The concept of freedom of religion is one of those topics that seem to push every hot button in every single person that has an opinion on the matter. I know that it does in me. So I’ve had these thoughts just floating around in my head for a while and felt inspired this morning to put them on paper (or in this case, in the blog).

Let me start with the US Constitution and the idea behind “Freedom of Religion”.

Congress shall make no law respecting the 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.

To me, this seems like common sense and I simply cannot understand why people fight about this so much. Based on the Constitution alone, not bringing anyone’s religious beliefs into it, or even the religious beliefs of the founding fathers, it looks like this.

Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion

That seems simple. The US Government cannot say that religion of the country is Barneyism. I use the term “Barneyism” as just a generic, fake religion so I’m not picking on any particular religion and thus fueling the fire. Let’s pretend followers of Barneyism think that God is a big purple dinosaur. Hey, he’s all about love at least! So, the government can’t make us practice or profess this Barneyism religion. Easy enough.

That also means certain practices of religion, unless common sense or universally accepted as such, like “don’t murder”, can’t be make into law. That doesn’t mean, “you can’t eat meat” becomes a law.

What that also means, let’s say, in schools, is that if you have a Christian student group, you can’t deny a Muslim group. And yes, it makes sense to say that public schools cannot teach the Bible of Barney in that school unless they are teaching all the other religious texts, which really, is not the place of our public schools, but the place of our homes and our churches. You either say no one can have these groups, etc… or give everyone free access. Easy enough.

Congress shall make no law … prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

Again, this seems too simple. The government can’t tell the Barneyites they can’t practice their religion. They can prohibit certain behaviors that are in the best interest of their citizen, like say, you can’t sacrifice animals, marry multiple people, drink people’s blood or duel with your neighbor, take his wife and rape her, if you win that duel.

Honestly, our government gets this wrong sometimes. There are times when people are freely exercising their religion, not supported by the government or any government agency or school and are told they cannot do it. It happens to every single religion out there. Not just one particular one, though it probably happens to some more than others because, as a country, we are not very welcoming or supportive of religions, AND their people, other than Christianity. I should be able to practice my religion at home, at the park, at the bus stop, baseball game or even heaven-forbid, near Ground-Zero, should I choose to exercise that right.

So, where does that leave us? It leaves us with a good percentage of this country who believe the United States Government should be based on Christian values because the founding father’s were supposedly Christian. As a Christian do I wish that the entire country followed the same set of principles I try to follow myself? Sure and I think it would be a better place. Do I think the entire country should follow the same set of principles that Christians actually do follow? No way, because I am appalled at what a lot of people do and say “in the Name of God”. The hate and discrimination and sheer lack of anything that even resembles love make me ashamed to be a Christian some days. Not ashamed because I care of people know that I love God and that Jesus is my Savior, but ashamed that people will think I’m a follower of a God who supports hate. I’m not ashamed of Jesus, but of His followers sometimes. And to be honest, sometimes that includes myself.

But here is the thing. Whether I believe or even want this country to be a Christian country, it’s not. The US is not a Christian Nation. Not in word. Not in action. Not in our Constitution. Who care’s if John Adams was a Christian? Clearly he didn’t think that a religion should be established by the government. Do we even remember why people left England and came here? It’s partly because of they weren’t free to practice their religion. Setting a religion of the land is dangerous because, be honest, if our government decided that the United States was a Muslim country, people would freak out! They would be praying the demons out of our leaders, moving from the country, forming their own countries and doing all sorts of extreme things. Yet we get offended when people suggest this country shouldn’t be a Christian Nation.

I get you. We think we’re right and they are wrong. I believe that. But my belief in that isn’t the point, and shouldn’t be set as a national religion. Again, it’s dangerous because down the road, someone could come up with something as crazy as Barneyism, convince people it’s right, and those are the laws we all have to abide by–dancing with purple dinosaurs.

But, there is some hope. Christians, do you want to know how to make this a Christian country by action and not necessarily through the government measures? Start with people. Individual people who have a choice and are not forced to follow a certain set of rules. No one has said we can’t have church on whatever day we want. Go. Pray. Love. If you don’t support abortion–don’t have one. Teach your children why God believes it’s wrong. Love and support your neighbors if they are struggling with that decision and tell them about God’s love. If you don’t believe people should drink–don’t drink. When people ask why, tell them why you made your choice, not why they should make the same choice.

