LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Reflection Essay:
Christianity and the State
Submitted to Dr. Jonathan Waita
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
THEO 650 D03
Public Theology
by
Gaspar Cortez
April 14, 2024
Contents
Contents..........................................................................................................................................i
Introduction...................................................................................................................................1
Church and State...........................................................................................................................1
By the Numbers.............................................................................................................................3
Where I Stand................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................4
Bibliography...................................................................................................................................5
1
Introduction
The discussion between church and state is one that has challenged many for quite
some time now. Arguments, debates, even full councils on how the church was to fulfill its place
within the state have been established. What should be the relationship between church and
state? How should believers interact within the governments of their respected countries?
This reflection essay will focus on answering these questions posed above. Additionally,
some numbers of what America looked like both before and after Hashem was taken out of the
schools will be looked at. And finally, some parting thoughts on how this writer envisions what
the Body of Messiah should do when it comes to the topic of church and state.
Church and State
There are several different thoughts as to how the relationship between the Body of
Messiah and the state should play out in real life. In the book An Introduction to Biblical Ethics
by Robertson McQuilkin and Paul Copan, different situations for how these relationships should
look are posed. Before explaining some of the relationships they pose in the book, it is worth
noting, they seem to lean towards a New Testament onlyist view, meaning they believe that
Hashem changed His ways (Mal. 3:6) for a grafted in branch attached to the root (Ro. 11:16-24).1
In their first view mentioned even though their thoughts on state controlling the church
are brief, it can be agreed upon that the relationship state controlling the church never ends
well as they mention. A majority of the time in history, it always devolves into an authoritarian
state and usually not Hashem fearing.2
1 This is obvious in the several of their references in Part II, but especially misunderstood in references to
Matthew 5:17-20 when speaking about “abolishing” and “fulfilling.” The clear misunderstanding is understood as
they may not know how Rabbinical thought was during the turn of the first century. Suggested reading is, David
Bivin, New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus: Insights of His Jewish Context (Holland, MI:Ein Gedi Resource
Center, 2007), 93-96.
2 Robertson McQuilkin and Paul Copan, An Introduction to Biblical Ethics: Walking in the Way of Wisdom,
Third edition. (IVP, 2014), 530.
2
Their second view is the church dominating the state. This has happened in history and
still happens in the Arab world as mentioned in the book. It is agreed upon, no one wants their
rights they believe they have imposed upon by another, yet when Messiah returns, His will, will
be done, it will be imposed, no ifs, and, or buts (Rev. 2:27). His law, not just moral, but all the
instruction found in the Torah will go forth from Zion, and everyone will follow it (Isa. 2:2-5).
The third view is where the church and state have assigned mutually exclusive roles. As
seemingly nice as this view poses to be it will only lead to a humanistic framework which rolls
back to the original framework of an autonomous state where no one can judge what is right
and wrong as it would be up to the individual.3 The issue with this view similar to libertarianism
is that at first, those who do not want others imposing their will on them, will not be bothered
by it, but eventually it will effect the whole.
And finally, church and state, distinct but mutually influential. In this view, it is just as it
sounds, both have spheres of responsibility, but each one will govern within its own area of
responsibility.4 This is the view that the authors seem to choose. However, it comes from a
misinterpretation of Scripture. They understand that Hashem has somehow changed His ways.
What follows is what happens when believers in the Scriptures and His ways try and have this
form of belief in separation.
By the Numbers
In 1947, the separation between church and state was brought about in the Supreme
court case of Everson v. Board of Education. And since then, America has been in a moral
decline. The origin of the downfall just so happens to correlate with Hashem being taken out of
the schools in 1962 with the case of Engle v. Vitale. “The elimination of the fear of G-d,
symbolized by the Supreme Court’s actions in the matter of school prayer, led to a dramatic
increase in crime, venereal disease, premarital sex, illiteracy, suicide, drug use, public
3 Ibid., 532.
4 Ibid., 534.
3
corruption, and other social ills.”5 Shortly after, data shows these increases across the board
after being relatively low until that point.
