POLITICS CORRUPTED BY RELIGION.
THE Christian Statesman quotes Dr. J. H. McIlvaine, of Princeton, as saying, “Men exclaim against the mingling of religion and politics, and fear that religion will be corrupted; but who will tell us how politics can be kept pure, when separated from religion?” But it seems not to have occurred to him that it is not the religion so much as the politics that is corrupted by the union of the two. History testifies that the politics of Rome was far more corrupt after it became nominally Christian than it was before. True Christianity does not go into politics. The example of Christ and His apostles settles that fact. So any other religion, of whatsoever name, is intrinsically false and corrupt, and therefore can only work corruption in any sphere where it may enter. From almost every quarter comes the complaint that the political arena in this country is continually growing more and more corrupt, yet there never has been a time in our history as a nation when professed Christians took more interest in politics than at the present time; and there never was a time when a greater proportion of officeholders were nominal Christians. It would be next to impossible for a man who was not a member of some “Christian” church to be elected President of the United States at the present time. Not only the logic of the doctrine of Christ—“My kingdom is not of this world”—but the history of all full-fledged church-and-state governments—Papal Rome, Russia, etc., testify that the religion that enters the domain of politics for the purpose of gaining political control as religion, is not the religion of Christ. Hence men who go into politics on the strength of any such religion can only add to the corruption already at work. This government or any other human government will never be made righteous. When Christ comes again He will find the world as it was in the days of Noah—ready for the fire, as the old world was for the Deluge. And all who will be attached to it by the ties of political religion at that crucial period will inevitably share in its doom. For the “Stone” kingdom, cut out without hands, will fall upon all other kingdoms, breaking them to pieces and grinding them to powder. See Dan. 2:34, 35, 44, 45. Therefore no kingdom of this world ever can become the kingdom of Christ for any other purpose than utter destruction. See Rev. 11:15; Ps. 2:7-9.