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Must God Be
Removed from Our Government? (Part 1)
I knew the day was coming. One
of the major God versus government court battles of our nation
took place after Judge Roy Moore erected a monument to the Ten
Commandments in the Alabama State Judicial Building in Montgomery.
On January 3, 2003, a US Federal Court ruled that the monument
was to be removed, and the rest of the story, as they say, is
history. Judge Moore invoked his own injunction to delay the move,
after which the US Appeals Court upheld the Federal Court decision.
Finally, the US Supreme Court refused to hear the case, and Judge
Moore was removed from his position for his defiance of the order
and the monument was removed from public display in the State
Judicial Building. That closed the book on the issue for the State
of Alabama, at least for the time being. One may now look back
on the event and conclude that the atheists got their way, and
the Christians lost their battle. It is true enough that those
who don’t believe in God and are opposed to Christianity
can be pleased with the outcome. However, the consequences of
this decision are not that simple. According to polls, the majority
of people in America will not claim to be atheistic, and will
not claim to be opposed to Christianity. Yet many of those people
will agree with the court’s decision. As a matter of fact,
many who claim to be devoted believers in God and Christianity
will agree with the court’s decision. How can that be? It
is because of a time honored traditional belief in an idea called
“the separation of church and state.”
The issues regarding God and our
government have made me angrier, as a Christian, that perhaps
most any other moral issue that has faced our country in recent
years. I go to church with my fellow Christian friends and we
talk about some of these issues: the removal of the Ten Commandments
from public buildings and property, the words “under God”
in the pledge of allegiance to the flag, the words “In God
We Trust” as our national motto, and of course the one great
and painful issue, prayer in schools. When we talk about these
problems, people look at me and say, “Preacher, why are these
things happening? Our country is turning away from God! It is
wrong for these things to take place!” That is certainly
how we all feel in church. However, when we get out in public
and start talking to our friends, neighbors, and associates at
work, somebody finally opens up and says the fatal words, “Well,
yes, it is sad, but you know we must have separation of church
and state in America!” That statement always forces us to
shut our mouths, and hang our heads. We return to our corners
in silence, and we know deep down, that somehow, this is wrong.
We know that somewhere, there is something rotten in Denmark.
What I am about to write will
shock some people. I submit to you there should not be “separation
of church and state” as we understand the term in modern
times. I submit to you that the whole idea is wrong. “Outrageous!”
you might respond, “such an idea is heretical!” I would
ask you the question, “Why?” Many people would tell
me that the constitution guarantees separation of church and state.
Strictly speaking, they would be wrong. The First Amendment, which
addresses the issue, makes this statement: “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.”
This statement means the government shall never have the power
to establish a religion or prohibit the free exercise of religion.
It says nothing about the separation of church and state. It says
nothing about not allowing God or religion to be involved in public
or governmental institutions. The idea that the US Constitution
demands the separation of church and state is a myth. Where did
the whole idea of separation of church and state come from? Next
week we will talk about that, and we will discuss whether we are
limiting the moral freedom of those who do not want God in the
government.
James Sanders
Pastor,
sandersjc@yahoo.com
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