The Separation of Church and State

I'm not going to take this post in the most obvious direction. Nor will I create a long dissertation on the title. I do not wish to put THAT much time into it. But as American Christians, we wrestle with this much more than Christians in other nations. So here are a couple of thoughts:

1. When it comes to Presidential Elections, Peggy Noonan accurately writes that we place a great importance on the faith of our presidential candidates, as well as other elected officials. This apparently hasn't always been the case but has been in the forefront for nearly all of my voting life. Although I agree with Ms. Noonan's assessment, I know I personally will be more comfortable knowing someone is in office who thinks similarly to me. Mainly because I know a humanist is not as likely to support some of the moral issues of the day in the same way I would.
2. What is interesting in the moral issues of the day though, is that the Religious Right (or left) appear to take an inconsistent approach to what issues should become political factors in electing our officials. Christians on the left appear to emphasize the plight of the hungry, diseased or aged. Those on the right tend to emphasize abortion and marriage. Neither is wrong in what they stand for. These are issues that Christians should be concerned about, but in and of themselves, neither political party holds to all Christian values. As a matter of fact, the cynic in me tells me that Social Security, abortion and marriage issues will never go away as they can always be used to bolster the politicians into power. (What would conservative Christians do politically if the marriage and abortion issues were no longer? I doubt they would feel obliged to stay together as a voting block). I'm basically going on talking points here. I'm not prepared to give facts on whether or not either political party REALLY own the issues, but this is the common perception. This is basically what politicians do as well. Now admittedly I tend to vote on the "right" side of these issues, but I am challenged by what I see both in the political arena as well as what I'm reading in my personal life. Here is an example: Simply put I think it is clear that from a biblical perspective, abortion is wrong and marriage is defined as a union between a man and a woman. These are clearly "republican-held" issues. But also, Jesus stated that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And this morning I read 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 which sounds quite socialistic to me. I have mentioned to a friend of mine a couple of times that if Jesus were here today, he'd probably be a socialist. Now, the reference above could easily be argued that this was for believers and not for the government, and I'd agree. But then I have to ask this about all issues. Scriptures speak out on many issues, but scriptures are also written for God's people.

Now what else is interesting is that the Bible calls for us to be separate as well. I'm not a Baptist, but I credit them for helping me see the importance of not being "bound to unbelievers." As a matter of fact, this morning, I read 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 which talks about the importance of being separate from the world. I must add that I disagree with many Baptists on how this is manifested, and what we should separate us from. Knowing that being the light to the world means we need to be in darkness, Christians need to be among the people. Not shacked up in a building talking to each other every Sunday. to me, not being bound means that we shouldn't be contractually bound; perhaps to a political party...or to a government that may be contrary to Christian beliefs. My viewpoint is still being processed both on a political and spiritual level...and that process may never end, and that's best. I no longer want to be considered a Christian defined by a political leaning. I just want to be defined as a Christian.