Religious Liberty or National Tyranny?

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life.”  John 8:12

The First Amendment to our U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1791 and clearly states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging (depriving) the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of (an appeal to remedy) grievances”.  The founding fathers, whose forefathers had been under the rule of Great Britain, were prophets, of a sort.  They understood how power in the hands of tyrants could jeopardize the freedom for which they had fought.

When I was in school, we were taught that the Pilgrims came to America in search of religious freedom.  I doubt that is taught any longer in today’s “woke” curriculums.  Folks can revise the books of history all they want, but they cannot change the truth.  In researching for this blog, I came across the website “MayflowerHistory.com” which had some valuable information regarding the Pilgrims journey to America.  While living in Great Britain, they believed that the Church of England and the Catholic Church had gone beyond what Christ taught in scripture.  Of course, this made them enemies of the established churches and they were threatened with incarceration under the reign of King James I because they would not join in the rituals of the church which they felt compromised their faith.  Many of the Pilgrims fled to Leiden, Holland, where they found religious freedom but did not approve of the secular Dutch culture.

The Pilgrims were very strict in their beliefs which followed somewhat along the lines of Calvinism.  They believed that God decided who would be saved and who would be damned to hell.  They believed that marriage was a civil affair and not a religious one.  Their church buildings were basic and plain because they believed any ornamentation was idolatry.  Their churches were made up of a pastor, teachers, elders, deacons, and a deaconess.  They baptized babies.  They did not celebrate Christmas or Easter.  Many of these beliefs stated here do not fall in line with our current Protestant denominations, but the First Amendment does not single out any belief or religion.  It applies to all Protestant denominations, Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and all religions.  We are all free to believe what we desire, even free to not believe.  God gave us free will, and the First Amendment backs that up.

Fast forward to today.  While we are free to believe as we desire, our ability to express our beliefs are in jeopardy.  We are quickly losing our religious liberty, our free speech rights, our trust in a press that has blatantly become biased and no longer interest in reporting the truth.  Those who desire to peacefully assemble to protest government overreach are seen as enemies of the state while those who riot, burn down buildings, and cause people to lose their lives are praised and not held to account by authorities who have abdicated their duties to protect and serve all the people of the United States.  Innocent people are locked up while robbers, thieves, and murderers go free.  The Constitution is no longer honored as the sacred document that was intended to protect our rights as U.S. citizens.  It is not surprising when we consider how God’s word has been treated.  When it is ignored, the documents which were intended to keep us free and protected from tyranny are seen as worth nothing more than the paper on which they were written.

So, what do we, as believers in Christ and God’s word, do?  We continue what we have been doing ever since we came to know Christ as our Lord and Savior:  1.  We pray and ask God to open the eyes of those who are trying to destroy the freedoms of which many have died to preserve.  2.  We diligently study God’s word for in it we will find the answers to the problems which we face personally and corporately.  3.  We witness to the power of Christ to transform lives and bring joy into otherwise hopeless people who are searching for meaning and purpose.  4.  We stand for righteousness and never compromise the Biblical principles upon which we have committed to pattern our lives.  5.  We rest in the fact that God has everything under control, that nothing happens without His permissive will, that everything is working according to His plan for eternity, and that Jesus will return and will banish evil and bring peace and righteousness to a world in desperate need of healing.

The people who are trying to eliminate God and His word from our land and who are trying to destroy our freedoms are walking in darkness because they do not have the Light of Christ.  They have chosen to enter the broad gate which leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13), and, judging by the vast numbers of those groping around in the dark, that gate must be growing wider and wider.  Imagine missing the joy of the Lord by 18 inches, the distance from the mind to the heart.