RDAVIS@UTKVX (Reid M. Davis, UTK) (02/09/90)
Dear fellow pilgrims, I see that this has become a very long posting, and I apologize for that. It is not intended as a "flame", but I fear that it is a rather passionate essay on a matter that concerns me greatly--a matter which I suspect weakens the church in America (and probably elsewhere, too). It has been pretty well established by now that the rumor about Madelyn Murry O'Hair's attempt to remove Christianity from the airwaves is unfounded. But some of the responses to the original posting have reminded me of an ongoing concern of mine, namely the separation of church and state. As an introduction for some of you who may not be familiar with the idea (in particular those of you not raised in the U.S.), the Constitution of this country (i.e. the founding legal document of its government--in Germany the comparable document is, I believe, the "Grundgesetz". For other countries I cannot speak) includes a statement, considered fundamental to the concept of government in this country, that (I quote from memory), "Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The concept embodied in this statement is commonly known as the principle of the separation of church and state. The phrase (this is for the Americans in the crowd) "separation of church and state" does not, to the best of my knowledge, appear in the Constitution or any other fundamental legal document; rather, it is taken from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson explaining his desire, need, intention (I don't know the context of the phrase) to erect a "wall of separation between church and state." There is an ongoing debate about precisely what the separation of church and state should mean in this country. In recent decades the courts have used this principle to outlaw prayer in public schools, to outlaw teaching the truths of the Bible in public schools (in both cases I mean that the teachers are not allowed to teach the students about God or to lead them in prayer--it is, of course, impossible to prevent the schoolchildren from praying silently on their own), to restrict the ability of high school students to gather at school for christian activities in the same way that, say, a chess club or athletic club would meet (though some legislation has been passed which may have changed that situation), to nullify state laws that mandated the teaching of the creation account as an alternative to the theory of evolution, to prevent various state, city, and town governments from displaying nativity scenes at Christmas, and to prevent any number of potentially useful collaborations between christian groups and government at various levels. Some christians claim that such applications of the principle reflect a complete misinterpretation of the principle (though my own opinion is that these applications are precisely what the philosophy behind the principle demands). Now after that lengthy chunk of background I finally reach my concern. My impression is that Americans, and christians in America in particular, are overwhelmingly persuaded of the wisdom and rightness of the Constitution and of the principle of separation of church and state contained therein (even though they might say that the principle has been misapplied in recent years). I have often heard (and seen in this list) christians using the Constitution as a support for their position on a given issue--e.g. "We cannot have prayer in schools because it would violate the separation of church and state." or "We must allow abortion because to do otherwise would violate the right to privacy implicit in the Constitution." This impression is reinforced when I see that many (perhaps most) churches here have an American flag at the front of their sanctuaries, and when I hear congregations singing patriotic songs during worship services. I fear many of us are so convinced of the rightness of the philosophy behind the "American way of life" that we treat the principles of that philosophy as if they came from God, Himself, and thus as suitable, along with Scripture, to determine what pleases Him in a man or in a nation. Now as far as I can tell, the philosophy behind the "American way of life" is a philosophy developed by men and should thus be honored only insofar as it reflects the Way and Truth of God. As christians we are certainly commanded to obey the laws of the nation we live in (so long as such obedience does not cause us to disobey the clear commands of God), but to embrace and honor the philosophy behind them strikes me as a serious mistake bordering on idolatry. In particular, God clearly teaches in His Word that all men are called to seek Him. And when they find Him (in Christ Jesus) they must respond with faith, obedience, and worship, and they should thenceforth live and speak so as to encourage others to glorify God by the same faith. In short, each man is called to glorify God and to help others to do the same. Further, God teaches that nations have the same obligation (consider all the warnings, judgements, and blessings spoken to various nations in the prophets). Thus it is the duty of every nation to seek to understand God's righteousness and to enact laws which are consistent with that righteousness. A nation, like a man, must honor the one true God in all it does. A nation which forbids its teachers to teach the children of Christ is surely in rebellion against God--as is one that teaches them to believe in other gods--as is one that seeks to convert them (or anyone else) by force. A nation which allows every imaginable form of blasphemy and immorality to be practiced by the people because of an adherence to principles of "freedom of speech", "freedom of expression", and "right to privacy" is surely in rebellion against God--just as much so as one which forbids people to tell others about Christ and to read the Bible, or one which persecutes people (Believers or not) because they will not conform to a hypocritical legalism. In short, a nation which does not seek to love God with all its heart and soul and mind and strength, a nation which sets up any other idol (whether the idol of a particular religion, philosophy or ideology or the idol of "pluralism" which accepts every belief but honors none except toleration) is in rebellion against God and will surely suffer His judgement. So why do I write all this? CHRISTIA is, after all, supposed to be about the practical christian life and this certainly seems like a theoretical essay. I write because I think we need to understand that we are on enemy territory in whatever nation we live in (I certainly know of no nation that has set itself to honor God). If I count on my government, my nation, or the philosophy on which my nation is founded to support me in following Christ, then I will be deceived. If I imagine that any of my attempts to "call my nation back to its christian roots" will produce godly results, then I deceive myself. God can indeed draw a nation to repentance, but if I seek such a change from anyone but Him, He will not be glorified. And if I embrace the philosophy which rules my nation and try to call it Christian, then I may well find myself worshipping an idol and loving that which my Lord abhors. I was born in America, and according to God's command I will attempt to submit to the authorities He has placed over me there (so long as I would not dishonor Him thereby); but my citizenship is in heaven, in the Kingdom of God, and I will not love any kingdom of this earth. I would encourage us all to try discern the difference between what God has taught us is good and what our culture/society/nation has taught us is good. Anyway, that's the end of my speech. I didn't start out intending to write so much, and I apologize for it. But I do hope that some of this will help provoke you to good and godly thinking. As always I will be interested in your responses, though I am a bit fearful of what I will hear, knowing that feelings about this country, on one hand, and a readiness to reject traditional beliefs, on the other, run very deep. I hope the net result will be glory to God and help to His people. Your fellow pilgrim, Reid