re: The removal of God from society

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Our narrative of history is framed a certain way by people to push societal mores. One of which being that religion is oppressive and primitive It doesn't matter if you agree or not that religion is oppressive and primitive. It is framed that way...

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Nailed.

Fake and false historical narratives might say more about just who the "Narrators" are these days. They seem intent on demonizing certain specific people. (Student then learn and adapt the "lessons" of exactly who in "History" MUST be hated by osmosis.)

Everything from the past is seen through the lens of today's "The Victors" (aka tPTB). Christians must necessarily be framed in a negatively light to help advance the MODERN Secular / Atheist / Babylonian agenda -- while minimizing Christian-ethics / Gospel influence.

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Eta: For example there is a heavy focus on Galileo, Spanish inquisition. So boom these pop into every educated person's mind. There could be instead more focus on Christianity bringing literacy and civilization, which few of our educated kids know anything about.

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Yup. Top-Heavy agenda-driven "history" focused more on minor events and one-offs.

IF tPTB were actually interested more in "literacy" along with the actual history and accounts of Western Civ, it might make too much logical sense. "History" is being reinvented and revised as we all now -- for political purposes. (Academia has fallen and collapsed.)

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I would argue it was the Enlightenment - the very thing that allowed for men to rule themselves rather than to be ruled by a King appointed by God.

The very act of revolution against the divine right of the Crown literally removed God from the top of civilization. It's been a slow roll downhill hill ever since for the Big Guy.

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I disagree.

God, Himself, was Israel's king before they sought a human king to rule them.

Christianity doesn't require a God-appointed king or ruler over civil government in order for God to exist or to have authority over all humanity. Self-rule and personal autonomy goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden and resulted in the first sin. All sin is a rejection of God's rule to one degree or another. The Enlightenment didn't do anything but to make rejection of God more fashionable. It certainly didn't kill Him.

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Our country was built to allow its citizens the ability to freely practice religion in their private lives, not to promote religion. You stupid religious freaks put things mentioning God in everything like the Pledge and it has clearly gone straight to your heads. Keep your religious crap out of our government.

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“Freedom of religious expression is permitted as long as you do it in private”

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God, Himself, was Israel's king before they sought a human king to rule them.

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Well, that's step one.

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Christianity doesn't require a God-appointed king or ruler over civil government in order for God to exist or to have authority over all humanity.

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I don't think that was the premise of the OP, it was simply that God has been removed from "society" and public places.

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personal autonomy

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I don't think we're talking about Free Will either.

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The Enlightenment didn't do anything but to make rejection of God more fashionable.

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I disagree, it threw off the oppressive yoke of the church on civil matters. It begat the Age of Reason - in direct contradiction to an age of faith.

One could argue that Luther's statement of having a personal relationship with God contributed to removing the church from governing. If the church hadn't strayed so far from the teachings of Jesus, they wouldn't have ascended to such power, nor experienced such a fall.

Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.

Love God with all your heart and soul.

Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Those are the tenets of Christianity for me. It's the dismissal of that last one that has gotten us into the trouble we're in. Just look at the board, how many that post here can genuinely say that they love everyone? I can't - which is why I can't consider myself a Christian.

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I don't think that was the premise of the OP, it was simply that God has been removed from "society" and public places.

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I wasn't responding to the OP. I was responding to the notion that God has been killed due to the Enlightenment.

I was pointing out that Biblical history is littered with examples of man rejecting God's rule, so it wasn't new in the Enlightenment.

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I don't think we're talking about Free Will either.

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I wasn't.

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I disagree, it threw off the oppressive yoke of the church on civil matters. It begat the Age of Reason - in direct contradiction to an age of faith.

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And like I said, the Enlightenment didn't do anything new in that regard, only made it more fashionable in an age where religion had control over civil matters as well as religious ones.

And while the Enlightenment put an emphasis on reason over faith, in philosophical terms, that was also nothing new. It just gave people more vocabulary to do what their forefathers had been doing since the beginning. Faith and reason are not opposed to one another. As Augustine said, "I believe [faith] in order to understand [reason]".

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One could argue that Luther's statement of having a personal relationship with God contributed to removing the church from governing.

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What the Reformation did (among many things) is put the correct emphasis on the distinct roles of the Church and the state. It didn't seek to divorce them completely but to correctly distinguish the realms of authority. A "Christian" nation/government will seek justice according to God's moral law while leaving issues of the faith (doctrine) up to the Church.

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If the church hadn't strayed so far from the teachings of Jesus, they wouldn't have ascended to such power, nor experienced such a fall.

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In terms of Rome, I agree.

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Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.

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Yes, yet Caesar was given his authority by God in order to rule justly according to what God calls "just".

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Love God with all your heart and soul.

Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Those are the tenets of Christianity for me. It's the dismissal of that last one that has gotten us into the trouble we're in. Just look at the board, how many that post here can genuinely say that they love everyone? I can't - which is why I can't consider myself a Christian.

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I'd say it is the rejection of both that has gotten us where we are. How can one rightly love their neighbor if they reject the basis of such a love in God? Jesus' words here were a summary of the 10 commandments. To love God and to love your neighbor means to follow God's law towards both.

I'd urge you to reconsider what you think being a Christian is, though, if you think that loving rightly or perfectly is what makes a person Christian. Christians are Christians precisely because we do not love perfectly or rightly. It's why Jesus had to become a man, obey the law perfectly, and die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. It's so that our sins could be punished in Himself while His righteousness can be credited to us by faith. It's not our works that save us, but Christ's works.

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the lack of belief in something does not equal believing in not believing. that is ridiculous.

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It could be argued that atheists have more faith than anyone, for the very worldview they adhere to cannot make intelligible the reality that they claim to live within.

I would say you correct but it’s a little more complicated than in the past God was involved in society now he’s not. I would argue it’s more of a philosophical shift in how society thinks and the assumption that God needs to be involved has been rejected by many in society.

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faith in not having faith isn't a thing.

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Nearly everybody has faith. It may not be technically accurate to call a lack of belief a religion, but thats not a full description of 99.9% of atheists. Most of you are humanists, most have a value system. That means you believe in something you cannot prove.

Have we become the most corrupt and evil government on the planet?

Hillary and Bill Clinton
Obama
Biden
FBI
CIA
IRS
NSA
Everything our government did to Trump including the stolen election
Covid lockdowns and lies and mandates for jabs
Selling out our country to China and Russia

Feel free to add to the list