Exploring Superstitions Behind Separation of Church & State

The civic catechisms of our day still celebrate Thomas Jefferson’s experiment in religious liberty. To end a millennium of repressive religious establishments, we are taught, Jefferson sought liberty in the twin formulas of privatizing religion and secularizing politics. Religion must be “a concern purely between our God and our consciences,” he wrote in 1802. Politics must be conducted with “a wall of separation between church and state.” “Public religion” is a threat to private religion, and must thus be discouraged. “Political ministry” is a menace to political integrity and must thus be outlawed.These Jeffersonian maxims remain for many today the cardinal axioms of a unique American logic of religious freedom to which every patriotic citizen and church must yield.

Read the rest at thelutheran.org.

Lutheran Church to Ordain Lesbian Pastor

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas, is going to ordain Lura Groen as its pastor on Saturday. She’ll be the first openly gay pastor at an ELCA church in Texas. Now let’s get on the roller coaster:

The ELCA, like many other Christian denominations, says that only commitedly celibate gays are eligible for the pastorate. And in a really inside baseball detail, only members of the approved roster of potential pastors can be called by a congregation and have it recognized by the denomination. Them’s the current ELCA rules and apparently Ms. Groen is disqualified on both counts. As a story on the OutSmart website explains:

Get more on this story at dallasnews.com.