The Problem of Religious
Freedom
It must be evident that the final and perfect union of
church and state in the coming Kingdom will also put an end to what we call "freedom of religion." The
American policy of complete separation of church and state, which most sensible
men fully approve under present conditions, is not however the ideal policy. It
is rather a policy of precaution in a sinful world, where political and
ecclesiastical power too often falls into the wrong hands, and the result is
intolerable oppression. But under the personal rule of the Messianic King the
union of church and state will not only be safe; it will also be the highest
possible good. For, if religion is of any essential value in human life, and
if there is some one true religion, and if there is coming a time when both
political and religious authority will be exercised by a wise and loving God
acting supernaturally in human affairs — it follows logically that in that day
what we call "religious
freedom" must come to an end. Today men are allowed to rebel against
the true God, but there is no freedom to rebel against the State! In the days
of the coming Kingdom, both political and religious rebellion will become high
treason against God and humanity.
Therefore, as we might expect, the
prophets take cognizance of this problem. After asserting that in the Kingdom
the various nations shall come up to Jerusalem to worship the Mediatorial
King, Zechariah discusses the possibility of dissent. "And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families
of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon
them shall be no rain" (Zech. 14:17). In the case of lands like Egypt,
there will be a "plague" to
smite the nation (Zech. 14:17-19).18 In other words, the divine procedure will
simply be to deprive the dissenters of the Kingdom blessings of food and health. The divine King
who controls all the factors of physical environment will need no armies to
rule the nations. The sanction of hunger alone would be a sufficient deterrent
to all rebellion.
The idea of sin and rebellion in
the future Messianic Kingdom has been severely criticized by anti-millennial
writers. How to account for such things in an otherwise perfect millennial state?
The answer should be obvious: Since human life will proceed under the natural
laws of procreation, children will be born with a sinful nature and with sinful
tendencies. Such a state of affairs should not trouble the anti-millennial
theologians who believe that Messiah's Kingdom is already now established on
earth! And if, according to the premillennial view, the same sinful tendencies
continue to exist in the future Kingdom, there will be one great advantage:
Such tendencies will then be under divine and supernatural control. For that
matter, even in the eternal state when God will rule over all, sinners will
continue to exist in the eternal prison-house of the lost. The curious
objections raised by some anti-millennialists against the idea of sin present
in the coming Kingdom might make one wonder whether they believe in the reality
and eternity of hell. If a loving God can tolerate hell in the eternal future,
is there anything irrational in the divine toleration and strict control of
sinful tendencies for a thousand years in Messiah's Kingdom on earth? Or do
they suppose that there can be sinners in hell without sin?
Some have objected to such a
method of control, arguing that in God's Kingdom He rules by love and spiritual
influences; that the use of force is the mark of "carnal" ideas of the Kingdom. A sufficient reply to
such objections is (1) the heavy hand of God in the material world where there
is no forgiveness for violators of its laws; and (2) the reality of a future
and final place of punishment for the lost. For hell is a place where the naked
force of Deity will be applied without reserve to all incorrigible rebels
against the goodness of God. If the doctrine of hell is consistent with the
idea of divine goodness, then there can be nothing unreasonable about a kingdom
on earth where righteousness is enforced among the nations. And in the latter
case there will still be mercy available for all, but in hell there will be no
mercy.
There is a great deal of
intellectual confusion regarding the place of religious freedom in the Kingdom
of God. Some of this is the result of wrong notions about the nature of the
Kingdom itself. Several years ago the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in
London, adopted a five-point statement on the subject of religious freedom.
With much of this statement, in its application to the present age, all
religiously inclined men of goodwill should agree, regardless of their
affiliations. Religious freedom is properly defined as "not only freedom to worship privately and publicly, but the right
to teach, preach, publish, and advocate, openly and without hindrances, the
Gospel of Christ or other religious convictions." But the statement
concludes with an irreconcilable conflict of ideas: "We will not rest content until we witness the achievement of
religious freedom and individual liberty throughout the world. We believe this
is an essential part of our contribution to the thought of the church, as well
as to the establishment of Christ's reign on the earth." Certainly these
churchmen are right in battling for complete religious liberty on behalf of all
men here and now. On the other hand, according to both Scripture and reason,
the establishment of the Kingdom of Christ on earth could never make room for
liberty on the part of false and degraded religions to propagate and practice
their iniquitous delusions. If it is the business of the Christian Church to
establish "Christ's reign"
on earth, as the Baptist World Alliance seems to assume, then it ought
logically to enter the field of religious preferentialism and suppression. But
if the Church of the present age finds its greatest good under the political
rule of full religious liberty, as it indubitably does, then such liberty must
be an interim policy, useful only until the Kingdom of Biblical prophecy
arrives; and that Kingdom will not be realized on earth until God in Christ
comes to set it up.
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