This is a little late for Presidents' Day. Daniel Dreisbach wrote this last year (2015).
I
want to focus on a dynamic that often gets missed in this "Christian"
v. "Secular" America argument. What was unique to the American Founding.
And particularly to George Washington as the chief Founder of the new nation.
Perhaps I'm missing something here, but in forming a new nation that would have no established church at the national level, Washington and America started an entirely new precedent in "liberal democracy" of the head of state no longer being any kind of official "protector of the faith."
The other nations in Christendom all had state established churches where their political leaders as heads of state had to at the very least play a figurehead role defending the "true" expression of the faith. Now, the leader may not have done that job well, but it was still part of the job. So Henry the VIII had, at one time, the job as protecting the Roman Catholic faith. He was so bad at the job that it led to a creation of a new Church which he might be more qualified to serve as figurehead protector of.
George Washington was first in NOT playing that role. Therefore he had to be ecumenical and pluralistic. If one in his personal convictions is indifferent towards doctrine, it helps to play that (new) role.
We see this prominently on display in the addresses Dr. Dreisbach reproduces.
No comments:
Post a Comment