Religious Freedom

“We are never beyond the point of hope as Christians; but this is now at the steps of the church, and the church can no longer stay behind its four walls and hope somebody fights their battles for them. We have to contend for the faith. That's what's been marked out as the target with what has unfolded in Indiana—the faith, your ability to live your life according to your beliefs as a Christian. This should cause us to take an inventory of what we really believe, count the cost, and stand firm.”

Tony Perkins, Family Research Council [in response to Indiana RFRA fiasco]

“I suspect there are some people who would like to spread it as far as they can and basically say 'Either you get on board and show up and celebrate whatever we want you to celebrate or you can't even run a pizzeria.' Communist countries run that way. It's a pretty sad thing to see anyone thinking that way in America.” Mark Rienzi, senior counsel, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty [in response to Indiana RFRA fiasco]

Those folks in the LGBT community who work against the Christian faith are shooting themselves in the foot—or heart. They are unwittingly tearing down a wall that protects them [and all freedom-loving people] from the encroachment of Islam. If Islam gains a foothold with significant power, it will not tolerate their protests; and it will do a lot more than simply refuse to cater their weddings. There is no greater protection against Islam than Christianity. We have seen clearly that the military and political systems cannot subdue it. Anyone who loves freedom, regardless of their political, religious or sexual orientation, should support the Christian faith, which provides the fertile soil in which liberty can flourish—even the liberty to violate Christ's teachings. Islam does not provide such liberty. And we should not delude ourselves into believing that we can subdue Islam with our laws and protests. They do not respect our laws—they only respect sharia—and they detest the freedom of the “infidels”. Christianity is our nation's immune system, protecting us from the violence and chaos that lies dormant in the human heart like a virus waiting to erupt. Non-religious humanitarian kindness and tolerance do not stand a chance against religious zeal that ordains violence. The peaceful religious zeal of Christianity is the only protection because it converts the heart. [See Son of Hamas, by Mosab Yousef]

Mark Graham


http://www.youtube.com/embed/YjntXYDPw44


John Leland, 18th century Baptist minister and religious liberty advocate, said, "The liberty I contend for is more than toleration. The very idea of toleration is despicable; it supposes that some have a pre-eminence above the rest, to grant indulgence; whereas, all should be equally free, Jews, Turks, Pagans and Christians. Test oaths and established creeds should be avoided as the worst of evils."