It has been quite a while since my last blog. While I have been busy preparing and presenting thought provoking issues, I must admit that I have not been as diligent posting them here. So what is it that brings me back to this blog with such urgency? The topic of the Separation of Church and State. With all the political talk happening around the country, I have engaged in much debate and discussion myself. And in those debates, it has been made abundantly clear that many people have believed the lie of Separation of Church and State. And not only have they believed the lie, but they have allowed their selves to be bullied and blinded to the truth of the matter. In keeping true to the nature of this blog as a Christian Resource designed to encourage growth and maturity, I feel the need to tackle this issue from that perspective. What role does religion have in the political process? And more so what role do we as people of religion have in the process?
First let us begin by realizing that our founders never ascribed to the idea that religion had no place in politics. In fact by reading our founding documents, published papers of the time, as well as the personal letters and journals of our founders’ one will quickly see that religion had a very integral part in politics. God was not only consulted, but credited with our foundation and the formation of the new political system. According to the founders it was God’s providence that led to the formation of these United States. They not only acknowledged God, but glorified God who they viewed as king, lawgiver and judge. It was this belief in God that led them to form a triune government. It was their acknowledgment that none but God should reign, that led them to separate the powers that only God should hold. Thus the divisions of our government, king (president), the lawgiver (congress) and the judge (Judicial), and in so doing no one person or group would take the position of “god”; a situation with which they had become far too familiar.
No doubt that our country’s heritage is not separate from religion, but rather immersed in it. And while that religion was primarily on the Christian religion, our founders did not seek to create a “Christian Society” but rather a “Free Society”. A society that would allow the practice of other religions side by side. They did not seek to limit religion, but to encourage it. It was for this reason that the first amendment, which is so often credited with the idea of separation of church and state, was written. The amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” It was the founders desire to limit government, and not religion. The first amendment interferes with congress’ ability to hinder the free exercise of religion. And that means all religions. Whether one would choose Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Alienism or even Atheism, the founders were intent on protecting the right of one to practice their religion free of interference from the government. Not to separate religion from government.
The founders were well aware that religion of all types would have to be integrated into politics if the country were to remain free. In fact the primary belief was that without religion, the moral fabric of the society would lead to bondage. This belief is echoed in nearly every early leader of this country. However, they also knew of the problems associated with religion. For it was their own experience when Christian rose up against Christian based on theological differences. This was the reason for a democratic republic, rather than a true democracy. Rather than giving power to the majority, elected representatives were given authority to represent the people of a particular area. So an area that was heavily represented by Christians could have Christian representatives. Those that were represented by Atheists could have Atheistic representatives. They would then carry out the will of the people through delegated authority. But again the experience of the founders, realized that this would lead to the system of nobility that was just as tyrannical as the king himself, and for that reason true power would remain in the hands of the people. And yes many if not most of those people were religious.
It is the truth that the people were religious and that many remain so, that makes this separation of church and state so absurd. Those who perpetuate the lie would have you believe that “the State” means government, but this is not so. Real power, the sovereigns, of government was retained by the people, and not the government itself. The branches of government are balanced between their selves, but all are balanced and controlled by the people. In other words the “State” is not government, but the people; people who are very much religious. Thus the State itself is religious by nature. For those that are what we might consider “devout” in their faith, their religion is central to who they are. Their beliefs, their morals, their values and even their politics are formed and effected by their religious views. Thus to think that one can or should put on and take off such a central part of who they are only adds to the vileness of this lie. One could no more remove their life experiences; their childhood, their relationships, their victories and defeats, for they are so deeply ingrained in who you are that to remove them would make you void of humanity. Our country is made up of religious people, who elect representativesThus the ability for one to separate religion from the State is an impossibility. Instead faith and religion should to be encouraged and brought to the table of discussion. All faiths are protected and given a say at the place of debate. We are even free to, and encouraged to, elect our representative based on how they will represent our social, economical, political, and religious views.
The very phrase that has been propagated and propitiated is in itself a reflection of the true intent of those that seek to perpetuate this lie. The words “church” and “state” never appear in the first amendment. But they are words that have been used for years to justify pushing God out of public life. And not every god, but specifically the Judeo-Christian God. Ultimately the goal of the campaign is to separate the church (Christianity) from the state (the people); to remove it from public life and even your private life. The desire is to get us as Christians to the place where our Christianity no longer plays a part in your personal life, but instead we buy into the multicultural universal view of the progressive agenda. And herein lays the motivation for such a plot. The progressive agenda, with its morals, vices and views fly in the face of the Christian world view. They are in direct opposition to one another. The progressives promote every aspect of self through the religion of Humanism. They preach a gospel of godlessness. And without a god there is no expectation, there is no accountability, there is no morality, therefore one may do and say as he or she pleases, thus the venomous language that flows so freely from their camp, thus the open promotion of promiscuity and immorality, and thus the ability to commit atrocious acts against children without blinking an eye.
Neither time nor space will allow for all the stomach turning examples of the progress of this agenda, so I devote the remainder of it to the purpose of speaking to the devout, and what we must do to prevent our religious freedom from being taken away. Separation of church and state is a lie. It is sleight of hand and doubletalk. The progressives have claimed that religious people violate their right, while at the same time violating the rights of the religious. The freedom from religion is not a right, only freedom of religion. And yet our right to exercise freely has been limited to the confines of our church buildings. Our right to freely proclaim the message of Christ has been limited to speaking only what is not offensive. Our right to publish faith has been limited to those places outside of the public arena. Our right to assemble in the name of religion has been limited to private gatherings. And even our right to petition for redress has fallen on apathetic ears. The only way to separate the church from the state is to separate you from your faith. We as people of faith must recognize it and fight against it. We must not allow the Humanists to bully the religious into submission. We must not allow them to separate us from our faith. The first amendment does not limit your faith, but instead protects your freedom to exercise that faith, publicly and openly. We must bring our faith out of the private confines of our churches, and bring it into the public arena. We must stop checking our religion at the door. We must begin to exercise our religious freedom, by speaking of our faith with boldness.
