001 |
Previous | 1 of 9 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
Loading content ...
Privately Circulated a \ys_ I, i ii - - ■■■-'- ~■ ■ - -■ ■ i i A PROTESTANT DISSENTING VIEW* Although the problem of achieving racial justice fills our newspapers and church publications, in the long; haul there is another public problem which will require much more commitment of energy and enlightened imagination before it is resolved. It Is a significant fact that there have been, over recent years, more cases before the Federal Courts on the proper relations of church and state than on such a sensitive issue as race. In the race issue we are dealing with a problem which, so far as the law is concerned, Is relatively simple in spite of the emotional land-mines which infest the terrain. Are all Americans, regardless of racial origin, to enjoy the rights and privileges of first class citizenship? Will we succeed in subduing the spirit of anarchy and the rapacity of the jungle? Will we manage to live like civilized men under the rule of law? Vie must, and we shall. In the matter of church-state relations, however, the problem is much more complex. The commitments of civilized men of opinions, now widely different, are far more deeply rooted. The American experiment of religious liberty and voluntaryism is much more far-reaching in its implications and it represents a much more radical break with past ways of doing things. Racism is a comparatively new misuse of government: the misuse and abuse of religion is as old as government itself. It can be predicted with a high degree of certainty that long after every American citizen, of whatever race, is able proudly to say with St. Paul "I was born free!", - and have it carry meaning - our children and children's children will be wrestling with the problem of making a system work in which fellow-citizens adhere to the same political covenant but are devoted to separate religious covenants. For this was the really radical departure initiated by the Great Bill of Religious Freedom of Virginia and subsequently fixed in the First Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Cur fathers dared something which rests on principles dramatically new in human history: 1. That men can be won to religious service and devotion on a voluntary basis; a 2. That that service only is pleasing to God which is voluntary and uncoerced; 3. That men can live together as responsible fellow citizens even though they go to different churches. These insists, which afford the foundation of the American tradition, represent a fundamental departure from previous adjustments between religion and culture and politics. All pre-Biblical civilizations have used religion as a tool of social cohesion, as the cement of society, as the sanctifier of political or military purpose and accepted social norms. The gods were there *A paper by Dr. Franklin H. Littell, Professor, Chicago Theological Seminary, October 5, 1963, at the Indiana Methodist Institute on Church-State Relations. ia'Printe.d in A Dialogue on Church and State, October 5, 1963, pp. 44-51.
Object Description
Title | "A Protestant Dissenting View" a paper read at the Indiana Methodist Institute on Church-State Relations; published in A Dialogue on Church and State, pages 44-51 (1963-10-05) |
Creator (Person) | Littell, Franklin H. (Franklin Hamlin), 1917-2009 |
Date | 1963 |
Searchable Date | 1963-10-05 |
Repository Collection | Franklin H. Littell Papers |
Series | Franklin H. Littell papers. Series 12: Research, writing and speaking, 1938-2006 |
Subseries | Franklin H. Littell papers. Subseries 12.5: Speeches, lectures, and article manuscripts, 1938-2006 |
Subseries Scope and Content | Subseries 12.5 contains Littell’s speeches and lectures, as well as occasional article manuscripts. A noted expert in several fields, Littell was frequently invited to address a wide variety of audiences all over the world. He spoke on many topics, most especially: the German Church Struggle and the Holocaust, religious liberty, new religious movements, the Methodist youth movement and peace and pacifism, political extremism, Methodism, and the Anabaptist tradition. There are additional speeches, lectures, and manuscripts, as well as related materials available for research in the Special Collections Research Center. Review the collection’s online finding aid for more information. |
Language | English |
Type |
Speeches lectures Manuscripts |
Format | image/jp2 |
Rights | This material is subject to copyright law and is made available for private study, scholarship, and research purposes only. For access to the original or a high resolution reproduction, and for permission to publish, please contact Temple University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center, scrc@temple.edu, 215-204-8257. |
Repository | Temple University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center |
