You’ve noticed that public officials don’t mention God when they speak to us about the coronavirus pandemic. Media talking heads don’t either. Vice President Pence is one who does speak of faith in general ways, but then is put down by some commentators. This is not the way America used to be but it is today.
“Fundamentally, religion is a response and alternative to chaos; it is an attempt to provide structure, order, and meaning….” So wrote Karl Galinsky as he described the practical value of religion in restoring stability and peace in the days of Roman emperor Caesar Augustus. History refresher: In the first century before Christ, the Roman Republic collapsed into civil wars and chaos. By the end of that century, Caesar Augustus had gained almost total power. He saw the restoration of religion as an important help to providing general stability and peace. “Religion is a response and alternative to chaos” (Augustan Culture, 288).
That’s why Christian congregations are so important right now, not just in today’s America but especially in these ongoing months of grief over what we’ve lost, of fear for our lives and the lives of loved ones, and collapse of much of the economy. Clear Christian proclamation of hope in the resurrected Jesus Christ, of His identification with human suffering so that we can look forward to life without end… “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26). Clear proclamation from churches through streams and posts and sharing the hope within us in private conversations can fill the God void in public life.
The First Amendment (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”) did two things. First, it acknowledged that we have two sovereigns, the government and our conscience, not just government. Second, it originally applied only to the federal government but beginning in the 1940s the Supreme Court began applying it to individuals. Hence a growth in suits against religious practice. No wonder leaders back off religious talk in public. When religion was neglected in the Roman Republic, it was neglected by the elites, not by private people. So may it be today. You and your congregation have a mission like never before.
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