Views from a small town (Part 1)

I was at a wedding this weekend and had the chance to talk to some family friends who live in central Minnesota. By all rights, these people should be diehard DFL supporters. People outside of Minnesota don't always realize it, but there is a different breed of Democrat in this great state. As I often say (only half-jokingly), in Minnesota it's ok to be a Democrat and carry a gun. These were residents of a farming community, and the DFL is the "Democratic-FARMER-Labor" party.

What I discovered is that these people, like so many others, were actually in line with traditional conservative values. They place a high value on personal morals, but don't want the government interfering with anyone's right to worship. They don't want to see more taxes for education programs that provide no benefits to their small town. They don't understand the concept of how some people can receive money for doing no work (aka welfare), and they want to see less government regulation on their small businesses.

The conversation provided inspiration for a series of articles. This will be the first, focusing on church and state. I'll cover education, welfare, taxation, and labor in future writings.

I don't know precisely when the GOP became the soapbox for the religious right, but smart money says it was about the time Jerry Falwell came into the public eye. Most conservative citizens place a very high value on personal morals, as do many who identify as liberals. The difference between a "new" Republican (or "neo-con") and a traditional Republican is that the neo-con will push to legislate based on the beliefs of a specific religious demographic, while the traditional Republican will fight to the death to block any legislation promoting the combination of church and state.

The people discussing these issues saw the benefits of keeping the state far from the trenches of religion. That's not that surprising when you consider the divides that can still occur in a small Minnesota town between different Lutheran synods, much less between different religions. Our founding fathers were very careful to remove religion from government. They realized the damage that a government could do when in collusion with the church and did not want the United States to fall victim to the same woes.

Make no mistake, I am an evangelical Christian. I attend a Minnesota Baptist-affiliated church where the head pastor is the current president of the National Association of Evangelicals. I have read and continue to read the Bible. I pray daily, and I believe that God has given me the tools he wanted me to have in order to accomplish the tasks set before me. I am proud to say I am "born-again".

"They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's."" (Matthew 22:21; NASB)

God himself recognized the separation between the laws of man and the laws of God. I wouldn't dare presume to step into His role as judge. It isn't for government to regulate or judge based on the laws of God. He can handle Himself in a fight just fine.