Of Gods and Governments
by Steve Cuno
A growing number of Americans advocate giving God a say, nay, the final word (Word?) in public policy.
Popular arguments include that the Founding Fathers were men of faith, that the United States is a Christian nation built on Christian principles, and that we are guaranteed freedomof but not from religion.
For now, let’s set aside myriad, valid counterarguments and take a look at the complications we are bound to encounter if we discard separation of church and state.
The assumption seeming to underlie a call for God in government is that all parties issuing the call are agreed as to what God stands for. The underlying assumption is not just false, but naive. One of the biggest dangers of letting God participate in government is that you may not get the god you bargained for.
“God” as code for “Christianity”
Before proceeding, let’s be honest about something. I think it’s a fair inference to say we’re talking about the Christian god. One rarely overhears American patriots stick up for Jews, much less demand equal time for, say, Loki, Krishna, Allah, Aphrodite or Abnoba. I’m not saying that excluding non Christian deities is fair. I’m saying it’s what the current rhetoric is really about.
So if you happen to worship anything besides a Christian deity, tough luck. (Be glad Christians no longer burn folks like you at the stake.) Tough luck, too, if you recognize no deity at all. Thus, good intentions aside, the mere act of inviting the Christian god into government opens a door to discrimination. Not exactly a positive start for this discussion.
Forging a Christian nation
But for the sake of argument, suppose everyone in America were indeed Christian, as the vast majority claim to be. Different denominations disagree as to particulars about the nature of deity and requirements for salvation, but all agree on the fundamentals of what God is for and what God is against. Right?
Wrong.
For instance:
Some people might think twice before inviting the god of the Christian Scientists into the legislative process. That Christian god doesn’t want you to see a doctor; it’s faith-healing or nothing. On the positive side, His policy would render moot the question of rising health care costs.
Some versions of the Southern Baptist god would outlaw dancing. Speaking as one with two left feet, I’d be fine with that, were it not for the fact that some of my friends dance.
The Amish god, also Christian, might want to legislate away electricity and cars. Extreme environmentalists might go for that. But people like me would readily agree that a life in a house without air conditioning is no life at all.
God in America in prior years
In the early part of the last century, the Protestant god who was popular in the Southern States would have run for office on a racist platform. He was all for the “right” of whites to lynch Blacks. He favored separate “whites” and “coloreds” facilities. He didn’t like Catholics and Jews, either.
A century earlier, He would have run on a pro-slavery platform. He would have been hard to debate, since de facto endorsements of slavery are found in both the Old and New Testaments.
Not to be outdone, the Catholic god tacitly if not openly supported Hitler’s pogrom against the Jews. So did a number of Protestant gods. In fact, like astute politicians, many Christian gods were careful not to come out against Nazi Germany until it was fashionable.
Many of today’s devout Christians find it appalling that such practices were defended in the name of deity. Years hence, what may Christians of the future think of where today’s god stood on the issues?
Where God stands today
Today you could be voting for a god who opposes vaccinating girls against cervical cancer. According to not a few ministers, God Himself holds the threat of cervical cancer over your daughter’s head (and other parts) to keep her from yielding to temptation. Curiously, there is no like threat for your son. So there you have a version of a Christian god who won’t tolerate sluts, but gives studs a little leeway.
As long as, that is, your son is truly a stud, meaning he is not gay. Homosexuality is OK by some Christian gods, but many deem it sinful and oppose gay unions of any form, especially state-recognized ones. Some Christian gods go so far as to oppose seeking a cure for AIDS, since AIDS is His punishment for homosexuality.
Even on an issue as divisive as abortion, no one can quite agree as to whether God thinks it’s a woman’s choice, always a sin, or a sin except in cases of rape, incest or a mother’s health. The Catholic and quite a few Protestant gods oppose all forms of birth control, including condoms, even at the cost of letting AIDS march forth unabated. Other versions of the Christian god leave the decision to the individual.
More than one Christian god has long opposed, and continues to oppose teaching evolution science in public schools. Lately many of the same Christian gods want to edit American history as well.
To be fair, many Christian gods are just fine with vaccines, cures, personal reproduction decision-making, science, history and same-sex attraction and unions. In fact, depending on who you ask, the Christian god could be for or against gay marriage, birth control, prayer in school, women’s rights, civil rights, rock n roll, dancing, premarital sex, wardrobe malfunctions, the Internet, protecting the environment, eating meat, animal rights, fashions, you name it.
More Christianity
You needn’t worry that the Christian god of the Jehovah’s Witnesses will ever run for public office. He opposes terrestrial governments of any sort. It’s just as well. He would ban blood transfusions, not to mention holidays and birthday celebrations.
The Christian god of the Latter-day Saints (Mormons) would prefer you not drink alcohol or smoke tobacco. That might be the least of your legislative worries. He has made it clear that He wants men to preside, and even opposed the Equal Rights Amendment. Until 1978, he held that African Americans were not qualified to be priests. To this day, women cannot be priests, period.
Some Christian gods want businesses and parks to close on Sunday. But the Christian god of the Seventh Day Adventists, among others, prefers they close Friday night through Saturday night.
And then there’s the Unitarian god. He doesn’t have much of an opinion on anything.
But the Bible says
When people say they want God in government, they mean their god. But depending on whose version prevails, they may not get the god they thought they were getting.
Do not suggest settling where God really stands by opening up the Bible. All of these Christian groups defend their opposing views from the Bible.
My point is not to disprove God. It is to establish that, even among believers, no one can agree on what God’s will really is.
So here’s an idea. Set aside religion and focus on public policy that promotes life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Humankind has been growing into the task, getting better and better at it, for centuries. This is no time to turn back.
