Many Christians today seem to have 'taken the tack' that God is here, but not there, pertinent to this area of life, but not that, ruling and reigning, up there, in that realm, but not here, in this one. We seem to have swallowed 'hook, line and sinker', the notion ( usually unspoken ) that the Presence of God is limited, on this earth, anyway, to the four walls of a church-house ( I don't say 'building', but 'house', because it is not always a 'building' which 'houses' the Church of God )!
Those Christians that act like the realm of God ( 'Heaven' ) is present on earth only when and where His people are gathered for worship, and/or to partake of 'The Lord's Supper', have, in essence confined their Creator ( as far as they're concerned ) to the four walls of any given church building ( as long as the right denomination meets there ), or proclaimed that the Presence of God dwells between the pages of the 'Holy Bible' ( usually KJV )!
With this notion as their basis many Christians have become functionally atheistic and well-nigh useless as the Body of Christ on earth!
The main reason that our country is in the shape she is in, is because Christians of all eras have relegated God ( as if He can be relegated ) to this area of life, but not that. Take the civil realm, for instance, what is commonly referred to as 'the political realm': 'Politics', and 'politicians' have come to be dirty words, and while politics is sometimes a 'dirty business', it is so only because Christians, for as long as we can remember, have abdicated their position as 'rulers with God' ( Israel ), and, voting for 'the lesser of two evils', have engendered a change of what should be 'sacred', to what is now known as 'secular'.
From the beginning, this was not so, and really is still not so, even though the enemies of God and His people have done their best, sometimes with the unwitting help of God's people, to make it look and feel like it is, and should be. Should there be a 'separation of church and state'? Well, yes and no; without going into a long history of the battles that have been waged, and the wars that have been lost, both over the lack of this separation, or because of this separation, it is certain that any man-driven religion, such as Roman Catholicism or Calvinism, for that matter, should not have absolute authority over the affairs of ( any ) state. On the other hand, the Body of Christ, which spans the globe, and is not confined to any specific country, or boundary, SHOULD be bringing their authority to bear, not only in the 'civil realm', but in all areas of life!
To be fair; there have been as many, or more Christians in the past, and are even now, who, acting contrary almost, to their theology and doctrines, have done their utmost for His highest! Even with a false eschatology, and often a weak ( at best ) theology, many foreign missionaries, both at home and abroad, have done much for the advancement of His Kingdom on earth, and have been blessed by God! As many more though, particularly in this county, but mostly as a result of interaction, both directly and indirectly, with other nations, have taken the tack listed above, that of limiting God's interaction with His own Creation, and thus His power and authority over said creation.
Most Christians would probably look at you with much aghast if you were to accuse them of this, and would quickly defend their beliefs with a lot of 'mush-gush', or even a fairly strong theology, but then return, as soon as you walked away, to their life, with God in this box over here, politics and the civil realm over here, their personal life over here, and so on and so forth.
Praises be to God our Father; more and more Christians are waking up from their slumber, and realizing where a theology and doctrine such as that outlined above often leads!
With the knowledge and realization that there should be no difference between 'sacred' and 'secular', no separation of Church and state, no religious realm versus political realm, we must, as the people of God, and rulers with Him, begin, once more, to act upon this knowledge and belief, and take back what rightfully belongs to us; 'This is Our Father's World', and we are His children, though hopefully, no longer children!
Actively praying and believing,
Charles Haddon Shank
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