There is no New Testament basis for a linking of church and state until Christ, the King returns. The whole "Constantine mentality" from the fourth century up to our day was a mistake. Constantine, as the Roman Emperor, in 313 ended the persecution of Christians. Unfortunately, the support he gave to the church led by 381 to the enforcing of Christianity, by Theodosius I, as the official state religion. Making Christianity the official state religion opened the way for confusion up till our own day. There have been times of very good government when this interrelationship of church and state has been present. But through the centuries it has caused great confusion between loyalty to the state and loyalty to Christ, between patriotism and being a Christian. We must not confuse the Kingdom of God with our country. To say it another way: "We should not wrap our Christianity in our national flag. Francis A. Schaeffer
About This Quote

In the past, people tried to use Christianity as a basis for their governments. They used nationalistic ideas to bend the teachings of Christ to fit their own ways. For example, in 1537, King Henry VIII of England issued a decree that everyone in his kingdom must attend English churches. In 1586, King James I issued a similar decree.

The two decrees led to the Anglican Church forming. This helped create a separate church from the Catholic Church in England. However, many Protestants still feel this is not a correct way to apply the Bible and the teachings of Christ.

Source: A Christian Manifesto

Some Similar Quotes
  1. Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you. - Steve Maraboli
  2. Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. <span style="margin:15px;... - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  3. The spiritualization of sensuality is called love: it is a great triumph over Christianity. - Friedrich Nietzsche
  4. The word ‘sin’ is derived from the Indo-European root ‘es-, ’ meaning ‘to be.’ When I discovered this etymology, I intuitively understood that for a [person] trapped in patriarchy, which is the religion of the entire planet, ‘to be’ in the fullest sense is ‘to... - Mary Daly
  5. What you are is God's gift to you, what you become is your gift to God. - Unknown
More Quotes By Francis A. Schaeffer
  1. The ancients were afraid that if they went to the end of the earth they would fall off and be consumed by dragons. But once we understand that Christianity is true to what is there, true to the ultimate environment - the infinite, personal God...
  2. We may not play with the new theology even if we may think we can turn it to our advantage.
  3. We must realize that the Reformation world view leads in the direction of government freedom. But the humanist world view with inevitable certainty leads in the direction of statism. This is so because humanists, having no god, must put something at the center, and it...
  4. The basic problem of the Christians in this country in the last eighty years or so, in regard to society and in regard to government, is that they have seen things in bits and pieces instead of totals.
  5. The Christian in the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.
Related Topics