"Freedom of Religion" :: A freedom to choose, not to "leave vacant"

One of the things we include in our weekly worship bulletins at church are often small thoughts and bible verses that serve either to focus and prepare our minds for worship (called "As We Gather"), or conclude the service with a thought to take home, a sort of punctuation on the end of the service (called "As We Depart"). Regardless on how creative we've been on titling these features, they often work rather well with the general message of the day. Many more times often than not, our worship coordinator and designer comes up with these, but sometimes, I surf the web, seeing what I can dredge up to serve in one of these two roles.

I was looking for something for our July 1st bulletin this past week, and as we always do, the Sunday before Independance Day takes a very patriotic flavor. In my web wanderings, I came across this from the Acton Institute,a a group up in Michigan that focuses on the writings of Lord Acton ("Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely...") It added some support to my thinking that a religion is necessary to a free society.

Here's a link to the article if you want to read it now, or save it until later...
http://www.acton.org/publicat/books/religion/hmention2.html

I've thought for some time that there's no way to "legisltate morality." (I've also thought for sometime that everyone has the unalienable, unstoppable, and unmutable "freedom to be as stupid, ignorant, and moronic as you can survive to be, which somehow ties into this...) But, in a sence, we need to inorder to have a free society. Why is it illegal to kill other people? To cheat? Lie, slander, steal from others? "Because it's morally wrong." Who says? In a society guided by a religion, it's a god (in most western cultures, the Christian God.) who holds the moral authority to set what is right and what is wrong. But in a society without a religion, who has the authorty to "play god"? That would be the state. See the USSR and Communist China for details on how that goes over.

But the thought that a religion, much less the Christian faith, as essential to a free society? It does make sence -- where in virtually every other religion, works, sacrifices, or some other duties are required to gain the favor of their god in order to please him/her/it, in an attempt to gain salvation and an eternal reward; in Christianity, all the "doing" stuff has already been done. (See any of the Gospels for that story). And later on, in the book of Epheisans...

Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (MSG)

So, it's either be a "slave" to fear (i.e., the State is the society's god), a slave to duty (i.e., religions that require you to do something in order to gain favor with god), or free people called to a duty to help others...

He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

Ephesians 2:10 (MSG)

Am I saying that in order to enjoy the rights and liberties of the United States, you must be a Christian? Absolutely not. As an American, I can't justly say that if your not a Christian, you have no right to speak, assemble, bear arms, to testify against your self in a court of law, to be free, voting citizens of this country. That's what, as an American, I stand against. But I do find comfort that in this society, in this country, I have the right to exist, to make my own choices, and to seek out and pursue my calling ("life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"). But here's the tough part. Nothing ever comes free, least of all freedom. Part of being free is living within the guardrails. And part of living free is a call to duty: to serve others and, in turn, serve my God and my country. This means, as I go speeding down the freeway of life, if I see someone out of gas, with a flat tire, or in need of directions to a great lit'l place to eat, I pull over and offer a helping hand.

Being an American isn't easy. It isn't cheap. And it's not a life for the lazy. But, the payout at the end of the day makes it all worth while.

What do you think?