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Religion and European versus American History When researching ancestral history, one common thread that I frequently find in the Quest for Religious Freedom. Once upon a time, England didn't have a clue, one week they could be burning the Catholics and the next week the Protestants. My Catholic ancestors migrated from England to the New World so that they could be Catholics in peace. I have Quaker ancestors who were banished from Massachusetts by the Puritans. They started their own Quaker community in Lousia County, Virginia. There was a Mary Dyer who stood up to the Puritans and ended up getting hanged. Sometimes, it pays to choose your battles wisely. My ancestors survived. One of my ancestors was Dolly Madison. She was written out of the Pine Street Quaker Meeting after marrying James Madison. She joined the Episcopal Church and never looked back. My several times great grandmother Mary Small was written out of her Quaker Meeting for marrying John "KW" Waller. They moved to Kentucky and never looked back. Neither of them was Catholic but their married into the Catholic branch of my family. My younger 's several times great grandfather and his several times great uncle both left England along with their sons because both their wives had been put on trial for being witches. They were tied and bounded, tossed into the river and drowned. They were found to be innocent and given a Christian burial by the crown. True witches would have floated, would have been executed, and tossed into a pit without Christian burial. This kind of insanity was happening all over Europe. There was the Spanish Inquisition, Reformation battles, and Burning times. It's a small wonder that folks were fleeing Europe and sailing to the New World. Thomas Jefferson wrote e The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was drafted in 1777 (however it was not first introduced into the Virginia General Assembly until 1779) by Thomas Jefferson in the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia. On January 16, 1786, the Assembly enacted the statute into the state's law. The statute disestablished the Church of England in Virginia and guaranteed freedom of religion to people of all religious faiths, including Christians of all denominations, Jews, Muslims, and Hindus. The statute was a notable precursor of the First Amendment in the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights including the First Amendment was adopted by the States to become the United States Bill of Rights in1791.  Abracadabra  |
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The first amendment allows United States citizens to be as devout or free-thinking as they want and still consider themselves spiritual. Abracadabra
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I am a Christian because I have a personal relationship with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It's that simple. I don't require a denominational name nor do I owe explanations to any person for what I believe or how I chose to live those beliefs and it certainly is nothing to argue about. As your blog shows, it's insane how many denominations, splinter groups, titles, and cults there are, all claiming to be the right form of Christianity. No wonder many are totally turned off to anything they view as religion. Be a prism, spreading God's light and love, not a mirror reflecting the world's hatred.
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I am a Christian because I have a personal relationship with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It's that simple. I don't require a denominational name nor do I owe explanations to any person for what I believe or how I chose to live those beliefs and it certainly is nothing to argue about. As your blog shows, it's insane how many denominations, splinter groups, titles, and cults there are, all claiming to be the right form of Christianity. No wonder many are totally turned off to anything they view as religion. Abracadabra
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2/14/2020 1:50 pm |
Thomas Jefferson wrote all (citizens) had and still have freedom of religion. Since the blacks were property of the whites (definitely not citizens) did they have they same freedom of religion or was that reserved for the whites who wrote the rules? Yes that religious stuff is confusing to the Christians but I don't hold any of it against them. Pray On!
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Hold your horses there champ.....your characterization of my blog is ridiculous...sounds like you got your panties in a wad......LOL......Your ancestors got out of Europe on religious grounds a long time ago......My blog was referring to the present.....and, by the way, women were persecuted and killed for witchcraft in the USA as well.....The Inquisition and all that crazyness happened before there was a USA....and in the USA had it's share of Christian crazy...... But now, today, in the present, the USA isn't unique in having freedom of religion. It is actually considered to be 9th on a list of best in freedom of religion......behind all those Western European countries that aren't so freaked out by Sikhs and Hindus and Islam and Atheism.....In case you were wondering, freedom of Religion is not just freedom for Christians........ The
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2/14/2020 3:44 pm |
The First Amendment also means there will be no State sponsored religion. As in Spain and France and yes England at the time the Constitution was written
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Thomas Jefferson quotation: The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts as are only injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg. "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts as are only injurious to others. Abracadabra
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Hold your horses there champ.....your characterization of my blog is ridiculous...sounds like you got your panties in a wad......LOL......Your ancestors got out of Europe on religious grounds a long time ago......My blog was referring to the present.....and, by the way, women were persecuted and killed for witchcraft in the USA as well.....The Inquisition and all that crazyness happened before there was a USA....and in the USA had it's share of Christian crazy...... But now, today, in the present, the USA isn't unique in having freedom of religion. It is actually considered to be 9th on a list of best in freedom of religion......behind all those Western European countries that aren't so freaked out by Sikhs and Hindus and Islam and Atheism.....In case you were wondering, freedom of Religion is not just freedom for Christians........ The Abracadabra
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2/14/2020 6:09 pm |
I'm free of the stigma. I think of it now like I did the day I was born. It is as important to me now as it was on day one. Everything about it has to be learned. It is not a necessity in life. So I am not concerned with it. I don't hold that stuff against those who waste their life away trying to believe in fantasy. To each his or her own. I do enjoy asking questions they can't answer. LOL There is a huge book full of them.
