The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-22
Civic Incompetence Yielding to
 Ecclesiastical Aggression
INSULT TO CIVIC AGENCIES
Community Should Care for the ln- poVerished Sick in It's Own Right And Not As Depend
 ent of Church.

an explanation of the doctrine, whici Is one of the cardinal principles of the Baptist church. The text of the ser mon is from the twenty-first verse of the twenty-second chapter of Matthew: Rem der therefore unto Caeser the things that are Caesars and unto God the things that are Gods
 MT. Dickinson spoke in part as fol- lows:
 IL Is not as a dogma of the Baptists that I wish to discuss this matter today, though that is my duty as pastor of a Baptist church; but 1t is as funda- mental public policy in American life that I wish to present this matter. The authority on this question as it relates 10 our country's public policy is Pres ident James Madison, and you will find the most complete presentation of it in hls writings. He learned it from our Baptist fathers in Virginia and engraft- ed 1t into the constitution of the United States at their nehest.
 The subject before us is not that of religious liberty; though the two are so closely and vltally related that there can be no religious liberty In any land wherein there Is not separation of church and state. They can exist only as they coexist, and If we give up the one the other in the very nature of things cannot long persist.
 Independence of Early Church.
 Christianity came Into society in the first century as separate and distinct from the state, and Christians assumed no rights in the state except those which were the civil heritages of men. It rec ognizes the right of Caesar as co-ordi- nat with those of the church, that his procurator held power because 1t was given him of God, that the civil power was ordained of God and held the power of the word that it might be a terror to them that do ill and a praise to them that do well, and should be obeyed not only because of fear they inspired but for conseience sake; that Christians are to be subjects to civil powers for the supreme, or to his governors as sent by him.
 Every Christian had his civil rights and duties which he should but the more con scieneiously fulfill because he was a Christian. But In the state into which the churches were born there was an es- tablished church, and soon the inevitable antagnoism betwen the two came in. Christianity did not recognize the right of Caesar in matters pertaining to churches. and the worship of the emperor was disregarded and opposed, though established by law. They did not even recognize the right of Judaism to use the duress of law for it's purposes In Palestine where it was the established religion. Nothing is clearer in the teach ings of Jesus, and the apostles than that they were opposed to the exercise of civil power for ecclesiastical ends. The taught both by precept and ex- ample that the church should be free from the state in the exercise of its functions, and the state should be free from the church in the exercise of It's office.
 Growth Under Persecution.
 But soon the church became forbid den institution. A religion forbidden by
 
 the Roman Empire for more than two hundred years. Never in it's history did the church so flourish as when 1t had the open hostility of the state. The slt- uation in the first century showed that the church should have no alliance with the state. and that in the next two showed that 1t did not need 1t for it's prosperity. But so rapidly did the church grow under the first of civil persecu- hat l.trt tla .rt e, century Constantine found 1t good poll tics to buttrress up the falling state with it; and he made 1t the established religion of the empire for that purpose. The church became thus one of the organs of the state to promote It's life and save IL from a well merited death. It was not long before 1t came to be the most important organ in the body polite and was the very heart of the degeneratng empire.
 Gregory the Great was a more impor- tant parsonage in the lives of the peo- pie of Rome than any civil ruier be- cause the people preferred to follow q good bishop rather than q bad emperor. and civil potentates became secondary even ir civil service to the the ecclesias- ties. If was not that the church wished to usurp civil functions that these duties passed into its hands, but if was because
 'NN"|'iN-DNA'N church took them up. It was not so much the strength of the church but the weakness of the state which gave oyer to bishops civil honors and functions. It was not the presumption of the priest but the incompetence of the prince, which made the church burden itself with the offices of Caesar.
 Exercise of Civil Functions.
 By the seventh century, and before. ecclesiastics were exercising civil func- tions in Rome, and the custom was be- ginning to spread all over the world It grew more and more until the church became moFe the heir of Caesar than the body of Christ, and ceased to be teacher and preacher In society and became ruler Becoming conscious that she was the heir of Rome the church soon aspired to be second Roman empire. and the lust for dominion which had chara cterized the Caesar burned In her blood, and she aspired to universal temporal empire. She organized herself into an imperial churcH after the constitution of the empire with the bishop of Rome as imperial bishot and sought to make all others but his emmlssares; and by the tenth century was busy effecting her empire over tho emperor and kings and princes and lords of the feudal world. Her task was made easy by the weakness and ncom- pelence of tbe rulers of th~ European world. and the spirit of civic decay whcf was to be sen on every hand. The rise of the Monastic orders and the Inquisi- ton gave her even greater power and better instruments for the promotion o1 the imperial policy. But the kings of tht