Views erode church-state division

To the editor:

This letter is inspired by David Limbaugh's surprising defense of Benjamin Franklin's admonition when a woman asked him to describe the form of government the Framers had just crafted: "A republic, madam, if you can keep it."

Franklin and other Framers of the Constitution and Bill of Rights provided the cure for the church-state dictatorship for which the Pilgrims, Puritans and others fled Europe for and for which the Revolutionary War was fought. That's the reason for the first phrase of the Bill of Rights: "The Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

The big surprise is that Limbaugh and like believers are leading us back to the church-state dictatorship whereby the church can force its views upon the government and its people. It brings to mind the statement of James Madison, drafter of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, that in colonial days there were six Baptist ministers in jail at one time in his county for teachings contrary to the beliefs of the state church.

We are headed back in that direction with the church views on abortion, gay rights, destruction of the public school system and prayer in the public schools. These believers would end the separation of church and state. Count me out, please.

BILL D. BURLISON, Advance, Mo.