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Point of Reference
by Fred Price
Religion and politics, two hotly debated topics that some feel should never be jointly expressed in our lives are in fact inextricably intertwined. It is impossible to completely separate them because many political policies and most laws are grounded in moral precepts and religious pronouncements. These in turn define what a society deems acceptable and unacceptable; what is good or bad, tolerable or intolerable. Even traffic lights and speed limits make ethical statements by emphasizing the worth of property and the value of life over the need for speed; being derived from moral judgments that are inherently religious in nature. A pertinent question then being: What religion (or moral ideals) have we used to express ourselves as a law-abiding nation? The answer being found in one of two sources, man or a transcendent Creator God.
In particular, a look at the history of liberty reveals how closely associated it has become with democracy in the Western World. However, it hasn’t always achieved the same goals for others as it has for us. For instance, the late Yasser Arafat and the new political face of Palestinian terrorism – Hamas – were both democratically elected as was Adoph Hitler and others throughout history.
The concept of liberty is unique to the Western World in that it followed the growth of Christianity. The deeply-held convictions of Judeo/Christian concepts concerning law and order encouraged people to believe that no one was above the ultimate authority of God and his will, the Reformation initially challenging King and Pope to accept their proper place in the scheme of things and to deal justly with the subjects they were charged with serving. It was with this understanding that our founding fathers penned these words. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." They then went on to explain the function of governments and to acknowledge from whence its power was derived. "That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed." In doing so they immediately set limits and allowed for a remedial course of action against any government that shirked its duties or over-stepped its bounds. "That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it."
Note that their ultimate appeal was not to a vote by the people or the opinion of those who ruled over them. They clearly stated that these unalienable rights came from the Creator and could not be legislated away by any form of government, whether it be led by a king, a dictator or a democracy. This understanding was a fundamental concept that went far to ensure true and lasting freedom, becoming the cornerstone of the great American Experiment. With it, we can sit as citizens in judgment of every piece of legislation that comes out of Congress. Without it, we would fast become subservient to every passing whim to blow through its halls.
Notice too how our predecessors defined the purpose of a government’s existence – to secure and safeguard these rights for every citizen within its borders. This was a breakthrough in the development of representative government, guaranteeing justice and liberty for all. In maintaining that governments don’t grant these fundamental rights but are rather their facilitator, they laid the foundation for a government "of the people, for the people and by the people."
The source of all laws in any society is it’s law-giver. Find this source in any culture and you will discover what that society worships. In the United States, as evidenced in the Declaration of Independence, this source was the God of the Bible. (The phrase, "Laws of nature and of nature’s God", contained in the first paragraph has been universally understood to refer to the God of the Bible and the laws, precepts and moral code found therein.) Today, we are in danger of allowing our laws to be dictated by man’s peculiar "understanding" of the issues. A good case in point being the attempt to remove the words "under God" from the pledge of allegiance, (One way among many in which our nation is being secularized) exposing the shift in our nation’s reliance on God to lead and direct to being self-absorbed and willful.
Let’s not be deceived, there can be no real separation of religion and politics. (Which is not however a call for the "church" to control government. Rather it is the acknowledgement that God can and should guide us in all we do.) The only question left is: What religion will it be?
*Inspired by an op-ed article published in the Tribune Star by Dean May
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Fred Price - married (50 years), father of two grown children, grandfather of six.
Fred retired earlier this year after 42 years as a factory worker. He has always had a heart for young people and the challenges they face today. Over the years Fred has taught Discipleship Groups for High School and college students.
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