Robert "Monty" Knight, pastor of First Christian Church in Charleston, S.C., opposes the state's proposed "I Believe" license plate on grounds it violates church-state separation. Photo: Kathryn Sherrod

Robert Marsden (Monty) Knight, pastor of First Christian Church in Charleston, S.C., is one of four clergy plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging his state’s proposed “I Believe” license plates, featuring a cross and stained glass window. A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking South Carolina from issuing the plates.

Beckie Supiano, contributing writer for DisciplesWorld, spoke with Knight. Excerpts:

DisciplesWorld: How did you first hear about the license plates?

Knight: I probably saw something in the paper, and then of course Americans United [for the Separation of Church and State] contacted me about being a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

It’s just politicians trotting out a shallow veneer of Christian piety to court the Christians here in South Carolina.

[The governor didn’t endorse it] He said, in essence, if your faith is no deeper than a license plate, it’s pretty shallow.

There are other special plates…but this one came straight from the legislature — it was a violation of the First Amendment from the get-go.

I think this whole thing for a Christian turns on irony. The irony is that by being a secular government we’re more religious than we would be the other way.

DisciplesWorld: Did you have any qualms about getting involved in this public debate?

Knight: Absolutely not. I’ve written about this and talked about it and preached about it.

It is our job to be salt and light. Too much salt and you ruin the taste, too much light can blind us. I think those images are really profound.

The classic proof text in support of the separation of church and state is “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s,” I’m a Christian, I believe all that is is of God, but my dad used to talk to me about being in and not of the world. Any time Christians try to dominate anything they get corrupted.

DisciplesWorld: What was your congregation’s reaction?

Knight: Even though we are a Disciples congregation, we probably have all three: people who’d appreciate the integrity of this Christian witness, and there are others on the other side who are just Southern Baptist fundamentalists, and some who wouldn’t care one way or the other. Our congregation is diverse.

DisciplesWorld: Was anyone upset?

Knight: If they were, it was behind my back. There are enough other things they don’t like about me. I’m too intellectual, not spiritual enough. I’m a true Disciple, a thinking person’s faith.

DisciplesWorld: To the legislature, this may be [as you said] a political ploy, but aren’t there well-intentioned Christians who see the plates as a way to express their beliefs?

Knight: Of course, there’s no law against bumper stickers. You see them on cars all the time. I’ve learned a lot, but I still…I was told it’s a clear violation. I as a deeply committed Christian am offended by it as Jesus was. Some of these people are friends of mine, as a Christian, I love them. I disagree with them and I think I understand something they don’t understand.

DisciplesWorld: What have you learned from this experience?

Knight: Well, I think I’ve learned probably more about the law, I’ve observed some of the legal subtleties of how lawyers argue. I’ve just learned more about how lawyers think because I think about it as a Christian minister, and really as a theologian. I can only talk as a Christian to other Christians.

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