Steve Cuno
July 22, 2010
Popular arguments include that the Founding Fathers were men of faith, that the United States is a Christian nation built on Christian principles, and that we are guaranteed freedomof but not from religion.
For now, let’s set aside myriad, valid counterarguments and take a look at the complications we are bound to encounter if we discard separation of church and state.
The assumption seeming to underlie a call for God in government is that all parties issuing the call are agreed as to what God stands for. The underlying assumption is not just false, but naive. One of the biggest dangers of letting God participate in government is that you may not get the god you bargained for.
“God” as code for “Christianity”
Before proceeding, let’s be honest about something. I think it’s a fair inference to say we’re talking about the Christian god. One rarely overhears American patriots stick up for Jews, much less demand equal time for, say, Loki, Krishna, Allah, Aphrodite or Abnoba. I’m not saying that excluding non Christian deities is fair. I’m saying it’s what the current rhetoric is really about.
So if you happen to worship anything besides a Christian deity, tough luck. (Be glad Christians no longer burn folks like you at the stake.) Tough luck, too, if you recognize no deity at all. Thus, good intentions aside, the mere act of inviting the Christian god into government opens a door to discrimination. Not exactly a positive start for this discussion.
Forging a Christian nation
But for the sake of argument, suppose everyone in America were indeed Christian, as the vast majority claim to be. Different denominations disagree as to particulars about the nature of deity and requirements for salvation, but all agree on the fundamentals of what God is for and what God is against. Right?
Wrong.
For instance:
Some people might think twice before inviting the god of the Christian Scientists into the legislative process. That Christian god doesn’t want you to see a doctor; it’s faith-healing or nothing. On the positive side, His policy would render moot the question of rising health care costs.
Some versions of the Southern Baptist god would outlaw dancing. Speaking as one with two left feet, I’d be fine with that, were it not for the fact that some of my friends dance.
The Amish god, also Christian, might want to legislate away electricity and cars. Extreme environmentalists might go for that. But people like me would readily agree that a life in a house without air conditioning is no life at all.
God in America in prior years
In the early part of the last century, the Protestant god who was popular in the Southern States would have run for office on a racist platform. He was all for the “right” of whites to lynch Blacks. He favored separate “whites” and “coloreds” facilities. He didn’t like Catholics and Jews, either.
A century earlier, He would have run on a pro-slavery platform. He would have been hard to debate, since de facto endorsements of slavery are found in both the Old and New Testaments.
Not to be outdone, the Catholic god tacitly if not openly supported Hitler’s pogrom against the Jews. So did a number of Protestant gods. In fact, like astute politicians, many Christian gods were careful not to come out against Nazi Germany until it was fashionable.
Many of today’s devout Christians find it appalling that such practices were defended in the name of deity. Years hence, what may Christians of the future think of where today’s god stood on the issues?
Where God stands today
Today you could be voting for a god who opposes vaccinating girls against cervical cancer. According to not a few ministers, God Himself holds the threat of cervical cancer over your daughter’s head (and other parts) to keep her from yielding to temptation. Curiously, there is no like threat for your son. So there you have a version of a Christian god who won’t tolerate sluts, but gives studs a little leeway.
As long as, that is, your son is truly a stud, meaning he is not gay. Homosexuality is OK by some Christian gods, but many deem it sinful and oppose gay unions of any form, especially state-recognized ones. Some Christian gods go so far as to oppose seeking a cure for AIDS, since AIDS is His punishment for homosexuality.
Even on an issue as divisive as abortion, no one can quite agree as to whether God thinks it’s a woman’s choice, always a sin, or a sin except in cases of rape, incest or a mother’s health. The Catholic and quite a few Protestant gods oppose all forms of birth control, including condoms, even at the cost of letting AIDS march forth unabated. Other versions of the Christian god leave the decision to the individual.
More than one Christian god has long opposed, and continues to oppose teaching evolution science in public schools. Lately many of the same Christian gods want to edit American history as well.
To be fair, many Christian gods are just fine with vaccines, cures, personal reproduction decision-making, science, history and same-sex attraction and unions. In fact, depending on who you ask, the Christian god could be for or against gay marriage, birth control, prayer in school, women’s rights, civil rights, rock n roll, dancing, premarital sex, wardrobe malfunctions, the Internet, protecting the environment, eating meat, animal rights, fashions, you name it.
More Christianity
You needn’t worry that the Christian god of the Jehovah’s Witnesses will ever run for public office. He opposes terrestrial governments of any sort. It’s just as well. He would ban blood transfusions, not to mention holidays and birthday celebrations.
The Christian god of the Latter-day Saints (Mormons) would prefer you not drink alcohol or smoke tobacco. That might be the least of your legislative worries. He has made it clear that He wants men to preside, and even opposed the Equal Rights Amendment. Until 1978, he held that African Americans were not qualified to be priests. To this day, women cannot be priests, period.
Some Christian gods want businesses and parks to close on Sunday. But the Christian god of the Seventh Day Adventists, among others, prefers they close Friday night through Saturday night.
And then there’s the Unitarian god. He doesn’t have much of an opinion on anything.
But the Bible says
When people say they want God in government, they mean their god. But depending on whose version prevails, they may not get the god they thought they were getting.
Do not suggest settling where God really stands by opening up the Bible. All of these Christian groups defend their opposing views from the Bible.
My point is not to disprove God. It is to establish that, even among believers, no one can agree on what God’s will really is.
So here’s an idea. Set aside religion and focus on public policy that promotes life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Humankind has been growing into the task, getting better and better at it, for centuries. This is no time to turn back.
Steve Cuno
July 22, 2010
