THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE IN LAST GENERATION THEOLOGY FOR SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS
Abstract
This paper takes a contemporary look at the discussion and
analysis of the concept of separation of church and state
from a Seventh-day Adventist perspective. The separation
of church and state means that the government should not
enforce any specific religion on the population, and should
not prohibit the population to follow any specific religion.
The separation of church and state can clearly be seen in
the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Philosophers like Locke strongly opposed the combination
of church and state, and during the Dark Ages, where the
church largely controlled the state, we can see how many
people were killed by the Roman Catholic Church and its
subsidiaries for following their consciences. History has
shown us that in countries where religion and state has
not been kept separate, there is persecution of the masses.
The Bible, and Seventh-day Adventist Christian authors
like Alonzo Jones and Ellen White, completely reject the
idea of the state wanting to enforce religious rules on their
people. These authors believed in the central idea of Last
Generation Theology, which is that the last generation
of Christians who are alive when Christ returns will live
lives completely free from sin. In order to be encouraged
Prajñā Vihāra Vol. 23 no. 1 January to June 2022, 109-121
© 2000 by Assumption University Press
110 Prajñā Vihāra Vol. 23 no. 1 January to June 2022
to be completely obedient to God in all areas that He
requires, it is crucial to have the freedom to follow your
conscience without the interference of the civil authority.
The combination of church and state therefore seems to
play a major role in the eschatology of Christianity as it
relates to Last Generation Theology.
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