Commenter Jackson takes me to the woodshed for the earlier post, saying it was “gibberish,” bogus, and laughable:
In the Spectator piece, Murchison promotes the Texas Education Board’s belief that “strict separation of church and state was not the Founders’ original design but rather a conceit of Thomas Jefferson’s.” He even goes so far as to quote a board member as saying, “I have $1,000 for the charity of your choice if you can find it in the Constitution.” What a tired, old, shallow argument. Anybody ever read the Federalist Papers?
Besides, the Constitution is a secular document. It begins “We the People,” and contains no mention of “God” or “Christianity.” Its only references to religion are exclusionary, such as, “no religious test shall ever be required…” Even the presidential oath doesn’t contain “so help me God” or any requirement to swear on a bible (both became common additions over time).
The bottom line is that teachers will now be required to cover Judeo-Christian influences, but not the philosophical rationale for the separation of church and state that the most important of our Deist Founders believed in. …
I could go on, but what’s the point? The whole exercise by this Board is political, brought to us by reactionary tent revivalists. William Murchison adds no “perspective” to any of this. He’s just part of the Amen Corner, which he has been for five decades.