The reason the above is mentioned is that those who lead the state and govern the
people get their education from the schooling system set forth in America, or at least a majority
of those in offices of the state do.6 The judges who ruled on these cases failed the American
people by going against the wishes of the founding fathers, but this may not have been the
judges fault, but the fault of the founding fathers due to framework built upon the ideas of John
Locke.7 But the real question is who is to blame?
Where I Stand
This brings me to where one can see my stance as it may be obvious. Church and state
should never have been separated. But it didn’t start in America, it started back in the Tanakh.
McQuilken and Copan state, “the Bible gives no mandate but does give instruction on the
purpose of the church and the purpose of human government.”8 I agree with the latter end of
the statement, but the Scripture does give us instruction for how we are to hold ourselves
within our everyday life, and that is to hold ourselves “holy, as He is holy” (Lev. 19:2; 1 Pet.
3:16). But the Scriptures go further, in that Yeshua and Shaul tell us to stand firm until He
returns (1 Cor. 16:13). We as believers have not done so. We have compromised our faith with
worldly ways just as Constantine did to accommodate the unbelievers. We have vacated our
place in the gates (city halls, even the state), and in doing so allowed the vacuum to open up to
other entities and now we pay the price for mistakes made for not standing for the faith.
5 D.T. Stallings, “A Brief History of the United States Department of Education: 1979-2002,” Duke.edu
(2002), accessed April 13, 2024, https://childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu/pdfs/pubpres/BriefHistoryofUS_DOE.pdf, in
https://medium.com/@jwade.jc/moral-decline-in-the-school-system-611c46797a16.
6 If one turns to the news, they can see an obvious corruption within the education system starting in
elementary and getting worse as the age level increases. All one has to do is look at college campuses.
7 Derek H. Davis, “EDITORIAL: Reflections on Moral Decline in America: Consulting the Founding Fathers’
Views on the Roles of Church and State in Crafting the Good Society,” Journal of Church and State 42, no. 2 (2000):
237–45, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23921282.
8 McQuilkin and Copan, 530.
4
Conclusion
In conclusion, I believe we are too far gone as a state to do what needs to be done. The
Scriptures also say there is no going back and wishing we had done differently. What we can do is
continue to be a light to unbelievers so that they may be driven to Hashem and His Son Yeshua. One day
coming, the Messiah will return and rule with that rod of iron, and all will bend the knee to both His
Word, the Torah, and the testimony of His Son Yeshua (Rev. 1:2, 6:9, 12:17),and those who won’t, will
not make it to the kingdom (Rev. 21:27; 1 Cor. 6:9).9 My suggestion is we all start learning His ways,
because that is what will be the law of the land upon His return.
Bibliography
Bivin, David. New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus: Insights of His Jewish Context. Holland,
MI:Ein Gedi Resource Center, 2007.
Davis, Derek H. “EDITORIAL: Reflections on Moral Decline in America: Consulting the Founding
Fathers’ Views on the Roles of Church and State in Crafting the Good Society.” Journal of
Church and State 42, no. 2 (2000): 237–45. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23921282.
McQuilkin, Robertson and Paul Copan. An Introduction to Biblical Ethics: Walking in the Way of
Wisdom, Third edition. IVP, 2014.
Stallings, D.T. “A Brief History of the United States Department of Education: 1979-2002.”
Duke.edu (2002). Accessed April 13, 2024.
https://childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu/pdfs/pubpres/BriefHistoryofUS_DOE.pdf. In
https://medium.com/@jwade.jc/moral-decline-in-the-school-system-611c46797a16.
9 Please understand it has always been through faith and love in following His ways. It was never by
legalistic means. Our faith will drive us to follow His commands as Shaul tells us in Romans, faith, belief, then
obedience.
5
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