In his recent letter to the Times Record, James Sanoski lamented “our nation’s judicial decline from Christian principles to sinful laws” and asserted that “the United States of America is a Christian nation founded on Christian principles in the Bible.” Mr. Sanoski seems to be of the opinion that the country would be much better off as a theocracy with a strict adherence to biblical law and the Ten Commandments.

Before he gets too far ahead of himself, I’d like to suggest that he re-read the Constitution of the United States — the country’s foundational legal document and supreme law of the land. He may be surprised to learn that there is absolutely no mention of the Bible or God (whether capitalized or not).

Had our Founding Fathers intended for the United States to be a Christian nation, they would have made that unambiguous declaration in the Constitution. To their credit, they chose religious freedom as reflected in the First Amendment — “Congress shall make no law respecting establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

While this seems to be a reasonable proposition, it continues to be source of stress and anxiety to those who place unquestioned faith in the Bible. This is due to the realization that the First Commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” conflicts with the First Amendment.

For my part, I’ll continue to abide by the Constitution. At least we know quite a bit about the authors, when they wrote it, and where it’s been kept all these years. I don’t believe Mr. Sanoski can make the same claim for the Bible or the Holy Scriptures.

By the way, Mr. Sanoski should also know that Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli, ratified by the Senate and signed by President John Adams in 1797, begins with the assertion that “As the government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian Religion[.]”

Steve Kornacki
Brunswick