Separation of Church and State
Canada is wrestling with the issue of homosexual marriage. Others have discussed the issue far more capably than myself, so I would like to address a different (though related) issue. The issue I would like to discuss is the separation of church and state. A Catholic Bishop suggested that the soul of Prime Minister Chretien is in peril if he goes ahead with plans to legalize homosexual marriage. The response by Sheila Copps was most amusing. She was "outraged". Of course, when is she not outraged? I wonder what she was outraged by - a Catholic Bishop making a theological pronouncement? Perhaps it was outrage at a Catholic Bishop daring to discuss a moral issue?
On the other hand, Prime Minister Chretien was more subdued in his response, preferring to invoke the separation of church and state. This is an interesting phrase - the separation of church and state. I believe in it quite firmly, because a lack of separation between church and state is usually a disaster for the church (regardless of how much good it does for the state).
However we must ask, "What is meant by separation of church and state" to our Canadian politicians and within our Canadian society. Primarily, we see a rejection of the rights accorded to each citizen, if that citizen happens to be a Christian. If a person stands up and says, "I base my opinion on Karl Marx, Charles Darwin and Nicolo Machiavelli", his right to have a political opinion if unquestioned. On the other hand, if a person stands up and says, "I base my opinion on the teachings of the Bible", his right to have a political opinion is ignored. After all, the separation of church and state means that we cannot permit a person to base an opinion on religious grounds!
What else does it mean? It means when Christians organize themselves to express themselves politically in exactly the same manner as any special interest group, their opinion can safely be ignored by the majority of politicians. After all, we don't want the "Religious Right" in Canada, we have a separation of church and state, and we particularly don't want any suggestion that our laws should be accordance with Biblical morality!
The scary part for me is the consequences to our society. Reading Romans 1 in the Bible tells us what happens when God gives an individual or a society over to impurity. God doesn't introduce people to impurity, God doesn't force people to be impure, but he does give them over to the deepest desires of their hearts. As individuals, we don't want anyone telling us what to do (particularly when using the Bible), but unfortunately we don't like the society that results when everyone has this same right. But this is the society that we seem to want, and now there is nothing to do but reap the results.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Chretien was more subdued in his response, preferring to invoke the separation of church and state. This is an interesting phrase - the separation of church and state. I believe in it quite firmly, because a lack of separation between church and state is usually a disaster for the church (regardless of how much good it does for the state).
However we must ask, "What is meant by separation of church and state" to our Canadian politicians and within our Canadian society. Primarily, we see a rejection of the rights accorded to each citizen, if that citizen happens to be a Christian. If a person stands up and says, "I base my opinion on Karl Marx, Charles Darwin and Nicolo Machiavelli", his right to have a political opinion if unquestioned. On the other hand, if a person stands up and says, "I base my opinion on the teachings of the Bible", his right to have a political opinion is ignored. After all, the separation of church and state means that we cannot permit a person to base an opinion on religious grounds!
What else does it mean? It means when Christians organize themselves to express themselves politically in exactly the same manner as any special interest group, their opinion can safely be ignored by the majority of politicians. After all, we don't want the "Religious Right" in Canada, we have a separation of church and state, and we particularly don't want any suggestion that our laws should be accordance with Biblical morality!
The scary part for me is the consequences to our society. Reading Romans 1 in the Bible tells us what happens when God gives an individual or a society over to impurity. God doesn't introduce people to impurity, God doesn't force people to be impure, but he does give them over to the deepest desires of their hearts. As individuals, we don't want anyone telling us what to do (particularly when using the Bible), but unfortunately we don't like the society that results when everyone has this same right. But this is the society that we seem to want, and now there is nothing to do but reap the results.
posted by Shawn Abigail at 8:43 p.m.
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