Faith and Nationalism

There is a new movement called "Radical Faith" of which we all should be aware. It seems that some advocate a "religious obligation to avoid the entanglement of faith and national pride." Michael Medved has an interesting article in today's USA Today about this subject. He takes the position that faith and nationalism are indivisible. Medved states that those "separationists" who claim a patriotic duty to block the blending of religion and politics face some very practical problems.

Many who support the position that there should be a separation between church and state claim that it is based in the constitution. That is simply wrong. That phrase arises out of a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Baptist Association of Danbury, Connecticut. It is amazing to me that the judiciary has over the years taken that phrase by Thomas Jefferson and given it the same precedent as the constitution.

Dr. Richard Land, Executive Director of the Ethics & Religious Liberties Commission, supports the wall of separation, not to keep the church out of government but to keep the government out of the church. He opposed, to some degree, President Bush's faith based initiatives and advised Southern Baptist churches to not accept any money from the government for these programs.

This is an interesting issue. Is it possible for the Church to be actively involved in government but at the same time keep the government from being actively involved in the Church?

Jerome