I love the freedoms afforded to us as Americans
in the Constitution. I especially love the freedom of religion and the
separation of church and state. This separation and freedom prevent me from
having any obligation to any faith but my own. I think this allows people of
faith to easily dedicate themselves to their own faith while living freely and,
presumably safely, among people of other faiths.
Right here in Potlatch I can point out the
existence of the Wild Rose Mennonite community. This group of faithful
Anabaptist Christians live here and have their own school and businesses. They
are members of the community and they work and live amongst us, but they stay
separate in their faith right down to their schools.
Another example I can think of easily here in
Idaho is the Reformed Jewish Congregation in Boise, Congregation Ahavath Beth
Israel. This synagogue building is one of the oldest continuously inhabited
synagogues in the United States west of the Mississippi. The first Jewish
Governor of a state, Moses Alexander, was a member of this congregation. This,
to me, is proof of how well our freedoms serve us as Americans.
Of course, we always have to be vigilant to
maintain our freedoms. Currently, a large group of conservative evangelical
Christians is trying to promote Christian Nationalism, the idea that the founding
fathers intended this nation to be Christian. Naturally, their version of
Christianity tends to be very dogmatic and fundamentalist in its interpretation
of scripture. I cannot believe the founders of this country had anything close
to Christian Nationalism in mind when they crafted the Constitution or the
freedom of religion would not have been so clearly laid out. And, as a Christian,
I find this idea abhorrent because it twists Christianity into some ancient eye
for an eye sort of faith, not quite as merciful as I understand the teachings
of Christ. Their mercy seems to be meted out by a narrow prescription that may
not allow you to be as truly free as you may wish. I believe we have to be
vigilant to prevent this in a nation that has freedom of religion established
in its very constitution.
No comments:
Post a Comment