Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Separation of Church and State - Not Faith and Society
For religious freedom to mean something there must be some form of separation of church and state. I was in seminary in the 80’s when faith and politics merged pretty dramatically. Why shouldn’t they? Morals and ethics should be legislated when you see things happening that are obviously wrong and against God. I had to make some shifts and find my way through all the views.
First, I had to understand that separation of church and state did not mean faith did not play a role and thereby could not and should not speak to society at large. Not only was that contrary to the writings of the founding fathers of the United States, it was not practiced that way.
Second, separation of church and state allowed for freedom of all religions. Since there was no state church, each person was motivated by what Roger Williams wrote about as "freedom of conscience." As Christians, we believe men should not be forced to obey God. They should be challenged, and each person left to his/her decision. Christ never forced anyone. Religious freedom was there--you just lived with the consequences of your choice! I was thinking this morning, while running here in Hanoi, there was no religious freedom in the Old Testament--something to think about.
Third, separation of church and state is critical if we do not want more religious wars. Islam has its own issues with some of its extremist at this point. Historically, we have all had to deal with this. I remember being in Westminster Abbey in London and seeing many kings in their tombs and Sarcophagus--some with a sword in one hand and the cross or Bible in the other. Today, I fear, there is much speculative theology from evangelical ranks that is driving foreign policy. To me, that’s scary. If Christians can wield their influence over our government and her leaders to start wars based on "opinions" on the second coming of Christ, what makes us different than jihad extremist?
For all its faults, when I look at the world struggling with these issues, I’m grateful we have the things in place that we do in the US. I want to accept what I believe the truth of God’s Word teaches--not necessarily what the fickle majority believe at various times through multiple fads.
First, I had to understand that separation of church and state did not mean faith did not play a role and thereby could not and should not speak to society at large. Not only was that contrary to the writings of the founding fathers of the United States, it was not practiced that way.
Second, separation of church and state allowed for freedom of all religions. Since there was no state church, each person was motivated by what Roger Williams wrote about as "freedom of conscience." As Christians, we believe men should not be forced to obey God. They should be challenged, and each person left to his/her decision. Christ never forced anyone. Religious freedom was there--you just lived with the consequences of your choice! I was thinking this morning, while running here in Hanoi, there was no religious freedom in the Old Testament--something to think about.
Third, separation of church and state is critical if we do not want more religious wars. Islam has its own issues with some of its extremist at this point. Historically, we have all had to deal with this. I remember being in Westminster Abbey in London and seeing many kings in their tombs and Sarcophagus--some with a sword in one hand and the cross or Bible in the other. Today, I fear, there is much speculative theology from evangelical ranks that is driving foreign policy. To me, that’s scary. If Christians can wield their influence over our government and her leaders to start wars based on "opinions" on the second coming of Christ, what makes us different than jihad extremist?
For all its faults, when I look at the world struggling with these issues, I’m grateful we have the things in place that we do in the US. I want to accept what I believe the truth of God’s Word teaches--not necessarily what the fickle majority believe at various times through multiple fads.
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