Here's what I think....
Oct/18/07 10:35 AM Filed in: OUR TIMES
I don't often post like this. My blog is intended
to be a site you can visit to add a little humor to
your day and maybe check in on what's happening in
the Martin house. I prefer to entertain than
editorialize because there are so many other blogs
out there that editorialize so much better than I.
However, I'm going to detour from the main road a bit
today and write some thoughts on the Separation of
Church and State. (You can let me know in the
comments if I'm better off keeping my thoughts out of
the blogosphere 
)
Anytime a big election is approaching there is alot of talk among the candidates about religion. There is alot of talk about religion in regards to public schools, courthouses & monuments. The theme in the talk seems to be separation of church and state. The goal seems to be eliminating, or at least compartmentalizing,religion, scratch that,
Christianity from all things public.
I have heard the following question asked of several candidates, "What part will religion play in the decisions you make?" Most of the time the answer is something like how his religion is very important to him personally, but is a political non-issue apart from helping the needy and feeding the hungry.
It seems that any individual is welcome to be religious and even Christian as long as that religion does not creep out of his private life and into his public. I have two problems with this:
1. My faith is not a part of me, it is ALL of me. I don't wear faith as an accessory to certain outfits. It permeates my mind and my soul. It forms my worldview, values and my lifestyle - it is who I am. A faith that can be separated from oneself in particular circumstances is not true faith, it is merely a convenient value system that inevitably paves the road for hypocrisy.
2. Constitutional separation of church and state was never meant to eliminate religion from public life. It was meant to preserve the progress made by the Covenanters in Scotland and the Reformers in Europe. The power over the church should not be in the hands of the government and the power over the government should not rest in the hands of the church. Separation of church and state exists for the same reason as the balance of power between the Judicial, Legislative and Executive branches. It exists because of rulers like Bloody Mary who held supreme power over the government and the church. The separation protects the church from corrupt politicians and the government from corrupt clergy. It ensures that the Bible, not the Constitution, has ultimate authority over the church.
)
Anytime a big election is approaching there is alot of talk among the candidates about religion. There is alot of talk about religion in regards to public schools, courthouses & monuments. The theme in the talk seems to be separation of church and state. The goal seems to be eliminating, or at least compartmentalizing,
I have heard the following question asked of several candidates, "What part will religion play in the decisions you make?" Most of the time the answer is something like how his religion is very important to him personally, but is a political non-issue apart from helping the needy and feeding the hungry.
It seems that any individual is welcome to be religious and even Christian as long as that religion does not creep out of his private life and into his public. I have two problems with this:
1. My faith is not a part of me, it is ALL of me. I don't wear faith as an accessory to certain outfits. It permeates my mind and my soul. It forms my worldview, values and my lifestyle - it is who I am. A faith that can be separated from oneself in particular circumstances is not true faith, it is merely a convenient value system that inevitably paves the road for hypocrisy.
2. Constitutional separation of church and state was never meant to eliminate religion from public life. It was meant to preserve the progress made by the Covenanters in Scotland and the Reformers in Europe. The power over the church should not be in the hands of the government and the power over the government should not rest in the hands of the church. Separation of church and state exists for the same reason as the balance of power between the Judicial, Legislative and Executive branches. It exists because of rulers like Bloody Mary who held supreme power over the government and the church. The separation protects the church from corrupt politicians and the government from corrupt clergy. It ensures that the Bible, not the Constitution, has ultimate authority over the church.
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