Separation of Church and State

---First published on stephen-blog.com when I used that site--- I believe in separation of church and state. Definitions are very, very important! Most people would probably think of something very different than what I mean when I say "I believe in separation of church and state." What I mean when I say I believe in separation of church and state is that the church should not have power over the state and the state shouldn't have power over the church.  However, I certainly don't mean that God isn't over both of them. Let's think about this using the example of family and state.  My family doesn't have the authority to tell the state what to do.  The state doesn't have authority to tell my family how we should live (even if they think they do). However, God has authority over both the state and the family.  Both should follow and obey His commands.  The state should punish murder, theft, etc. like God commands.  My parents should raise me in the fear and admonition of the Lord, just like God commands. God rules the church.  God rules the family.  God rules over the state. That doesn't mean the church rules over the state.  To say that it does would probably mean you are dividing life between secular and sacred, something that can be quite dangerous!   Hope you have a great week!

Sacred vs. Secular?

---First published on stephen-blog.com when I used that site--- "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" I Corinthians 10:31   Recently I finished reading Christian Overman's excellent book, Assumptions That Affect Our Lives.  I highly recommend it! One of the things he writes about is how many Christians separate their lives into two different categories:  sacred and secular.  They might divide politics, church, work, recreation, prayer, and education into something like this: Sacred:  Church and prayer Secular:  Politics, work, recreation, and education Dividing life into two categories, secular and sacred, was what Greeks such as Aristotle and Plato did. They also said the spiritual (sacred) was more important or better than the physical (secular). Unfortunately, many have done this.  I even realized that I often think of my life in terms of sacred vs secular. So what is wrong this view?  After all, how could something such as recreation be sacred? The answer is that any of the above things can be either sacred or secular.  If we use recreation the way God tells us to, then it is sacred.  However, if we don't use recreation the way God tells us to, then it is secular.   If we are following God's way in these areas then it would look like this: Sacred: Church, prayer, politics, work, recreation, and education Secular:   If we are not following God way in these areas then here is how it looks: Sacred: Secular: Church, prayer, politics, work, recreation, and education   Let's follow God's great plan in ALL areas of our lives!