This document provides an overview of a Sunday school session on the separation of church and state in America. It discusses the biblical principles of loving God and neighbor and how Christians are called to engage with crucial issues. It then examines the historical meaning and intent of the separation of church and state established in the First Amendment, contrasting this with more modern interpretations that advocate a more complete separation. The document suggests secularism and rejection of religious principles have increasingly shaped law and society. It encourages Christians to stand up for their religious freedom and provides contact information for legal organizations defending these liberties.
3. KEY VERSES Matthew 22: 36-38 36"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37And He said to him, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' 38"This is the great and foremost commandment.
4. BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE The Christian life is summarized As Christians we must understand our culture and its challenges because we are followers of Christ. We are called to be faithful and ready to think as Christians when confronted with the crucial issues of the day.
5. KEY VERSES Verses 39 to 4039The second is like it, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 40"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
6. BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE Jesus commanded love of neighbor! As Christians, we are commanded to care for our neighbors. Because we love God first, our neighbor and neighborhoods, it is imperative we know about the current issues of the day. Our Savior left us on earth for a reason.
7. THEME OF CLASS Matthew 5: 13-16 “We are the SALTand LIGHT in a dying world.”
32. Or,becoming a THEOCRACYWhile the AMENDMENT does not recognize a differentiation between church and government, it does not mean that they could not cooperate with each other!
33. CHURCH AND STATE True Meaning of“Separation of Church and State” It was used by Thomas Jefferson in 1803, nearly 12 years after the Bill of Rights was ratified. Used the phrase to assure the Connecticut Danbury Baptist Ass’n that the Federal governmentlacked jurisdiction over religion
34. CHURCH AND STATE This quote is someone’s interpretation of Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptist Association. Thus; not authentic! Website: Jefferson’s Separation of Church and State Letter to Danbury Baptist The Founding Fathers intended to protect against government encroachment on Christian practice, but certainly not the other way around. X X “The 1st AMENDMENT has created a wall of separation between church and state, but that wall is a one directional wall, it keeps the government from running the church, but it makes sure that Christian principles will always stay in government.” Thomas Jefferson
35. CHURCH AND STATE So, What Has Happened to the True Meaning of “Separation of Church and State?”
42. SCOPES MONKEY TRIAL The first conflict between religion vs. science being taught in school was in 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee.
43. SCOPES MONKEY TRIAL Clarence Darrow Famous trial lawyer who represented Scopes William J. Bryan Sec. of State for President Wilson, ran for president three times, turned evangelical leader. Represented the prosecution. Dayton, Tennessee Small town in the south became protective against the encroachment of modern times and secular teachings. John T. Scopes Respected high school biology teacher arrested in Dayton, Tennessee for teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.
44. SCOPES MONKEY TRIAL The right to teach and protect Biblical teachings in schools Vs The right to teach evolution and new ideas introduced into American society The acceptance of science and that all species have evolved from lower forms of beings over billions of years. The trial was conducted in a carnival-like atmosphere. The people of Dayton are seen as ‘backward’ by the country.
45. CHURCH AND STATE “The natural law (God’s Law) has been thoroughly purged from law school curricula and replaced with secularist ideologies. A lawyer who does not understand the roots of jurisprudence (concerned with the principles of law and the legal system) is no lawyer at all.” Dr. J. Budziszewski, professor of Government and Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. 1990
46. CHURCH AND STATE Today’s Meaning of“Separation of Church and State” “Over the past half century, the U.S. Supreme Court has accomplished a feat America’s Founders would surely have found to be inconceivable. They have created a perverse cloud of confusion over the question of religious liberty and the place of religious language and symbols in the public square.” Albert Mohler from his book, Culture Shift
56. CHURCH AND STATE Matthew Staver Liberty Counsel PO Box 540774, Orlando, FL 32854Phone: 800-671-1776 Email: Liberty@LC.org Liberty Counsel is a nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family.
57. CHURCH AND STATE Jay Sekulow American Center for Law and JusticeP.O. Box 90555Washington, DC 20090-05551-800-296-4529 The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is specifically dedicated to the ideal that religious freedom and freedom of speech are inalienable, God-given rights. We are your repsentatives in the courts and halls of Congress.
