marriage of church and state

Monday May 23^rd, Acts 7: the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.  59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.  The Saul in this text later had his name changed to Paul.  The enforcer of entrenched orthodoxy would be swept up in these new teachings of Christ and become the messenger of grace to those he formerly considered on the outside.  This story has all the hallmarks of a mini crucifixion, complete with the clothes laid at his feet and the cry of Stephen for forgiveness.  The resurrection is when Paul encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus.  We must always be wary of the desire to silence the voices of opposition in the name of God, whether that come about by force, or by fancy footwork.  This story of Saul and Stephen is a stark reminder of what happens when a marriage takes place between church and state and the state starts using the faith community to maintain its power.  It happened in Germany under Hitler, in Afghanistan under the Taliban, and one might even question what is going on with the GOP and American evangelicals under Bush and today.  The true motive is never about faith and always about power.  When religion and politics merge, grace and the least, lost and lonely children of God are the victims.