Though he apparently did not realize it, Martin Luther, by making the individual conscience sovereign, laid the basis for the separation of church and state. When he stood before the Diet of Worms and declared that he would follow his own conscience and that he would not surrender to force or intimidation, Luther laid the foundation for separation. The state has the power of coercion. Ad baculum might make someone outwardly conform, but it cannot alter inner conviction. When the Holy Inquisition condemned Galileo for maintaining the Copernican heresy and forced him to repudiate his theories, he almost certainly did not whisper, "But still it [the Earth] moves." But he surely thought it. Dungeon, fire, and sword cannot change what your heart and mind tells you must be so. All physical force can do is make someone a hypocrite, not an earnest believer. Freedom of religion permits each individual to follow his or her own conscience in matters of belief, and that is the only thing that works.
A succinct and accurate statement of the point--liberty of conscience. If only the opponents of secularism/church-state separation would grasp this. Thanks, Dr. P.
Though he apparently did not realize it, Martin Luther, by making the individual conscience sovereign, laid the basis for the separation of church and state. When he stood before the Diet of Worms and declared that he would follow his own conscience and that he would not surrender to force or intimidation, Luther laid the foundation for separation. The state has the power of coercion. Ad baculum might make someone outwardly conform, but it cannot alter inner conviction. When the Holy Inquisition condemned Galileo for maintaining the Copernican heresy and forced him to repudiate his theories, he almost certainly did not whisper, "But still it [the Earth] moves." But he surely thought it. Dungeon, fire, and sword cannot change what your heart and mind tells you must be so. All physical force can do is make someone a hypocrite, not an earnest believer. Freedom of religion permits each individual to follow his or her own conscience in matters of belief, and that is the only thing that works.
A succinct and accurate statement of the point--liberty of conscience. If only the opponents of secularism/church-state separation would grasp this. Thanks, Dr. P.