Why secularism?

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Whose "God"? Even Christians can't agree on who God actually is. Don't believe me? There were riots in Boston over which Bible translation to use, KJV or D-R, in public schools. The Irish wanted D-R, the protestants wanted KJV. So, who decides whose "God" gets "brought back"?

Yahuweh Does as He Pleases. All the politics won't change nor direct His mind....

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Maybe a community is better with one, but countries are better off without. When no group has a majority all are safer from oppression.

I don't think this is correct. Oppression (sinful, wicked) is in every country today, regardless of the religion, politics, etc there ....

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Why secular because otherwise has repeatedly failed badly.

According to what Yahuweh says in Scripture about the world/society, it is pernicious (i.e. cannot "succeed" in any meaningful way) .....

But every society needs a leading culture / religion. Right?

Probably there is so-called 'culture' and 'religion'(even if it is godless religion) everywhere, but none of it is healthy, as far as known, spiritually ..... wouldn't expect it to be until Jesus Returns....

Does it? And are the two necessarily connected?

< shrugs >

But does a national state need a particular culture/religion?

Why would it need a particular one ? Probably it does what is most profitable for itself, or what they can to keep the most power/ stay in control.

 

[variant]

Psalms 9:17 says, “The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, and so do all the nations that forget God.” If nations forget God, or in other words embrace secularism and forgo godliness, they will “go down to the realm of the dead,” meaning they will face the wrath of God.

Like they say in English, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. There are deceived people who believe secularism for nations is a good thing. But scripture is clear that nations that don’t embrace God will be led astray and into the infernal depths of hell.

Let’s bring God back to society and quit thinking secularism is some sort of civic virtue.

Secularism isn't about forgetting God, it is about allowing people of good conscience to make their own minds up about it.

The opposite of secularism isn't godliness, it is the tyranny of having the government have the power to try to enforce belief.

When people imagine the opposite of secularism they are imagining that their own specific religious views should be those the government enforces.

It doesn't actually go that way.

 

[RDKirk]

Secularism isn't about forgetting God, it is about allowing people of good conscience to make their own minds up about it.

Interestingly, that was the opinion of the man who founded the first Baptist congregation in America, Roger Williams.

 

[variant]

Interestingly, that was the opinion of the man who founded the first Baptist congregation in America, Roger Williams.

Which shouldn't surprise us in the least. Many of the people who founded this nation were trying to get away from government controlled religion.

They, unlike us, actually lived under governments that were openly hostile to their religious beliefs.

And, even a cursory understanding of European history would tell us that the idea of state religions is fraught with problems.

 

[RDKirk]

Which shouldn't surprise us in the least. Many of the people who founded this nation were trying to get away from government controlled religion.

They, unlike us, actually lived under governments that were openly hostile to their religious beliefs.

And, even a cursory understanding of European history would tell us that the idea of state religions is fraught with problems.

Roger Williams did cite such issues in his reasoning, being pretty close to things like the Thirty Years War, and with the English Civil War brewing as he was writing.

 

[stevil]

Secularism isn't about forgetting God, it is about allowing people of good conscience to make their own minds up about it.

It's about respecting free will.