Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: mangoe@mimsy.umd.edu (Charley Wingate) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Separation of Church and State Message-ID: Date: 1 Oct 90 00:56:14 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Coll. Pk., MD 20742 Lines: 38 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu Joe Buehler writes: >Sin should be made illegal and virtue legal as far as is prudent, given >prevalent social conditions. Human law is based on Divine law, where moral >issues are concerned. It is simply *not* permissible for a human government >to give explicit legal right to actions that God judges to deserve Hell. The obvious problem, Joe, is that government will NEVER outlaw the most important sin in politics: self-righteousness. Inevitably, governments which invoke divine guidance for their laws slide into using this to prop up the most neinous tyrannies-- and should anyone be surprised how pride thus functions? >I suppose my main point is that Liberalism -- viewing temporal order as the >sole arbiter of legal right and wrong -- is a disastrous thing to base >governments on, when viewed in the light of the teachings of our Lord. This "liberalism" has no particular connection with real political "liberalism". Indeed, there is one strain which is most damning of your position, one that starts with the grounding of governmental purpose in "public welfare" (or if you like, love of neighbor), and proceeds to condemn christendom almost from beginning to end for neglecting this duty. >The Catholic attitude towards religion and government might be explained in >no better way than to imagine that the 12 Apostles were still alive. Consider >how governments of Christians would work given such authorities in matters of >faith and morals. Well, uh, based on the testimony in the Acts and in the letters, this kind of argument leads to something resembling the Amish attitude toward law, not the RC view. -- C. Wingate + "Our God to whom we turn when weary with illusion, + Whose stars serenely burn above this world's confusion, mangoe@cs.umd.edu + Thine is the mighty plan, the steadfast order sure mimsy!mangoe + In which the world began, endures, and shall endure."