The War on Faith
By Adam Graham (11/06/06)
The question often comes up as to why Christian Conservatives care about issues such as gay marriage or the display of the Ten Commandments. A libertarian argument is made that gay marriages will not stop churches from performing their normal ceremonies, nor will removing a Ten Commandments display stop a church from hosting the Commandments on their own property.
The arguments can be persuasive if you don’t consider history or the state of our world today. Does there exist a country on Earth where there’s a complete secularization of society and complete freedom for the church? In much of the West, Christian doctrines and practices are strictly limited. A Swedish pastor spent years in court being charged with a hate crime for preaching a sermon against homosexuality. In Canada, a respected commentator on government radio suggested all ministers be licensed by the state and forbidden to teach the exclusivity of one religion over another or to speak of Hell. In Australia, Christian ministers have been prosecuted for speaking out against Islam. Right here in America, in Long Island, billboards that quoted scriptures on homosexuality were removed with pressure from the city.
This blows the theory that the church can enjoy full freedom in a completely secularized society. Indeed, it can be said that where secularization increases, the liberty of the church decreases. Despite constantly lecturing, “You can’t regulate morality,” few liberals actually believe that. Through the public school system, children are presented with a liberal morality. Many support employment discrimination laws that would make it impossible for a Christian bookstore to refuse to hire a homosexual or transsexual due to moral concerns. When confronted with the objection, I’ve had liberals tell me that such laws are acceptable because they see nothing wrong with homosexuality. So thus they want to legislate their own view of morality!
Of course, in response to this point, we’re warned that creating a theocracy is dangerous to our society. There was a time when the Pope was one of the most powerful men on the planet and church and state were held in one hand in countries across the Earth with disastrous results. Oliver Cromwell banned plays and required church attendance during his reign as Lord Protector of England. On the other hand, when nations took religion lightly, you invariably had unrestrained debauchery and a lack of respect for the rights of the people
In America’s colonies, a much milder, but still tyrannical, situation became apparent as people were required by law in most colonies to monetarily support the official church. The results were predictably unjust with people of different denominations being required to support another church.
When reading the writings of the Founders, what you find is a desire to respect the rights of people to govern themselves and to protect people from being victims of religious oppression. At the same time, the founders were all either Christians or very supportive of the principles of Christianity. George Washington declared religion and morality “indispensable supports” and warned, “In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.” In a time of crisis, Benjamin Franklin urged the Founding Fathers to pray during a crisis point of the Constitutional Convention, warning that except the Lord build the house, those that build it labor in vain.
So with two seemingly contradictory needs, the Founders created something different and unique. A nation where God was acknowledged and principles of morality were respected, while at the same time the rights of religious minorities were respected. A general belief in God and Judeo-Christian principles were respected, while leaving individuals the freedom to make their own choice on personal religious matters and private issues of conscience. That’s the system that has existed in this country for nearly two centuries. The ACLU’s extreme loathing of religion is a modern innovation and a dangerous one.
They have declared war on the influence of faith and morality in the public square. Their ultimate aim is the creation of another completely secular state which treats religious people and ideas with contempt. On the other side, Christian Conservatives seek to restore the ingenuous balance that existed in this country and kept us free from culture wars for nearly 200 years.
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