The separation of church and state, as you likely know it
doesn't exist. Find out what I mean on this
week's episode of Liberty at Home.
I'm sure this one won't be controversial.
Hello and welcome to this very non controversial episode of
Liberty at Home here on Easton Community Access Television.
As you may know, I'm Adam Rivero, the pastor of Liberty
Baptist Church and your host of this weekly telecast.
Today, as always, we're broadcasting from Easton, MA,
where I frequented the new Taco Bell at Five Corners.
A little bit too much since it opened a couple months ago,
especially since my doctor just told me my blood type is fire
sauce. Today, in honor of our nation's
250th anniversary, I want to talk to you about a topic that
is often mentioned yet misunderstood, the separation of
church and state. Now you may be getting nervous,
like what's a pastor doing talking about this subject, but
I assure you, if you give me a few minutes, I think I can bring
some historical perspective to the table.
One of the foundational principles of our country is the
separation of church and state. However, did you know it was
Baptist from New England that helped solidify that right in
America? Also, did you know that the
phrase separation of church and state has greatly morphed from
its original meaning over the past 200 years?
The Anabaptists were one of the most persecuted groups of the
Reformation period in Europe. Because Anabaptists firmly
believed infant baptism was unscriptural due to the fact
that babies cannot choose to have faith in Christ, they ran
contrary to the state churches of many European nations.
This resulted in a prolonged period of persecution for
Anabaptists, who both scripturally and morally believe
there should be no state churches and each person should
be free to come to Christ by their own volition.
However, governments at the time saw it differently, and the
Anabaptists found themselves on the wrong side of the law.
In parts of the Holy Roman Empire in 1525, the refusal to
baptize a child or re baptism of an adult after salvation was
punishable by fine, imprisonment, or banishment.
In 1530, the crime became a capital offense.
Also, the Act of Uniformity in 1662 required all worship in
England and Wales to be done according to the Anglican Book
of Common Prayer, basically outlawing any other religious
group. These are two of a multitude of
examples of the unyielding church and state marriage in
Europe now. Unfortunately, the state church
model was then imported to America during colonial times.
Although colonies like Rhode Island and Pennsylvania became
havens for religious freedom, they were small pockets of
religious freedom and a new world that religiously looked a
lot like the Old World. Even in the Massachusetts Bay
Colony, worship outside the Congregational Church was
prohibited for some time. In 1651, the Baptist pastor
Obadiah Holmes was given a whipping of 30 lashes outside of
the State House for holding a prayer meeting in Swampscott
that was unsanctioned by the local Congregational Church.
Now we Fast forward a little bit to the year 18 O1 when America
is free of British rule, the Constitution is firmly in place,
and Thomas Jefferson is president.
A group of Baptists from Connecticut called the Danbury
Baptist Association wrote a letter to President Jefferson
sharing some of their concerns. That the Constitution didn't go
far enough in ensuring the church state model was totally
dismantled. Naturally, these Baptists were
skittish due to hundreds of years of persecution.
In their letter, they wrote the following.
Our sentiments are uniformly on the side of religious liberty.
That religion is at all times and places a matter between God
and individuals. That no man ought to suffer a
name, person, or effects on account of his religious
opinions. That the legitimate power of
civil government extends no further than to punish the man
who works I'll to his neighbor. Now Thomas Jefferson, in his
reply to the Danbury Baptist, hardly agreed with this thought.
In his letter he stated, believing with you, that
religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God.
That he owes account to none other for his faith or his
worship. That the legislative powers of
government reach actions only and not opinions.
I contemplate with sovereign reverence that active the whole
American people. Which declared that their
legislator would make no law respecting an establishment of
religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building
a wall of separation between church and state.
There it is. I'd encourage folks to read both
letters in their entirety, which honestly are easy to find with
an online search. Thus, with President Jefferson's
reply to the Baptist, the phrase separation of church and state
was born. Many are surprised that the
phrase is not found in the Declaration of Independence nor
in the Constitution. Yes, the greatly used and even
more greatly misused phrase that was written in a private letter
from Thomas Jefferson to a humble group of Baptists was
never meant to be a term as an impetus to remove all mention of
government or God from the government.
Nor was it ever meant as a way to remove biblical principles
from the town square. Instead, it was meant to show
that never again would the government compel anyone to be
part of a state church. So the next time you hear the
phrase separation of church and state being thrown around in a
conversation about religion and government, even within our own
town hall or committee meetings, remember the real intent of the
phrase as well as the Baptist who played a part in coining it.
Well, our time is spent on today's edition of Liberty at
Home. And since the screen's about to
fade to black, let me quickly remind you that you're always
invited to join us at Liberty Baptist Church here in Easton,
right on Route 138. Look us up at my
libertybaptist.org. Well, this is Adam Rivero
signing off with a reminder that we're the Spirit of the Lord is
there's Liberty. Catch you next week on ECAP for
yet another edition of Liberty at Home.