This past week, the Supreme Court, the highest court of the land, heard arguements about the constitutionality of displaying the ten commandments on government property. They will judge whether such displays indicate whether or not the State endorses one religion over another. It’s a hot topic these days. It seems that just about everyone has an opinion on it, usually following the lines of the person’s particular religious (or non-religious) affiliation.
I say… let the lawyers fight this one, because it has nothing to do with my faith at all. It has about as much to do with my faith as a chimpanzee has to do with the cost of an oil change in Duluth, GA.
I don’t know if it’s just because the media is framing it to look like it, but it makes evangelical Christians look like a bunch of wahoos with too much free time on their hands and blowing things way out of proportion. Because, honestly, how many courthouses have you seen in your life? And if you have even been to a courthouse, would it have really affected you so much if you saw the ten commandments hanging on the wall? Do you see people having faith epiphanies as they walk in to fight a speeding ticket or get a marriage license and pass by one of these displays?
Why should these issues be so important to us as Christians? Because it’s a barometer of the “faith health” of a nation? Because by having the display, it’s another point in the church-in-America scoreboard? Is it to lay our claim on the judicial system?
I think that we Christians spend far too much time on things that really don’t matter in the end. Gestures of faith begin to take the place of actual faith. We root for Jesus and Christianity like an athletic team on a playing field because it makes us feel good. We think that putting a fish symbol on our car or listening to only Christian music or going to see the movie “Passion of the Christ” are actions with real spiritual weight – they aren’t. They’re just a part of a tapestry among evangelical Christians today that I call “Pep Rally Faith” where really the only real benefit is in the self-satisfaction that you’re on the “winning team.”
“Oh yeah? my ‘truth’ fish is eating your ‘Darwin’ fish on my decal…”
“I haven’t listened to secular music in FOUR years! Yay for me…”
“Yeah, I’d like to thank God for allowing me to score this touchdown…”
“Would Jesus wear this WWJD? bracelet?”
The Gospel is more than just an uplifting cheer. It is the only thing that provides meaning in this life. It doesn’t need the help of a marble slab in front of a government building or a few words in the middle of the Pledge of Allegiance. The Gospel can stand on its own.
Don’t think anyone is defending the Gospel by insisting the ten commandments be allowed to remain displayed. What they are truly defending, I believe, is their own sensibilities… or maybe it’s even trying to validate our own faith. If I can be a little more cynical, I’d even say that these efforts by Christians is actually harming their faith more than helping. By looking to these meaningless gestures, they’re losing sight of the God of the Universe. They’re so busy looking at the postcard of the Grand Canyon they just got from the Grand Canyon giftshop that they can’t see the majesty right before them.
And let’s say that there is a copy of the ten commandments in front of every school, every post office, every police station, etc… Do you really think that it’s going to be those things which stem the tide of secularism in this country? Do these ‘graven images’ really have any power on their own? Here’s what I say we do. I say we actually display Satanic symbols all over all the government buildings… pentagrams, devil faces, human sacrifices, Harry Potter books – the works – and then start actually doing things that matter.
They’re just symbols. We believe because of the Holy Spirit, not some artist’s rendition of a religious symbol.
i agree. i don’t care about whether i see the 10 Commandments at the courthosue or not.but which would you rather see…10 Commandments or some demonic statue at your local post office?i tend to think seeing the 10 Commandments would bring more encouragement to me than some demonic statue.
Looking at it from an overall perspective, this is just a natural response from Christians who feel that they are being marginalized in society. With the big bang and evolution being taught in schools, the abolishment of public prayers, attempts to remove “In God We Trust” from currency, media backlashes against the president for his public acknowledgement of faith, Roe v. Wade, gay marriages on the rise, etc. – Christians feel defensive and rightfully so.
I spoke to PK once with the same fervor and sentiment you reveal in your entry. I basically asked him why the big fuss over these issues which seem peripheral to the essence of Christian faith. After all, Christianity has oft thrived in the most hostile of governments (think ancient Rome or even cold-war Russia)… why worry now that Christianity and the government are untangling themselves? I don’t know that one person has ever come to faith based on the acts of the government.
