Until recently, Judge Roy Moore was the Chief Justice of the
Alabama Supreme Court. Then, on November 13th, Alabama’s Court
of the Judiciary removed Judge Moore from high judicial office.
Mr. Moore’s offense: he had resisted a federal court order to
remove the Ten Commandments monument -- a 5,000 pound, granite
rock (also known as "Roy’s Rock") -- from the Alabama Supreme
Court building.
The removal of Judge Moore from the court and the removal of
the Ten Commandments monument from the building have stirred
considerable anger among many American Christians. But even if
we are not angry, we might well wonder, Why were Judge Moore and
the granite monument removed? What exactly is going on here?
What exactly is going on here? It is a good question. And
there are many answers -- detailed legal, political, and
cultural answers -- to the question. But it might be wise for us
to offer a more general answer, as straightforwardly as
possible, to the question at hand.
In our day and in our society, there are some sincere people
who want religion and religious expression completely eliminated
from American public life. Generally speaking, these people form
a minority in our political life. They base their anti-religion
case on a too-powerful interpretation of the idea of
church-state separation. They often work with such organizations
as Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the
American Civil Liberties Union. Knowing that their agenda is
favored by few Americans, they usually avoid making their case
in the legislatures of the land, in the more democratic arena.
Sidestepping the ways and means of democratic deliberation and
decision, they use the nation’s courts to further their agenda
against religion. To date, they have been remarkably successful
in court cases regarding prayer in public schools, abortion,
homosexuality, and religious expression in public (as in the Ten
Commandments case). Needless to say, their work is far from
completed.
Basically, these well-meaning Americans oppose any religion
in public. To them, religion is a private matter to be kept out
of public life. To them, the ideal society would have religion
completely erased from the public square. To them, religion is
for only those people who seem to need its private comforts and
consolations. Again, to these Americans, religion is only a
private, very private, matter.
There are, of course, many problems with this understanding
of religion as an exclusively private matter. For example, it
contradicts the freedom of religion promised by democracy, and
it morphs church-state separation into religion-society
separation. But most importantly, for us Christians, it violates
the very claims of the Church’s faith.
Consider Christmas, for an example. In getting ready for
Christmas, the Church will recall the need of the Messiah.
During the time of Advent preparation for Christmas, we will
deeply remember that the world needs a Savior, that the Church
needs a Savior, that each of us needs a Savior. And when
Christmas arrives, we will celebrate that Jesus Christ the
Savior has come, comes, and is coming to the world, to the
Church, and to each of us. The need of a Savior and the coming
of a Savior are public claims, not private matters. "For God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the
Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world
might be saved through him." (John 3:16-17, RSV, emphases added)
Again, these are public claims that involve "the world." To be
sure, these truths can and should be personally (not privately)
received; but that does not change their public nature.
As Christmas 2003 approaches, let us remember that our Advent
preparations and our Christmas celebrations are for the sake of
the world. Therefore, Christmas is a public, not a private,
matter. For "[t]he light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5, RSV) Nor will the
darkness ever overcome it.
May our Lord and His Spirit bless us with a wonderful,
grace-filled, glorious Christmas. And fear not: we can be public
about it.
From
December 2003 St. Peter’s Post
