The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 8
sTorIes oF Peacemakers
It's Not the Separation of Church and
Politics
by Rev. W. Benjamin Boswell
T
There will, of course, remain a borderland where it will not always
be clear how to discriminate and apply the principle correctly.
- E.Y. Mullins, Baptist theologian
he separation of Church and State remains an important
historical Baptist principle and a critical American
constitutional conviction that prohibits the establishment
of any "State" religion and preserves the freedom of religious
belief and practice.
However, as a minister who has served on staff at four different
Baptist churches, I have noticed that many Baptists in the pews
misunderstand the concept of the separation of Church and State
and often conflate it with their own personal desire to separate
the church from politics.
As of late, this desire to separate the church from politics has
increased dramatically due to the fact that the political climate in
America is as divisive as it has ever been before in history.
art by Ryan Oliver
"The church is political because it is a
community of people that gathers in public
to worship and witnesses to an alternative
way of living together in relationships
of love and justice."
8
Baptist Peacemaker
jul-sep 2017
If I had a dollar for every time I have heard a good Baptist
say, "Pastor, we need to keep politics out of the church," I'd have
enough money to end world hunger! But when people say this, it
is hard for me to understand exactly what they mean by "politics."
What exactly are we trying to keep out of the church? Is it
just political speech, or actions and practices as well? Should we
institute a metaphysical gag order that prevents us from talking
about political matters entirely?
Does this only apply to preaching and teaching about political
subjects? Does it prohibit discussions of all things political or is it
simply a moratorium on comments about what is taking place on
the national stage? Can we talk about the local city council, the
school board, or what is happening in our neighborhood? How
are we supposed to know what is political and what is not? What
is off limits and what is fair game?
The contemporary desire to separate the church from politics
is not based in the historic Baptist principle of religious freedom
that is the bedrock of separation of Church and State. Instead it
is born out of exhaustion with the 24-hour news cycle, frustration
with the divisive and polarizing nature of politics in America, and
despair over the toxic current state of affairs.
In addition, many Christians in America have isolated
the church from the political realm by dualistically
assuming their faith is primarily a personal, individual,
and spiritual matter that does not impact the social,
corporate, and material world. This is a result of living
in a culture that has been overwhelmed by a secular
philosophical imagination, which assumes the church
is a "sacred" institution to be bracketed off from the
"secular" world.
The desire to remove politics from the church
may also be born of a desire for comfort. Political
critiques of the status quo often challenge our deepest
assumptions and make us feel uncomfortable because
we can no longer retain the illusion of separation
between god and the life we have constructed for
ourselves.
When people call for the removal of politics
from the church, what they usually mean is American
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017
No label
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - No label
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 2
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 3
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 4
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 5
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 6
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 7
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 8
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 9
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 10
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 11
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 12
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 13
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 14
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 15
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 16
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 17
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 18
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 19
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 20
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 21
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 22
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 23
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 24
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 25
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 26
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 27
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 28
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 29
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 30
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 31
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 32
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/38-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/37-4
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/37-3
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/37-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/37-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/36-3
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/36-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/36-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/35-4
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/35-3
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/35-2
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/35-1
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/34-4
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/34-3
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/34-2
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/34-1
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com