Can a company be "Christian"?

[caojyn]

Man you're gonna get it

 

[Hobbes]

But then that would not be in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence, my opinion.

Also in Roe v. Wade, if the spirit of the Declaration of Independence is taken into account then God would be the deciding factor. SCOTUS decided medicine, philosophy, and theology were equal; therefore they had the right to decide abortion was legal.
If you align the Declaration and the Constitution and say what the spirit of the two documents is, then they cannot be separated but supporting, "Posterity" of our nation would have to mean abortion is illegal.
Your example of In Cotting v. Godard, 183 U.S. 79 (1901), would not align with Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).

I do see how laws against polygamy in Mormonism are legal because they are against the good order of society. But, the good order is based on Christian values. Therefore, marriage is not a personal relationship between man and god, but one between society and god, if our nation is created by god. If you take the god part out of marriage and say it is a governmental endowed institution then I do not see how gay marriage is legal because it is against good social order, if our government is deciding our value system, and the government only exists because of god. If you say that gay marriage is legal I do not see how Polygamy is illegal.

Lastly, in the military it has become illegal to have Christian displays and to talk about god openly, in uniform. If you want to put up a Christian display you have to have a display by another religion to make it legal. The other display can be one by atheist or confusion. Neither of these two religions are based any type of god. Congress' regulation of the military does not seem to be based on the spirit of the Declaration of Independence and God.

Scientology rejects your thesis.

 

[caojyn]

Man you're gonna get it

 

[Hobbes]

How come no one in the movies ever carries a semiautomatic with a round in the chamber? Tell me that.
Just once I would like to someone rack the slide and hear a round hit the floor.

Now that's drama.

 

[Pokinfun]

As I see it, you are stating that all laws are based in the spirit of the four documents list in US Code. In relationship to this thread only, God has to be addressed. Other than in this thread, I do not really care, what anyone’s god thinks.
I do not think that in the Declaration of Independence, "their Creator" is referring to any one god; it is openly saying it could be many gods.
However, where it says "Nature's God" it is at least referring to a few specific gods, which creates Nature, the ghost of Edger Allen Poe does not have a creation story. I would have to assume they were referring to the god in Genesis. There are other places you can find reference to Natures God, from the same time in history*, which is Allah or the Judeo-Christian God, one in the same. However, because of the "their Creator" part I would leave the door open to any god who has a creation story. I also think this would be complementary to the "Supreme Judge of the world" would have to be a god that holds power over the world in Genesis or Revelations.
The part I have an issue with it being any god man chooses to believe in is when it refers to "the protection of divine Providence." When Providence is capitalized it is strictly referring to Judeo-Christian God. Therefore, it could not be the ghost of Edger Allen Poe, nature, Allah, Satan, Zeus, or evolution.
Regardless of whom god is, because of the references to God, I would have to assume believing in a god is a Natural Right; Hobby Lobby has the right exercise at all times, because the founding father did. As far as can a corporation be religious, I would say yes because it appears by US Code our Nation has the right to exercise religion, our Nation is not a person. Or, the Declaration of Independence does not matter as in Roe v. Wade.

* Abraham Williams 1727-1784 An Election Sermon: http://books.google.com/books?id=pW...Williams 1727-1784 An Election Sermon&f=false

Again "creator. " it can mean (but is not limited to) the Judeo-Christian God. It can mean nature, Allah, satan, Zeus, evolution, or the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe, whatever.

You keep saying "the government exists because of god." Is this your opinion or or what you bèlieve I'm suggesting?
Government is formed by people to ensure our natural rights, regardless of where those rights originated. A government does not exist by the grace of any god, but by the grace of its people.

Any imposition of one god's or one faith's values into law is wrong. It is not my place to impose my Christian values on anyone. So even if the "good social order" is based on my beliefs I cannot in good conscience support it. Polygamy, polyandry, gay "marriage," would never have been an issue if there weren't legal governmental benefits to them.

Inheritance, marriage license, tax breaks, and issues with end of life stuff

I see this posted as a libertarian thing, but it works pretty well for religion too.

Don't want birth control, don't take it
Don't want abortions, don't have any
Don't want gay marriage, don't get one

 

[Lurker66]

Sorry for being late to condo again. Had to catch some fish.

I wasn't back peddling on my argument that rights don't exist. I used the Obamacare as an example and called it a right. It isn't a Right, but we call it a Right because it has the force of law behind it.

My actual argument, is Rights don't exist until they are realized, theyre existence depends entirely on free will or force, therefore we create them. It's a similar argument for the existence of a God.

With regards to Hobby Lobby, and the question of "Can a company be Christian?" I draw from Rene DesCartes famous saying, "I think, therfore, I am". Is a Company aware of its own existence? Kinda seems a little silly but , no, Companies are not people, thus can not realize they're own awareness. Therefore they have no expectations of being anything. Can a gun think? Nope just an object.

It's a joke that we are even considering the question of a Companies right to be considered a Christian. Would we consider a gun to be Christian? If rights existed, they must be realized. If a Company has a right to be Christian, it would be because it came from free will or force. In this case the People of HL are using force of law to get a ruling that makes no sense.

To me, Religion, God, Rights, Freedom, these are serious things to have a serious discussion about. A Company cannot be Christian. It can't worship or get to Heaven. Seriously, Does any Christian expect to see Hobby Lobby in Heaven?

 

[uncle money bags]

Sorry for being late to condo again. Had to catch some fish.

Seriously, Does any Christian expect to see Hobby Lobby in Heaven?

No, but I do expect a model rocket aisle.