“Barber views the legislation as something akin to a muzzle. ‘Unfortunately, it places Christians — people of faith, people who have traditional values relative to sexual immorality…in an untenable position,’ says the attorney.
“He notes that several years ago, a similar law in Pennsylvania resulted in the arrest of 11 Christians who were presenting the gospel at a Philadelphia homosexual rally. Barber goes on to say that the federal bill ‘will chill religious liberty and free speech — and that is its intended purpose, not to protect anybody from hate crimes.’” [Read More]
For almost the first 180 years of American history, pastors routinely addressed political issues and candidates from the pulpit. “Until about 1954, churches were free to endorse or oppose particular candidates from the pulpit — and, in fact, churches did that,” says Erik Stanley with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). “Some pastors opposed Thomas Jefferson as being a deist. Other pastors opposed William Howard Taft as a Unitarian. Some pastors opposed Al Smith in the 1928 presidential election — and the list goes on and on.”
But that changed in 1954, says Stanley, when Congress passed a law forbidding churches from endorsing or opposing candidates. The so-called “Johnson Amendment” was passed without any debate or analysis. Stanley says that provision has since been used to keep churches from speaking out when politics intrudes into moral issues addressed by scripture.
“The IRS has been used as a willing accomplice with groups like Americans United [for Separation of Church and State] to silence pastors from speaking biblical values from the pulpit,” alleges the attorney. “[W]e believe that pastors … shouldn’t be intimidated into giving those up.”
That is why ADF is asking pastors to help reclaim that constitutionally protected right. [Read More]
With the nation’s attention focused on the presidential election, it’s time for a warning of what is to come if Democrats retain control of both Houses of Congress in November. Prepare for a major assault on the 1st Amendment, perhaps the worst in American history. Harry Reid’s letter to Rush demanding an apology was a shot across the bow. [Read More]
Well, the hate crimes legislation many of us are concerned about has passed, attached to a defense bill.“He notes that several years ago, a similar law in Pennsylvania resulted in the arrest of 11 Christians who were presenting the gospel at a Philadelphia homosexual rally. Barber goes on to say that the federal bill ‘will chill religious liberty and free speech — and that is its intended purpose, not to protect anybody from hate crimes.’” [Read More]
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