VIEWS FROM THE BELFRY

by Romeo Delima

At first everything was a linear relationship between God and His creatures, from God to the prophets to the people then back. But man got tired of His constant meddling in their humanly affairs, and desired another entity instead of Him. “There must be a king over us” 1 Samuel 8:20, the people of Israel persistently demanded. Humanity rejected the direct Kingship of God. And God said to Samuel “Grant their request and appoint a king to rule them”. It was man who complicated the simple plan of God for mankind by creating a State to get rid of His constant babysitting. The governance of man directly to man made a twist in the divine scheme and in human history. Man oftentimes erred, rebelled, and forgot his creator, but still God journeyed with His people.

The “separation of the Church and the State” is an issue never been fully explained because it was never fully understood.

The State will complain that the Church is meddling in its affairs when the latter translates issues according to the gospel. Offense is the best defence, attacking personalities instead of the issue is the order of winning an issue. Litany of sins and misbehaviours of personalities is presented to the public discrediting the Church institution. It will start to brand the Church as archaic, ignorant, backward, anti-progress, and many other names. It will want the Church to be silent, to be obedient to the point of subservience in State matters. The State held the notion that the Gospel preached in pulpits should be limitedly applicable only to spiritual aspects of its constituents. Religious freedom is tolerated by the State as long as there is order, keeping religion to oneself, confined to its domain.

Most of the time the State believed as being separated from the Church of God, and is trying to do in its outmost effort to achieve order in its governance sometimes moralized immoral by legalizing it, drawing the line between of the body and of the soul ultimately separating man from his God. But this is not so in its essence, the State unconsciously needs a Supreme Being. Also it needs the Church as mouthpiece for His further instructions. Even in the preamble of the State, there is a phrase “imploring the aid of Divine Providence”, and every time the oath of office is ended with “so help me God” with one hand over the Holy Book, is a clear affirmation of the State that it does need the help of God.

There is no area in human activities that God cannot interfere. Everything is touched by the hands of the Almighty. God permitted the existence of a State to be an instrument in the fulfillment of His will. When the State is failing to function to its intended purpose then the Church which has a God given authority for the “total salvation of man” (body and soul) will help set back to its course lighting its way to the only Way.

Walls of division are getting higher and stronger, so the Church and the State must build essential doors in between for easy access on both sides, and bridges are needed to link the gap that is getting wider and deeper separating relationship of men to his fellowmen.The people of the State are the people of the Church, they are one and they same, all children of God.