O.K… Are you ready for this, because I’m still on my soapbox!

How may people out there demanding &uot;separation of church and state&uot; fully understand what that phrase means?

The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States reads; &uot;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.&uot;

A decision handed down by the Supreme Court of Massachusetts in 1838 stated that, &uot;The First Amendment embraces ALL who believe in the existence of God, as well as Christians of every denomination. This provision does not extend to atheists because they do not believe in God or religion; and therefore their sentiments and professions (statements), whatever they may be cannot be called religious sentiments and professions.&uot;

Now, back to our rights as People of Faith in God and reverence for his Almighty powers; the so called &uot;justices&uot; of this nation are one by one stripping us of our religious rights and freedoms. First it was the Ten Commandment tablets at that now notorious Alabama courthouse and the &uot;One nation under God&uot; phrase in our Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of our blessed Nation.

Those stone tablets are still locked away where the judge proclaimed that &uot;no man shall ever lay eyes on them while I am living.&uot; Does he realize that it is only by God’s gracious mercy that he is not struck down by lightning when he walks out of that courthouse? Those stones, I guarantee it, will be the death of that adjudicator, one way or another. He may live to a ripe old age in his Earthly existence, but I believe that unless he pleads for God’s mercy on his errant action, he will die for eternity. After all, he literally slapped the face of the Lord God Almighty who gave us those Commandments (not suggestions!).

As for our Pledge of Allegiance and that Christian phraseology; do you realize that it was Dwight David Eisenhower, the 34th President of this Great Nation who supported a Congressional Act which added that phrase to the Pledge of Allegiance?

&uot;In this way, we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war,&uot; the president declared before Congress.

All this information I humbly ask you to consider and then consider that only one in 13 Americans is exercising the very rights for which this nation was founded; the right to vote and the right to worship as we choose. In Gates County, Virginia Moore, the director of the Board of Elections, was obviously disappointed by the low voter turnout in the county. Only 19 percent of those registered to vote even bothered. We don’t even know how many people in the county are eligible, but didn’t even bother to register.

I told you in an earlier column in this publication that I would be covering the November elections like a blanket and you may consider that coverage now begins. The first item that I am duty bound to tell you is that you must vote! The minority of immoral and &uot;ugly Americans&uot; are ruling this nation with a filthy glove and we must put into office those who stand for righteous and moral values as prescribe by God Almighty.

God, in his infinite wisdom, gave us directives to cover every tiny aspect of our lives and He certainly knew what was coming when He proclaimed in 2 Chronicles &:14 that &uot;If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear (them) from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.&uot;

I don’t know about you, but that lays it right out there for me. I see those who are dragging our nation into slavery to Satan and all his demons, and I know that this country is going to Hell in a hand basket for certain. And, even worse, we, the self-proclaiming Christians of this country are sitting idly by, being &uot;good&uot; people you know, and allowing it to happen.

The liberals and other factions have gagged Christians, while at the same time they have taken our Ten Commandments, taken prayer from schools, and now they have defiled the Holy Sanctity of Marriage by allowing marriage between &uot;Adam and Steve.&uot;

By the way, in North Carolina, Senator Elizabeth Dole (r) voted &uot;yea&uot; to passing an amendment to the Constitution, defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. On the other hand, Senator John Edwards (D) did not exercise his right to vote on this matter that is so crucial to every God-fearing American.

In case you haven’t noticed, the freedoms are being ripped away one by one ONLY from Christians.

Try telling a Muslim or Buddhist that they cannot invoke the name of their false god. You’d have a war on your hands, but in the meantime, we Christians sit back and allow all this to go on without one whit of absolute moral outrage!

Well, pardon me, but I am outraged and I think it is time for every eligible person in this county to not only register to vote, but to walk, crawl, or drive your wheelchair if some Christian doesn’t take mercy on you to drive you to the polls this November. I will take a bold step and state right now that I will be working at the Index on Election Day and anyone who needs a legitimate ride to the polls, not to Family Foods, will only have to call me and I will make sure you have transportation.

Are there any other Christians out there mad enough to say that you will join me in this effort to mobilize this county into action?

August 22 has been declared &uot;Voter Registration Sunday,&uot; and pastors are being urged to mobilize their congregations into action. It is our Christian duty, a right that was won by the blood and lives of our precious military men and women, sons, daughters, dads, moms, and many others. It is our duty as believers to cast a vote that declares a moral mandate for this nation.

The days of being a Spectator Christian are over, my brothers and sisters in Christ. It is time to stand up as tall as those little minorities are standing and lift our voices loudly in protest, and also in prayer to our God. I ask you to consider; alone we are one voice. Together, we are a force! Could we once again charge Onward Christian Soldiers?

Let me hear from you by calling 357-0960, or emailing suggiepie2@hotmail.com, or faxing 357-0973, and best of all; send a letter to the editor at the Gates County Index, PO Box 146, Gatesville, NC 27938. I look forward to hearing from you.