Parkside Bible FellowshipAdult Summer Sunday School

September 6, 200913th Session

WELCOME!

The Separati

on of Church

and State

Matthew 22: 36-38

   36"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?"    37And He said to him, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'    38"This is the great and foremost commandment.

 

  The Christian life is summarized

As Christians we must understand our culture and its

challenges because we are followers of Christ. We are called to be faithful and

ready to think as Christians when confronted with the crucial issues of the day.

Verses 39 to 40

39The second is like it, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 40"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

Jesus commanded love of neighbor!

As Christians, we are commanded to care for our neighbors. Because we love God first, our neighbor and

neighborhoods, it is imperative we know about

the current issues of the day. Our Savior left us on earth for

a reason.

Matthew 5: 13-16

“We are the SALT and LIGHT

in a dying world.”

America, the Beautiful….A Country God Has Blessed!

1. Why Has God BLESSED This Nation?

• Joshua 24:13-15• Psalm 56: 1-4• Ephesians 5:1, 20• Isaiah 33:22• Proverbs 14:34• 2 Chronicles 7:14• Psalm 33:12• Psalm 9:17

• Ezra 7:25

• Fear and serve God• Put our faith in God, not man•Be Godlike and thank Him•God is our ultimate authority• Stay true to God’s Word•God’s promise to His people•God blesses who heeds Him•God’s wrath upon nations who forget Him•Choose Godly leaders

True Meaning of“Separation of Church and

State”First Amendment“Congress shall make no law respecting an

establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of

speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble; and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

TWO CLAUSESEstablishment clauseFree Exercise clause

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

•CHURCHAny religious group in this

country

•Worship freely as long as it

does not violate any law

ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE•STATE

US Government•No national

religion can be established

•“No governmental involvement or entanglement with religion”•Government

promotes religion but

remains neutral

establishmentestablishment

The complete and radical disassociation between Christianity and the State that is sometimes advocated TODAY is not what our

Founding Fathers had in mind.

It's clear that our FOUNDING FATHERS had seen entirely too

many religious wars and religious tyrannies in Europe.

The intent of First Amendment was to prohibit the federal government from

establishing a National church

Like the Church of EnglandOr, becoming a THEOCRACY

While the AMENDMENT does not recognize a differentiation between church and government, it does not mean that they could not cooperate

with each other!

True Meaning of“Separation of Church and

State”It was used by Thomas Jefferson in 1803, nearly 12 years after the Bill of Rights was ratified.

Used the phrase to assure the Connecticut Danbury Baptist Ass’n that the Federal government lacked jurisdiction over religion

The Founding Fathers intended to protect against government encroachment on Christian

practice, but certainly not the other way around.

“The 1st AMENDMENT has created a wall of separation between church and state, but that

wall is a one directional wall, it keeps the government from running the church, but it

makes sure that Christian principles will always stay in government.”

Thomas Jefferson

X X

This quote is someone’s interpretation of Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury

Baptist Association. Thus; not authentic!

Website: Jefferson’s Separation of Church and State Letter to Danbury Baptist

So, What Has Happened to

the True Meaning of

“Separation of Church and

State?”

Life has no absolute meaning… Individuals are accountable to themselves… There is no god… There is no absolute morality total

freedom All that awaits us, the void… There are no rules experimentation…

Life has no absolute meaning… Individuals are accountable to themselves… There is no god… There is no absolute morality total

freedom All that awaits us, the void… There are no rules experimentation…

Rise of Humanist thinking (trust in man, not God) in

Europe prior to World War I in 1914, led to,

Relativism extended into all parts of society and secular

humanism continued to be the driving force.

Darwinian RevolutionDarwinian Revolution“Fundamental changes in

culture . . . were affected . . . decisively by

the intellectual and philosophical revolution we

associate with Darwin’s Origin of Species (1859) . . . .

“Fundamental changes in culture . . . were

affected . . . decisively by the intellectual and

philosophical revolution we associate with Darwin’s

Origin of Species (1859) . . . .

What shattered that traditional world was science, which in almost every arena including the law.. . .substituted the

operations of the law of evolution for the laws of God.” (Henry Steele Comager,

1978)

The first conflict between religion vs. science being

taught in school was in 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee.

John T. Scopes

Respected high school biology

teacher arrested in Dayton,

Tennessee for teaching

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

Clarence Darrow

Famous trial lawyer who represented

Scopes

William J. BryanSec. of State for

President Wilson, ran for president three times, turned evangelical

leader. Represented the

prosecution.

Dayton, Tennessee

Small town in the south became

protective against the

encroachment of modern times and secular teachings.

The trial was conducted in a

carnival-like atmosphere. The

people of Dayton are seen as ‘backward’ by

the country.

The right to teach and protect Biblical

teachings in schoolsVs

The right to teach evolution and new

ideas introduced into American society

The acceptance of science and that all

species have evolved from lower forms of

beings over billions of years.

“The natural law (God’s Law) has been thoroughly

purged from law school curricula and replaced with

secularist ideologies. A lawyer who does not

understand the roots of jurisprudence (concerned with the principles of law

and the legal system) is no lawyer at all.”

“The natural law (God’s Law) has been thoroughly

purged from law school curricula and replaced with

secularist ideologies. A lawyer who does not

understand the roots of jurisprudence (concerned with the principles of law

and the legal system) is no lawyer at all.”

Dr. J. Budziszewski, professor of Government and Philosophy at the University of Texas

at Austin. 1990

Today’s Meaning of“Separation of Church and

State”“Over the past half century, the U.S. Supreme Court has accomplished a

feat America’s Founders would surely have found to be inconceivable. They

have created a perverse cloud of confusion over the question of

religious liberty and the place of religious language and symbols in the

public square.”

Albert Mohler from his book, Culture Shift

CONTRADICTIONSCoins---in God we trust

Congress opens with a prayer but no prayer in schools

President sworn in with hand on the Bible

Pledge of Allegiance “under God”Armed forces have a chaplain

but schools cannotOur national monuments, government

buildings have scriptural phrases, 10 Commandments and religious symbols

posted

wallwall

For more than 50 years

The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)

has attempted to eliminate public

expression of our nation's faith and

heritage. Through fear, intimidation,

disinformation and lawsuits, threats of lawsuits that would:

• Eliminate Christian and historic faith symbols• Ban public prayer in schools and at school

functions •Deny Christians the right to use public facilities

• Stop Christians from expressing their faith at work

James DobsonAlliance Defense Fund

15333 N. Pima Road, Suite 165

Scottsdale, AZ 852601-800-TELL-ADF

The Alliance Defense Fund, defending the right to hear and

speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation. We defend religious

liberty by empowering our allies, recognizing that together, we can accomplish far more than

alone. 

Matthew StaverLiberty CounselPO Box 540774,

Orlando, FL 32854Phone: 800-671-1776 Email: Liberty@LC.org 

Liberty Counsel is a nonprofit litigation, education and policy

organization dedicated to advancing religious

freedom, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is specifically

dedicated to the ideal that religious freedom and freedom of speech are inalienable, God-

given rights. We are your repsentatives in the courts and

halls of Congress.

Jay SekulowAmerican Center for Law and

JusticeP.O. Box 90555

Washington, DC 20090-05551-800-296-4529