This coming Friday The Danish Atheist Society will have a big inter-European conference with invited speakers like the British Richard Dawkins (who puts atheistic slogans on the busses of London) and the American Dan Barker (from Freedom from Religion Foundation) who is working on having the National Prayer Day abolished.  One of the main demands of that conference is the separation of Church and State.

So first we had the renewed, European hatred against Israel.  Then the discussion whether the Danish flag is legal because of its Christian cross, and now a three days conference with an atheistic “crusade” again God and Christianity.  One outburst after the other is coming from the pit these days.

But separation of Church and State is not an atheistic idea.  It was from the very start a blessing in America where the European pilgrims found freedom to worship God without any Catholic or Protestant straight jacket over their heads.  Their new country of freedom didn´t want to favor a particular Christian denomination, but its noble Founding Fathers wanted to give top priority  to the Bible and the gospel.  “This nation is not built on religion or Christianity, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ”, Patrick Henry said.  He also said the famous words, ”Give me freedom or death!”

That blessing we wish for Denmark too.  We already have it if we want it.  Nobody has to be tied up with a state church, the laws of which are decided by our Parliament.  I´ve made my own personal choice which doesn´t mean, however, that I´m running a campaign against our Lutheran State Church which some consider a “cultural heritage” to be reverently preserved.

To just blindly copy the system of the U.S. doesn´t lead to anything.  But the super active atheists shouldn´t make us passive nor speechless.   Our agenda is not Christianity, church, culture, morality, politics, but the passionate battle cry of Patrick Henry:  The gospel of Jesus Christ!

This is God´s battle cry too. On land, at sea and in the air!

-jn-

June 16, 2010