Encroachment of Religious Freedom in the US

The search for religious freedom is what brought the Pilgrims to what is now the US in 1620.  As William Bradford wrote in his History of Plymouth Plantation, they were determined, "whatever it might cost them, to shake off the anti-Christian bondage."  

Still, the colonies, and later states, persecuted believers of other sects.  For example, Baptists in Episcopalian Virginia who preached, did not pay taxes to the state church, or failed to baptize their infants were jailed, beaten with bludgeons, whipped, stoned, tortured, shot, or accused of child abuse.  Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams after he was exiled from Massachusetts for his divergent Christian beliefs.  Maryland was founded as a safe haven for Catholics who were banned from various other colonies.  

A Virginia Baptist pastor is waterboarded in 1778 by Episcopalian church-state authorities.

The Founding Fathers, descendents of those who fled persecution in Europe, saw firsthand how religious establishment worked in their own states and determined to take extreme diligence and care to ensure the federal government would not make any laws concerning religious establishment or encroach upon religious freedom.  They considered this right so important they defended it in the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

Hence, it is unlikely that freedom of religion in the US will ever be attacked blatantly and directly.  Instead, freedom of religion today is insidiously attacked through attrition.  Two of the most egregious encroachments apparent to me are through:

The Establishment of Statolatry

Tithes to the Established Deity of State  

Independence Day 2014: Part 2

Throughout the parade were many neat looking old and new cars.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

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Independence Day 2014

Today 238 years ago, the United States of America declared independence from Great Britain claiming the unalienable rights with which God has endowed each person: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and assuming among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitled them.  

Since, the 4th of July has been a celebration throughout the country.  This year we joined family in Shell Rock, Iowa to watch the town's Independence Day parade.  

We arrived 20 minutes early and set up our lawn chairs; we were surprised to see that the streets of this small town of 1,300+ people were already lined everywhere with people.

Sunflower Blogging Award

Many thanks to Cryslyn for nominating me for my second Sunflower Award.  The Sunflower Award is a way for bloggers to learn more about each other by asking 10 questions.  Here are my answers to Cryslyn's questions: 

1). What is your dream home?

I *really* like my current home, and I'm liking it even more as we're doing small remodelling jobs to fix up parts that have aged and make the house exactly as we like.  My dream home might have milder winters.

2). Do you have a current occupation? If not, what would you like for your future job to be?

Currently I work as marketing and sales manager and as a general laborer for the concrete division of Carson Welding and Concrete.  In other words: I mix concrete, weld rebar, create invoices, and mail advertisements.  Seasonally I work as a fruit-picker at a local orchard and do occasional jobs like shovelling out grain bins, house cleaning, pie-making, and teaching chess at Hank Anzis' Des Moines Chess Camp.  I enjoy the freedom of being able to work with my family and do a bit of everything.  

The Grundy County Courthouse: Part 2

 When we returned to the courthouse, our auditor, Rhonda Deters, led us through the Clerk's Office and up a small back staircase into the judge's office.  A judge is there every Monday to hear short cases (30 minutes or less).  Longer cases have to be scheduled for other days.  

The Grundy County Courthouse: Part 1

A couple Thursdays ago, my family and I visited the Grundy County Courthouse.  Our county auditor, Rhonda Deters, had kindly arranged with the custodian, Mark Jungling, to give us a tour of the clock tower! 

Pizza Hut

Last evening after a long day's work my family travelled to Iowa Falls for a pizza supper.  It was around 8 pm when we arrived, and the place was deserted except for the staff and a group of linemen from Minnesota who came in not long before we left.  We thought it was odd for the restaurant to be empty, but it could be due to the fact that most Iowans in our area seem to eat supper between 5 and 6:30 pm.  

Deep-Dish Barbecue Pizza