There is still much confusion and abuse of the principle of separation of church and state and freedom of religion as evidenced by recent events. This morning I woke up to news on NBC’s Today Show about an educational institution (Penn State I think—I was still not entirely awake) requiring a grad to strike out a reference to God in his commencement address. They later admitted it was wrong to do so and apologized. (Their censorship was clearly a violation of the Constitution and recent Supreme Court rulings. The student was not giving religious expression on behalf of the state or a state institution but was speaking for himself).

The other incident occurred in Oregon. While in jail, a 20-year- old suspected of murdering three children asked to see a priest. He told the priest he wished to make a confession and did so. Unknown to the prisoner or priest, the prosecutor taped the whole exchange and has announced that he intends to present the tape to a grand jury. While one can be sympathetic to the prosecutor’s desire to catch a brutal murderer, this is clearly beyond the bounds. It goes right to the heart of whether or not there is anything to the First Amendment guarantee of "free exercise" of religion.

The ACLU is challenging the action. Conservative columnist William Buckley is calling for the impeachment of the prosecutor and for civil disobedience if required. He is appealing to judges, jurors, bailiffs, stenographers, and janitors to refuse to cooperate with any proceedings in any way. I believe Buckley is fully right in doing so.

Yale Law professor, Stephen Carter, in his book, The Culture of Disbelief; How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion, wrote: "But American society should not depend on its courts as the sole or even the most important protectors of religious autonomy. Judicial authority extends to the bounds of, but not beyond, the Constitution. The nation’s need for autonomous religions stands outside of that document; it is a need that flows from the nature (and the dangers) of popular democracy as a form of governance."

©1996 C. David Hess

Our church’s Bicentennial Celebration (the First Baptist Church of Hamilton, NY) has had a wonderful beginning. After our morning service a couple of Sunday’s ago, the Hamilton Fire Department hung our Bicentennial Banner on the front of our building. (When they didn’t show up quite on time we thought about testing our new fire alarm but thought better of the idea).

The children’s pageant, If the Walls Could Talk, was fantastic. Many thanks to our Sunday School Teachers for putting together this production, particular thanks to Laurie Murphy who wrote it.

I think it particularly important that our children began our Bicentennial Celebration. The fact that it was our children presenting it got us thinking not just about our church’s past but our church’s future. Incidentally, the children that took part in the play are probably not our church’s future. Most of them will probably be living in other parts of the country when they are adults. Most of the children who are our church’s future are being raised in other churches in other places. But our children are the future of the Church wherever it exists.

I was struck by the cartoon in the paper last week that depicted little Jessica Dubroff taking off in her plane just before it crashed. The sky was dark and streaked with rain and lightning bolts.

A voice from the control tower said, "Cheyenne Tower. Cessna, you’re cleared for takeoff."

In the plane, Jessica says: "Gosh, Daddy, should I really be taking off in weather like this?"

Her father answers, "I would never try to influence your decision honey—you’re seven years old."

Of course, the point is that the duty of a parent is to influence the decisions of their children when they are seven years old. I am thankful for our parents who are influencing their children to get to know the God who created and redeemed them.

©1996 C. David Hess

Who says the younger generation doesn’t like ritual? Have you heard of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”?

Originally a stage production, the film version is the most popular today. It is a rock ‘n’ roll spoof of science fiction and horror stories. What happens on the screen is not the important thing, but what happens in the audience. Those who attend the movie usually dress up in weird costumes. The audience repeats the words with the actors on the screen (most have seen the film so many times that they have them memorized). During a wedding scene they throw rice. At other points in the film they throw toilet paper, playing cards and ripped-up newspapers.

The film has been playing for almost 20 years. More than 200 theaters across the country are presently showing it, usually at midnight on weekends. Many attend the film every week. Some have attended hundreds of times.

Keep this is in mind whenever you hear some complain that we do the same thing over and over again in church week after week. Of course, this isn’t completely true, but there is a lot of repetition---the Lord’s Prayer, the Doxology, the Lord’s Supper, etc. But such repetition of ritual is not a bad thing. Indeed, as seen in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and in church, we seem to have a need for it. It helps us bond with other people in a common experience. In that sense, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is a religious experience. (The word “religion” and the word “ligament” come from the same Latin root. It means “to bind.”) We all feel this need to bond with other people and with some structure that provides meaning to our lives. Whether we are going to church or to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” we’re trying to do the same thing.


©C. David Hess