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WTF are you talking about? A person can be spiritual within the confines of a religious denomination. Quakers believe that there is a light inside of every person regardless. I tend to do better within a spiritual community and Quakerism is the best fit for me. What other people do or don't do is their own business. Abracadabra
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2/14/2020 6:22 pm |
Dear God please send these humans a message informing them of the proper church and your true identity----thus exposing all the god pretenders who are working to send people to hell or wherever else you intend the mistaken to go. There is MASS confusion down here. (no pun intended).
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The United States is much like Europe with an assortment of citizens with varying beliefs including Jews, Sikhs, Hindus and Islam and Baha'i along with the atheists. There is more diversity in the cities versus rural communities like the one where I live. There are four churches all in a row down the hill from my abode. I attend 12 Step Meetings in the Presbyterian Church, next to it is the Episcopal Church that I attend occasionally. It also hosts 12 Step Meetings and the Priest is a Lesbian. Next to that Church is a Baptist that I don't attend. It has an outdoor food pantry where I add donations. Next to that Church is a Catholic Church where I go to light candles. I know a yoga instructor who attends the Catholic Church who tells me that the Priest is married with children. A few miles down the road is the black neighborhood with several churches including the African Methodist Episcopal Church. In the next county are several pagan communes along with a snake-handling church. There is a local Unitarian Church for folks who don't quite fit the Christian mode. There are also a bunch of people who don't attend any kind of church. They go to bars instead but only after 1pm on Sundays.
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So what?....My blog was about State-sanctioned religion.... Abracadabra
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There is no State-sanctioned religion in the United States. People gravitate to what works best for them. I am sure that snake-handling preacher doesn't want any lesbians in his congregation. Likewise, the lesbian priest doesn't want any snakes in her church
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'Likewise, the lesbian priest doesn't want any snakes in her church' especially the one-eyed kind
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Just noticed additional posts which weren't there when I posted earlier. Just want to say I'm neutral, that I respect others beliefs. My reference to snake was prompted by the novel 'The Power of One', set in apartheid South Africa during 1930's/1940's (Bryce Courtenay) - nothing to do with lesbians, just one-eyed snakes (among other things). Brilliant.
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2/15/2020 3:31 am |
Dear God please impress upon your confused followers which (if any) churches belong to you or to them. There is mass confusion down here.
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2/15/2020 8:22 am |
ET this is a friends site. I think she claimed to be a Quaker. If my religious memory is correct I think Quaker means friends. So she must be your friend. LOL Actually this is such a friendly site I stay pissed off for 3 hours every night just thinking how friendly retired people are in their leisure time. I worked hard to reach this wonderful point in life. LOL. Enjoy. Party On!
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You are the confused one. A person can be Spiritual within the confines of religion but they can also be Spiritual while dancing in the rain. Abracadabra
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2/15/2020 1:20 pm |
Great Reply Star And I Loved your Blog Your a sweetheart
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2/15/2020 6:21 pm |
There is an old song Pretend You Are Happy When You Are Blue-----I can't remember just how it goes----but I do not pretend that anything happening on this site has significant meaning. I just cancel it out and forge on ahead. No point in being blue or angry about it. It is not worth getting upset over. Real friends can disagree vehemently ------come back later and still be friends. Someday Block & I will go fishing. LOL Party On!
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What do you think "IN GOD WE TRUST" means? Abracadabra
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What do you think "IN GOD WE TRUST" means?
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How can the subject religion cause such an uproar in a blog - "You dumb, Me intelligent"!? LOL Happiness is when what you think, what you say, what you do are in harmony - M. Gandhi
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How can the subject religion cause such an uproar in a blog - "You dumb, Me intelligent"!? LOL
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