Biblical basis for the separation of church and state
score:10
Some people use Mark 12:17 towards this goal.
17 And Jesus answering said unto them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marvelled at him.
The argument goes something like this: The government is here to govern the society here on Earth. God has been given to us to govern our hearts, minds, and souls. So, we should allow the government to do what it does best and allow God to be in control of all the other things.
The argument is generally followed with the idea that we need to elect Christians into government and pray for our government officials, but that religion should be separate from the state.
Personally, I think this is a bit of a stretch. The more solid arguments are the non-biblical ones (prevention of the majority overriding the minority, insuring freedom of religion, etc.)
Upvote:-2
Matthew 6:24 says that no man shall serve two masters for he will hate one and love the other or hold to one and despise the other. For me this is what it means to separate church and state: we cannot be Christians and politicians at the same time unless we are truly moved in Holy Spirit.
There are too many Christians who say it is our "duty" to vote or else we have nothing to say about how our government functions. I disagree. I do not vote because it would consume me. I would get swallowed up by the world. I would begin to serve government instead of my heavenly Father and would love one and hate the other.
Instead, I pray that all the matters of state be in the hands of my heavenly Father and his will be done. I prayed this last election for God to put it in my heart to vote if that was what he wanted of me. I did not vote and I have heard the Lord my God speak many things to me. I think if an individual is moved in the spirit to vote, then it is God's will for them to do so. However, if you vote out of duty, you do a disservice to God by serving two masters and not Him alone. If you are caught up in who this man is and what he said, and this is how you vote, then how do you serve God? There has to be a separation unless your involvement is the movement of Holy Spirit. It is only in this way that you serve God and God alone.
Upvote:8
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 seems to tell Christians not to use man-made laws to force non-believers to live or behave according to Christian beliefs. Instead, it tells them to disassociate themselves with those WITHIN THE CHURCH who behave immorally, and to leave those outside the church to God's judgment.
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 King James Version (KJV)
9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
This is, to my knowledge, the Bible's strongest statement relevant to the idea of church and state separation.
Upvote:9
I think this article should help:
The Bible does not articulate a full-blown doctrine of the separation of church and state. Yet, its seeds are clearly present. Jesus at least foreshadowed the concept when he said “[g]ive therefore to the emperor things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21) Jesus’ behavior was consistent with his words. He never took a coin from Caesar or sought the help of Herod in his ministry and mission.
In many places, the New Testament outlines the contours of the separate realms of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Caesar. The church is given the tasks of spreading the gospel (Acts 1:8), teaching doctrine (Matthew 28:20), and discipling believers (Ephesians 4:11-13). The state is divinely ordained to resist evil (Romans 13:3) and keep order (I Peter 2:13-15). Although these realms sometimes overlap and do not necessarily clash, the New Testament bears witness to a two-kingdom world — each with separate duties and each engendering different loyalties.
More post
- 📝 Why is the Holy Spirit often referred as "Ghost"?
- 📝 Is it impossible to think that after judgment day being thrown into hell and then not existing after that is way worse than being in hell?
- 📝 Who might replace Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury?
- 📝 On the covenants in the initiation of becoming a Christian
- 📝 In Catholicism, why can deacons not celebrate all sacraments, but only Baptism (and Matrimony)?
- 📝 According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was Jesus Christ ordained to the Priesthood?
- 📝 Did John Wycliffe accept extreme unction?
- 📝 According to Roman Catholicism, are humans the only beings that can be tempted?
- 📝 What prominent Christian thinkers (if any) held to polygenism and if so how did these thinkers view original sin?
- 📝 Has "angels walking among men" been invoked to solve theological problems?
- 📝 What is the significance of position of fingers in Jesus' hand as shown in his images?
- 📝 Are there Christians who believe Jesus was an ideology and not a person?
- 📝 Is it right for a church to be wealthy?
- 📝 How well supported is the generic interpretation Rublev's Icon as being a depiction of the Holy Trinity as portrayed in Genesis 18?
- 📝 Are there any accounts of the wise men story outside of scripture?
- 📝 Does the Roman Catholic church recognize marriages outside of the church?
- 📝 According to universalists, why should we obey God?
- 📝 According to soul sleep advocates, did the Apostle Paul ever abandon his Pharisaic beliefs about the afterlife after becoming a Christian?
- 📝 What is the original explanation Christian Scholars gave for Jewish prophecies not being fulfilled?
- 📝 Does Satan have a physical dwelling place on earth?
- 📝 What problems, if any, do Oneness Pentecostals have with the Apostles' Creed?
- 📝 Why was Ham cursed for seeing his father naked?
- 📝 What evidence and authority make The Song of Solomon a work of spiritual inspiration and not an erotic poem?
- 📝 What is the source of hatred often perceived by Christians in western society?
- 📝 Is the sign of the Cross as well as the crucifix a Catholic “trade mark”?
- 📝 What is the basis of the argument that Open Theism is heretical?
- 📝 What is the purpose of the Tree of Life according to YEC?
- 📝 What is the oldest recorded commentary on 1 Corinthians 12?
- 📝 Do Protestants believe that all sins are equal?
- 📝 Can Prince Harry marry his fiancée by the Church of England's precepts?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Biblical basis for the separation of church and state
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for distinguishing between spiritual gifts and church offices?
- 📝 What is the Biblical and historical basis for Christian pacifism?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for identifying the Lazarus Jesus raised from the dead and the Lazarus in the story of the rich man and Lazarus?
- 📝 Is there any biblical support for the Church to allow governments to close churches and prevent public worship?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for using the names "Yeshua" and "Yehoshua" (Joshua) for Jesus?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for and against the "filioque"?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the belief held by Jehovah's Witnesses that Jehovah and Jesus Christ are separate entities?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for Christians NOT to quit their jobs, sell all their possessions, and preach the gospel?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the idea that the church is a hospital for sinners?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the concept of being "slain in the spirit" and what exactly is it?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for venial and mortal sins?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for interpreting "born again", "baptized in the Holy Spirit" and "filled with the Holy Spirit" as different experiences?
- 📝 What is the biblical & patristic basis for the belief that the saints go to Heaven instead of Sheol after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for restricting administration of the sacraments to ordained church leaders?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the Catholic and Eastern doctrines of the Assumption of Mary?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for “the Sinner’s Prayer” and do Protestants believe that saying the prayer make one a Christian?
- 📝 Is there any biblical basis for the Church to depict Jesus as a European or some other ethnic race?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for claiming that Paul upholds and teaches the Torah law?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the belief that separation from God is in itself sin?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for Jeremiah and John the Baptist being born without original sin?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for switching between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as recipients during prayer?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the belief that God foreordained the fall of Adam and Eve?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for thinking God established the principle of birthright and inheritance
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the claim that Malachi 3:6-12's curse and blessings concerning tithing apply to the New Testament Church?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for speaking in tongues for deliverance and spiritual warfare?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for tithing and NOT keeping the Sabbath at the same time?
- 📝 What is the biblical and early church basis against religious tolerance?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for allowing atheists to speak openly and freely in society?
- 📝 What is the biblical and historical basis for the belief that the Second Coming of Christ hasn't happened yet (as of 2021)?