Barnabas File

First Baptist Church in America, Providence, Rhode Island According to the online publication Today in Christian History , two contrasting events occurred on September 13.  On this date in 1541, John Calvin returned to Geneva after a period of exile.  He would spend the rest of his life trying “to establish a theocratic society at the request of city authorities who banished him three years earlier.” On this date in 1635, the Massachusetts General Court ejected Roger Williams from the colony for “his outspoken advocacy of a separation of church and state.” Of course, Williams went on to found Rhode Island colony and establish the first Baptist church in America. What a great illustration of two approaches to the relationship of church and secular government.  On one hand, authorities asked Calvin to use his ecclesiastical authority to provide stability and peace.  On the other hand, Williams’ refusal to accept the marriage of church an...

You may have heard about the mosque being built by the Muslim community in my hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  After county officials approved the building and issued a permit, concerned local citizens brought suit to block construction.  Charges by the opponents ranged from notification errors on the part of the county planners to fear that the mosque would be a place to train terrorists and promote the adoption of Sharia law.  While construction continued, the case dragged on with the judge finally ruling that Islam was indeed a religion with all the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and that the R utherford County Regional Planning Commission had erred in the way they handled the case. The response of the commission is that the judge is calling upon them to discriminate on the basis of religion.  They will appeal his decision. Meanwhile, the building of the mosque continues with the goals of completion and occupancy by the beginning of Ramadan. ...

Religion, sex, and politics can be divisive issues.   Jesus was asked questions about all of these topics.   The key political question is found in three of the four gospels:   “ Is it right to pay the imperial tax   to Caesar or not?”   Like headline hungry reporters at a press conference, those who posed the question were looking for a “sound bite” that would be like raw meat thrown to the lions.   They wanted something that would rile either the Roman rulers or the faithful of Israel.   Whatever Jesus said, they would attempt to “spin it” in such as a way that Jesus would find himself in trouble.   With some impatience, Jesus asked for a coin and replied: [A]nd he asked them,   “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”   Caesar’s,” they replied.    Then he said to them,   “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”   (Matthew 22:20-21, NIV) There is much that could b...