Just like the thoughts from fellow ministers. The First Amendment to the US Constitution says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an esablishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof:. . ." This is often referred to as the establishment clause. In an often misquoted letter to a group of churchmen of a particular Christian denomination, Thomas Jefferson referred to the ". . .separtaion of Church and state. . ." While this is nowhere in the US Constitution, laypersons and fellow clergy alike seem to believe it is. Because we (US society) are generally ignorant of the US Constitution and our Christian Faith (with all due respect to my Brothers and Sisters of other Faiths and traditions), we have lost what it means to be Christian. My point is this to my fellow Christians, Jesus calls all of us individually to care for our neighbor, whom ever that neighbor is! He does not directly or indirectly impose that sacred duty on a Government , otherwise Caesar, King Harrod, or Governor Pontius Pilate would have clothed the naked, fed the hungry, visited the prisioners, etc. If we (not Government) are called to minister to each other, and Government slowly and methodically assumes what is our duty of Service, do we not jeopardize our Salvation? While it is totally inappropriate for Government to establish a religion; is it also inappropriate for Government to take control and regulate the actions which were once the sole purview of the Church??? So is the Government's continued impingement on our Christian duty for our neighbor risk our salvation and our eternal soul?
