Legislating Morality
This is a difficult, complex issue to write about, but it has been on my mind for awhile now. My intention is not to stir up controversy, but to challenge everyone reading this, myself included.
I can't possibly do the topic justice or cover all my bases in a short post, but here goes:
The First Amendment allows the possibility of false worship, in a strict sense. To be sure, we aren't affirmatively telling people to go off and worship idols, but we are permitting it.
Could the same reasoning be applied to same-sex marriage and abortion? Is state recognition of civil unions between two people of the same gender telling people to go off and do so? Is legalizing late-term abortion the same as telling people to go have abortions? Or is it just mere allowance of the possibility...
Yes, the Founding Fathers were Christians. Yes, they were guided by Christian values and inspired by Biblical principles. But, the U.S. is NOT a Christian nation.
What is the role of Christianity in a pluralistic society?
...
In Judges, a recurring statement is "In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes." It was a really terrible time of sin and spiritual confusion for the people of God.
One theoretical function of government is prevention of what Tocqueville termed "tyranny of the majority." Surely, it wouldn't be okay if everyone just did what "seemed right in their own eyes." (I think this is actually the premise of the Purge movie series, where all crime is legalized for 24 hours.)
As Christians, we are called to be salt and light.
Perhaps one way we are salt and light is through our influence on our government. As Christians living in a democracy, we are able to vote according to our conscience and shape our government consistent with our convictions.
Perhaps another way is how we act. We are to be winsome, compelling pictures of God's goodness, true ambassadors for Christ. [2 Cor. 5]. We are to walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. [Col. 4:5].
Perhaps yet another way is how we pray for our leaders, "that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." [1 Tim. 2]. 2 Peter reorients our thinking towards our government: "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor."
I think this article said it best. No need to reinvent the wheel, so I've included a (lightly edited) excerpt below:
I can't possibly do the topic justice or cover all my bases in a short post, but here goes:
The First Amendment forbids Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." In short, the government may not promote a religion over others or restrict a person's religious practices. Americans may worship privately without fear of government intervention.
I believe with all my heart that separation of church and state as enshrined in the First Amendment is to be cherished and defended.
Theocracies have historically heavily oppressed their people to force conformity. Religion has been used as a pretext for political maneuvers resulting in massive bloodshed. And even the purported goal of "true worship" oft becomes an ancillary consideration in the face of human ambition and political expediency. Consider the corruption that plagued the papacy, or the oppression in certain religious states today.
Religion suffers first and foremost when it is forcibly imposed on people by government.
...
Religious liberty is crucial to maintaining the integrity and purity of any belief system.
Theocracies have historically heavily oppressed their people to force conformity. Religion has been used as a pretext for political maneuvers resulting in massive bloodshed. And even the purported goal of "true worship" oft becomes an ancillary consideration in the face of human ambition and political expediency. Consider the corruption that plagued the papacy, or the oppression in certain religious states today.
Religion suffers first and foremost when it is forcibly imposed on people by government.
...
The freedom to worship we enjoy as Americans means we are free to go off and worship Jesus, Shiva, Zeus, our Ray-Ban sunglasses, or nothing at all.
The First Amendment allows the possibility of false worship, in a strict sense. To be sure, we aren't affirmatively telling people to go off and worship idols, but we are permitting it.
Could the same reasoning be applied to same-sex marriage and abortion? Is state recognition of civil unions between two people of the same gender telling people to go off and do so? Is legalizing late-term abortion the same as telling people to go have abortions? Or is it just mere allowance of the possibility...
Yes, the Founding Fathers were Christians. Yes, they were guided by Christian values and inspired by Biblical principles. But, the U.S. is NOT a Christian nation.
What is the role of Christianity in a pluralistic society?
...
In Judges, a recurring statement is "In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes." It was a really terrible time of sin and spiritual confusion for the people of God.
One theoretical function of government is prevention of what Tocqueville termed "tyranny of the majority." Surely, it wouldn't be okay if everyone just did what "seemed right in their own eyes." (I think this is actually the premise of the Purge movie series, where all crime is legalized for 24 hours.)
As Christians, we are called to be salt and light.
Perhaps one way we are salt and light is through our influence on our government. As Christians living in a democracy, we are able to vote according to our conscience and shape our government consistent with our convictions.
Perhaps another way is how we act. We are to be winsome, compelling pictures of God's goodness, true ambassadors for Christ. [2 Cor. 5]. We are to walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. [Col. 4:5].
Perhaps yet another way is how we pray for our leaders, "that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." [1 Tim. 2]. 2 Peter reorients our thinking towards our government: "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor."
Most importantly, we speak the truth in love. And we also live lives that adorn the Gospel. To make that truth we speak of actually credible. [Titus 2:10]....
What actually matters? "Correct behavior" or changed hearts that joyfully submit to Christ's lordship?
I think this article said it best. No need to reinvent the wheel, so I've included a (lightly edited) excerpt below:
As Christians we have to ask what we are really after. Do we
want people to look like they are changed by Jesus or do we want people to
actually be changed by Jesus? Do we want to encourage people to have a form of godliness but reject the power of Christ that
actually transforms their lives? [2 Tim. 3:5].
Faith in Jesus precedes obedience. Holiness or morality is something that
Jesus works in our lives from the inside out, not the other way around [Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 4:21-24].
God doesn’t look at the outward appearance but at the heart. [1 Sam. 16:7]. If the outward appearance is going to be right, the heart has
to be right first. God does care about the outward.
Then, a righteous lifestyle will overflow out of a heart that is growing in righteousness as a person walks with Christ. [Gal. 5:16-25, 2 Peter 1:3-11].
God does care about our actions and the kind of lives we live, but a heart doesn't and can’t become righteous through externally imposed regulations. A heart can only become righteous through the transforming work of Christ in a person’s life.
Then, a righteous lifestyle will overflow out of a heart that is growing in righteousness as a person walks with Christ. [Gal. 5:16-25, 2 Peter 1:3-11].
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