In reality, it doesn’t matter if abortion is legal. It doesn’t matter if gay marriage is legal. It doesn’t even matter if drugs, prostitution, gambling, adultery, cheating, lying, and murder are all legal because every single person has the freedom to choose not do do these things. Does it make it harder for our children? Sure if all their friends are doing it, but that’s where teaching comes in. Jesus wasn’t in front of the government building with protest signs and trying to enact new laws or overturn existing ones. He was with the people teaching of His Father’s love. He was changing their hearts and not their rules.

You want change? Perhaps you should start there.

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So, some guy named LeBron James (you may have heard of him *sarcasm*) announced he was leaving his NBA basketball team, the Cleveland Caveliers, after seven years. He’s moving on the the Miami Heat for what looks to be the Yankees of professional basketball in the next coming years.

The guy is 25 years old. He gave the last seven years of his life to the Cavs. He didn’t win a championship there either, and honestly, I couldn’t tell you one other person on the Cavs team, but I don’t keep up with NBA too much. The point is that in today’s world, seven years is a lot. Gen X-ers and Gen Y’s don’t stay at their jobs for life like previous generations do. And that’s what this was – a job. Granted, it was a job doing what he loves, but it is still professional basketball is still his career. One would think he should be allowed the same opportunities as the rest of us in the workforce. Did I mention he’s only 25?

But here’s where things get messy. So “King James” has kind of toyed with everyone’s emotions about where he was going to go. He’s likely probably was just indecisive, as most 25 year olds are. He’s got his agent, his coaches, his teammates, his colleagues, his family, his friends and his fans ALL will an opinion about what he should do. Should he stay in Cleveland?  I mean, he is from Ohio after all. He is truly the hometown hero there. Should he go somewhere else where he may have a better chance at a championship? Truth is, I didn’t care if he stayed or went to another team. It’s his life and career.

Oh, but someone cared. That someone is Cavs owner Dan Gilbert.  He called LeBron a “coward,” “disrespectful,” a “quitter,” and felt “betrayed.” Seriously, he said all of those things. The interview is here. He also posted a letter to fans on the Cavs’ website. He’s pretty upset with LeBron, to say the least. Here is a screenshot of the letter and link:

Open Letter to Fans from Cavaliers Majority Owner Dan Gilbert

There is a bit more to the letter, but did you catch the font? Comic Sans. Nothing says I’m a professional and owner of an NBA team like COMIC SANS. Oh yeah, and an angry letter because someone broke up with my team.

Seriously, this guy has some issues. I mean, if all of those things he said about LeBron are true, why would he even want him on his team to begin with? It seems like he should be happy he left. Oh right, because you just got dumped by the hottest girl in school. Really, it’s nothing more than that. He’s not on some moral agenda about feeling “disrespected” or holding a professional athlete “accountable.” I guarantee had LeBron chose to stay with Cleveland Dan Gilbert would be the happiest man on the planet today.

Maybe LeBron has some issues. Maybe he is narcissistic. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that “King James” and his hour long tv special to announce his decision does have a bit of an ego. But so what? He’s 25 years old and probably the best player in the NBA right now. It would be hard for him not to buy into the hype.

However, why not just do like any other boss that looses their best employee – accept the resignation and move on. Be mature, tell the fans you’re disappointed, but that you’ll move forward. Don’t say things like,

“I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE” (comic sans font removed by me because, um, I’m not 7).

It will be interesting to see if his prediction comes true. I’m betting not. I’m betting on King James and his Yankees of Miami.

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P.S. Reading through is Wikipedia bio I read this and thought it was ridiculous. I was actually impressed. Heaven forbid people have a mind of their own and not talk about things they’re not informed on.

During the 2007 NBA Playoffs, James drew criticism^[89] when he declined to sign a petition started by his teammate, Ira Newble, regarding the Chinese government‘s alleged involvement in the ongoing conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan, stating that he did not know enough about the issue.^[90][91]

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