Consider this: The separation of “Church” from “State” is a mandate from God made through the Bible to man, and not the other way around. When Moses took the people out of Egypt he was assigned the job of head of State and Aaron was given the job of looking after the Temple. Moses was civic and Aaron the church, The two roles never crossed and yet, they both took their directives from God
King Saul years later made the greatest mistake of his career when he stepped into the role of priest and made a burnt offering to God. He immediately lost God’s blessing and David even though a child was appointed by Samuel as the next king. King Uzziah, perhaps one of the most successful Kings of the Southern Kingdom eventually crossed that divide, went into the Temple and made a sacrifice. He was immediately struck with leprosy which rendered him unclean so could never re-enter the Temple again. The Bible is quite clear—The State and the King shall remain separate.
However history has a way of repeating itself. There are three periods of Christian history and the West that directly relate to this issue of “State” and “Church”.
The Period of Purity to 391 AD relates from the Early church started by Jesus where people were free to practice their Christian faith without any interference from the Roman State.
Dark Ages: Then in 391 AD the Emperor Theodosius converted to Christianity and by decree made it the official church of the Roman empire and eventually “State” once again crossed over into the domain of the Church. The next 1200 years was know I as the “dark ages”—the period of apostasy. People were eventually prevented from reading the Bible to even hearing the bible in their own language and only from the Pulpit and only from ordained ministers. The Crusades were fought against the continuing expansion of Islam and the Inquisition lunched against those that wouldn’t recognise the Pope as the head of the Christian Church. The Catholic Church became all powerful.
In the early 1500’s in England King Henry 8th sought a divorce—which was refused by the Catholic Church in Rome. So as king he created the Anglican church and made himself head of it. He then started passing civil laws demanding his citizens attend Anglican church services. They were fined for not going and killing anyone who disagreed with his version of Christianity.
Reformation: The mid 1500’s eventually gave rise to the third period —”the reformation” The Reformation resulted from 25 reformers, mainly Catholics and included people like Calvin, Husk, Luther across seven nations that believed people should be able to read the Bible in their own language for themselves.
The Geneva Bible became the Bible of the reformation. In 1560 the Geneva Bible was translated into English. It had significant commentaries up and down the columns from the 25 reformers that related to how people could live, govern, educate and do business according to the scriptures.
In England the Anglican Church became even more State based. It began passing laws like who can and cant pass communion or preach the Gospel. As a result, in England a group formed called the Puritans. They objected to all of this state interference.They wanted to purify the Anglican church of its corruption. A breakaway sect of the Puritans, decided that task was virtually impossible and just wanted separate to start all over again. These Separatists became known as the “Pilgrims”.
The head of their group, Pastor Greenwood was killed by Queen Elizabeth for declaring that Jesus only was the head of the Christian Church. When England then passed laws that criticising the Queen as head of church would result in being imprisoned in dungeons without a trial they fled to Amsterdam. Here the Pilgrims could practice their religion freely but missed their English culture with its Magna Carter and Bill of Rights.
With the Catholic Inquisition rearing its ugly head across Europe the Pilgrims decided the only safe place they could go with their Geneva Bible and their Christian practice was to escape to the New World—the Americas and start over there. And that’s what they did in the ship called the Mayflower. The “Mayflower Compact” was the declaration these pilgrims made sitting out in harbour made before they came in to land.
“We whose names are underwritten have undertaken for the Glory for God and the advancement of the Christian faith, a voyage…”
Pilgrims went to America to begin a free nation for Christians.
They came to America to establish a nation done differently from Europe. Immediately they established a separate Head of Church and and separate Head of State, (both still under God and under the guiding principals of the Bible.) Annual elections were then instituted for both the civic and the church leaders. Schools were created with every community of 100 people so that lawmakers could not err from creating laws away from Bible—they ensured that their communities were literate and educated.
