Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainHaplo
Skybird - no it does not - it means what it says - just because a man says he believes in god doesn't mean you can use that as a reason to keep him out of public office. Your trying to say that because it says one thing - the opposite of that one thing must be true - thats not gonna work. It may be a translation thing - but I doubt any native english speaker with no dog in the fight would agree with your interpretation.
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If you consider the context of when that text was written, that interpretation makes no sense. The vast majority of people in 1790s Pennsylvania would have believed in god. Why would a man believing in god (and thus adhering to the majority opinion) be discriminated against?
The text makes more sense if you interpret it as saying a person cannot be discriminated against for his beliefs AS LONG AS he believes in god and an afterlife.