Opinion: Brick by brick, the wall between religion and government is collapsing in America Opinion by Barbara Perry Updated 1715 GMT (0115 HKT) June 29, 2022      click link for more


Brick by brick, if not by bulldozer, the wall between religion and government is collapsing. Does it matter? It does if the United States still wants not only to protect religion from government but government from religion.
As the founders feared, when religious faith becomes the guiding force in politics, the historic American experiment in creating a pluralistic republic is most at risk. Allowing the utmost religious freedom, within the bounds of high walls between church and state, has spared the US from the kinds of religious wars that have plagued human history and riled modern nations.


June 2022 The Guardian News

How the Christian right took over the judiciary and changed America


The supreme court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which reverses the constitutional abortion rights that American women have enjoyed over the past 50 years, has come as a surprise to many voters. A majority, after all, support reproductive rights and regard their abolition as regressive and barbaric.
 
At the core of the Dobbs decision lies the conviction that the power of government can and should be used to impose a certain moral and religious vision – a supposedly biblical and regressive understanding of the Christian religion – on the population at large.

This supreme court has already made clear how swiftly our Christian nationalist judiciary will change the law to suit this vision of a society ruled by a reactionary elite, a society with a preferred religion and a prescribed code of sexual behavior, all backed by the coercive power of the state. The idea that they will stop with overturning Roe v Wade is a delusion.
 
Link to full article



ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS


237. On Sunday, our participation in the Eucharist has special importance. Sunday, like the Jewish Sabbath, is meant to be a day which heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world. Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, the “first day” of the new creation, whose first fruits are the Lord’s risen humanity, the pledge of the final transfiguration of all created reality.



2016 Pope says sorry for persecution in the past (click here)


White Protestant Nation, The Rise of the American Conservative Movement

Book


click here for web site

Dangers of 'Christian Zionism' (March 2009)
are cited in new NCC brochure

New York, December 12, 2008 -- "Christian Zionism" is a dangerous movement that distorts the teachings of the Church, fosters fear and hatred of Muslims and non-Western Christians, and has negative consequences for Middle East Peace. Click here




Religious Right Watch Obama and Rick Warren click here

I believe that Obama et al are making a serious error in their alliance with Rick Warren. The justifications given do not hold water.... [F]or years [Obama has] been cultivating this powerful, Austrian school-informed builder of an international religious empire; who has big sway with governments in Africa and Asia. Some of those same governements are into the brutal represssion and perseuction of gay people. What kind of programs do you suppose Rick Warren, who some people say is "great" on combatting HIV/AIDS, can help develop when he is all about driving gay people underground in Africa? Economics? Health care? Civil Rights?

When Christianity Is UnAmerican

By Terri Murray

There is a growing chasm between the values of America's founders and the values of the theocratic Christian right.

The Christian right claim that their version of authoritarianism is a more authentic interpretation of American values than the Enlightenment values so cherished by our nation's forebears. But their values are irreconcilable with those of America's past. Here's how, in an incredibly lucid analysis.




Pope Benedict XVI has called for the formation of a “true world political authority.


In response to the world financial crisis, Pope Benedict XVI has called for the formation of a “true world political authority.” This new “authority” would enforce global economic, environment and immigration policies to help construct a social order that “conforms to the moral order.” The call comes in the pope’s recently released encyclical, entitled Caritas in Veritate, or Love in Truth.

Such language seems to reflect predictions that Seventh-day Adventist have made for many years that at a time of international crisis, religious leaders would call for international enforcement of moral rules and standards. Is the Pope’s recent letter a fulfillment of those predictions?

A full reading of the letter is needed to answer this question. Much of the letter contains materials that Adventists along with most Christians would agree with.  It examines the current global economic and political order, and criticizes it for creating too great a divide between the rich and poor, between the haves and have-nots.

Much of the Pope’s social justice concern reflects well the message of the book of James, which rebukes the rich of the world in the last days for oppressing and misusing the poor (James 5:1-6).  The Pope’s critique of unrestrained, unregulated capitalism, and his call for ecological and community stewardship by businesses and corporations echoes the ethos of the prophets of the Old and New Testaments.  His call can be a reminder to all Christians that our ethics and responsibility do not stop at the church steps, or once we have paid tithes and offerings.  We need to take our ethics of stewardship, sharing, and caring into our daily lives and businesses.

We can also appreciate his cautioning that rights cannot be pursued and promoted in the absence of related duties.  He notes correctly that with freedom must come some measure of responsibility, or the very conditions of freedom will disappear.  We also welcome his acknowledgement of the importance of religious freedom and the threat to it by states and regimes that promote secularism, and wish to marginalize religion in society and the public square.