The pilgrims also came with a Charter from the King which gave them entitlement to settle any land they found, but they ignored it. The Bible contains 613 civil laws many of which relate to personal property. So the Mayflower colonists approached the Indians, made treaties with them and purchased all their land.
Pilgrim colonists in other parts did similar and bought the land from the Indians.They would not form towns until they owned that land. Even William Pinn eventually bought the land he was given from multiple tribes until he got free title for the land of Pennsylvania.
All the original Pilgrim colonists had good relations with the Indians. It was only the subsequent secular (athiests/non religious) colonists who came to America and acted on the King’s Charter that killed the Indians and and threw them off their lands.
Wherever the Christian missionaries went, treaties were made and land was paid for. However, where ever the secular explorers went, they went on the Kings Charter and the Indians were killed and removed. Unfortunately the secular explorers went out faster than the Pilgrim missionaries especially when gold was eventually found.
Eventually the King’s Charter also brought out the Anglican religion. The Anglican church established itself in Virginia. Anglicans began killing other Christians. The Pilgrims were afraid that the Anglicans would end up creating the Anglican religion as the supreme religion of American and that is why the First Amendment came about—which states that Congress shall not make any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion. (Religion referred only to Christian…all other religions were considered pagan cults with the exception of Judaism)
The Declaration of Independence further made it responsible for the Government to protect these rights.
“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.-That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
Summarised— they believed there was a creator—that the Creator gave them rights—the Government exist to protect those rights. This is again separation of State away from the practice of the Christian religion.
The Australian Experience
When the Australian Constitution was created in 1901, 93% of Australians were Christians. Religions referred to in the Australian Constitution were only the sects of Christianity (Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran). Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism were just pagan cults by the standards of that day and not recognised.
However today, Australia like America, through involvement with the Socialist UN has allowed the State to recognise all religions, but also to develope classes of religion. If you belong to the Christian religion you don’t get legal protection anymore. But if you are a minority religion you get all the protection that multicultural Marxism can muster through the Human Rights Charter and 18C Racial Vilification Laws. (As a result recent studies in Australia shows that Christian persecution now runs at 20%. )
If the government violates the rights of conscience of others—it violates separation of Government and State. The Australian Constitution for Australian Government was created relying on the Blessing of Almighty God—HARDLY SECULAR.
The State has no right to interfere with the practice of Christianity in Australian on any level. That is the true meaning of separation of State and Government.
So how are we doing with that?…POORLY! The state is arresting Christians for preaching in public; dictating on Home churches and how many can attend. Victoria last year actually tried to stop students praying at school and studying the Bible in the playgrounds. Greens Socialist party leader Robert Di Natale even tried to stop the “Lords Prayer” from being read out in Parliament.
In the United States the situation is no different.
- a Christian pastor in Phoenix thrown into jail for 2 months for holding a bible study class in his home (violating a planning ordinance)
- A girls had her term paper rejected because she said her favourite person was god.
- 2 pastors on the sidewalk are arrested for reading the Bible.
- in Michigan University you cant have a Bible study in your dorm room but the University will provide washing facilities for Muslim students prayers. Read more here: (http://www.religioushostility.org/)
Separating State and Church isn’t about throwing God out of our decision making but making sure that the State creates equal and just laws; and prevents Communism and other ideologies creeping into our laws and infringing on the rights of Christians to conduct their lives and do their business according to their own moral compass. To that end our lawmakers have failed. State is meddling in Religion.
Australia was founded on Christian laws and Christian principles, time to protect those roots and values that has made this nation great.
NOTE: Pedophilia unlike in Islam was never advocated by Jesus Christ and goes against the spirit and teachings of Christianity. State allowed that to those atrocities against innocents to go un-prosecuted. All men are created equal. All men are accountable under law. “Cultural considerations”—be damned.
Time to bring democracy, equality and justice back into a legal system that has a moral code to it and also prevent the State from meddling in our personal moral compass. It is okay to protect your view of the world instead of sanitising it for the sake of all minorities.
