Mr. Black foments fear in his recent series of articles condemning the union of church and state. In reality a strong nation keeps religion and politics together. The union of state and church existed successfully for 1,700 years beginning with the Constantine Empire. The rebellion against the church and state union, a flagrant disregard for the rights of Jesus Christ and His rightful kingship over society, began in the Dark Ages.

The Dark Ages is the early medieval period in Europe, 476 A.D. to 800 A.D. I assume Mr. Black is referring to this period and the period of the Crusades when he refers to the age of religious wars, of which he is chilled to the bone at the possibility of in our times. The Holy Roman Empire came under attack by barbaric tribes — the Goths, Visigoths, Lombards and Vandals — in an effort to extinguish all learning and civilization which resulted from the evangelization of the Catholic Church that preceded that time frame. The Crusades were about defense of church and state (maintaining law and order) from the onslaught of Islam. Those who would seek to demonize Catholic Europe — libertarian history revisionists — and the enormous and unprecedented contribution Western Civilization has had on our culture in the Americas, are the driving culprits behind Mr. Black’s unwarranted fear.

The assaults from the barbarian invasions were dynamic, affecting the infiltration of state and church bodies. God raised up many saints during the period immediately following to revive intellectual endeavors and civility once again; St. Patrick, St Augustine, and St. Boniface, to name just a few. This lead to even greater intellectual periods in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries in which great Doctors were given us such as St. Thomas Aquinas. Coupled with the humility and simplicity of St. Francis of Assisi, Western Europe and the Church witnessed a true revival of advanced learning and wisdom unprecedented in history since. This, middle age period, is the period falsely confused by most people today to be the Dark Ages.

Enter the 21st century. We live in a pluralistic, individualist society, which puts religion squarely in the conscience of the individual. Correct morals are now subject to personal feeling or interpretation. How did we get here? The Monarchies of late middle age Europe were the protectors of the one true religion, the Catholic faith. This meant that the state turned to the church on all questions of morality. In today’s society it is expected that morals should somehow be left to a democratic vote and is precisely why issues such as abortion and unnatural sexual practice and marriage union has been perpetuated.

During the Protestant revolution, assaults on the church-state union accelerated greatly. The Lutheran revolt propagated the scripture personal interpretation error unaided by the physical church (Catholic). Evidently this did not work out well, as individual interpretation lead to the hundreds of Christian sects we have today. It also lead to the full blown liberalism which marks modern society and its decadent morality. Liberalism states that one religion is as good as another and that the individual’s conscience reigns supreme, not what God has revealed. Under this concept it’s impossible for a church-state union to exist since government laws become relative vice objective. All authority to govern comes from God, not the people. Couple this with the Free Masonic movement, which propagates a one world religion (all religions are the same) leading to communism, which denies religion altogether, and the stage is set the eventual destruction of society.

This country set forth, through the founding fathers, vis a vis the 1st Amendment, the inheritance of original Protestant principles. Until we see reverse this trend and uphold a true union of church (Catholic) and state, we will not climb out of this progressive movement of removal of all morals from our society. True church-state union is imperative if we are survive and instill once again true law, order, peace and tranquility into society.

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Esequiel Vasquez is a Post Falls resident