The reasons are apparently twofold (this has the underpinnings of the classic conservative v. liberal argument):
1. America has undeniable roots in Christianity that are slowly being destroyed 2. Christians are the majority in America and this is a democracy, yet Christians feel attacked
The end result is that Christians are worried about tomorrow. What will happen if America disavows its Christian roots? The majority of America is Christian and was at the time the Constitution was ratified. Has the Constitution been misinterpreted to fit a liberal/secular agenda?
I agree with you that Christians blow trivial issues out of proportion. But there is a legitimate and well-founded concern from an overall perspective that secular folks have twisted founding principles in ways to suit their agenda, and I think that’s something we all should be concerned about.
here, here, snap. well stated.
Snap, I see your point, but I think I disagree with PK a bit….
1. America has undeniable roots in Christianity that are slowly being destroyed
I agree that America was rooted in Christianity, but I don’t think that it is being slowly destroyed. I think that it’s been completely replaced for the most part with something else… a very secular humanism with the flavor of Christianity. It’s kind of like the makings of a sink hole on a busy street… underneath a two-inch layer of asphalt, all the dirt underneath has eroded away and it’s just waiting for a big enough load to come by to completely cave in. On the surface, it looks solid enough… I mean, anyone who’s played parking lot football knows this fact all too well, but without the support of the earth underneath, it’s as brittle as hard candy. We’re just waiting for a big enough SUV to come by…
I think we place far too much confidence in the foothold that Christianity has in this country. I think we should just sever the remaining sinews of hope that this country is still Christian and amputate so that we can cover the wound and not bleed to death. And then fight the war with our one good arm with vigor instead of hoping that the muscle will somehow magically re-attach.
2. Christians are the majority in America and this is a democracy, yet Christians feel attacked
I completely disagree with the first part. Christians are only a “majority” in this country because on the census forms most people don’t want to fill out “Buddhist” or “Muslim” or the dreaded “None” because, think about it, for the most part, people who have family ties to or history with the church do not want to seem irreligious by stating that they do not have a religion. We can’t assume that because people put “Protestant” or “Catholic” on their census forms that they are indeed true believers. Most people believe there is a God but balk when it comes to wanting to worship said God. Christians are only the majority by name not by faith.
But I agree that Christians feel attacked… because they are being attacked… because true Christianity is completely distasteful (realized or not) to the majority of Americans. And we need to respond as if we are truly being attacked… but not by fighting this piddly little skirmishes about religious displays. We think we are fighting a battle there that this “Christian majority” wants us to win, but in reality, they couldn’t care less. And all the while we’re spreading our forces too thin fighting alongside soldiers who never wanted to fight in the first place. We need to muster our forces for the real battles… the ones that seem insurmountable.
We are right to worry about tomorrow, but we need to get a good hard look at what is true today… because America has already disavowed its Christian roots. We are fighting for things that are already lost. I was mostly joking about the satanic displays at the courthouses, but in a way, to me, it would actually convey better the state of this country and give us Christians a better perspective on how un-Christian we truly are as a people. Because I’d rather have it that way than to win this battle and be able to put up a plaque on a wall somewhere and then pat ourselves on the back and go back to our complacency thinking that we achieved any sort of real victory. We will have not.
I’d like to have a date with Justice Scalia.
Nate – I’m in the same boat as you in some ways. I see both sides of the issue and there are a myriad of issues to consider. The problem is, the two stances that Christians can take (to fight the separation of church and state or not to) are so diametrically opposed that there is no clear middle ground. As for myself, I’ve been trying to carve out that moderate position – fight life & death issues such as abortion, but remain neutral on more trivial issues like the pledge of allegiance. Issues like the 10 Commandments on courthouses is significant to me because it is a reflection of the fact that our legal system has Biblical roots, but I can understand why secular people would view it as an endorsement of a specific religion as opposed to a mere acknowledgement of it. Thus, I try not to get hung over about it.
NonMember Comment – I heard Scalia is the socialite among the 9 SC justices. When asked about his personal life, he responded, “Ah yes, esteemed jurist by day, man about town by night.” Scalia is also regarded as the best legal thinker of the group. As for me, give me a date with Sandra (given that she’s the only female SC justice, I guess I don’t really have a choice).
Ummm… Mr. Law Student… aren’t we forgetting about Ruth Bader Ginsberg? Or did something happen to her that I don’t know about?
well, nate, she’s not as attractive as Ginsburg. the other nonmembercomment.