God and Government: The Myth of Neutrality, Part 1

Grace to you! How often have you been told that we should keep religion out of government? Or, that religion and politics mix like oil and water…or better gas and fire!! The common rhetoric of today is that religion should be kept out of the public square since it will either offend some people or because our government is neutral in its stance towards such things. But do these arguments hold up under scrutiny? And what should our response be as Christians?

The well worn phrase of ‘the Constitutional separation of church and state’ is often used to make people balk when seeking to talk about religion in the public sphere . You may not know, but the phrase separation of church and state is NOWHERE in the Constitution or Declaration of Independence, our two main founding documents. So for starters, the next time someone says this, ask them to show it to you in our founding documents. It’s just not there. The phrase has been used to bluff others from seeking to integrate their faith into public life. Don’t be cowered.

But what is government but the upholding of justice, the rights of citizens, and provide for the common defense of the nation? And this is where issue comes to the forefront. Exactly what are our rights? Who says? To answer such questions, we have to answer prior questions such as what is man? Where does man come from? What is wrong with people and society? How do we fix it? And how do we know this is how we fix it? And where does humanity need to go in the future? Big questions that no one asks anymore. It’s assumed that the government not only knows the answer to these questions, but makes the right policies in light of them having the supposed right answers to these questions. What you believe are the answers to these questions will determine how you make public policy.

And this is where we have to call their hand. All these questions are highly religious. What is man? Where has he come from? What’s wrong with him? How do you fix it? These are all questions the bible deals with in a straight forward way. And so does our government! To accept the idea that government is religiously neutral is a farce. There is no such thing as neutrality. Our own government may not reflect Christian thought, but it is religious in nature. In our case, it is based more on secular humanism where the belief that man and especially the government is the goal and end of all things. Society is to be ‘saved’ by government planning and intervention. The government becomes the Savior for society and we are to pay homage to it by falling in line with its commandments and precepts. The belief that government is neutral is simply the government elites’ way to keep you in line with their ‘religious’ belief in a secular humanist government. God has much to say about this, which we will look at next week.

Looking for a church home? Come visit South Whitwell Baptist, 133 South Oak Street, Whitwell. Sunday Service: 10:45 AM. Visit our web page: www.southwhitwellbaptist.webs.com