Digital Collection | Franklin H. Littell Papers |
Digital Publisher | Philadelphia PA: Temple University Libraries |
Finding Aid | http://library.temple.edu/scrc/franklin-h-littell-papers-0 |
Catalog Record | http://diamond.temple.edu/record=b5769203~S12 |
Landing Page | http://digital.library.temple.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16002coll14 |
Contact | scrc@temple.edu |
File Name | index.cpd |
Identifier | TLITFZ201307000044 |
OCR Note | The text presented here is in raw, un-copyedited form, as created through optical character recognition scanning of the originals. It is not always complete or accurate and should be used for preliminary research only. |
ADA Note | For Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation, including help with reading this content, please contact diglib@temple.edu . |
Sort Title | 160 1963 10 5, A Protestant Dissenting View |
Description
Title | 001 |
Format | image/jp2 |
Rights | This material is subject to copyright law and is made available for private study, scholarship, and research purposes only. For access to the original or a high resolution reproduction, and for permission to publish, please contact Temple University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center, scrc@temple.edu, 215-204-8257. |
Landing Page | http://digital.library.temple.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16002coll14 |
File Name | TLITFZ201307000044Y_001.tif |
OCR Note | The text presented here is in raw, un-copyedited form, as created through optical character recognition scanning of the originals. It is not always complete or accurate and should be used for preliminary research only. |
ADA Note | For Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation, including help with reading this content, please contact diglib@temple.edu . |
Document Content | Privately Circulated a \ys_ I, i ii - - ■■■-'- ~■ ■ - -■ ■ i i A PROTESTANT DISSENTING VIEW* Although the problem of achieving racial justice fills our newspapers and church publications, in the long; haul there is another public problem which will require much more commitment of energy and enlightened imagination before it is resolved. It Is a significant fact that there have been, over recent years, more cases before the Federal Courts on the proper relations of church and state than on such a sensitive issue as race. In the race issue we are dealing with a problem which, so far as the law is concerned, Is relatively simple in spite of the emotional land-mines which infest the terrain. Are all Americans, regardless of racial origin, to enjoy the rights and privileges of first class citizenship? Will we succeed in subduing the spirit of anarchy and the rapacity of the jungle? Will we manage to live like civilized men under the rule of law? Vie must, and we shall. In the matter of church-state relations, however, the problem is much more complex. The commitments of civilized men of opinions, now widely different, are far more deeply rooted. The American experiment of religious liberty and voluntaryism is much more far-reaching in its implications and it represents a much more radical break with past ways of doing things. Racism is a comparatively new misuse of government: the misuse and abuse of religion is as old as government itself. It can be predicted with a high degree of certainty that long after every American citizen, of whatever race, is able proudly to say with St. Paul "I was born free!", - and have it carry meaning - our children and children's children will be wrestling with the problem of making a system work in which fellow-citizens adhere to the same political covenant but are devoted to separate religious covenants. For this was the really radical departure initiated by the Great Bill of Religious Freedom of Virginia and subsequently fixed in the First Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Cur fathers dared something which rests on principles dramatically new in human history: 1. That men can be won to religious service and devotion on a voluntary basis; a 2. That that service only is pleasing to God which is voluntary and uncoerced; 3. That men can live together as responsible fellow citizens even though they go to different churches. These insists, which afford the foundation of the American tradition, represent a fundamental departure from previous adjustments between religion and culture and politics. All pre-Biblical civilizations have used religion as a tool of social cohesion, as the cement of society, as the sanctifier of political or military purpose and accepted social norms. The gods were there *A paper by Dr. Franklin H. Littell, Professor, Chicago Theological Seminary, October 5, 1963, at the Indiana Methodist Institute on Church-State Relations. ia'Printe.d in A Dialogue on Church and State, October 5, 1963, pp. 44-51. |
Comments
Post a Comment for 001