Church History in Plain Language

by Bruce L. Shelley

Basic to the Baptist position was the belief that all direct connections between the state and institutionalized religion must be broken in order that America might become a truly Christian country. Backus, like Jefferson and Madison, believed that “Truth is great and will prevail.” But unlike his “enlightened colleagues,” by truth he meant the revealed doctrines of Scripture. His fundamental assumption was that “God has appointed two different kinds of government in the world which are different in their nature and ought never to be confounded”; one is civil, the other ecclesiastical. “Our civil legislature,” said Backus, does not function as “our representatives in religious affairs.” They were elected as representatives for civil or secular affairs, and when they act in ecclesiastical affairs, they meddle in matters upon which their constituents did not empower them to legislate. Furthermore, legislative power is inappropriate for faith. “Religion is a voluntary obedience unto God which force cannot promote.