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WE ARE LOSING OUR RELIGIOUS LIBERTIES
PART 2

By Pastor Roger Anghis
July 19, 2015
NewsWithViews.com

Foundational Scripture: Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

For the last 65-70 years we have had our religious right taken away bit by bit. In 1947 the Everson vs Board of Education completely re-wrote the meaning of the 1st Amendment. In my book Defining America’s Exceptionalism I detail this discussion: “The Everson vs Board of Education is an important case as it was the case that completely redefined the First Amendment. In David Barton’s book Original Intent, he effectively describes the results of this case: “The question of what the Founders intended as the proper relationship between religious expressions and “public” life (whether in education, law, government, or throughout society in general) is clearly documented in their numerous writings on the subject. Those records establish their intent and thus clarify their two references to religion in the Constitution.

The first reference is in Article VI, Section 3:

[No] religious test shall ever be acquired as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

The second is in the First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . .

Through the years, these two constitutional requirements have formed the basis of many judicial decisions. Historically, legal scholars have examined both phrases when seeking the intent of the either; the understanding of each was made more complete through examination of both. The goal was always to identify and establish the original context and purpose of those two religious provisos before attempting to apply them.

However, in Everson (1947) the modern Court discarded this objective. It first divorced the First Amendment from its original purpose and then reinterpreted it without regard to either historical context or previous judicial decisions. The result was that the Court abandoned the traditional constitutional meaning of “religion” as a single denomination or system of worship and instead substituted a new “modern” concept which even now remains vague and the Court created a new and foreign purpose for the First Amendment and completely rewrote its scope of protections and prohibitions.”[1]

The liberal court redefined religion to the point where there is no clear meaning and anything can be interpreted as religious activity, except islam. The only protected religion in America today is islam. Common Core teaches that it is a peaceful religion and that the 19 men that flew the planes into the twin towers, Pentagon and the field in Pennsylvania were freedom fighters and our Founders that participated in the Boston Tea Party were terrorists. Public schools can have students memorize a verse out of the koran, but a Bible is not allowed in the schools. They teach the 7 pillars of islam but can’t even have a picture of Jesus hanging in the school. The Ten Commandments can’t be displayed for an unbelievable reason: “The Ten Commandments were taught in all of America’s schools from 1620 until 1980. At that time a court ruling was issued stating: It is unconstitutional for students to see the Ten Commandments since they might read, meditate upon, respect, or obey them. Stone v. Graham, 1980; Ring v. Grand Forks Public School District, 1980; Lanner v. Wimmer, 1982.”[2] Did you catch that? It is unconstitutional for them to see the Ten Commandments because they might read, meditate upon, respect, or obey them. If there was ever a reason to ignore that ruling, that is it. For a nation that was founded on Christian principles to have their public schools barred from posting the basis of the laws of this nation, the same Ten Commandments that are carved into the back of the doors of the Supreme Court so the justices see them when the Court is in session but they won’t allow in any other court room or school in hypocrisy at it highest.

It is getting worse as time goes on. Students can’t use Jesus as a subject, for religious reasons, in any type of school composition even though reincarnation and witchcraft were allowed, both of which are religious subjects: “In a high school class in Dickson, Tennessee, students were required to write a research paper using at least four sources. Despite the fact that the students were allowed to write about reincarnation, witchcraft, and the occult (all religious beliefs), because student Brittney Settle chose to write her paper about the life of Jesus Christ, she was given a ‘0’ by her teacher.”[3] The persecution has gotten so bad in the schools that a student can’t even open their Bible in school: “In Omaha, Nebraska, a student was prohibited from reading his Bible silently during free time, or even to open his Bible at school.”[4]

It’s not just happening in our schools but all throughout our society. Seniors living in facilities owned by the Housing Resources Development Corporation were told they could not sing Christmas carols in their own homes.[5] Attacks from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the ACLU and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State are removing all visible aspects our Christian heritage from the public view. Freedom From Religion Foundation Threatens Technical Colleges in Wisconsin for Having Good Friday Holiday.[6] City Threatened for Renting Amphitheater to Christian Musician.[7] Atheist Group Demands Vietnam Memorial Be Removed[8] This is where our society has come to. Our rights are being challenged, attacked and taken away yet the church hardly makes a whimper. Charles Finney stated:

"If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discernment, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in Christianity, the pulpit is responsible for it. If satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it."

We are seeing all of this today. The church is embracing what God has called an abomination. Confusion is in the pews. Pastors preach that it doesn’t make a difference who’s in office, God’s still on the thrown. Well, God is still on the thrown but it does make a difference who is in office. Just look at the last 6 years. A Pandora’s Box of evil has been unleashed in America by the Democrat Party and the Republican Party has done little to stop it and the church has done even less. Pastors are more afraid of the IRS than God. Their refusal to address these problems is taking America down a path it may not be able to stop. If this is going to stop it is We the People that will have to stop it! We either stand up for what our Founders gave us or it will be this generation that allows the American experiment to fade into history.

� 2015 Roger Anghis - All Rights Reserved

Footnotes:

1. Defining America’s Exceptionalism, Roger Anghis (Westbow Press, Bloomington, IN) pp. 17-18.
2. Defining America’s Exceptionalism, Roger Anghis (Westbow Press, Bloomington, IN) p. 62.
3. Defining America’s Exceptionalism, Roger Anghis (Westbow Press, Bloomington, IN) p.33.
4. Defining America’s Exceptionalism, Roger Anghis (Westbow Press, Bloomington, IN) p.33.
5. “Housing Authorities Tell Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities ‘No Christmas this Year’, Liberty Counsel, accessed June3, 2014.
6. “Good Friday Time Off at Wisconsin Tech Colleges Challenged,” Religion Clause, accesses June 3, 2014.
7. “Michael W. Smith Concert Threatened by Atheist Lawsuit”, CHURCHLEADERS, accessed June 3, 2014.
8. “Coos Bay Vietnam memorial stirs up strong fellings and a bombing over Christian symbolism,” OREGoNLIVE, accessed June 3, 2014.

Pastor Roger Anghis is the Founder of RestoreFreeSpeech.org, an organization designed to draw attention to the need of returning free speech rights to churches that was restricted in 1954.

President of BuildingtheTruth, BuildingtheTruth.org, which has a stated purpose of teaching people the need of the churches involvement in the political arena and to teach the historical role of Christianity in the politics of the United States. Married-42 years, 3 children, three grandchildren.

Web site: BuildingTheTruth.org

E-Mail: roger@buildingthetruth.org

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"If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in Christianity, the pulpit is responsible for it. If satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it."