We must never forget what government is not. Government is not a philanthropic organization. Government is not the family. And government certainly is not the church.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The Church, however, is a self-governing society, distinct from the State, having its officers and laws, and, therefore, an administrative government of its own.
I think that the churches do a better job in many respects than the government does in various kinds of things. Extending aid, the helpfulness, and so on, yes.
The church is not a political power; it's not a party, but it's a moral power.
Churches know more about poverty than any government will ever know, because we're dealing with the poor every day.
Since politics fundamentally should be a moral enterprise, the church in this sense has something to say about politics.
And I don't think that government has a role in telling people how to live their lives. Maybe a minister does, maybe your belief in God does, maybe there's another set of moral codes, but I don't think government has a role.
What's true for churches is true for other institutions: the older and more organized they get, the less adaptable they become. That's why the most resilient things in our world - biological life, stock markets, the Internet - are loosely organized.
People don't trust government, they don't trust Wall Street, they don't trust the church, they don't trust the media.
There are some who invoke separation of church and state - to try to get the government out of the business of morality - but this is antithetical to what the founders wanted. The founders wanted to keep theology out of government so that government could focus on the proper business of morality.
Government is a true religion: it has its dogmas, its mysteries, its priests. To submit it to the individual discussion is to destroy it; it is given life only through the national mind, that is to say, by political faith, which is a creed.