http://www.northwestvoice.com/home/Blog/rustman/26878 &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Upon leaving the Constitutional Convention at its close in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked whether the founding fathers had decided on a monarchy or a republic.&nbsp; Franklin responded&hellip; &ldquo;a republic, if you can keep it.&rdquo;&nbsp; I think Franklin may have been somewhat of a prophet. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A lot is made in the Christian community (of which I am a born-again member) about how the founding fathers were bible believing Christians.&nbsp; They may have been, but don&rsquo;t believe for an instant that they were intending to establish a Christian nation.&nbsp; Nothing could be farther from the truth.&nbsp; Their intentions were to escape the religious persecution of England.&nbsp; They established exactly what they intended, a democracy, not a theocracy.&nbsp; Freedom of religion is at the core of their beliefs, even freedom from religion if that is what the individual decides.&nbsp; But now religion and politics have somehow forged a very strange alliance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We question a person&rsquo;s religion as a deciding factor in whether he or she is fit for office.&nbsp; What that often leads to is a plethora of political speeches that end with, &ldquo;God bless America&rdquo;, which almost takes on the tone of nothing more than &ldquo;Good night and good luck.&rdquo;&nbsp; George Bush is allegedly a born-again believer.&nbsp; Has that guided him in the best decisions for this nation?&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; City Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan spearheaded a campaign, along with&nbsp;trustee Chad Vegas,&nbsp;that put patriotic posters that included the phrase &lsquo;In God We Trust&rsquo; into high school classrooms.&nbsp; Ms. Sullivan is a wonderful person and public servant, I know her.&nbsp; But here is the problem.&nbsp; If the intention is to somehow get God into the classroom this way, the campaign failed.&nbsp; The only way God will ever get into the classroom is in the hearts and minds of students and faculty.&nbsp; Plus, won&rsquo;t most Christians say that the God they serve is different than the gods of other religions? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I&rsquo;m a Christian.&nbsp; I love the Lord.&nbsp; So here&rsquo;s my offering of a motto that you can put on a bumper sticker.&nbsp; Instead of all those &lsquo;God Bless America&rsquo; bumper stickers you see, how about one that says &lsquo;America, Bless God.&rsquo;&nbsp; I believe therein lies the problem.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I think old Ben had the right idea when he&nbsp;replied&nbsp;&lsquo;a republic if you can keep it.&rsquo;&nbsp; The great thing about democracy is that people have the freedom to do just about anything they want.&nbsp; The problem with democracy is that people have the freedom to do just about anything they want.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Upon leaving the Constitutional Convention at its close in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked whether the founding fathers had decided on a monarchy or a republic.&nbsp; Franklin responded&hellip; &ldquo;a republic, if you can keep it.&rdquo;&nbsp; I think Franklin may have been somewhat of a prophet. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A lot is made in the Christian community (of which I am a born-again member) about how the founding fathers were bible believing Christians.&nbsp; They may have been, but don&rsquo;t believe for an instant that they were intending to establish a Christian nation.&nbsp; Nothing could be farther from the truth.&nbsp; Their intentions were to escape the religious persecution of England.&nbsp; They established exactly what they intended, a democracy, not a theocracy.&nbsp; Freedom of religion is at the core of their beliefs, even freedom from religion if that is what the individual decides.&nbsp; But now religion and politics have somehow forged a very strange alliance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We question a person&rsquo;s religion as a deciding factor in whether he or she is fit for office.&nbsp; What that often leads to is a plethora of political speeches that end with, &ldquo;God bless America&rdquo;, which almost takes on the tone of nothing more than &ldquo;Good night and good luck.&rdquo;&nbsp; George Bush is allegedly a born-again believer.&nbsp; Has that guided him in the best decisions for this nation?&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; City Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan spearheaded a campaign, along with&nbsp;trustee Chad Vegas,&nbsp;that put patriotic posters that included the phrase &lsquo;In God We Trust&rsquo; into high school classrooms.&nbsp; Ms. Sullivan is a wonderful person and public servant, I know her.&nbsp; But here is the problem.