A Sevier Cynicism

The Sevier County Commission has the 10 Commandments posted on its wall, and opens its meetings with the Lord's Prayer. Recently the Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) have raised objections and will probably take legal action. The County Mayor has dug in and will keep the Commandments on the wall and will continue the Prayer until forced to change. The next Commission meeting will be packed with church folks and some folks from the other side, and we will have, no doubt, another American Circus, with a lot of smoke and very little clarity.

I wish I could hide somewhere and wait this one out, but my job throws me into contact every day with local government folks who are choosing sides, and want to know what I think. So I want to offer my own muddle of perceptions and presuppositions, so when someone asks me what I think, I can refer them to this blog. Most of them won't take the trouble to click this and that, so I can continue to shrug the whole thing off, knowing that my opinions are available to anyone willing to take the trouble. Here are some pretty traditional thoughts, which may or may not be inter-related or even worthy.

1) Speaking culturally, religion is the over-arching worldview that holds a culture together. That can include anything from Christianity to humanism to syncretism. There is no such thing as neutrality by that definition, because neutrality is itself a religious concept. If the American religion is syncretistic humanism, then the Christian either has to tip his hat to a higher power than Christ, perceive Christ as the archetypal syncretistic humanist, or be recalcitrant. Anyone who wants to touch this, have at it.

2) I can see that the Lord's Prayer is uniquely Christian, though the need to forgive and have daily bread are common to all men. But what's the issue with the 10 Commandments? The three great monotheistic religions of the world base their moralities on them. And I can't imagine a Buddhist or Confucian having issues with them. CS Lewis included them in what he called the Tao--the basic values common to all cultures. They are culturally fairly syncretistic. Or is the AU suggesting that blasphemy, murder, adultery, theft, and lying are valid moral options? OK. Cheap shot.

3) Gary North once did a tongue-in-cheek piece on how a group of Presbyterians could steal a Baptist church building. The Presbyterians could find a little Baptist congregation, join the church in numbers, call a congregational meeting, vote to join the local Presbytery, and deliver the congregation to the Stated Clerk, building and all. His point was that democracy cuts its own throat. Being sweet to everybody doesn’t mean everybody is sweet. Treating everyone democratically means opening the door to a lot of undemocratic folk. See Europe.

4) Calvin believed in separation of church and state. The Founding Fathers believed in separation of church and state. I believe in separation of church and state. It is a principle in the Constitution. No argument. When the mantra is quoted today it really means separation of a transcendent God and state, a whole different animal. Without the Commandments, or the Tao, or some higher absolute, the state fills the void and becomes answerable to nothing beyond itself. All humanistic societies, from Rome to modern China, are statist to the core. America has been lusting after statism since (forgive me) 1865. Whatever. None of this is new--even boring in its repetitiveness.

5) I have a prophecy about this coming meeting. The AU will have cogent, pre-planned arguments backed by the power of law. They will look, well, cool. The church will be angry and frustrated, have no cogent argument, and have no power but that of a discredited tradition. It will back down and grumble for a few more years. I just don’t think I can stand it. I hope I’m wrong.