Letters to | the Editor

To the Editor:

The recent kerfuffle being instigated by Roy Speckhardt and the American Humanist Association, the ACLU, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation against Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad for his April proclamation supporting a Bible-reading marathon deserves some attention.   

First of all, Mr. Speckhardt needs to read the very first paragraph of the Iowa Constitution, which says:  “Preamble. We the People of the State of Iowa, grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of those blessings, do ordain and establish a free and independent government, by the name of the State of Iowa, the boundaries whereof shall be as follows:”  The reference to Supreme Being and Him are obviously acknowledging the God of the Judeo-Christian religion upon which this nation was founded and that is a historical fact whether atheists want to believe it or not.  All one has to do is read the federalist papers, the language of the constitution, and the founders’ speeches to understand that.

Secondly, Article 1, Section 3 of the Iowa Bill of Rights says, “The General Assembly shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; nor shall any person be compelled to attend any place of worship, pay tithes, taxes, or other rates for building or repairing places of worship, or the maintenance of any minister, or ministry.”  The governor’s proclamation is not a law but rather a simple endorsement of the people’s constitutional right to practice the free exercise of their religion.

There seems to be an all-out effort lately by atheists, a non-religious religion in and of itself,  to shut God completely out of every aspect of public life by deliberately misinterpreting the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution with regard to freedom of religion. If Bible-believing Christians do not start pushing back against this movement, they may soon find themselves in trouble as to how free they are to practice their faith, or even talk about it publicly.

Ronald Classen

Villisca