Separation of Church from the State Was Recommended By The Lord Jesus Christ

[FredFlash]

Separation of Church from the State Was Recommended By The Lord Jesus Christ​

"Unto God the things that are God's."​

The Lord Jesus Christ arrived on earth in the midst of a despotic government that exercised dominion over all things pertaining to human life and destiny. There was no distinction between civil and religious affairs. None was made, because none was known.

Religion was simply a part of the state, and therefore subject to human law equally with war or commerce. The Savior, with unerring accuracy, exposed the falseness of this view.

Christ did not oppose the authority of the rulers over civil affairs. Concerning it he pronounced no opinion except to declare that they, at least, who recognized it in any matters pertaining to it should obey it in all.

In making this decision the Lord drew for all coming time the line of separation between the state and religion. “RENDER UNTO CAESAR THE THINGS THAT ARE CESAR'S, AND UNTO GOD THE THINGS THAT ARE GOD'S.” In accordance with his own decision, Christ utterly disregarded Caesar’s claim to authority over things belonging to God.

Jesus knew that civil authority over religion had no foundation and was maintained only by force. Consequently, the Son of God did not go to the civil authority for permission to promulgate the Gospel. When arraigned-concerning things pertaining to his mission as a prophet from God, the Lord demonstrated his contempt for civil authority over religion by declining to even plead a defense.

Instead, the Savior gathered the people around him and taught them, as a right which he of himself possessed, and to which they had an equal right to respond. He selected messengers also to proclaim his religion, and commanded them to make it known to every creature in the entire world. By these acts he asserted that, with respect to religion, his disciples and mankind were of right independent of all civil government. Power to restrict and silence them he knew existed. It was everywhere around them. It always had its hand on them. It might arrest, imprison, scourge them, and put them to death. Of this he warned them, yet gave them no sword for their own defense. On the contrary, he strictly forbade their using the sword.

Their own discretion, argument, flight, suffering and his mediatory care were all the resources he allowed them against the wildest fury of absolute temporal power. But the right of the civil government to arrest or hinder them the Savior ignored as a nullity. They were to go forth everywhere, obedient to him as their sovereign Lord in religious things, and so far independent of men. And their right to do so was finally to prevail over all opposing power.

This separation of religion from civil government was contrary to the theory and practice of mankind at the time it was announced. The Savior was the only being on earth who then perfectly understood it. Against it human power, thought and prejudice were at once arrayed.

During the last two thousand years, religion has been persecuted by hostile governments and corrupted almost to destruction by the foolish impious assumed authority of patronizing rulers. Every step of the advancement of separation of church and state has been won by endurance or bought with blood.

Christ proclaimed the independence of religion from civil authority. However, it has never been fully realized. The United States should be the first nation to establish a perfect separation of church and state.

All vestiges of civil power over the things that are God’s should be abolished.

 

[UtahBill]

Good post, but let me add a bit. I would rather government persecute religion that join hands with it to control, mollify, and brainwash the public.
That is the real danger. We end up with our government ifficials wasting time on moral issues instead of managing the government to the best use of the citizenry. Constantine saw the power of religion, and made Christianity the state religion, and it has been mostly downhill ever since.

 

[FredFlash]

The Myth Of Separation of Church And State Pops Up Again In 1897​

A man who lacked many of the literary qualifications for an historian but who yet had the root of the matter in him, was Isaac Backus, a Baptist minister, born in 1724 at Norwich, Connecticut, and both upon his father's side and upon his mother's allied to some of the oldest and most honorable families in New England.

He began to preach when he was but twenty-two, and he continued to preach until he was eighty-two; having been, during all those years, tireless in labor, a visitor of the sick and sorrowing, in journeys often, in conflicts many,-above all things, a father of his despised sect, a champion of its civil and religious rights, a dauntless apostle of the doctrine-then almost a paradox among us-of the total separation of church and state.

In 1772, elected by the Baptist churches in Massachusetts, he became their " agent," and in their name he went before congresses, conventions, and legislatures, doing much to shape the new laws of that new time into conformity with the majestic principle that, in matters religious, no man may be interfered with by the civil authority.

This man it was who, being preacher, pastor, politician, agitator, became also historian-in the latter capacity illustrating some of the primary virtues appertaining thereto. So effectually did he strive in this task, even amid the distractions of the great war, that he was able to publish, in 1777, the first volume, and, in 1784, the second volume, of his monumental work,-" A History of New England, with particular Reference to the Denomination of Christians called Baptists: containing the first principles and settlements of the Country; the rise and increase of the Baptist churches therein; the introduction of arbitrary power under the cloak of religion….

