Laura Nowadays

Political Rantings and Insight From a Not-So-Stupid Twenty-Something.

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Thursday, July 27, 2006

Why "We the people" Will Never Separate From "In the beginning"


Too often, as a Christian I am faced with the question of why I can't just separate my "religion" from politics. Why it upsets me that the Ten Commandments were removed from the Courts or why I fear that God is removed from the Pledge of Allegiance are conversations I have surprisingly frequently. Thanks to AGL's comic on her post about Embryonic Stem Cell research, I decided to write about it.
The title is metaphorical, as I believe that no "religious" person would ever separate their faith from their politics.
Religion is not reserved for Christianity. Or Buddhism. Or Islam.
Webster's Dictionary defines religion as:

"a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith"

Now, while this is just one definition of the word, it's certainly not exempt from defining religion. So what does this mean? Atheism is a religion. Satan worship is a religion. Witchcraft is a religion. Liberalism....ok, I'll stop there.
In actuality, I do not believe that Liberalism is a religion. Liberalism is a result of religious belief. As is conservativism.

To imply that I or anyone should separate the two is preposterous.

Take, for example, abortion. The Bible says "....For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made...." I am no scholar, I don't pretend to be either, however the verses here clearly indicate that not only are we creations of God in the flesh, but in soul and spirit. That's there's more to a "fetus" than just the parts. This is why Christians are so opposed to abortion, and why we cannot separate our faith in this respect from our politics. Because, everything that Roe vs. Wade stands for, our faith stands against. It's not just about what the Bible says either, it's a matter of conviction, there are many things in the Bible that Christians struggle with following, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't, it just means that more prayer and struggle must be had.

Another controversial topic is homosexuality. The Bible says "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." We believe that homosexuality is a sin. But please notice the list of other offenses there. Not just homosexuality is a sin! There are many other ways in which people can offend God. Notice also, the message of hope, that because Christ died for all sins, we can experience communion with God for eternity. But because of this belief we cannot honor the desire of homosexual people to marry. Marriage is a holy union created by God for one man and one woman.

The idea of separation of church in state in practice, is a new one. There were several founders who came to the U.S. with the desire to set up a theocratic state. I believe that their desire was made successful as a lot of our documents are littered with references to God and the like. While opposition of this stands, the 1st amendment itself does not decline the right Christians have to keep these references alive. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...." Just because something is governmentally funded, does not mean that it cannot have references to the God of Abraham. The people put it there and, if enough people want it to stay there, there it should stay. While this is not a full democracy, it is the people who have the right to require of those they put in office to fulfill their desires.

I'm almost positive that one's politics will in some way be impacted by whatever religion they follow. Christianity is dominant in our country, and so, the Christian faith is what dictates to those who believe how to vote. Sure, there are gray areas, but those are the areas in which there is no established right or wrong and why shockingly enough, Christians disagree on a lot of issues! We are evidently not just robots that spew off biblical references at every turn.

I think that if you, dear reader, were to look at whatever religion you practice and compare that to your politics, you would see similarities. Otherwise, maybe the only religion you hold to is your politics, but that makes for a pretty sad "afterlife" now doesn't it?

1 Comments:

Blogger LauraS said...

Thanks! When are YOU going to post again, hm?

11:56 AM  

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