Ancient Rome Revisited
The Constitution's allowance for every religion--but Christianity--sounds more like ancient Rome than Biblical Christianity. Rome's republican form of government strongly influenced the framers.
...the Founders relied somewhat on classical (mainly Roman) jurisprudence, even more so than an inherited Puritan ethic, and did not fashion a specifically biblonomic (Bible-based) state....[35]
Although Christians often point out the parallels between ancient Rome and modern America as it pertains to its decline and downfall, they seldom call attention to the initial and most important parallel: the pluralistic and polytheistic foundations of both nations. When this affinity is acknowledged, Christian Constitutionalists are often found defending it. For example, Pastor Chuck Baldwin is "absolutely dedicated to preserving religious liberty. Religious tyranny is as evil as political or social tyranny."[36] This is a promotion of polytheism and foolishly identifies Yahweh's religious, political, and social exclusivity as tyrannous and evil.
Bishop T.D. Jakes, in his denunciation of theocracies, also depicted Yahweh's exclusivity as tyranny:
"A country that has one national religion as its only compass is much more of a theocracy than a democracy. That kind of tyranny leads to [all kinds of evil].... I love demo[b]cracy...."[37]
Rick Scarborough (head of Vision America) claims the following on his website, under the heading "Religious Freedom":
"We believe that freedom of religion is the foundation of America's liberty. We oppose any and every attempt to suppress or to marginalize the free expression of religion in America."[38]
Had Scarborough exchanged the word "religion" for "Christianity," his statement would have been Biblically acceptable. As it is, the freedom of religion produces precisely the opposite result: the foundation of spiritual slavery and the door to moral decadence. Baldwin, Jakes, Scarborough, and anyone else who promotes Amendment 1's freedom of religion rather than Christian exclusivity, propagates pluralism and polytheism and therefore sedition and treason against Yahweh.
So-called Christians' propensity for defending polytheism is not a modern phenomenon. It was prevalent immediately before, during, and soon after the ratification of the Constitution, as evidenced in many early legislative declarations and judicial decisions. Some judges went so far as to attribute the freedom of religion, or polytheism, to Christianity:
"What gave to us this noble safeguard of religious toleration? It was Christianity."
City of Charleston v. S.A. Benjamin (1846)[39]
Barton appeared to relish and even promote this heresy:
...Christian principles had produced America's toleration for other religions; and while America did legislate according to Christian standards of conduct for social behavior, [not anymore!] it did not tell other religions how, where, when, or even whether to worship.
