I am intimidated by blank pages & screens...

I haven't really posted on this blog at all, but I hope to change that these next few months. It is my hope to write about issues of public concern from different angles– angles which consider factors that are being glossed over or conveniently forgotten. The early Baptists of this country wanted separation of Church and State for several reasons, reasons which have been ignored as of late. One reason which I have wanting to speak on for awhile has been that of the Church as a voice of potent critique.

I believe at the time of the American Revolution many of the institutions we take as being as 'established' now were not. For example, the free market and the free press were both forming in this country and could not in any sense have the authority of an institution. However, the Church had come with the people from Europe where it did have a recognized consciousness as a legitimate body. Of course, whether or not its actions were legitimate is debatable.

The press in the United States has often labeled itself as the "Fourth Estate of the People". I believe this to not only be wrong but a grave and arrogant declaration. From our constitution the three outlines estates are 1) The Legislature 2) The Judiciary 3) The Executive Branch. Within the government, they were to be the checks and balances to each other; to limit the accumulation of power and the extent of corruption. But was there a check from without? What if the entire government– Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary– were colluding with each other? Who would call them into account? And by what authority would they call them into account?

I know these questions are pigeonholing us into a simple answer: The Church. I'm doing this for the sake of length of this blog. But, I think if there were a careful review of historical material, we could find this truth: The Church was to be a voice of critique to the actions and declarations of government. As such the Church should be thought of as one of the 'Estates of the People' and while I would not have a problem considering either the press or the market to be thought of under this category, I believe that it must be recognized that they can be sublimated towards corruption as much as government can be (not that the Church isn't free from this...).

I believe the early citizens of this country looked to the Church because at its core it was to be a place and a community of self-examination. The Church that was doing what it was supposed to would be engaged in constant re-evaluation of its practices. This is not an allusion to modern business practices of re-invention, rather, this re-evaluation was to be a constant and painful look at the moral and spiritual practices within the person and community. Thus, the Church was to painfully evaluate whether or not it was living up to its own calling. Of course, it could suffer the pain because within it was practiced the sacrament of reconciliation, the Eucharist, that consequential Joy of forgiveness. It was the constant reminder that, as a people called by God, the Church did not have to live in the past; her members did not have to live in past mistakes and be owned by those mistakes. No, they could return again and again through the work of Christ and remember the new life of holy mystery that God had for them. Through the immanence of the Holy Spirit and the presence of the word of God, the Church did not have to be subject (in the sense of being mastered or enslaved) to corruption, but could be open to the renewing possibilities of God's will.

Thus, the question of authority has been answered. The Church critiqued the actions and declaration of the State through God's own authority. Quite a weighty statement. But it must be recognized that this was no de jure authority. The State could not give the Church this right by law. The Church only had this authority if she practiced, lived and embodied the word of God, in so much as that word was found in the Word, Jesus Christ. Moreover, the Church could only speak the word of prophetic critique if she was living by the Spirit of God, being attentive to the whispers and constant revelations of pneuma which gives sight and understanding. But the faithful, Word breathed, and Spirit formed Church could call into question the actions and motivations of any government official or body.

Now before any church goers or ecclesial jingoists say, "Yes, harumph, harumph, get thee to church fellow Americans. All our national problems will be solved if more people attended church harumph, harumph"– you may not like what I have to say next. The Authority of God rests on the Church only so much as she practices the life of God. What do I mean by that? I will use examples from early American Baptist life. The earliest Baptists did not meet in churches as we might think of them today. There was not the steeple and white stained outsides. The more common practice was to meet in a 'meeting house', which was just phrase which meant a building– four walls and a roof where the people of God gathered. Another common occurrence was the 'brush arbor' meeting or the outdoor gathering. Along with these would be the gathering in a home large enough to accommodate God's people in the immediate area.

All this is to point out the humble beginnings, beginnings in which material (real estate or financial) resources, while they were a concern, were not seen as a pre-requisite for the work of God. In all actuality, an over abundance of material could be seen as a stumbling block or hindrance to the working of the Spirit. Pastors would often shepherd on meager pay (pay that we would find as a violation of current labor laws), often working two or three vocations in order to feed God's sheep with his word(of course it must be recognized that vocations then demanded different time demands, but still...).

I say this to juxtapose our current understandings of 'Church' with these earlier understandings of 'Church'. I hope to continue drawing out these differences in my next blog post. I think I have reached my saturation point for writing today...