Quote:
Originally Posted by staythecourse  Quote: |
(3) Baptists believe in their hearts in a free church in a free state. Christ plainly taught that the state and the church each had its own realm when he said "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesarīs; and unto God the things which are Godīs" (Matthew 22:21). Baptists are vigoriously opposed to union of state and church and believe that a state controlled church is a wretched excuse for Christianity and a plain departure from Scripture. All of the Protestant Reformers fastened state state churches upon their followers! Today Americans enjoy separation of church and state because of the vigor and vigilance of Baptists in the early days of our national history
| I like. |
The Westminister Confession of Faith and Catechisms clearly teaches the separation of powers between church and state. The Reformers, especially Calvin and Knox, did not force a state church upon the people. This is a faulty understanding of reformation history. Calvin strongly believed in a separation of the two but both the church and state had distinct roles. Calvin is the one who introduced the separation of powers, not the Anabaptist movement