The religious books are often held in the greatest reverence as the Word of God. Please note what Paine has to say about the Bible below. The same can be said for the other books of divine revelation from the befginning of recording tales, all over the world, up until L. Ron Hubbard, for now. This is the accumulation of tradition and the words can be twisted to mean anything.
I'm wondering if the Documents founding this nation are becoming prey of those verbal sophists. The Declartion of Independfence is fairly straight forward. Still, the Founders saw it necessary to write another document to meet the Status after Rebellion was accomplished, the Constitution. Over time they discovered the need to clarify our God given Rights. But that didn't finish the changable nature of the Constituion, over times it has been often ammended. Even now many Republicans want to modify the 14th Ammendment to realize your goals.
My question is in light of the Founder's quotes below, which is the correct Constutional form, the Original Constitution? the Declaration? the Bill of Rights? the later Ammendments? Or is it just becoming a conglomeration or clarification over time and circumstance to what fits the moment. Is the Constitution static?
Or is it's genius to modify with our moment.
George Washington : Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.
Benjamin Franklin : We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.
Thomas Paine's Remarks : Or did God, when He made Adam, supposing the story to be true, exclude Himself from the right of making another? or impose on Himself the necessity of breeding from the old stock? Priests should first prove facts, and deduce doctrines from them afterwards. But instead of this they assume everything and prove nothing. Authorities drawn from the Bible are no more than authorities drawn from other books, unless it can be proved that the Bible is revelation.
The story of the redemption will not stand examination. That man should redeem himself from the sin of eating an apple by committing a murder on Jesus Christ, is the strangest system of religion ever set up. Deism is perfect purity compared with this.
