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In the past, more emphasis was given to the spiritual and the eternal, there was a much larger degree of common morality. People had the same freedoms they do now but rarely did they push the envelope. As science, however, has undercut the existence of God by making evolution law, people have a much more relativistic definition of truth which means that freedoms which were never sought in the past are vehemently sought in the present. If there is no universal authority in this world then why should there be a universal standard of morality? These are the types of questions which confronted James Madison as he drafted the Bill of Rights and these questions continue to confront the judges who must decide how that Bill of Rights plays out today.
With all that said, I will now tackle the task of uncovering the subtle implications behind many of the policies which affect our lives every day. Freedom, you see, is a very problematic institution. One man's freedom is another's undoing. Religion, in fact, often has very little to do with the concept of freedom. Typically, religion entails that an individual give up their own claims on behalf of the diety they worship. Obedience to a higher authority comes at the expence of personal freedom. Mere self-interest is sacrificed for a greater cause. Biblically, those who claim Christ are called to deny themselves so as to follow Him (Matt. 16:24). They are said, in fact, to be "slaves of righteousness" (Rom. 6:18). Without God, people are essentially slaves to self.
Logically, one might argue that though religion itself often calls for the individual to deny personal freedom, religion in general is not compromised by a government that places much less restriction on personal freedom. The problem here arises in terms of human relationship. If one man, believing in no god, becomes a god unto himself, then his all consuming pursuit of self-interest may come at a great price to others in society. Though certain measures or policies may seem to exist only in the secular realm, their far-reaching implications can be very detrimental to the faith of certain groups. Abortion comes to mind. Many religions place abortion on par with murder. A situation arises, then, in which the U.S. government, by supporting the practice of abortion, slaps some religions in the face. When the church attempts to intervene, they are often criticized for trying to ram-rod their influence into an arena in which they have no jurisdiction.
Abortion is a secular issue, not a religious one. To anyone who places their faith and their life into the hands of a higher authority, however, this is a very naive statement. Every issue is a religious one because religion is not merely an aspect of life to be tagged on with other things like politics, education or society. Religion is the arena in which all these other concerns play out. It is a pattern of life. If the Christian is to apply the Bible to every situation in life, then there can be no distinction between secular and religious issues. The standard, in this person's life is the same for everything. In terms of abortion then, a mother has the freedom to terminate the child growing inside her. The freedom of one denies the existence of another. That is a pretty weighty concern for anyone who holds that life begins at conception. Homosexuality is another controversy which comes to mind. If you believe homosexuality to be inherently wrong and yet you live under the power of a government who gives special rights to such individuals, how do you resolve that?
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