Here we go again with questions of church and state.

The front page of this morning’s Chattanooga Times Free Press featured the headlines, GOP bill seeking biblical displays.  Two Tennessee lawmakers are promoting a legally defensible way to display the Ten Commandments in country courthouses or on public grounds.

I recall the Ten Commandment display issue in Alabama in 2003 when then Alabama Chief Court Justice, Roy Moore, refused the federal court order to take down a Ten Commandments display in a federal courthouse.  He was dismissed for his refusal.

I don’t pretend to know the outcome of this bill nor will I offer a political opinion on this matter.  But here is what I can say from theological perspective.  Back in 1966 one of the predecessor bodies of the ELCA, the Lutheran Church in America, prepared a social statement entitled, Church and Society – A Lutheran Perspective (Check out this social statement and an updated version at www.elca.org.)

In the 1966 version, two terms helped us think about how the church relates to society.  The first term was called institutional separation which emphasized the freedom of both church and state to pursue their essential missions under God.

The other term entitled functional interaction recognized that neither church nor state need to dominate the other, but there are times when church and state are engaged on certain topics of justice.  Thus, the LCA some 45 years ago did not warrant a strict separation of church and state.  In Lutheran theology both church and state are ordained by God (Romans 13).

So, should there be a display of the Ten Commandments in Tennessee courthouses and on other public property?  Tennessee lawmakers are free to debate this issue. It depends on the ethics of each lawmaker and the majority will rule.  I am sure that constitutional scholars will offer opinions about whether or not the display of biblical symbols on public property violates the establishment clause.  And as Christians we are free to offer our opinions as citizens of both church and state.

The Christian Church is called to work for justice and peace in our country and around the world.  It is the Church’s responsibility to teach the Ten Commandments and model its obedience in daily life.  When the state sways from fair and just decisions, the church engages in dialogue with the state and calls the state to live out its purpose for liberty and justice for all.

Institutional separation and functional interaction is one way Lutherans have shared their faith and ethics within society.