!

Ebenezer Scrooge had some ghostly mentors to influence change in his life and Dickens ensured his writings paved the way by allowing time for Scrooge to alter his future.

Unfortunately, none of us have Dickens’ script guaranteeing our life tomorrow.

Perhaps we should use Christmas, as Dickens did, to reflect upon chains we may have forged.

Mark Caserta is a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.