Evangelical Pastor Says Church-State Separation Benefits Religion

[Political Tiger]

A Knight In Shining Armor: Evangelical Pastor Says Church-State Separation Benefits Religion

Is church-state separation a threat to Christianity? Religious Right forces want you to think so.

During the past few months, Religious Right leaders have railed against the alleged secularization of Christmas and agitated in favor of government recognition of the Christian aspects of the holiday. In a Tuesday column in The Christian Post, for example, Mark Earley groused that “city leaders are going all out to yank the Christ child out of any and all Christmas events.”

In this atmosphere, it is refreshing to see an evangelical pastor step forward and clear up the confusion. Writing in the Charleston Post and Courier last Sunday, the Rev. Robert “Monty” Knight insisted that church-state separation benefits both religion and society at large.

Knight, pastor of First Christian Church in West Ashley, S.C., is one of the plaintiffs in Americans United’s legal challenge to South Carolina’s legislature-approved “Christian” license plate. Contrary to the opinion of some religious and political leaders in the state, he insists that a federal district court decision blocking issuance of the sectarian plates is a good thing.

“I am…a conservative evangelical Christian minister,” Knight writes. “And I am quite prepared to explain why the court’s decision does not discriminate against Christians. Both the ‘non-establishment’ and the ‘religious freedom’ clauses in the First Amendment protect and promote the freedom, vitality and integrity of many different kinds of Christians as well as those who profess other religious convictions or, for that matter, no religion.”

Charging that entanglement of religions with government corrupts both institutions, the Disciples of Christ pastor observes, “In Europe, some countries have ‘state churches’ to which citizens pay taxes. Yet these churches are only nominally embraced, if at all. In America, by contrast, religion flourishes, including various forms of Christianity, precisely because no particular religion is ‘established’ (including any particular kind of Christianity).”

Knight insists the church-state separation is in keeping with a proper understanding of Christian teachings.

“As Jesus taught us: We are to treat others the way we would wish to be treated (Matthew 7:12),” Knight notes. “In 2 Corinthians 3:17, Paul declares: ‘Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.’ The Christian faith is inherently volitional; otherwise, it betrays its own claim. No one is free to be a Christian if he is not just as free to reject or deny such faith.”

Knight also warns that Christians ought to address public issues but not try to force their views on others through government action.

“Jesus’ description of Christians as ‘salt’ and ‘light’ from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) carries a powerful metaphorical meaning,” he insists. “Salt is an important preservative, yet too much salt can ruin the taste of anything. Likewise, light enables us to see, yet too much light can be blinding. According to Jesus, Christians are called to bear faithful witness in civil society, not to dominate it.”

MORE:
http://blog.au.org/2008/12/26/a-knight-in-shining-armor-evangelical-pastor-says-churchstate-separation-benefits-religion/

[derby378]

1. If only people like Falwell could have used their influence for good instead of evil...

It may be too late for Rick Warren, too, but this one pastor actually gets it.

[xchrom]

2. recommend -- and he's from south carolina? -- love it. nt

[tularetom]

3. What kind of "christian" is that guy? "Inherently volitional" my butt.

Everybody knows Jeebus wants us to go out and convert or kill anybody who isn't already a christian. Especially people of darker coloration. In countries that have oil. And the government should support this effort. When christians say shit the government should ask what color.

We're all doomed if wimpy christians like this are allowed to gain influence.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Bookmarking!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. This guy is like the Sufis are for Islam

The latest Smithsonian has some Sufis on the cover, in fact, and states it would be a good thing to encourage sects like ours that stress the separation of religion and state. Rev. Knight realizes the truth--only in a secular state can religion truly flourish.

[surrealAmerican]

6. This man sounds too smart to be a "conservative evangelical Christian minister".

He's actually right.

[patrice]

7. The human psyche habituates to that which is homogenous. Variation is necessary to perception.

Challenge is necessary to growth.

What Evangelical Fundamentalists want would be the DEATH knell of Christianity.

[TygrBright]

8. Part of a long tradition. Some of the earliest separation activists...

...back in the 19th Century, were evangelicals. They were afraid that the mainstream Protestant denominations would become the de facto "established" religion of the U.S., and begin excluding and/or discriminating against the largely poor, already marginalized members of their Churches.

They knew the dangers of letting any one religious ideology have too much power-- politically, socially or culturally. Some felt that taking religion out of the public/political sphere would give them (essentially) a safe zone to proselytize in, increase their Church membership and prosperity, under the radar, as it were. Others truly believed that faith was too important and too personal to be a matter for public scrutiny or social conformity-- that a faith professed on the basis of it being the most popular or the most powerful sect, had no real spiritual value.

Sad to see how their modern descendants have forgotten all of that...

bemusedly,
Bright

[Douglas Carpenter]

9. Kick and recommended. Excellent

[Dervill Crow]

10. A Christian who knows what Jesus taught. I like this guy. nt

[immoderate]

11. Well said. You can't legislate what people will believe.

It's an individual thing.

--IMM

[DavidDvorkin]

12. That's a bad side-effect of separation

But we need separation, anyway.

[Aristus]

13. Church-State separation is SUPPOSED to benefit both church and state.

No less a personage than Thomas Jefferson wrote about: "...the separation of the one from the other for the preservation of both."

At least this one guy gets it. Why is it so hard for so many other people to get their empty heads around the concept?

[Hydra]

15. Because they aren't championing the religion, per se

They are championing conformity and obedience.

[Hydra]

14. This guy is going to get so much guff from the Right

Since most of the megachurches are financial fleecing operations, the suggestion that this sort of thing is a choice is a volatile idea. Only by convincing people that their sect is the only one going to heaven can they successfully sell the idea of religious war.