David Barton, Constitutional Scholar
by digby
Praise be:
A political activist who claims America was founded on biblical principles has been invited to speak to elected officials at the state Capitol later this month.
The Christian conservative Family Council has asked David Barton to hold a seminar for state legislators and constitutional officers on Jan. 25 and 26 and has reserved the Old Supreme Court chamber on those dates, said Jerry Cox, the group's executive director.
Barton, of Aledo, Texas, is the founder of the group WallBuilders and the author of several books on American history. Cox said he has spoken with Barton and is 90 percent certain he will accept the invitation.
Barton has argued that the Founding Fathers intended for the United States to be a Christian nation and did not support the separation of church and state as the phrase is understood today. Cox said Barton will discuss his views on the proper role of government, including his belief that "helping the poor ... is primarily a function of the church," not government.
Cox said he agrees with Barton's views and wants to help educate lawmakers who will be sworn into office next week, the first week of the legislative session.
"I want to help our lawmakers understand what the role of government is and then try to keep the laws that we pass within the bounds of the proper role of government," he said.
The good news is that they don't want to oppress women quite as much as their Islamic Theocrat counterparts, which means they are totally different and should not in any way be compared.
What I will point out is that David Barton will also be lecturing the incoming DC House members on the meaning of the constitution as well. Not that I should even mention that either, mind you, because it would be rude to imply that there's anything at all wrong with our national leadership believing that the constitution is a Christian fundamentalist document. Still, it's interesting.
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