CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA OF WASHINGTON
ACTION ALERT MAY 15, 2014
LIFE WITHOUT RELIGIOUS LIBERTY (PART 3)
God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Thomas Jefferson
Dear CWA of Washington Member,
I hope my last two alerts (posted at wa.cwfa.org) have caused you to consider the importance of the first part of the First Amendment to the U.S Constitution: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
CWA is hosting a lunch meeting on Saturday, May 31, to further discuss this vital issue. Consider this your invitation to attend and please bring one or two concerned citizens with you. If you cannot attend, please pray for a successful meeting.
DEFENDING RELIGIOUS LIBERTIES
Join us as we survey how our religious liberties are in jeopardy in the government, culture and education system.
May 31, 2014
Time: 12:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Place: River’s Edge (4611 Tumwater Valley Dr. Tumwater, WA 98512) Cost: $25 per person includes lunch & materials
Please RSVP by Friday, May 23. Send a check to P.O. Box 143 Woodinville, WA 98072 or call 425-869-1923 if you would like to register via credit card.
For more information e-mail: director@washington.cwfa.org
Mark your calendar and invite a friend!
Women, men and teens are all welcome.
Regarding “Life Without Religious Liberty”, these are the first four questions I asked: What is religious liberty? Why does religious liberty matter? Why did the founders specify that particular subject? Is our religious liberty threatened? The fifth and last question: Why is this issue so important?
Let’s explore that last question. Who defines sincerely held religious faith and moral codes and monitors one’s conscience? According to the First Amendment, it is NOT the government! Governments are supposed to secure the inalienable rights given to us by the Creator, not to destroy them or to deny them to the people.
We live amidst a culture of relativism with shifting values and a shifting moral plumb line. Political correctness demands that we live according to those shifting values rather than our own sincerely held absolute religious or moral values. To the most casual observer, “tolerance” as well as “choice” seems to be a one-way street. If one disagrees with certain politically correct behaviors or attitudes for any reason, including deeply held religious beliefs, that person is immediately labeled a “bigot” and “intolerant”, can be fired or forced to “resign” from their job, their business destroyed and/or face legal charges. Where do you draw the line?
The apostle Paul warned us: In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12) Life without religious liberty means persecution in the form of intimidation, forced compliance, imprisonment and even death to those who refuse to compromise their religious and moral convictions. In countries founded upon Christian traditions, historically there has been freedom to reject Christianity and live otherwise, but in countries founded upon atheism or other state-run religions, there is no right to develop or express one’s spiritual beliefs if they differ from the state-enforced dogma.
From CWA’s website (https://concernedwomen.org/about/issues/religious-liberty/):
We are concerned about RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
1. The trend of government to diminish and disregard the God-given inalienable rights of individuals.
2. The erosion of religious liberty and the legal and cultural imposition of anti-Judeo-Christian philosophies upon our society. We include the left’s agenda requiring taxpayer funding of contraception and abortion which forces many American citizens, businesses and organizations to violate their deeply held religious convictions.
We are working to see:
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
1. Our government strengthen and renew its commitment to respect and protect each individual’s exercise of his God-given inalienable rights.
2. The protection and preservation of religious liberty as provided in the United States Constitution.
Life without religious liberty is depressing to contemplate, but with God’s grace and mercy, through prayer, education and action, CWA works toward enlightening our members and others about the threat to the American principle of religious liberty. We are warned in James 2:22 that faith without action is dead. In the Book of Acts, Peter and the other apostles answered the Roman authorities: We ought to obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29) And as President Ronald Reagan said, “If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under.” Without recognition of the God and Author of The Holy Bible, the giver of our freedoms, we will no longer be free. And without religious liberty, we lose the opportunities to draw others to Him and His truths. What are you willing to do to preserve and protect such a precious liberty? Will you be bullied into silence or will you act upon your concerns? Consider becoming a CWA Chapter Leader or Home Team Captain and help us preserve our God-given inalienable rights. Only through our united prayer and action can we succeed and protect our right to live according to our faith, as well as pass on our faith to our children and grandchildren.
Finally, let’s remember that famous statement and provocative poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis’ rise to power and the subsequent purging of their chosen targets, group after group:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out– Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out– Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out– Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me.
In His Service,
Maureen Richardson, State Director
425-869-1923 P. O. Box 143 Woodinville, WA 98072
director@washington.cwfa.org