Friday, March 25, 2011

The Separation of Church and State, what does it mean?

     A friend of mine posted on facebook this morning that our nations additions of "God" to our countries pledge, currency and motto, are in direct defiance of the words of George Washington and John Adams, who purportedly state that the USA is not a Christian Nation. While I disagree with the statement as a whole, I could agree with the premise that the USA is not a Christian Nation. As the son of a preacher, raised in the gospel, I can feel the online cringe of ye fellow Christians. However, as a man of the law, and one of reason, I must expand.
Our country is not a Christian nation, rather, it is a country built by Christians. The purpose of the separation of church and state were not to take God or moral decision making out of our government. Instead they are used to give credence to the idea that this is a free nation. Government and Church are to be governed separately, but like any fluid concept it is understood that the two must co-exist. How is it that we can develop laws or punishment without the guidance of morality? How is it that we can lead spiritually without the legal protection to do so? While the two are separate they are not void from each other’s workings. We find government in every aspect of the church. We find church in every aspect of the government. Not as a gold standard of decision making, but as guidance and a source of strength.
People and organizations such as the ACLU do not seek to remove religion from government. In fact, just recently they procured Muslim rights of prayer for workers, and even were present during the mosque discussions at ground zero. Instead, the ACLU and like minded supporters seek to take “God” out of government. A distinction that contradicts our very existence as a free country.
The truth is simple. We as a people have been drawn to a Christian faith that provides the type of moral guidance that helped build America. The important thing to remember is that God understood the importance of free will and with that gave us the decision to blaze our own path. We too as a country have adhered to the concept of free will. However, that free will should not be threatened by the mere existence of religion in government, rather, it should be threatened by our removal of religion from government. For a nation without religion is no nation at all. It will only be a group of people seeking guidance from those most powerful. And with that gives the fall of humanity.   

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Harris Law

Harris Law
Welcome to my life in the Law.