No, it’s not a mistake. The title reads, “The Separation of the Separation of Church and State.”
People have been harping for years that we need to keep the State out of the Church and the Church out of the State. And they are mostly right. But many of them are only half right. You see, the phrase doesn’t mean what some think it means.
Common Definition of Separation of Church and State: “You are free to believe what you want, but you have to stop talking about your faith when it comes to politics. Religion has no place in politics.”
Not to put too fine a point on it, that’s just stupid.
A person’s religious beliefs tend to be among the most powerful defining forces in that person’s life. To turn it on and off like a light switch is ludicrous.
The Differences
What Separation of Church and State really means: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Let me put it another way: “If I believe that late-term abortion is wrong because of my religious convictions, and I vote to make and keep it illegal, the Church has impacted the State, and without any abridgement of the Constitution. If you believe that abortion is acceptable, but were outvoted, that is democracy. The reverse is true as well: If the majority votes for legalized, late-term abortion”
We can vote for any law we please and for any reason we please. So can you.
Make your case. I’ll make mine. If I quote scripture, it is because I believe it to be valid. If you quote the back of a cereal box because you believe it to be the source of truth for you, then good for you.
We probably won’t be able to convince each other of truth.
But neither can we invalidate one another’s vote just because we dislike the method by which we arrive at our conclusions.
That said, I still think the people who mumble “eeny meeny miny moe” while they are in the voting booth are wasting everyone’s time. Just a thought.
Separation of Seperation
So the idea is this: I am for the separation of Church and State. The Church should not be allowed to unilaterally make laws. But if the Church mobilizes it’s members and they make a conscious and conscientious effort to vote, then that’s our democracy at work.
We must separate the notion of Church running the state from the clear idea of Church people voting to press laws into place. The former is wrong. The latter is democracy at work.
This Means Responsibility
Most importantly, this means that our exegesis of Scripture and our discernment of God’s will must be done with the utmost care.
Rick Warren tweeted this earlier this week:
Pastors are the most underestimated change agents in any city.Their collective influence on residents each wk is staggering
True. Pastors, you empower and equip a tremendous number of individuals in your community. Create a sense of civic responsibility. Ask serious questions, then preach and teach the faithful methods of finding those answers. Your job is not to tell people what to think. Your job is to tell people how to think.
God needs faithful witnesses. God does not need brainwashed followers who simply do as their leaders command.
Christian principles formed our nation. Christian leaders did not. We believe that Christian principles are the key to forming ethical, responsible people. Therefore, let us be ethical and responsible in our understanding and teaching of those principles.
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