Anti-Climacus

LINK: This post of Joe's both hits on a topic I've been meaning to get around to discussing (separation of church and state*), and also makes a good point:

"But a sense of shame is exactly what is missing from many of my fellow Christians who opposed the war and yet never did a thing to end the suffering of the Iraqi people. Liberal evangelicals often talk about the need to focus on justice. But they limit it to the to the issue of poverty and believe that the only just war is that which relies on class warfare. People suffering such injustices as rape, torture, and murder can expect to find some earnest concern but they shouldn’t count on any actual intervention, particularly if it might entail bloodshed (and certainly not if it would mean a liberal Christian sacrificing their own life)."

*Still no concrete thoughts on the topic, except that a thoroughly secular state is exactly as prejudiced as a purely theocratic state. It also seems like the establishment/practice/belief in action set of categories ought to be meaningful--the state can't ever establish a religion, should probably err on the side of not restricting practice (except where that practice violates other laws--no human sacrifices), and everyone, it seems to me, should be allowed to use policy (though perhaps not law) as a means of putting their belief systems into action. One of the interesting side consequences of this is that it proscribes a pretty minimal role for the state, but, as I say, I haven't entirely thought it through yet.