Separation of Church and State?

I generally do not weigh in on religious issues. First, I claim no expertise in the subject, second, people of faith, no matter the faith are not going to be pursuaded that their faith is not the best one, or that if they stray from it, there will be unwanted consequences in the afterlife.

Since none of us can report their experiences in the afterlife back to the living, there is no way to verify the claim of any person of faith, no matter what the faith that there is, in fact an afterlife. We all have to walk that lonesome highway by ourselves. An article of faith by a Christian, Jew, Muslim or any other religion has to, in my view simply be accepted as something the holder of the view accepts, and I am willing to leave it at that. It is their faith and they are free to believe as they wish. I simply do not apply value judgments that says one religion is better than another.

Nearly all religions subscribe to the concept that there is an afterlife, most juxtapose the dichotomy of heaven for the virtuous and hell for those who are not. Some Christians reject the possibility that non-Christians or Christians who have not passed some test in life (being born again, for instance) will deny one the chance for redemption or heaven for failure to pass this test. Others do not feel that this test is necessary. Who is right? Who has reported back from the other side to either confirm or deny what is the right path. Or is there some other path? I do not know.

The question of what happens if one is not a Christian is often raised by evangelicals. A more fundamental question, I think is what happened to people of faith before Christ lived? The Old Testament records people being taken to heaven hundreds or even thousands of years before Christ walked the earth. If these people made it to heaven, why can’t people of other religions also go to heaven.

If one is supposed to be doomed to the fires of hell if they do not shape up, then the possiblity of heaven must exist for these individuals simply because heaven-hell are both ends of the same stick. By all accounts, people living on Earth in their mortal costume do not make the decision, St. Peter or God or Allah or some other godhead makes the decision. How can any person in the flesh say otherwise?

It is an article of their faith that they do not make the decision, even for themselves. The God of the Bible or Koran seems to have vindictive and tolerant days, does the choice break down into what kind of mood God is in on the day of your passing? That seems silly, but it also seems to be about as credible as other systems of faith. Who is to say?

I will say this. I believe that attempts to tear down the wall between Church and State that are taking place in America today are very dangerous. The assumption of one religion being favored over another in our government and legal system puts the faith of all Americans in jeopardy. If, say, evangelic Christianity gets the upper hand in the establishment of religion in America, what is the consequence for other Christians, say Roman Catholics or Methodists. Or one of the many manifestations of Baptists? An example here is Jimmy Carter is a Baptist, but the religion practiced in his particular church is significantly different than the type practiced by other more rigid conferences who say that the role of women is to be subservient or that the doctrine should be fire and brimstone.

I believe Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus and others would get the short end of the religious/government combination, and the wind could blow the other way when a new president comes in. What would the religion who was in, and is now out do? How would they react? In modern times, the Islamic states where so-called theocracies were implemented, all other religions suffered, some egriously, some by genocide or significant loss of life of other religious traditions. B’hai in Iran, nearly all who disagreed in Afghanistan. In England during the 1500’s to 1700’s period the Crown vacilated between Catholic and Protestant. Forced conversions sometimes followed this change. Sometimes the punishment for being the other religion was economic or social.

Combinations of Church and State, all the way back to the Pharohs and Rome always caused much strife, repression and social isolation. Infanticide during the Pharohs. All kinds of stuff with the Romans. I am sure I could look up other bad combinations of Church and State throughout history. This is why I strongly advocate rebuilding the wall between Church and State in America. This wall is being torn down, and is badly in need of repair.

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