Religion and Politics

1. Religion: a set of beliefs and, to a certain extent, accompanying practices and behaviors.  Essential element: one or more unproveable or at least not widely accepted claims accepted on faith.   Usually invokes one or more Gods; but almost anything will do in the place of "God" -- including an unproveable assertion that there is no God (atheism), or the various arguments about the relative merits of MacIntosh, Microsoft and Linux. 
   
2. Church: an instantiation of a religion into an organization.
3. Politics: When a group of people collectively assume authority over others, the ensuing arguments and agreements collectively comprise "Politics." 
   
4. State: an instantiation of politics, the boundaries of which are usually geographical.    The outcome of politics is usually confined to a state.
   
5. Separation of Church and State:  Possible and perhaps desireable.  the politics of religion (ie, instantiation as a church) and the religion of politics should be kept apart. 
   
6. Separation of Religion and Politics:  Impossible; whether it is desireable is moot.
   
7. Reality: That which exists in Newtonian, 3-dimensional space; it might not be detectable electromagnetically (ie, you might not be able to touch it, see it, feel it, etc).
   
8. Truth: the "capital T" kind -- a knowledge of what was, is, and is to be.  It is vastly comprehensive, it does not deceive and it cannot be deceived.  By definition, human beings cannot know "Truth" but we can approach it will vigilant attention to the past and present. 
   
9. truth: "little t" -- a factoid.  Probably true and sometimes deceiving.   An isolated fact that people use to authenticate elaborate scenarios of doubtful veracity.
   

1. There is only one God.  All other things that may exist are not God, but may nevertheless be influential, including Linux.
1. For the sake of debate, I use the word somewhat generically.
2. For the record, I declare the existence of God; but the details of what that means is saved for a different page. 
   
2. There must be a God.  If not, the most supreme being will automatically become God.  (See Rosseau for more thoughts on this).
3. Among the things that are not God one is farthest removed and thus called the Enemy of God.  You cannot very well believe in one without believing in the other; for they are the opposite ends of a continuum.
   
4. Rights do not exist.   What we call rights is simply a social agreement not to bother you while you do certain things.  This agreement can change or be abrogated on a moment's notice.  Some of these agreements are very ancient and called natural rights, others are inventions and called statutory rights.  Some are both (the Bill of Rights, namely the first 10 Amendments of the Constitution of the United States of America, are for the most part codification of pre-existing natural rights).
   
5. "Inalienable rights" exist only if God exists. 
   
1. <>Persons around you that do not believe in God are very likely to alienate your inalienable rights.
2. <>Includes such things as "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."  It is what animals do.
   
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3. God will not condemn you for exercising your inalienable rights.  Don't bet on anyone else supporting you in doing so.
   

1. A society cannot exist without a God (see Rosseau).  This is because no human person automatically has authority over any other human person.
   
2. A society cannot exist for long unless a supermajority believes in the same God.  This is because only one God can exist.  All others are not God.
3. A society cannot exist for long unless the laws of this God are more or less consistent, just, unchanging, and widely published.
   
4. "Eminent Domain" cannot exist without a God.  (a recent supreme court justice explained this one, I'll try to dig up some specifics)
5. It is quite possible for a human person to appoint himself as "God" for a time but such things tend to be unstable.  If you can be God, then so can I or any other person and we revert to anarchy, violence or politics to decide who is going to be God today.
6. If evidence of "human" God is social and theological instability, then stable theological ideas is evidence of a more immortal and unchanging God. 
   

1. A society that believes in One God will supercede a society with either none or many, other factors being more or less equivalent.
2. A unified society is stronger than the same number of persons acting individually.  This is why a small number of Europeans conquered a much larger number of non-unified North American peoples, themselves more or less continually in conflict with each other.
   
3. Two societies in conflict, each with one God but not the same God, must eventually compete.  The one that refuses to compete will become extinct or enslaved at the pleasure of the other, which is pretty close to the same thing (ie, the society will be extinct even if its members have been assimilated into the more aggressive society).
   
4. A pacifist, utopian or egalitarian society cannot exist among parasites, thieves and bullies.   Such a thing requires protection from natural barriers and/or a protective force (armed forces) that is none of these things.  
   
5. No two people are exactly equal.  One will be more equal.  (see Orwell's Animal Farm).
   
6. The introduction of more aggressive species into paradise gradually destroys paradise.
7. The introduction of a peaceful species into a more aggressive biome will result in instant extinction of the less aggressive species.
8. Therefore, Paradise cannot exist without a protector.
   
9. Societies, and/or their protectors, must conflict sooner or later (see Malthus). 
   
10. The United States of America cannot long sustain a diversity of Gods and godlessness.  Malthusian scarcity guarantees that individuals must compete for those resources; they will aggregate or associate along lines of similar culture, family and religion.
    
11. Since the largest single block of culture and religion in the United States is Christianity, all other aggregations (mini-societies) will attack the foundation of the majority, namely, Christianity.  
    
12. Christianity is at war; for now, a war of ideas.  Believers need to review carefully its tenets regarding self-defense.  See # Luke 22: 36  Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
    

1. Some observations about God
2. <>Public Works and Taxes