But we are concerned when the Pope, a religious, spiritual leader seeks to advise the governments of the world on the creation of a worldly, political entity that will implement global political, economic and moral policy through force and coercion.  The Pope is clear on this latter point.  He says that his proposed “political body” should be “vested with the effective power to ensure security for all, regard for justice, and respect for rights. Obviously it would have to have the authority to ensure compliance with its decisions from all parties.”

Jesus Christ, whom the Pope claims to represent here on earth, very clearly said that “kingdom was not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight . . . but my kingdom is not from here”  (John 18:36).  A political body “vested” with “power” to ensure “security” and “compliance,” as the Pope recommends, will obviously have to use a police or military force.  What qualifies the Pope to make recommendations or suggest policies for the creation of such an entity?

A centralized, armed global authority would represent a significant collection of power and authority.   As we know from history, and we are reminded by the Catholic historian and thinker, Lord Acton, “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  It would seem unwise, based on human experience and wisdom, to vest a central, global traffic cop with sufficient power and oversight to police the world.

Some may argue that the Pope is not suggesting he or his church be in charge of such an authority, but rather proposing that some other body take these steps to stabilize our world economy.  And yet this cannot be the full argument.  The letter makes clear that the policies carried out by the entity would be to construct a “social order” that “conforms to the moral order.”  The Pope’s choice of words is telling.  He does not say “some moral order,” or “a moral order,” but “the moral order.” He clearly has a certain moral order in mind.  Could this be any other moral order than the one articulated and taught by the Catholic Church?

The actual governing and wielding of the sword, or rifle, or bayonet, of the global authority might be by non-religious, state powers.  But it would seem that the Pope must envision that they would do so with some connection with Catholic Church leadership, or teaching, or both.  It cannot be that the Pope is calling for the creation of an authority and the implementation of a social and moral order, and then he plans to have no role, or say, in how it is to be implemented.  Evidence to support this is virtually the entire history of the Middle Ages, where classic Catholic teaching called for a distinction between church and state, but with a full cooperation, where the state wielded the sword on behalf of “the moral order” of the church.

Given this history, and the abuses that flowed from it--including the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the war on heretical groups such as the Waldenses--it seems unwise for the Pope to thrust himself into the role of lead counselor on the enforcement of an economic, social and moral order.  But given prophetic insights, it is not unexpected.

So does this letter fulfill Adventist predictions of an end-time enforcement of international religious morality?  No, not yet. This letter is just talk and ideas.  But talk and ideas are meant to lead to action.  And during times of calamity and crisis, ideas that would usually be ignored often gain more traction. The consequences and impact of this letter bear close watching, as the cost of liberty is constant vigilance.

____________
Nicholas P. Miller is director of the International Religious Liberty Institute at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan.



 WE NEED AUTHENTICALLY CHRISTIAN POLITICIANS

WE NEED AUTHENTICALLY CHRISTIAN POLITICIANS

VATICAN CITY, 21 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received participants in the twenty-fourth plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Laity who are currently meeting to examine the theme: "Witnesses to Christ in the political community".

The Pope told them that, although the "technical formation of politicians" is not part of the Church's mission, she reserves the right to "pass moral judgment in those matters which regard public order when the fundamental rights of the person or the salvation of souls require it".

"It is up to the lay faithful to show - in their personal and family life, in social cultural and political life - that the faith enables them to read reality in a new and profound way, and to transform it", he said.

"It is also the duty of the laity to participate actively in political life, in a manner coherent with the teaching of the Church, bringing their well- founded reasoning and great ideals into the democratic debate, and into the search for a broad consensus among everyone who cares about the defence of life and freedom, the protection of truth and the good of the family, solidarity with the needy, and the vital search for the common good".

The Holy Father went on: "There is a need for authentically Christian politicians but, even more so, for lay faithful who bear witness to Christ and the Gospel in the civil and political community. This need must be reflected in the educational prospectus of the ecclesial community and requires new forms of presence and support from pastors. Christian membership of associations, ecclesial movements and new communities can be a good school for such disciples and witnesses, supported by the charismatic, community, educational and missionary resources of those groups".

The Pope explained how "the spread of a confused cultural relativism, and of a utilitarian and hedonistic individualism weakens democracy and favours the dominance of strong powers. We must recover and reinvigorate authentic political wisdom; be demanding in what concerns our own sphere of competency; make discriminating use of scientific research; face reality in all its aspects, going beyond any kind of ideological reductionism or utopian dream; show we are open to true dialogue and collaboration, bearing in mind that politics is also a complex art of equilibrium between ideals and interests, but never forgetting that the contribution of Christians can be decisive only if knowledge of faith becomes knowledge of reality, the key to judgement and transformation. What is needed is a true 'revolution of love'".
AC/VIS 20100521 (430)