It’s rumble time in our nation’s highest court—the President has named Harriet Miers, one of his White House lawyers, as the new nominee for the Supreme Court. While I do think it’s good that she is a woman (she had to face and overcome at least some measure of discrimination to get this far, which hopefully means she understands it), I will say no more of my personal opinion on the intrigues to follow, not even what I think of the name "Harriet." Like our new Chief Justice, I always try to maintain a Sphinx-like silence on some of my views. It isn’t my job to tell you how to vote—as we Presbyterians like to affirm, God alone is Lord of the conscience.

It is a tricky line, really, the whole separation between church and state. Because what is it the church’s job to tell you? When does the prophetic voice in the church become an abuse of power by someone in authority?

I’ve never been one to believe that the separation line means removing issues of faith from social discourse altogether, partly because such a stance would be impossible. I also think the church has a lot to say to society—from condemning violent video games in the hands of children to bringing poverty to the forefront of the nation’s consciousness.

I am a proponent of separation, however, for the sake of the church itself. When I was in Germany studying World War II a few years back, I discovered that German churches today refuse to display national flags in their buildings. In fact, they think it is somewhat disturbing that Americans do it so proudly. Why? Because when Hitler co-opted the church in the 1930s, Nazi flags blanketed houses of worship. And the established churches remained silent as Hitler’s regime slaughtered millions of Jews, along with the Roma (Gypsies), gay men, and political prisoners (including theological giant Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

The lesson? It is much harder to speak out against what is wrong with the state when you’re in bed with it. So many people seem to think that the best way to get faith and values into the social consciousness is to become part of the government itself. But in my mind, the church and its outreach become far too dependent on the state, and far too worldly, when the two become one (isn’t that a Spice Girls song, by the way??). The churches on the margins are the ones that thrive, from the first church in Acts to underground fellowships in China today.

Such churches don’t always say what the society says, or what the state itself says. Remember that churches on the margins started the civil rights movement in our country. Churches on the margins were at the forefront of the fall of communism in East Germany. Churches on the margins continue to speak out for human rights in Colombia, at the risk of arrest, torture, and assassination.

In my mind, a church that witnesses to Jesus Christ in its message and actions won’t have any problem impacting society. Maybe we should be more concerned with that than with the fate of deaf and dumb courthouse statues displaying the Ten Commandments.

“For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” --Hosea 6:6

Kelsey