When it comes to the separation of church and state, there are two common views. There's the atheist view that there should be a separation of church and state, and a Christian view that believes there shouldn't be a separation of church and state. Mike Winther breaks down why both groups get it wrong and why there should be a third view about separation of church and state. We have three governments consisting of the family government, the church government, and the civil government. With a biblical view we have God and scripture. This view should reflect in all three governments. Mike breaks down why authority comes from God, and biblically we don’t want the government doing the church’s job or the church doing the government’s job. This lecture will help you think about God, scripture, and biblical authority in a different way.    You’ll Learn: [01:16] We have three governments consisting of the family government, the church government, and the civil government. God and the scriptures should be the source of authority in all three governments. [02:49] There is a separation of responsibility between each government. [04:15] Organizations trying to separate church and state really want to separate civil government from scripture. It's taking authority from God. [05:38] People who don't believe in God, wouldn't want authority to come from God.  [06:25] If the authority of civil government doesn't come from scripture, it would come from the majority. [07:48] Power and authority is different in the different government roles such as family or civil. [10:12] Mike talks about foundational constitutional principles. The founding fathers did a good job setting up our government. Our constitution isn't perfect or divinely inspired.  [11:19] You can have five government systems including a monarchy, an oligarchy, democracy, republic, and anarchy that doesn't exist for long.  [15:47] Mike explains what a republic is. Rule by law is a republic. The laws are concrete and unchanging. Everyone is subject to the laws. The quality of the republic depends on what the laws are.  [19:02] An oligarchy seems to be more stable than a monarchy. Most communist systems are based on oligarchies. [19:50] Monarchies tend to turn into oligarchies and democracies can also. [20:12] People's opinions are usually framed by their education and media. [21:06] A republic based on good law and God's standards would be the best form of government. [22:01] The types of government aren't related to the political parties with the same name. [27:30] It can be easy for Christians in the modern world to get discouraged.  [28:20] Mike talks about gun control. What should our policy be? There's a principled approach and a practical approach.  [34:48] Mike talks about what scripture says about buying a sword.  [36:06] Knowing God's word can help us today and in the future. [39:36] Mike talks about the 2nd Amendment in the Constitution which is the right to keep and bear arms. This is so we can protect ourselves from tyranny. [41:49] The colonists had superior weapons during the Revolutionary War. It was muskets against rifles.    Your Resources: Books to browse Five Principles By Michael Winther The Federalist Papers