Church and State

“…it seems necessary to amend the statement, ‘We must obey the government unless the government explicitly tells us to disobey God,’ to something like this: ‘We must obey the government (1) unless the government explicitly tells us to disobey God, or (2) unless the government exceeds its jurisdiction so as to speak authoritatively into a sphere regulated by another, God-instituted authority.’” -

“…there is one exception that is clear. When our biblical responsibility to obey government authorities (or any other earthly authority) conflicts with our responsibility to obey God, we must choose to obey the higher authority…..May we too have the grace to disobey government authorities when they command us to do things contrary to the clear teachings of God’s Word.” - P&D

“…the questions of politics must focus on how much liberty a society can tolerate before it starts to break down. This is a very old debate, of course. But it’s not a conversation that many critics of ‘liberalism’ seem very interested in having.” - John Ehrett

“…unlike so many other scholars, [author Olivier Roy] emphasizes the difference between Lutheranism (which, with its doctrine of the Two Kingdoms and vocation is ‘self-secularizing,’ giving religious significance to the secular realm) and Calvinism (which tends to seek Christian rule of the secular order).

“A major catalyst for division was the decision of the Cincinnati School Board in 1869 to end Scripture reading in classrooms. Having long objected to Bible study in the city’s schools, Catholics had established their own system of parochial schools.” - The Conversation

“…the Mainline vision of salvation is alien to the Evangelical mind. Without diving in depth into each of the ‘Five Solas’ of the Reformation, most Evangelical Protestants understand salvation not through works of compassion but rather through faith alone, by the grace of God alone, working through the atoning sacrifice of Christ alone.” - The Dispatch

Wisconsin: A “Republican-authored resolution recognizes Thanksgiving week as National Bible Week. It declares that reading the Bible has contributed to the moral fiber of society.

“The church website explains the church’s mission further. ‘Our desire is to make Moscow a Christian town,’ it reads, ’ … through genuine cultural engagement that provides Christian leadership in the arts, in business, in education, in politics, and in literature.’” - RNS

“…this is the first large-scale, nationally representative survey asking teens a series of questions about their own practices and perceptions regarding religious expressions in public schools.” - BPNews


• The Pew study


“[T]o have a God is nothing else than to trust and believe Him from the [whole] heart,” Luther said. “That now, I say, upon which you set your heart and put your trust is properly your god.” - Acton (Gene Veith)