Hullo, At the far end from personal faith is the State institution, the nation. The multitude combine to enliven the land into an entity which may then be personified and again have something like a persona. For practical and emotional reasons this is personified usually by someone given eminence. Faith is then associated with the further linkage to heaven. This is the area I would like to probe and this is my first posting here. I hope the topic is acceptable?
Sounds quite an interesting subject. Have you read anything by Walter Wink? The personas of nations are seen by some as The Spirit of a nation. (Daniel Chapter 10). i.e. the invisible power behind the character of and persona of a nation. .
I've not read Wink but he has an interesting idea of symbolism: " The ‘principalities and powers’ are the inner or spiritual essence, or gestalt, of an institution or system. The ‘demons’ are the psychic or spiritual power emanated by organizations or individuals or sub aspects of individuals whose energies are bent on overpowering others;…‘gods’ are the very real archetype or ideological structures that determine or govern reality and its mirror, the human brain; and…‘Satan’ is the actual power that congeals around collective idolatry, injustice, or inhumanity, a power that increases or decreases according to the degree of collective refusal to choose higher values.” No doubt that extends to the princes in Daniel: "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me;" Then we have another version, which is the focus of this topic. The House of Lords defines its constitution. "Sittings in both Houses begin with prayers. These follow the Christian faith". The Lords' Prayers in brief have : "O Lord our heavenly Father, King of kings, Lord of lords, the only Ruler of princes ; behold our most Gracious Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth ; strengthen her that she may vanquish and overcome all her enemies; Almighty God, by whom alone Kings reign, and Princes decree justice; grant the maintenance of true Religion and Justice, through Jesus Christ our Lord". This can be analysed for its logic. Logically, if God is the only ruler of kings then Islamic kings reign by God through Jesus. Enemy kings reign by the same God as Britain's God and so have equal divine right. Of course, religious sentiments are a personal matter where it's inappropriate for another person to intervene and object. However, the Queen in Parliament is a bigger concept than a personal view, and was even bigger during the Empire. HMS Queen Elizabeth is now off China on this national basis. The logical motivation for that warrants a textual inquiry.