Rome and Jerusalem #1

Rome of that day represented power, not the power of having an almighty God behind them, but power through what they themselves could accomplish. “It was appropriate for the Romans to depend for their safety and general welfare, not on their fortifications, but on their arms and own valor (Rome and Jerusalem pg 39).” This is a perspective that is quite the opposite of that of the Jews.

The Jews represented more of a spiritual power. A faith in God that said, “and if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life (1 Kings 3:14)." In Deuteronomy 28:1 it says something similar, “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.” So even though they weren’t just sitting back and expecting God to do everything, they had a faith that proclaimed God above all men instead of putting God on the same level.
This is a complete clash of differences and it was no wonder there was this fighting between the nations. I think this fight has carried on through out the ages, sometimes in a just as violent matter, other times not.

I believe this same battle is seen in the fight to separate church and state. This refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion on the one hand and the nation state on the other (Wikipedia). This dates back all the way to the medieval times when the monarch ruled both the Crown and Church by divine right (Wikipedia). This is one of the most popular debates in America today. “The wall of separation between church and state” said by Thomas Jefferson is one of the most used quotes in this debate. Some believe him to have said this to protect the church from the state restricting their religious freedom while others believe it to be the other way. We have seen instances of people being fired from their jobs for sharing their faith in the work place, with this idea of church and state being separate very prevalent. We have seen prayer being removed from public schools and the uproar that this has brought.

There is an on going battle with one side putting God above everything like the Jews did and the other side wanting a more secular or logical base where religion had no part. Thankfully this parallel is less violent but still is very heated.