The United States of America was founded on many important principles, one in particular is being challenged in our times (though many are being challenged, I am focusing here on one specific principle). This principle is the seperation of church and state. the argument is being made that Christians should not be holding positions of high office, particularly if they use their fatih to help guide them in their decisions.

Now, ignoring the many years in which America has been led by those who were relying on their faith and Christian principles to guide our nation, I think that if we are to fight this blatant attack on our culture and our nation, we should understand some history, and see if perhaps they are reversing the meaning of this idea.

You see I see many people talk about how this idea was based on the catholic church, and how it had obtained control over Europe, and exercised control over Europe through its religious power, and while this is a fair argument, I am not fully convinced this is what our founding fathers had in mind. Recall, the founding fathers were protestants, many of them from England.

England, had already broken away from the catholic church, and created the church of England, for the benefit of king Henry, so he could divorce his wives at will when they would not give him a male heir. Now both the catholic church and the church of England misused their positions for political ends that benefitted themselves.

The catholic church became and behaved more as a state (which in fact it was, the papal states), and less like the church of God. The behavior of the papal states, which was highly motivated in control and politics, and less in advancing the true kingdom, certainly did lead to many negatives that should not be emulated.

With that being said, this does not mean the church should not express it’s views to impact the government and society, we can see countless times throughout the Bible the significance of the spiritual leaders being needed to keep a state on track with the direction of God.

Added to this, we can see the importance of and the history of how Christian values have always impacted the governance of America. Christian values and principles always impacted how America was going to operate, and without those principles America would not be the place it is today.

The seperation the founders were referring to, I truly believe, was the seperation preventing the state from influencing the church and its administration. This really is not too hard of a conclusion to come too. What is the first amendment? Freedom of religion and free speech. The very wording of the first amendment made it clear that the government was to have no control over the church.

The church has and should continue to have an impact on governance, but the government should not be able to direct or control the church nor its function. In Canada we can see what happens when the government begins to overstep, prohibitng specific messages, which results in less than the full truth of the scripture being taught.

The church is answerable to God, and the church leaders are going to be held to account to Him, but the world leaders believe they are answerable to man or in many cases, to no one. Government, by its nature, desires only to have more control, and if the state is allowed to impact the church, it will only mean men with agendas will seek to gain control of God’s system. This is not the path America has ever been on, it is not the path the founders sought, and it is not the path we should now or ever take.

God be with you. Amen.