Thomas Hunt

Terrible misunderstanding.  The country has been in an uproar over Indiana's new law, which says in part: "A governmental entity may not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion, even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability." It seems to many that the  law was primarily intended to permit discrimination against gay and lesbian citizens by those who read an anti-gay message into their Bibles. After some investigation, I am assured that the law's intent was merely to guarantee that Indianans could ignore the highway toll while driving to church. (BTW, it seems Indiana now needs to keep an eye out for any new religions that consider armed robbery to be a sacrament.)

Two hundred and ten years ago this month, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson noted with admiration the American "wall of separation between Church & State." Jefferson did so in a letter to a religious organization in Connecticut, which had expressed concern that specific religious views and opinions might be imposed by the relatively new national government upon its citizens. (That organization, the Danbury Baptists Association, understood what many church groups have since forgotten - that the establishment of a national religion would be a threat to all religious freedom.) The text of Jefferson's response is below: "To messers Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.  Gentlemen  The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dict...

Some recent Facebook posts prompted me to read through Mark Twain's assessment of Christian Science. Twain was at his sarcastic best in the opening of the book. He relates a tale, in which he was horribly hurt during a fall from a mountain ledge and required medical care for broken bones. Unfortunately, the only healthcare workers in the area were a horse-doctor and a Christian Science healer. He opts for the latter and begins receiving treatment for his fractures remotely. When the healer visits her patient the next day, the two enter into a wonderful conversation about reality and illusion. You can download the book to your Amazon Kindle for free.