> History shows us that, at any time and in any
> place, religion and politics have always been
> involved in each other; still nowadays, in many
> communities, the religious leader is also the
> political one.

I disagree, at least as far as Christianity is concerned. Christ certainly never held a political office; on the contrary, He frequently denounced the political/religious leaders of first-century Israel.

The first, second, and third century Christians were not closely involved with the government. They were, in fact, persecuted by the Roman Empire. The Romans viewed Christianity as a threat and wanted to stamp it out of existance. But persecution only served as a catalyst that caused Christianity to flourish even more.

But then came Constantine, who while on the battlefield supposedly saw a red cross in the sky and heard the words "By this sign you shall conquer," or something to that effect. "If you can't beat them, join them," was his motto. His Edict of Milan (in 307? 310? I can't remember the year) made Christianity the official religion, and the "Holy Roman Empire" and the Roman Catholic Church were born.

Even so, down through history there has always been a core group of Christians who didn't go into the RC Church. The Anabaptists, Waldensians, and others that I can't remember off the top of my head. These groups were persecuted by the Catholics, branded as heretics and tortured and martyred if they would not recant.

I may be misunderstanding your statement. I think that Christians can and should be involved with politics...we need people with high morals and standards in government. But I don't believe that true Christianity has ever been controlled by or wrapped up in politics.

Grishny