God doesn't need state recognition

To the editor:

I am troubled by the attempts of some Missouri legislators to officially recognize a Christian God. As a Baptist minister, I simply do not understand this mindset. My faith does not need confirmation from state legislators or any other people. My faith depends solely upon God. How tragic it is to see Christian leaders who allow the allure of politics to distract them from their mission of redeeming our state. As Mahatma Gandhi stated, "A living faith cannot be manufactured by the rule of majority."

Instead of trying to post the Decalogue everywhere, we should focus on living by those commandments. The religious leaders supporting this resolution would do a lot more good for our society if they focused on living out the teachings of God instead of attempting to have them codified. After all, Jesus came to build a heavenly kingdom, not an earthly one. It is time to care about what God cares about -- people's souls, not state recognition. When church and state become one, the church loses its prophetic voice as the conscience of society. When that happens, we all lose.

BRIAN KAYLOR, Columbia, Mo.