Church and State
Prayer: O
Jesus
Christ, Son of the living God, You have given us Your holy Word and
have bountifully provided for all our earthly needs: We confess that
we are unworthy of all these mercies, and that we have rather
deserved punishment. But we beseech You, forgive us our sins, and
prosper and bless us in our various callings, that by Your strength
we may be sustained and defended, now and forever, and so praise and
glorify You eternally; for You live and reign with the Father and the
Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.
How are these outposts confused?
These outposts are confused when the
responsibilities and authority of one outpost are mixed with or
usurped by another.
Review the kinds of authority God gave to each of
these outposts.
Confusion of The
Three Estates in Political Philosophy and Literature
First, the term "Three
Estates" has been used in both popular literature and political
discussions throughout history. The terminology of the Three Estates
comes to us from the background of Medieval Feudalism. In that
context it referred to the Clergy, the Nobility, and the Commoners.
There were authors
who used the Three Estates as a literary device for their humor: e.g., Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
who used the Three Estates as a literary device for their humor: e.g., Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
In England the Three
Estates came to refer to The Crown, The House of Lords, and the House
of Commons. Through the French Revolution the third estate, the
common people became empowered over the Nobility and the Clergy. In
the formation of the U.S.A. Thomas Jefferson's writings incorporated
a political view of the Three Estates which formed the basis for our
Executive, Judicial, and Legislative government.
The political use of
the terminology of the Three Estates affects our discussion on the
topic in our day. Add to this the so-called "Fourth Estate,"
the name Edmund Burke gave to the news media when observing British
Parliament in session.
Separation of Church and State
It is important for us
to realize there are at least three different meanings in use for the
phrase “the separation of Church and State.”
1) The Biblical
Teaching
Read Luke 20:20-26:
First notice in verse 20 the kind of authority the Pharisees wanted
to use against Jesus.
Using
what you have learned from Scripture, if the Pharisees wanted to turn
Jesus over to the authority of the civil state, what did they really
want to happen to Jesus?
Did
Jesus reject the authority of the State?
Did
Jesus reject the authority of the Church?
How
did Jesus show that each of these outposts has authority from God
which should be obeyed and at the same time that those kinds of
authority were different in their very nature?
In
some writings the Civil Government is called the Kingdom of the Left
and the Church is called the Kingdom of the Right.
Historically the Roman
Catholic Church has asserted that the Pope has authority over both
the Kingdom of the Left (the Secular State) and the Kingdom of the
Right (The Church). For this reason the Pope used to appoint kings
and emperors.
Did
Jesus actually give this kind of authority to the Church?
Also, throughout
history Civil Governments have often claimed the authority to outlaw
Christianity or certain teachings of Scripture. In other situations
Civil Governments have made things forbidden by Scripture into the
law of the land. And in doing so these governments may or may not
allow Christians to abide by Scripture.
Consider
Abortion: United States law allows for abortion and infanticide. But
the civil does not prohibit Christians from having as many children
as God gives them.
Consider
the Supreme Court decision on the Defense of Marriage Amendment: The
Supreme Court ruling allows for same-sex marriage. But the decision
declares that all who claim that marriage is only for one man one
woman are illegally violating the civil rights of same-sex partners.
If the Civil
Government establishes a law that is legal according to its own code
of law, and that law does not require a Christian to violate God's
Word, what is the responsibility and duty of the Christian toward
that law?
What if the civil law
does require a Christian to violate God's Word?
2) The Civil Law in
the United States
Separation of Church
and State in United States law originally meant that the Federal
Government could not pass laws promoting or restricting any
particular religions. The First Amendment to the United
States Constitution says:
Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
This is not God's
Word. It is the basis for law in the the United States' government
and limits the kinds of laws the Government can make and enforce.
Though this Amendment
to the Constitution is not the Biblical Doctrine of Church and State,
whose authority rests behind this particular law of the Constitution?
Discuss
the difficulty for Christians: If a legislature passes a law that
violates this Amendment and it is signed by the President, what is a
Christian to obey?
For
example: The actual legal reason Churches are not taxed is this First
Amendment. The authors and courts recognized that taxation on
churches would be “prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In
the last decade some people have been advocating for the taxation of
Churches because some congregations are nothing but money scams—which
is true! Others object to this exemption for another reason. That is
the next use of the phrase “Separation of Church and State.”
3) As a tool of
political influence and coercion.
The phrase “Separation
of Church and State” has become a tool of political propaganda for
the purpose of removing “religion” and specifically Christianity
from any discussion in Government, state run institutions, and even
in the general public sphere.
When the phrase is
used this way it is not the doctrine of God's Word, nor is it the Law
of our land. It is actually political and religious persecution
against particular religious faiths: almost always some Christian
group.
Some
public libraries in Minnesota have decided that they cannot allow
religious groups to use meeting rooms in the library because of
“separation of Church and State.” This has nothing to do with the
Law, but it has everything to do with the position of groups like the
American Library Association which have taken positions against
Christian groups.
Discuss
God-pleasing ways to address such misuses of authority which will
respect the divine authority of public servants as well keeping both
the legitimate doctrine of Church and State as distinct from the
Civil Government's laws with respect to the First Amendment.
The Peculiar Case
of Forgiveness
Forgiveness exists in
each estate.
The President of the
U.S.A. can forgive any citizen of convicted of federal crimes with a
pardon. State governors can pardon those convicted of state crimes.
In the family a person who is somehow violated or offended by another
member can forgive that other. In society people can forgive those
who offend them.
This forgiveness is
real, but it is not the same thing as forgiveness of sins before God.
The forgiveness given in the Civil Estate is valid only in the Civil
Estate. The forgiveness given in the Family is valid only in the
Family. The Forgiveness given from one person to another is valid
only between those people.
While a sin or offense
may be forgiven between two individuals, where His Law has been
violated God has also been offended. God established the Means of
Grace for the explicit purpose of giving forgiveness of sins against
His Law. On the basis of this Scriptural distinction our Augsburg
Confession states:
"The
power of the Keys, or the power of the bishops, according to the
Gospel, is a power or commandment of God, to preach the Gospel, to
remit and retain sins, and to administer Sacraments. (AC 28:5)
The danger is that if
we don't recognize the limits of proper authority, real forgiveness
of sins may never be given to those who need it. When we presume that
our human forgiveness is enough, we end neglecting God's gift by not
encouraging each other to specifically go to God for His forgiveness
through the Means of Grace.
An
example: there are three teenage siblings in one family. The older
brother got drunk and crashed his car into the youngest sister's
bedroom wall, destroying her property. The youngest brother says to
the oldest brother, “Hey, that's OK. I forgive you.”
Is
the older brother then forgiven so that he doesn't have to go to
court for underage drinking and driving?
Is
the older brother then forgiven by the sister simply because the
younger brother said the words “I forgive you” ?
What
are the real sins in this situation, and how are they really to be
addressed according to God's Word?
How
might the civil authority have to deal with this even if the sister
chooses to forgive her older brother?
If
the older brother has been forgiven by his sister and has confessed
his sins to God and received Absolution, should he have to go to
court or even jail?
How
does your answer to this last question show how God uses Civil
government for the good of Christ and His Church?
Close
with the Lord's Prayer.
