CLERICALISM - CLERICAL POWER IN THE GOVERNMENT
Here is one we don’t have to worry about much in America; unless you count humanist and atheistic leaders as clergy of their respective religions. Our government was founded with the idea that one church not have control of the state. The intent by our founding fathers was to limit government's role in religion and to keep one religion from controlling all the others. What has happened instead is that government has so restricted religion that those claiming Christianity in Alabama were lambasted when they joined forces to defeat the lottery. We were accused of violating the separation of church and state. Isn’t that amazing. Individuals are not even allowed to vote their religious beliefs. We aren’t supposed to let our faith interfere with politics. The alternative is to allow politics to interfere with our faith. We find ourselves today right where Peter and John found themselves in Acts 4 and we must decide whether to obey God or man.
We are all concerned about the lack of morals and mocking of values that goes on in our country and our government, but the opposite extreme wouldn’t really be any better. If our government were to be controlled by a religion, which one would it be? You might say, “Christianity”. Great, now which version of Christianity; Catholic, Baptist, Jehovah’s Witness, etc.? You would obviously want what you believe to be the ruling law. Therein lies the problem. England had a system like that and what the King believed was the law, and you believed what the King believed or else. Just look at the atrocities of the Holy Roman Empire under the rule of a “Pope” who decided what everyone would believe. No, we don’t want the clergy ruling our land.
Aside from a Theocracy where God plays an active part in governing like he did with the children of Israel there is no better form of government known to man than the one we HAD in this country. A law under which religion is allowed to be religion and government is not supposed to interfere. Oh, if we could only get back to that.
Let us pray that our nation will halt its destructive way of thinking and return to God. We must reach one person at a time, we can’t vote people into obedience to God, nor should we want to do it by force. (Psa 33:12) “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” (Isa 1:4-6) “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. {5} Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. {6} From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” (Prov 14:34) “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”
Here is one we don’t have to worry about much in America; unless you count humanist and atheistic leaders as clergy of their respective religions. Our government was founded with the idea that one church not have control of the state. The intent by our founding fathers was to limit government's role in religion and to keep one religion from controlling all the others. What has happened instead is that government has so restricted religion that those claiming Christianity in Alabama were lambasted when they joined forces to defeat the lottery. We were accused of violating the separation of church and state. Isn’t that amazing. Individuals are not even allowed to vote their religious beliefs. We aren’t supposed to let our faith interfere with politics. The alternative is to allow politics to interfere with our faith. We find ourselves today right where Peter and John found themselves in Acts 4 and we must decide whether to obey God or man.
We are all concerned about the lack of morals and mocking of values that goes on in our country and our government, but the opposite extreme wouldn’t really be any better. If our government were to be controlled by a religion, which one would it be? You might say, “Christianity”. Great, now which version of Christianity; Catholic, Baptist, Jehovah’s Witness, etc.? You would obviously want what you believe to be the ruling law. Therein lies the problem. England had a system like that and what the King believed was the law, and you believed what the King believed or else. Just look at the atrocities of the Holy Roman Empire under the rule of a “Pope” who decided what everyone would believe. No, we don’t want the clergy ruling our land.
Aside from a Theocracy where God plays an active part in governing like he did with the children of Israel there is no better form of government known to man than the one we HAD in this country. A law under which religion is allowed to be religion and government is not supposed to interfere. Oh, if we could only get back to that.
Let us pray that our nation will halt its destructive way of thinking and return to God. We must reach one person at a time, we can’t vote people into obedience to God, nor should we want to do it by force. (Psa 33:12) “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” (Isa 1:4-6) “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. {5} Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. {6} From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” (Prov 14:34) “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”
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