The Myth of Staying Out of Politics

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Gary talks about a recent message delivered by Pastor Jack Hibbs to California pastors about legislation being proposed in their state.

One way to keep Christians out of the public arena, especially in the realm of politics, is to claim that there is a separation between Church and State. The argument is based on the assumption that in biblical times Church and State were merged, and in modern times the First Amendment separates the two institutions. Supposedly, under biblical law, priests ruled over elders, judges, and kings. If this is the case, so the argument goes, the Bible cannot be used in our modern pluralistic society where the Constitution forbids the State to be ruled by ecclesiastical officers. Church and State were not merged in the Bible, and the Constitution does not mention a Church-State separation because the institutions were already jurisdictionally separate in the colonial era.

The Bible teaches that there are multiple jurisdictions with specified functions and limits of authority and power: family, Church, and State. Each of these governments has its own jurisdictional boundaries. In Israel, the torah (law) was viewed as the authority for all three governments. While the standard of law was the same, not all laws could be applied in the same way under each jurisdiction. For example, a father could discipline his own child for an infraction, but he could not discipline another family’s child, excommunicate a church member, or impose and carry out the death penalty on a criminal who committed a capital crime. While the State has the authority to try and execute convicted murderers and impose other civil penalties, individuals, families, and churches do not.

None of this means that an individual church member cannot use the Bible to determine whether a candidate running for political office is fit for that office. The Constitution does state that no religious test can be given to someone seeking public office at the Federal level (Art. 6, sec. 3). This article refers to governments supplying the test, most probably designed to keep denominational distinctives from being imposed uniformly by the national government.

Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths

Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths takes a closer look at God’s Word and applies it to erroneous misinterpretations of the Bible that have resulted in a virtual shut-down of the church’s full-orbed mission in the world (Acts 20:27). Due to these mistaken interpretations and applications of popular Bible texts to contemporary issues, the Christian faith is being thrown out and trampled under foot by men (Matt. 5:13).

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Gary talks about a recent message delivered by Pastor Jack Hibbs to California pastors about legislation being proposed in their state. Hibbs is to be commended for his political awareness and boldness and encouraging others to speak the truth, but his own eschatological views unfortunately undermine his effectiveness in the civil realm.

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American Vision’s mission is to Restore America to its Biblical Foundation—from Genesis to Revelation. American Vision (AV) has been at the heart of worldview study since 1978, providing resources to exhort Christian families and individuals to live by a Biblically based worldview. Visit www.AmericanVision.org for more information, content and resources