Two excellent posts about church/state separation, theocracy, and religion in the last couple of days, one from Blue Gal and one from the good Doctor Monkey von Monkerstein.
On a related note, I am a huge fan of the novels of British satirist Terry Pratchett (and here I have to credit Mr. Ether, a.k.a. Enriched Geranium, for turning me on to them ... or he will hound me mercilessly.) I'm in the middle of the newest one, Making Money, where he takes on banking institutions, and I particularly liked this passage. (Note: Moist is the name of the protagonist.)
If we build it, wilt thou comest? he thought. But the hoped-for god never came. It was sad but, in some celestial way, a bit stupid. Well, wasn't it? Moist had heard that there were maybe millions of little gods floating around in the world, living under rocks, blown about like tumbleweeds, clinging to the topmost branches of trees ... They awaited the big moment, the lucky break that might end up with a temple and a priesthood and worshipers to call your own. But they hadn't come here, and it was easy to see why.
Gods wanted belief, not rational thinking. Building the temple first was like giving a pair of wonderful shoes to a man with no legs. Building a temple didn't mean you believed in gods, it just meant you believed in architecture.
Pratchett's books are full of this kind of thoughtful irreverence toward dogma. I consider myself to be both a human being trying to be spiritual and a spiritual being trying to be human,
and his writing often "speaks to my condition" (that's a Quakerism) plus it makes me laugh out loud. A winning combination!
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And let's not forget Small Gods, another great Terry Pratchett book that deals more directly with the whole church/state, dogma theme. A must read ... artful and elegant ... endlessy stimulating ... electrifying ... suspenseful ... engrossing ... an instant classic
Soon to be a major motion picture. (Not!)
Thanks for the link love my little Quaker Vixen. I tried reading one of Prachett's books but I could not get into it. Myabe when I finish the four books I've bought recently I'll try one again.
Dr. MvM -- His earlier books are harder to get into than the more recent ones. When you're ready to read one, consult with your online Pratchett experts.
The problem with Pratchett is that he has written so many books it can be hard to know where to start. Most of his books have recurring characters, so in a way it's nice to start at the beginning so you can get to know the characters and follow their development. They become familiar and there are running themes that he doesn't explain in detail in every book, but they have a cumulative effect. However, I don't think he was nearly as good a writer when he started out as he is now, so if you start at the beginning, you're not reading his best work. His early stuff was funny and entertaining (or so I thought) but over time his books deal with more serious issues (like Jingo, which was written around the time of the first gulf war) while still maintaining a humorous tone.
Sorry about the evangelizing, but I find his work to be very intelligent, which isn't something I say about many writers. (J.K. Rowling - ack! Dan Brown - double ack!)
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