Sunday, July 29, 2007
Religion belongs in politics
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Stephen Williams
Williams lives in Roanoke and will attend Patrick Henry College this fall.
Benjamin Franklin once endorsed the importance of religion in culture and politics when he wrote, "If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his [God's] notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?"
Interestingly enough, Robert F. Boyd chose a diametrically opposite view in his July 9 anti-religious hit piece, "More important issues," decrying the number of religion-themed commentaries published in The Roanoke Times. His reasoning is rather circular, given that his commentary began as an observation and ended as a full-scale attack on Christianity and its place in society.
He obviously had an ax to grind, and, respectfully, I believe his logic was impaired by his fervor in swinging said ax.
Boyd's main point is that The Times allows too much commentary space for submissions that carry religion-based content, thus implying that religion has too much influence in society.
He goes further by writing, "as long as they [Christians] keep religion out of the political arena they can believe whatever they want to believe." Obviously, he fails to recognize two key points: first, that the Christian faith demands authority in every aspect of the believer's life; and second, that it is impossible to separate the American governmental foundation from the beliefs of Christianity.
While America was not founded as an expressly "Christian" nation (i.e. theocracy), she was birthed on the expressly Christian principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Ironically, those principles of liberty are the same ones that give Boyd the freedom to attack the cornerstones of our freedom. I think a little history lesson is necessary to disprove his theory.
Only two nations outside of the Old Testament Hebrew theocracy have ever experienced a successful combination of liberty and prosperity: Great Britain and the United States.
Close examination will reveal similarities in each country's constitutional and moral foundation. Both nations recognized the depravity of the human nature as defined in the Bible, and both nations built their societies and governments in such a way as to counteract that depravity.
Neither country has been occupied by a foreign enemy, and each country has maintained its original constitution: Britain from 1689 and the U.S. from 1789. These unparalleled blessings can only be attributed to the favor of an almighty God who, in his mercy, chose to bless these nations for their obedience to his commands.
However, that hand of protection may be lifted if we try to silence the expression of religion, and particularly Christianity, in the public square. Doing so would contradict the liberties that have made America great and risk the anger of the God who has given us those liberties.
As further evidence of this belief, I would like to quote one of our country's fathers, John Adams. "Statesmen may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. A patriot must be a religious man."
