Keep church — not God —out of government

John Hatcher is pastor of Outreach International Center, 1091 South Jeff Davis Drive, Fayetteville, Georgia 30215. 770-719-0303

Thanks to the media, we have a new division in the land. Because of their graphic-driven nature, they came up with a scheme to help their viewers identify the states going Republican and those states going Democrat. Thus, we have red states and blue states.

I saw a blue state citizen interviewed on television. He said he was afraid to drive into the red region of the country. That he didn’t know what to expect. He would just fly over the red. Hopefully he was only half-serious.

Personally, I have dear and precious family members living in one of the red states. And in all likelihood they voted for Kerry. In fact, I have close family members who live in a blue state and they voted Kerry. What are we to do? I suggest that we keep on loving and relating

to everyone regardless if he lives in red or blue country or if he votes our way or not.

Somehow, we have to get a victory over divisiveness in our country and in our relationships. Somehow we have to allow for differences that do not result in division. Division comes when the pot calls the kettle black. Let’s set some ground rules.

When given the opportunity, everyone should be able to express his opinion or conviction whether it is by way of a speaker’s podium or the ballot box. An election allows each person to elect the way he wants to vote.

Let’s agree again that in a democracy the majority wins the vote. It’s been that way for a long time. Countries around the world drool at our economic engine and our Gross National Product and they ask how on earth America became the envy of the world. The answer is simple: the ballot box and the majority wins. It has always been the responsibility of the losing minority to accept the decision of the ballot box.

Elections are temporary. Every candidate that lost Nov. 2 has another opportunity the next time. All 435 seats in the House

of Representatives and one third of all 100 Senate seats will be up for grabs in 2006. If you don’t like the way the election went, exercise your rights as a citizen and start campaigning for what you believe in.

Even Constitutional Amendments can be temporary. Like the one banning the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages.

Decisions of the courts are temporary. The principle o

f “separate by equal” in regard to public education was turned over by Brown v. the Board of Education that called for desegregation of public schools.

The point I hope you see I am making is this: don’t get your guts in a knot. If you don’t like the way it is now, work for change. While you are working for change, don’t call the majority a bunch of jerks.

We also need to understand that people are motivated in different ways when voting. When someone votes one way because their perception of their faith leads them, don’t call them names. If you want to criticize someone, look deep into voting precincts and criticize the folks who voted a certain way because they sold their votes for money.

The beauty of America is that you can vote the way you want to vote. If someone on the ballot doesn’t please you, you can write in a name. This past election day, there were initiatives on several states’ ballots regarding same-sex unions. Some would suggest to vote against same sex unions is to deny full citizenship to gays and lesbians. I disagree. To vote for or against a constitutional amendment that denies the possibility of legal same sex unions is my constitutional right. To take that right away would do damage to the rights of citizenship of all people including gays and lesbians.

When the United States began operating under the Constitution in 1789, it was the voted decision of the states that, for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives, slaves would be counted as three-fifths of a person. Of course, slavery was wrong and the nation struggled with it until the War Between the States. The point: if this republic has something wrong, there will be people who will work to correct it. As a nation, we will not be continually blessed by God unless we follow his will.

Finally, please, everyone understand this notion of separation of church and state. The fathers of our country did not want a British repeat. They did not want a state church, one that was supported and in many ways directed by the government. So, they led in the adoption by the states of the first amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Now, the first amendment does not tell you or me that we can’t let our religious beliefs determine how we vote on a matter. In fact, most religions — espousing a “be doers of the word and not mere hearers” would commend their members to vote their beliefs. Many people did just that this past election day.

Separation of the state from the business of the church and the church from the business of the state does not mean a separation of God from government. Presidential Candidate John F. Kennedy made a big deal of saying the Pope would not tell him, a Catholic, what to do. President Kennedy, however, acknowledged in his inaugural address that God would be the only judge of our deeds and further adding that he was asking for God’s help and God’s blessings.

Yes, keep the church out of government, but God forbid we ever kick God out!

John Hatcher is pastor of Outreach International Center, 1091 South Jeff Davis Drive, Fayetteville, Georgia 30215. 770-719-0303