The Separation of Truth and Falsehood

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."--First Amendment

There is no wall of separation between church and state. And it never existed.

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment merely prohibits the United States government from establishing a national church or religion. America's founding fathers wanted the citizens of their new republic to be free to worship--or not to worship--as they chose without the government telling them how and what to worship.

That's what the First Amendment was intended to convey in the Bill of Rights. And for 170 years, Americans and their judicial system well understood that.

But in 1946, a man named Arch Everson filed a lawsuit (Everson vs. Board of Education) against a school district in Ewing, New Jersey that reimbursed parents who sent their kids to school via public transportation. So what, you ask? What was the big deal about that?

That was a big deal to Everson because some of the parents who received financial reimbursements from the school district sent their kids to private (religious) schools. Everson believed that the school district had no right to provide taxpayer funds to parents who sent their kids to private schools. And he had a legitimate beef.

Everson contended that the state of New Jersey violated the constitution's Due Process Clause by giving money to parents who sent their children to private schools. The case was eventually taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1947. However, after examining the case, the court wasn't convinced that the state of New Jersey endorsed religion by providing funds to parents of private school students.

Nevertheless, the Supreme Court justices decided that the constitution needed to erect a distinct wall between church and state. Both Justice Hugo Black, who wrote the court's majority opinion in Everson vs. Board of Education and Justice Wiley Rutledge, who wrote the dissenting opinion, agreed that a firm wall of separation between church and state had to be established by the court.

And so, what the original framers of the Bill of Rights had never intended, became a reality in 1947. The U.S. Supreme Court--led by Justice Hugo Black--turned the First Amendment inside out. They created a new law out of thin air. What was intended by America's founding fathers to protect American citizens from state tyranny, became a tool of state tyranny.

Thus, when you hear those--such as President Barack Obama--who opine that the U.S. Constitution is an "evolving document", remember where that began.

And remember the words of the apostle Paul who wrote this 2,000 years ago: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12)