In one scene of "The Patriot," a Revolutionary War movie starring Mel Gibson, a minister known as Rev. Oliver leaves his church pulpit to join militia volunteers as they ride off to fight British redcoats. When one of his church members expresses surprise, Oliver responds, "The shepherd must tend his flock ... and at times, fight off the wolves!"
This stirring scene is Hollywood fiction, of course, but it accurately describes the crucial role pastors played in our war for independence from Great Britain. In real life, in January of 1776, while preaching on Ecclesiastes 3:1 ("To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven"), Rev. John Peter Muhlenberg threw off his robe to reveal the uniform of a Virginia military officer and proclaimed, "A time of war, and a time of peace ... and this is the time for war!" He then led 300 men from the church to fight in the war. Later, Gen. Muhlenberg was elected as a United States senator and helped frame our Bill of Rights. His monument now stands proudly in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., as a perpetual testimony of the role of pastors in the cause of liberty.
TRENDING: Greatest Show on Earth: The Hur report hearing
Even before the revolution began, pastors like George Whitefield, Jonathan Mayhew and Charles Turner preached rousing sermons that stoked the fires of liberty in their congregations, leading to the "Great Awakening," which stirred the people to fight for independence. In a well-known sermon in 1750, Mayhew boldly proclaimed that disobedience to tyrants was a duty to God. Rev. Charles Turner in 1773 told his congregation that the clergy must "interfere where the liberties of the land are assailed ... for religious liberty is so blended with civil, that if one fails, it is not to be expected that the other will continue."
Rev. John Witherspoon, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was such an ardent advocate of American independence that British troops actually burned his image in effigy together with that of Washington's. In his memorable sermon of 1776, Witherspoon stated:
God grant that in America true religion and civil liberty may be inseparable, and the unjust attempts to destroy the one, may in the issue tend to the support and establishment of both.
Throughout our history, pastors have been an integral part of our civil polity. For centuries they supported the cause of liberty and biblical principles in civil government. Like the prophet Nathan, who rebuked King David for his acts of adultery and murder, ministers in early America reminded leaders in civil government of their duty to maintain good moral standards. And if a candidate or party departed from biblical standards, they did not hesitate to urge their congregations to vote against them.
This was not a violation of the separate jurisdictions of church and state. Just as the church has no authority to punish violations of civil law, the state has no authority to tell the church or its members what they could or could not profess regarding their beliefs.
Today, however, churches have been effectively silenced from expressing their opinions on many civil matters by a change in the tax code. In the 1950s, Sen. Lyndon Johnson pushed a modification of section 501(c)(3) of the tax code through Congress that now prevents churches from: 1) endorsing or opposing political candidates; and 2) devoting more than a "substantial" amount of resources to endorsing or opposing proposed legislation. Legislation has been repeatedly introduced in Congress to repeal such unlawful and unwarranted intrusion of state power on church business, but to no avail.
Nevertheless, even the tax code recognizes the jurisdictional separation of the church and the state. Section 508 provides that, because of their special status, churches, unlike other organizations, are automatically tax-exempt and not required to file for such status – so long as those churches do not engage in forbidden "political" speech. Churches should not have to sacrifice their freedom of speech and religion to avoid a tax that the government has no authority to impose.
In the upcoming elections, important moral issues are at stake: marriage, abortion, gambling and even property rights. Political candidates should make clear their positions on such issues.
Our pulpits cannot and must not be silent any longer. Despite misleading cries for "separation of church and state" or against "mixing politics and religion," ministers must help guide the moral conscience of our people as they have done throughout our history. Liberty must be vigilantly defended and, as Rev. Oliver so eloquently stated, at times the shepherd must fight off the wolves, even if they come to us in sheep's clothing, as they so often do.
Related special offer:
"Christianity and the American Commonwealth"