Interesting that this thread gets side-tracked to "Religion," when posts such as this:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/836099/posts thrive in "News/Activism." To me, understanding such things as the subject of this thread is pivotal to understanding the American republic.
Not a criticism though, an observation! I understand the obvious reason for diverting this thread is that Francis Schaeffer is labeled a "theologian," while a republican theorist writing about government per se (or a typical libertarian theorist, who believes the concept of discipleship irrelevant to the social contract) are labeled "political philosophers."
"Separation of Church and State" meets FR then, eh? Tempts me to wish that Thomas J. had never written back to the Danbury Baptists.
Pinging a few FR philosophy guru's ;-) for any comments.
Thanks for your good work, servants of the server!