Today's History Lesson

So this is the "grand return" of Emails From Grandma. I don't think I could have picked a longer one. All of my comments are featured in green.

Enjoy!

-Poobis

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Fw: Fw: Today's History Lesson
From: [Grandma]
Sent: Tue 12/04/07 1:07 PM
To: [A bunch of folks]

[Ridiculously long forwarded header information deleted]

Subject: Fw: Today's History Lesson

DID YOU KNOW?

As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view .. it is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments!

Did you notice that Moses is also flanked by Confucius and Solon? (FYI - Not Christians.)

Herman A. MacNeil's pediment carvings have stirred controversy because the central figures were drawn from religious traditions. However, in the 1930s, the Supreme Court Building Commission did not question the wisdom of placing Moses, Confucius, and Solon on a secular government building. Rather, they trusted in the architect, who deferred to the artistry of the sculptor, Herman A. MacNeil.

http://architecture.about.com/library/blgilbertsupremecourt.htm

DID YOU KNOW?

As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.

There are lots of representations of religious and historical events etched, stamped, and carved all over the US Supreme Court Building.

One can enter the building through the opened bronze doors of the west front, each of which weighs six and one-half tons and slides into a wall recess when open. The door panels, sculpted by John Donnelly, Jr., depict historic scenes in the development of law: the trial scene from the shield of Achilles, as described in the Iliad; a Roman praetor publishingan edict; Julian and a pupil; Justinian publishing the Corpus Juris; King John sealing the Magna Carta; the Chancellor publishing the first Statute of Westminster; Lord Coke barring King James from sitting as a Judge; and Chief Justice Marshall and Justice Story.

http://www.supremecourtus.gov/about/courtbuilding.pdf

DID YOU KNOW?

As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall, right above where the Supreme Court judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments!

Did you notice that Moses isn't the only thing carved in the courtroom?

Overhead, along all four sides of the Chamber, are sculpted marble panels, the work of Adolph A. Weinman:

-Directly above the Bench are two central figures, depicting Majesty of the Law and Power of Government. The group at the far left represents Safeguard of the Rights of the People, and Genii of Wisdom and Statecraft. The far right group represents the Defense of Human Rights. -To the right is a procession of historical lawgivers including: Menes, Hammurabi, Moses, Solomon, Lycurgus, Solon, Draco, Confucius and Augustus. They are flanked by figures symbolizing Fame and History. -To the left are later historical lawgivers including Napoleon, John Marshall, William Blackstone, Hugo Grotius, Saint Louis, King John, Charlemagne, Mohammed and Justinian. Figures representing Liberty and Peace and Philosophy appear at either end. -Symbolized on the back wall frieze is Justice with the winged female figure of Divine Inspiration, flanked by Wisdom and Truth. At the far left the Powers of Good are shown, representing Security, Harmony, Peace, Charity, and Defense of Virtue. At the far right the Powers of Evil are represented by Corruption, Slander, Deceit, and Despotic Power.

http://www.usscplus.com/info/building.htm

DID YOU KNOW?

There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington , D.C.

Yep along with myrads of other quotes as well I'm sure.

DID YOU KNOW?

James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of Our Constitution" made the following statement:

"We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

And I have no doubt that every new example will succeed, as every past one has done, in shewing that religion & Govt will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together.-- James Madison, letter to Edward Livingston, July 10, 1822.

http://atheism.about.com/library/quotes/bl_q_JMadison.htm

DID YOU KNOW?

Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said:

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ".

If you can't find direct evidence to misrepresent the Founding Fathers' intentions. Why not just invent it?

Misquotations [of Patrick Henry]:
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!" -- This quotation has not been found anywhere in Henry's recorded writings or speeches, as has been acknowledged by David Barton.

http://www.geocities.com/peterroberts.geo/Relig-Politics/PHenry.html

DID YOU KNOW?

Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.

None other than famed "proponent of the merger of Church and State" James Madison thought this was unconstitutional.

Lynn noted that Congress has had paid chaplains since 1789 but pointed out that James Madison, fourth president of the United States and father of the Constitution, opposed them.

"The Constitution of the U.S. forbids everything like an establishment of a national religion," Madison wrote. "The law appointing Chaplains establishes a religious worship for the national representatives, to be performed by Ministers of religion, elected by a majority of them; and these are to be paid out of the national taxes. Does not this involve the principle of a national establishment, applicable to a provision for a religious worship for the Constituent as well as of the representative Body, approved by the majority, and conducted by Ministers of religion paid by the entire nation?"

Continued Madison, "[If] it be proper that public functionaries, as well as their Constituents should discharge their religious duties, let them like their Constituents, do so at their own expense."

http://web.archive.org/web/20030425233838/http://www.au.org/field/actionalerts/congressionalchaplains.htm

DID YOU KNOW?

Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies

How many people do you know that say they're Christian but don't go to church?

"Although it had its share of strenuous Christians... the gathering at Philadelphia was largely made up of men in whom the old fires were under control or had even flickered out. Most were nominally members of one of the traditional churches in their part of the country.. and most were men who could take their religion or leave it alone. Although no one in this sober gathering would have dreamed of invoking the Goddess of Reason, neither would anyone have dared to proclaim his opinions had the support of the God of Abraham and Paul. The Convention of 1787 was highly rationalist and even secular in spirit." (Clinton Rossiter, 1787; The Grand Convention, pp. 147-148.)

http://members.tripod.com/~candst/bjcpa1.htm

DID YOU KNOW?

Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would over step their authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making law an oligarchy the rule of few over many.

Yep, he was worried about the courts usurping power over congress, but it had absolutely nothing to do with his disapproval of the First Amendment to the US Constitution.

http://www.landmarkcases.org/marbury/jefferson.html

DID YOU KNOW?

The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said: "Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."

Yep, he sure did say that. Unfortunately, that man didn't consider my Grandma a Christian.

In New York, Jay argued unsuccessfully in the provincial convention for a
prohibition against Catholics holding office.[20]In February 1788, the New York legislature under Jay's guidance approved an act requiring officeholders to renounce all foreign authorities "in all matters ecclesiastical as well as civil", an "anti-Catholic" act designed to bar Catholics from holding public offices.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jay

How, then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional?

Lets put it around the world and let the world see and remember what this great country was built on.

Chamber , US House of Representatives

I was asked to send this on if I agreed or delete if I didn't. Now it is your turn...

It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore, it is very hard to understand why there is such a mess about having the Ten Commandments on display or "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the other 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!!

If you agree, pass this on