Re the letter of March 24 to the Dayton Daily News:
"Separation' not found in First Amendment": the writer insists, correctly, that the phrase "Separation of Church and State" is not found in the First Amendment. In fact this is the expressive, but imprecise and unconstitutional wording of Thomas Jefferson, who was not at the 1787 Constitutional Convention.
It is a "religious" test which shall not be required, not a church test. It is "religion" which shall not be established by law, not a church. As one who never uses "separation of church and state" when I mean to use James Madison's constitutional wording, "separation between Religion and Government" I would caution separationists, including the ACLU, not to allow revisionists to use wording which is not in the Constitution as a basis for making a constitutional decision.
There are many words which are not in the Constitution, such as, God, Christianity, Judeo-Christian principles, etc. If the Founding Fathers had meant for America to be a "Judeo-Christian Nation", they would have written it in the Constitution. The Constitution is based upon a principle which says that what is in writing is the supreme law of the land. It means what it says, and says what it means.
Respectfully,
Da Rev