&nbsp; If the intention is to somehow get God into the classroom this way, the campaign failed.&nbsp; The only way God will ever get into the classroom is in the hearts and minds of students and faculty.&nbsp; Plus, won&rsquo;t most Christians say that the God they serve is different than the gods of other religions? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I&rsquo;m a Christian.&nbsp; I love the Lord.&nbsp; So here&rsquo;s my offering of a motto that you can put on a bumper sticker.&nbsp; Instead of all those &lsquo;God Bless America&rsquo; bumper stickers you see, how about one that says &lsquo;America, Bless God.&rsquo;&nbsp; I believe therein lies the problem.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I think old Ben had the right idea when he&nbsp;replied&nbsp;&lsquo;a republic if you can keep it.&rsquo;&nbsp; The great thing about democracy is that people have the freedom to do just about anything they want.&nbsp; The problem with democracy is that people have the freedom to do just about anything they want.&nbsp; en-us <p>Well-stated, Rusty.&nbsp; And some excellent points.&nbsp; I will be curious to see if our online bloggers agree/disagree with you.</p> http://www.northwestvoice.com/home/Blog/rustman/26878/#c_240223 http://www.northwestvoice.com/home/Blog/rustman/26878/#c_240223 <p>Well-stated, Rusty.&nbsp; And some excellent points.&nbsp; I will be curious to see if our online bloggers agree/disagree with you.</p> <p>well, I agree on your point you are making. I just want to give you some insight on our forfathers. They were freemasons. George Bush and his dad are freemasons, skull & bones men sororiety, bohemian grove attenders, and belong to the NWO (new world order)  oh, and have something to do with the Illuminati  (CIA).</p> <p>19 presidents to date belonged to the majority of these organizitions(occults) thanks to our birthing mother, England...</p> <p>I could go on and on, but will stop....lol I had studied this all for along time since I was once deceived by one I married (divorced now) and since came to know my heavenly creator Abba YHWH and the Ruach kodesh (holy spirit) opened my eyes and heart. I am a born again Believer and follower of Yahushua Moshiach (hebrew, for Jesus Christ) and study His ways not mans.</p> <p>I did like your article hope I didnt upset anyone by what I shared, but I have studied quite some on these issues.</p> <p>bless you always in the of our Abba YHWH</p> <p>Susan</p> http://www.northwestvoice.com/home/Blog/rustman/26878/#c_245374 http://www.northwestvoice.com/home/Blog/rustman/26878/#c_245374 <p>well, I agree on your point you are making. I just want to give you some insight on our forfathers. They were freemasons. George Bush and his dad are freemasons, skull & bones men sororiety, bohemian grove attenders, and belong to the NWO (new world order)  oh, and have something to do with the Illuminati  (CIA).</p> <p>19 presidents to date belonged to the majority of these organizitions(occults) thanks to our birthing mother, England...</p> <p>I could go on and on, but will stop....lol I had studied this all for along time since I was once deceived by one I married (divorced now) and since came to know my heavenly creator Abba YHWH and the Ruach kodesh (holy spirit) opened my eyes and heart. I am a born again Believer and follower of Yahushua Moshiach (hebrew, for Jesus Christ) and study His ways not mans.</p> <p>I did like your article hope I didnt upset anyone by what I shared, but I have studied quite some on these issues.</p> <p>bless you always in the of our Abba YHWH</p> <p>Susan</p> <p>Mr Shoop, <br /> &nbsp;</p> <p>I have always looked up to you. All through-out my life of seeing you on the news. <br /> <br /> And I completely agree with what you had to say in this post. <br /> And as a student in those classrooms that hold those posters, they are neat, yes, but everyone was fighting over 3 inches. I measured it. 3 inches by 1 inch hold the phrase &quot;In God We Trust&quot; in a fancy font you can barely read. The poster is ginormous, and frankly, was a waste of paper if their motive truly&nbsp;was to get these words into the classroom.<br /> <br /> Well said!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Kara</p> http://www.northwestvoice.com/home/Blog/rustman/26878/#c_254090 http://www.northwestvoice.com/home/Blog/rustman/26878/#c_254090 <p>Mr Shoop, <br /> &nbsp;</p> <p>I have always looked up to you. All through-out my life of seeing you on the news. <br /> <br /> And I completely agree with what you had to say in this post. <br /> And as a student in those classrooms that hold those posters, they are neat, yes, but everyone was fighting over 3 inches. I measured it. 3 inches by 1 inch hold the phrase &quot;In God We Trust&quot; in a fancy font you can barely read. The poster is ginormous, and frankly, was a waste of paper if their motive truly&nbsp;was to get these words into the classroom.<br /> <br /> Well said!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Kara</p>