Does the United States really tolerate all belief systems?

How do citizens respond if the government mandates obedience to evil? That is not a new question. Let’s consider historical evidence.

Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire sought to eradicate the Reformation begun in 1517 in Wittenberg (now Germany) by Martin Luther. Some 50 miles to the west in Magdeburg in 1550, pastors wrote the Magdeburg Confession to defend their defiance of Charles V, stating that they had to put the glory of God before the glory of men. Magdeburg stood alone in its fight of its religious beliefs and endured military siege for a year until the Elector of Saxony agreed to the co-existence of the Lutheran Confession with the traditional Roman Catholic beliefs in the Holy Roman Empire.

The Magdeburg pastors based their defense on Romans 13 that declares God puts rulers at all levels in place under His authority and they are answerable to God. That means leaders are to promote good and not evil.

The citizens of Magdeburg had to resist their worldly leaders since the “supreme power” (Charles V) was seeking to destroy their religious beliefs. The “subordinate power” (city council) faced a grave decision—obey the emperor and allow the people under its protection to be murdered or to acknowledge its God-granted authority to defend its citizens by taking up arms against the potentate.

Religious oppression was not the exclusive right of Roman Catholics. At the founding of this nation, the colonists were Protestants fleeing the tyranny of Catholics and other Protestants, Catholics escaping the wrath of Protestants, and Jews evading the persecution by various Christian denominations.

While there is no establishment of a state-supported Church in the US Constitution, as was the practice in some European nations, the desire for religious freedom was engrained into the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights... “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Some interpret that to require the “Separation of Church and State,” while others claim that only forbids the right of Government to establish one church for all, supported by taxpayers. Some colonies experimented with religious freedom; others preferred an established Church.

Currently, the widely accepted practice is the separation of the two institutions. Theoretically, this nation claims tolerance for all belief systems. If that is really true, why is there so much discord?

Maybe the Magdeburg Confession can provide some clarity to problems that are both political and theological. First, that implies that there is no “Separation of Church and State.” Either there is a fundamental/foundational recognition of Romans 13 (Church) or “lex talionis” --the law of retribution (State). One would hope that elections produce authorities selected by and answerable to God and who seek to administer their office justly, as defined by the principles of right and wrong that pre-date any decrees/edicts/laws/statutes made by people.

The Magdeburg Confession identified four levels of tyranny and the appropriate manner in which to respond to each.

1. The office holder’s personal misconduct brings harm to others. Persons under that authority should encourage the official to a better way of living and bear the injustice.

2. The office holder uses the power of the position against citizens or lower ranking office holders. Citizens are not compelled to obey an unlawful order but may bear the injustice as long as the citizen is not obligated to participate in corrupt acts.

3. Citizens must disobey an unlawful order if that order causes them to sin. They must defend God’s Truth, obeying God’s Word in Luke 20:25 “And He said to them, Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

4. The persecution moves to the level of attacks on the principles themselves and not just on residents. “We must obey God, rather than men” (Acts 5:29). According to the Magdeburg Confession, this constitutes persecution of God himself as the author of all rights and is not to be endured.

Injustice and tyranny incite people to overreact. Sometimes it takes the form of riots (identified as “peaceful protests”). Sometimes the situation must be faced through legal paths. We, the People, need to know the difference and follow Providence in guiding our decisions.

This is the opinion of Times Writers Group member Phyllis E. VanBuren, a lifelong learner and enthusiastic educator, who values family, friends, faith, honesty, liberty and integrity. Her column is published the fourth Sunday of the month.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Does the United States really tolerate all belief systems?