Religion and Politics

In our post 9/11 world no two words have as much meaning, or garner as much spirited debate. There are those who say this is precisely why we must have separation of church and state. Others say our culture will die without co-existence.

History tells us that from the days in the Garden of Eden until now there always has been a co-existence and by the very nature of the two disciplines there always will be and must be. Religion is political and politics are religious.

One definition of religion is; “any system of faith or worship.”

One definition of politics is; “the form or constitution of government.”

Every religion has a form of government and every government has a set of beliefs or faith on which it was founded.

I challenge every liberal, atheist, jurist and ACLU adherent to take their ill-thought out positions of separation of church (religion), and state to its ultimate conclusion. Without a set of rules of conduct, which by their very nature must be based on some set of beliefs, we will have anarchy.

You may not believe or agree with the Scriptures, the Old and New Testament, however no one has presented an alternative which carries with it the time-tested rules of conduct for a civilized society. I am reminded of two scriptures which address this issue. Judges 21:25; “in those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” Change the word king to moral authority, which was what the king was to provide, and you have a better understanding of our current problem. To correct the situation God sent Judges to judge his people. Psalms 2:1-3; “why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? ---Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us.” Unrestrained and unaccountable life styles are unacceptable in any society.

When you teach children, they came from slime or apes and that there are no absolutes of right and wrong you have children killing, stealing, and destroying without “feelings” of wrong doing. And if as an adult, you still believe we evolved from whatever, you may be educated beyond your intellect.

The problem lies in this fact. “In the beginning, God created man in His, (God’s), image.” When man disobeyed his creator, he, man, recreated his god in his, (man’s), image. Whenever man feels uncomfortable about being accepted by his god, he simply redesigns his god or changes gods. This is why we have so many religions and denominations.

The answer lies in this fact. God never established a religion or denomination.

Religion is simply man’s attempt to do something to be accepted by God so man can take credit for his efforts.

God desires a relationship with his greatest creation, man, and He has a plan for us to follow to form that relationship through a Redeemer, not a religion.

John H. Dumke