Church shouldn't be master or servant of the state

[jenk]

Quoting from "Strength to Love," a collection of sermons by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr:

"The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state," King wrote. "It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority."

This is quoted in a discussion of Rick Warren hosting Obama & McCain at his megachurch.

In reality, there is not one church, there are many, just as there are many faiths. But I do think it good for churches to stand apart from the state, and not just to enforce freedom of religion. Dr King was able to use his place in the pulpit to act against the state because his church was separate from the state. If his church had been a part of the state, it would have lessened his effectiveness.

It also takes buy-in from those not of a church for a church to really sway the state. This is also a good thing. Some "guidance" is pure snake oil. The state eventually had to follow Dr King. I doubt the polititians who supported Jim Jones pre-1978 still do.

(I'm not sure there's a problem with a church being just a social club, though. ;)