Task: Give reasoned argument for why you believe the concept of sin is diminished in the
public square? Provide supporting evidence for your arguments
Definition
Sin is major foundational concept in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and in many other
religions. It is a big topic, and an important one! It is a key foundational concept in many
religions. Sin is a major theme in the Bible and in the religious texts of other faiths.
Conservative Christianity deviates little from historical Christianity on matters of sin.
However, secularists and followers of present-day liberal Christianity often find their beliefs
in conflict with biblical passages and traditional Christian teachings. They find many biblical
passages about sin difficult to understand or comprehend; they violate modern religious and
secular concepts of morality and ethics.
The "public square" has both a figurative and literal meaning. It can be a street corner, a
park, a sidewalk, a bulletin board, a blog, a break-room at work, a play-ground at school, an
accessible outside area on a college campus, or an actual public square where you can put
down a soap box and say your peace. Basically, the public square is any place where, as
citizens, we have the freedom to walk and talk
EVIDENCE
IDEOLOGY
‘Public religion’ is an idea that many modern western people find hard to handle. Our
religious, spiritual or moral viewpoints are regarded as matters we should keep private –
something we are free to express in the privacy of our own homes or own churches, but not,
as it were, in the ‘public square’, which many of a secular disposition would like to keep as a
religion-free zone. Something of this cultural attitude was captured in Alastair Campbell’s
famous utterance, when he was Prime Minister Tony Blair’s press secretary, ‘we don’t do
God!’ It is also finding expression in law. In a number of recent and well-publicised legal
cases the courts have decided not to uphold the claims of Christian claimants that they were
being discriminated against.
Most scholars have argued since time in memorial that we cannot separate religion from
politics. They seem to be a detachment between faith and how people carry their work. The
problem is that we don’t have a lot of Christian in public office, but we have many whose
faith does not make a difference on how they carry out their work.. Christians are horrified by
the abuses of secular institutions and have advocated complete separation between the
church and the state. Others have struggled to find some balance in between the
complete separation and total involvement”. Those who advocate for the separation of
the church and state argue that the world is sinful and an association with politics will
result in a breach of their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The greatest current threat to separation of church and state is in the public schools, the very
place that individuals of every background first learn the critical values of freedom and
tolerance. Students from minority religions are particularly vulnerable. No one feels more
embarrassed and isolated than a Jewish or Muslim child forced to participate in or remove
himself from Christian-oriented activities. At the same time, students from majority groups
may end up finding their own manner of worship or become of sinful nature. Because public
school students are, by nature, young and impressionable, the courts have long recognized
how carefully they must be protected from peer and official pressure.
Among recent instances are the following:
In Alabama, a family of Jewish children complains about their public school's
promotion of Christian beliefs. They become the targets of harassment and one of
them is forced to write an essay on "Why Jesus Loves Me." At a mandatory school
assembly, a Christian minister condemns to hell all who do not accept Christ.
In Utah, a Jewish student in the public schools is forced to sing religious songs and
take part in Mormon worship in choir class. When she objects, her teacher publicly
humiliates her and classmates subject her to anti-Semitic harassment.
In addition discriminatory effect on religious minorities has made some of the students
obliged to leave their religious beliefs at the schoolhouse door.
REFERENCE
Benne, Robert. Lutherans in Public: Four Lively Options, A Journal of Theology, Volume
45, Winter 2006.
Skillen, James W. The Scattered Voice: Christians At Odds in the Public Square Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990.
