The Disingenuous Separation of Church and Suffrage

It’s election day in America and we need to take a stand. I’ve never understood why people say that religion has no part in politics. In fact, quite the opposite is true, our nation was created by our forefathers who based America’s foundation on religious truths and freedoms. People often erroneously site the first amendment’s “separation of Church and State” as the constitutional basis that justifies their thought that religious beliefs shouldn’t impact government decisions. Most people don’t know that that phrase doesn’t exist anywhere in our Constitution. What it does say is: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...". The separation of church and state phrase didn’t exist until 1947, when Justice Hugo Black construed the First Amendment in the United States Supreme Court's decision in Everson v. Board of Education. Never did the founding fathers intend for there to be a wall between religion and government. Evidences of our nation’s Judeo-Christian roots are everywhere (currency, traditions, prayer, etc.).

Jesus commands us to “Go, and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19). There’s a clear call to action in that command. As Christians, we are not to sit idly by as others are involved in issues of our culture and our government. We are instructed to “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…” (1Tim 6:12). Exercising our right to vote is one small way (of many, many ways) to take a stand and begin to have an impact. As Christians, we are equipped with a firm foundation in the Bible and knowledge of the Eternal truths of Christ and we should use that as a basis for all of our decisions in life. And that certainly includes decisions at the ballot box.