Good planning in Norway.A Norwegian government-sponsored commission has recommended that the centuries-old connection between the Lutheran Church and the state should be severed ("Norway Should Separate Church, State. Says Panel," AU Bulletin, March 2006 issue). To begin with, this connection has always been a mere tradition and light-hearted and does not come anywhere close enough to the standard definition of a theocracy theocracy Government by divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided. In many theocracies, government leaders are members of the clergy, and the state's legal system is based on religious law. Theocratic rule was typical of early civilizations. . The Norwegians joke that almost 95 percent of them call themselves Lutherans--including the atheists amongst them. Norwegian politicians do not "thump the Bible," nor do they invoke the name of God at every turn and corner. Their state currency does not carry inscriptions like "In God We Trust," nor do they want to post the Ten Commandments Ten Commandments or Decalogue [Gr.,=ten words], in the Bible, the summary of divine law given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They have a paramount place in the ethical system in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. in their state offices and schools. Why then was there a need to formally separate the church and the state'? The answer could very well be that they have seen the political strife caused in America by the Religious Right movement and they want to safeguard against it. They do not want to see a future where Norwegian versions of James Dobson James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Ph.D. (born April 21, 1936 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is the chairman of the board of Focus on the Family, a nonprofit organization he founded in 1977. or Jerry Falwell This article is about Jerry Falwell, Sr. For the article about his son, see Jerry Falwell, Jr. Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. (August 11 1933 – May 15, 2007)[1] was an American fundamentalist Christian pastor and televangelist. and their Christian army Christian Army An informal term to a large group of right wing evangelicals. The term is a loose description of many Christian associations, churches and organizations like the lobby group the Moral Majority. come to power and hijack the country. Good planning! G.M. Chandu Flushing, N.Y. |
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