Peter Bringe

For some reason You want our Doctrinal Standards of Religion to be interpretted by the Political US Constitution. That's not how we do Doctrine...nor Politics If your interpretation were correct, there would be no language re Nursing Father duties toward THE CHURCH. The paragraph could be cut by 1/3 & this is all that is needed to make the point "It is the duty of civil magistrates to protect the person and good name of all their people, " However, thats not the case. So clearly, they viewed positive protections uniquely for the Instituonal Church regardless of Christian Denomination, while securing that people of different religions still have all the rights AS CITIZENS that can't be abridged by their belief in another religion. But nowhere does it insinuate the Gov't has to behave as if their false beliefs are true, nor recognize their holidays, or deities. Seems to me you are reading the US Constitution into the Standards. The 2 are not the same. I can acknowledge the US has a right to make these determinations as a political entity, while also acknowledging its Not against God's Moral Order for magistrates to give preferential treatment to the Church.

If Christian Nations, even hypocritical/corrupted 1s, don't facilitate real conversion & blessing... how did we get true Christianity and Theological Giants centralized in Western Europe in the 1400-1700s? "But its never worked" Don't get me wrong, I want Sincere Christianity