[FONT=&quot]--The Literary History of the American Revolution, 1763-1783; By Moses Coit Tyler; Cornell University; 19 July, I 897.

[/FONT]Making of America
​

 

[dragonslayer]

Separation of Church from the State Was Recommended By The Lord Jesus Christ​

"Unto God the things that are God's."​

The Lord Jesus Christ arrived on earth in the midst of a despotic government that exercised dominion over all things pertaining to human life and destiny. There was no distinction between civil and religious affairs. None was made, because none was known.

Religion was simply a part of the state, and therefore subject to human law equally with war or commerce. The Savior, with unerring accuracy, exposed the falseness of this view.

Christ did not oppose the authority of the rulers over civil affairs. Concerning it he pronounced no opinion except to declare that they, at least, who recognized it in any matters pertaining to it should obey it in all.

In making this decision the Lord drew for all coming time the line of separation between the state and religion. “RENDER UNTO CAESAR THE THINGS THAT ARE CESAR'S, AND UNTO GOD THE THINGS THAT ARE GOD'S.” In accordance with his own decision, Christ utterly disregarded Caesar’s claim to authority over things belonging to God.

Jesus knew that civil authority over religion had no foundation and was maintained only by force. Consequently, the Son of God did not go to the civil authority for permission to promulgate the Gospel. When arraigned-concerning things pertaining to his mission as a prophet from God, the Lord demonstrated his contempt for civil authority over religion by declining to even plead a defense.

Instead, the Savior gathered the people around him and taught them, as a right which he of himself possessed, and to which they had an equal right to respond. He selected messengers also to proclaim his religion, and commanded them to make it known to every creature in the entire world. By these acts he asserted that, with respect to religion, his disciples and mankind were of right independent of all civil government. Power to restrict and silence them he knew existed. It was everywhere around them. It always had its hand on them. It might arrest, imprison, scourge them, and put them to death. Of this he warned them, yet gave them no sword for their own defense. On the contrary, he strictly forbade their using the sword.

Their own discretion, argument, flight, suffering and his mediatory care were all the resources he allowed them against the wildest fury of absolute temporal power. But the right of the civil government to arrest or hinder them the Savior ignored as a nullity. They were to go forth everywhere, obedient to him as their sovereign Lord in religious things, and so far independent of men. And their right to do so was finally to prevail over all opposing power.

This separation of religion from civil government was contrary to the theory and practice of mankind at the time it was announced. The Savior was the only being on earth who then perfectly understood it. Against it human power, thought and prejudice were at once arrayed.

During the last two thousand years, religion has been persecuted by hostile governments and corrupted almost to destruction by the foolish impious assumed authority of patronizing rulers. Every step of the advancement of separation of church and state has been won by endurance or bought with blood.

Christ proclaimed the independence of religion from civil authority. However, it has never been fully realized. The United States should be the first nation to establish a perfect separation of church and state.

All vestiges of civil power over the things that are God’s should be abolished.

I am a christian and I have to agree.

Who Would Jesus Bomb?

 

[UtahBill]

I think that service to God within a church could be good training for future politicians, as long as they can remember that in public office they represent the entire public, and not use the office to benefit their own religion. Service to God is done by service to our fellow man, and there is no compromise where the law is concerned. If only our politicians could understand that the responsibility of the job is the important thing, and that the authority of the job is only use to accomplish the responsibility part.

 

[tecoyah]

I think that service to God within a church could be good training for future politicians, as long as they can remember that in public office they represent the entire public, and not use the office to benefit their own religion. Service to God is done by service to our fellow man, and there is no compromise where the law is concerned. If only our politicians could understand that the responsibility of the job is the important thing, and that the authority of the job is only use to accomplish the responsibility part.

It would seem, as of late that the Politicians do not hold a monopoly on these weaknesses, and in fact many a Church Leader has been shown to be far worse.
At least the politicians are held accountable by the peers. in commitee and investigation, whereas the preacher just gets caught by the Media.

 

[alienken]

I think everyone agrees that Church and State should have no control over each other but there are too many people that mistake the mention of the name of God in a Gov. setting as a violation of the "Seperation of Church and State".