Separation Anxiety

God tells me that most parents miss what should be one of their proudest moments. Somewhere along the way, most children reach a point where they make a decision to do the right thing not because they fear either punishment or disapproval from their parents, but because they genuinely understand that it’s the right thing to do.

In a lot of ways, the human race as a whole is God’s child. She tells me that she got to see such a moment not all that long ago, as she measures things. It was at the founding of the United States of America and in particular, the First Amendment of the Constitution. The first amendment starts with the phrase, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion.” This phrase is the legal basis for the famous separation of church and state in the U.S.

At first I couldn’t understand why God thought this such a good thing. Wouldn’t she prefer that they had supported religion in the government, since with just a little prodding she could have made sure they picked the right one? But she explained to me that using religion as the basis for law, is just an appeal to authority. It’s running to Daddy and Mommy to find out the right thing to do, rather than working it out for ourselves.

Besides, she went on, what made me think that any of the current religions was the “right” religion?

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