State Controlled Religion

The whole idea of "seperation of Church and State" I thought was to keep the state from officially sanctioning any religion. Then the state would use and corrupt that religion as a power base to control the populace. Just my thinking.

But this Engineering Prof's ideas are just funny because it's almost as if some 2nd year Engineering student could make the same comments:

OTTAWA, July 19, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Just as Senate approaches the final vote on the gay 'marriage' bill, C-38, Canada's national public radio CBC Radio has aired a commentary by a retired professor from the Royal Military College calling for state control over religion, specifically Catholicism. While parliamentarians dismissed warnings by numerous religious leaders and experts that such laws would lead to religious persecution, former professor Bob Ferguson has called for "legislation to regulate the practice of religion."

"Given the inertia of the Catholic Church, perhaps we could encourage reform by changing the environment in which all religions operate," Ferguson began his commentary in measured tones yesterday. "Couldn't we insist that human rights, employment and consumer legislation apply to them as it does other organizations? Then it would be illegal to require a particular marital status as a condition of employment or to exclude women from the priesthood. "

Typical Canadian fashion, he calls on regulation, regulation, and legislation. First of all, the Catholic Church sets its own rules, and there is no right to belong to the Catholic Church. The only reason why the Church survives is because people keep on showing up to mass every Sunday, and keep on putting money voluntarily into collection baskets.

Ferguson continued, "Of course the Vatican wouldn't like the changes, but they would come to accept them in time as a fact of life in Canada. Indeed I suspect many clergy would welcome the external pressure."

Funny. The Vatican doesn't like some the "changes" the Chinese government wanted either. The Chinese government decided to create an "official" "Chinese Catholic Church" sanctioned and controlled by the state. The Vatican didn't like that. But they did not "come to accept" "as a fact of life..." Instead the church was driven underground, and today they have secret Bishops that hold secret masses. Chinese Catholics are considered among the persecuted church.

Ferguson, would see religion regulated by provinces in the same way professions are regulated. "I am an engineer so the model I am thinking about is rather like the provincial acts regulating the practice of engineering," he said. "For example, engineers must have an engineering degree from a recognized university or pass qualification exams. They must have a number of years of practical experience and pass an ethics exam. The different branches: mechanical, electrical, civil and the like have a code of practice that applies to everyone. Why can't religious groups do the same?"

Yes, I'm an aspiring Engineer myself. The PEO is self regulating body that basically prevents anyone else from calling themselves a "Professional Engineer" unless the PEO gives them a little stamp that says so. Part of believing in Catholism though, is believing in Papal authority. The Pope is supposed to be the Vicar of Christ on earth. He's the one that sets the standards, he's the one that sets the tests, and he's the one that sets the code. The Vatican is, in a sense, the PEO of the Catholic Church...

Ferguson also suggests 'obvious' prohibitions on religion including preaching of 'hate'. "I won't try to propose what might be in the new code except for a few obvious things: A key item would have to be a ban on claims of exclusivity. It should be unethical for any RRP to claim that theirs was the one true religion and believers in anything else or nothing were doomed to fire and brimstone. One might also expect prohibition of ritual circumcisions, bans on preaching hate or violence, the regulation of faith healers, protocols for missionary work, etc.," says Ferguson.

"We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires..."
Pope Benedict XVI
(when Cardinal Ratzinger)

"...I do it because I am worried that the separation between church and state is under threat. Religion is important in our lives, but it can become a danger to society when people claim that the unalterable will of God is the basis for their opinions and actions. Yes religion can be a comfort and a guide, but we cannot take rules from our holy books and apply them to the modern world without democratic debate and due regard for the law."

"Truth is not determined by a majority vote"
~Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

I would suggest Mr. Ferguson do a little bit more reading - particularly on Catholicism.