The wisdom of the First Amendment
To the Editor:
Famous songwriter Paul Simon wrote, “… a man he hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.” Then he begins to believe it. When we were young children our mother indoctrinated us in the teachings of what might be called “fundamental” Baptist today. Our mother meant well. And until I joined the Navy in 1962, I expressed belief and trust in those fundamental tenets.
While in the Navy I met people from all across America as well as the Asian countries we sailed to. I began to compare my ideas to those of others. Later on I decided to systematically analyze what I had held as truths. In doing this analysis I read the King James Bible extensively. Even today I place a high value on many teachings of the “good book.”
Yet, something compelled me to look at the first words of Genesis. Specifically the first five words. They are: “In the beginning God created …” The vagueness astounded me. “In the beginning” tells us little about time. The fourth word “God” leaves us to wonder where did He come from and how. Who made God? The fifth word “created” is a foundational principle of Creation theory. Yet, that theory cannot be proven.
One really good thing about Genesis I, though, is that it shows us the four categories of things that people deal with for their entire lives: time, God, resources (living and non-living) and people. Then, evolution theory arises and butts heads with Creation Theory. Strict evolutionists basically believe in only two categories of things: time and resources. The God who created people as “special” gets ushered off stage along with the erstwhile “special” people. People become a resource like any other creature (a buffalo, a hawk). That leaves only two things to deal with: time and resources.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution may hinge more on this comparison of Creation Theory and evolution theory than most people want to readily admit. It states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …” How much thought the framers gave to the futility of trying to prove either belief is largely unknown to the masses of modern Americans. However, some Constitutional scholars may have unearthed enough of the written background thinking to convince some of us of the enduring wisdom of the First Amendment.
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So, what will the most recent laws in Oklahoma and Louisiana do to the great debate over creation and evolution? We will see. Still, I am reminded of another great songwriter. Donna Fargo wrote: “Now, let’s go through this one more time. You do your thing and I’ll do mine. But, honey-baby, we got to draw the line when your hangup starts a’messin’ with mine.” Pretty solid advice.
The wisdom of the First Amendment must not be forgotten or ignored.
Dave Waldrop
Webster
