In the US the “separation of church and state” has become such a sacred mantra that we seldom stop to examine its ambiguity. The state will always try to use the church for its own ends. It was the state in the person of the princes wrestling for power who protected the prophet Jeremiah after he said, “For in truth it was the LORD who sent me to you, to speak all these things for you to hear.” The Church is always trying to influence the state to act more justly according to the plan of God. John the Baptist denounced the king’s illegal marriage. As their diverse fates demonstrate the uneasy tug that exists between church and state requires that we act with discretion.
