Illegal Immigration and Religious Freedom

What do these two situations have in common?

 

Exhibit A: http://dailycaller.com/2013/04/12/immigration-bill-to-be-released-day-before-hearing/

Exhibit B: http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=40036

The answer is probably pretty obvious: They are both about immigration – one about legal immigrants coming to this country to get a little religious liberty and the other about illegal immigrants coming to this country for, well, … who knows?

The comparison of these two situations is really a great study in twisted priorities. Quite frankly, if you don’t think these priorities are way out of whack, then you have a loop in your logical think circuits. Better get it checked out.

However the most serious consequence resulting from these two situations is the blatant challenge to religious liberty. And that challenge comes directly from this statement from the Baptist Press News:

According to the arguments made by the U.S. government in Romeike v. Holder, Farris said, "If you believe that God wants you to do something, that's not going to be a protected religious belief unless you're part of a church that forces you to take whatever action is in question.

You see, I have always had the understanding that in the country I was free to choose the religion I liked best and then freely practice it. But, apparently the U.S. government (President, Attorney General and the rest of the band of miscreants) do not agree with that assessment.

All that is downright scary and is another step down the staircase to socialism.

We’ll keep you posted on where all this is going.

Religious Liberty and Religious Persecution

That’s the headline for this blog and these are one in the same. A denial of religious liberty is religious persecution.

There are two separate incidences currently occurring in the U.S. that fall under the above headline.

One is the plight of the Romeike family who came to the U.S. to flee religious persecution in Germany. The Romeike’s are a devout Christian family. Their “crime” is that they want to homeschool their children. In Germany homeschooling is illegal. (Geez, you would have thought that the Germans would have learned a little about the issue of national control from the history of 70-80 years ago.) The problem is that the Obama administration is siding with the German government. I would say “Can you believe it?” but that would be a most rhetorical question. Here’s some more info on this story: https://bay165.mail.live.com/default.aspx?id=64855#n=1268852563&fid=1&mid=58c213e9-a15e-11e2-9220-00237de49d24&fv=1

The other is the provision under ObamaCare that forces businesses to underwrite both contraceptive and abortion-causing pills in their health care coverage. Religious organizations, regardless of their belief system, must provide health care insurance plans that cover drugs defined by the Food and Drug Administration as contraceptives, even if they can cause chemical abortions. You can read the complete article here: http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=40042.

Christians need to pay close attention to these situations. Adverse decisions will erode a giant chunk of the religious liberty base that we have in this country. Total religious persecution will not be far behind.

Book Review: Crucifying Morality

The beatitudes have been worked over, dissected, evaluated and interpreted from every human and denominational angle possible. There are metaphysical and allegorical viewpoints that would make you think you have fallen into a philosophical time warp. Yet very few seem to hit the “where the rubber meets the road” interpretation.  Along comes R.W. Glenn with a fresh look at how the beatitudes are applicable for 21^st century Christians. (And we can define Christians as anyone who reads the Bible with the intent of improving his life)

R W Glenn is the Pastor of Preaching & Vision at Redeemer Bible Church in Minnetonka, MN.  He is in the group of hip, young preachers that seem to gravitate toward mega churches. That is not meant derogatorily but rather as what-to-expect information. These are the guys that can enlighten the young generation.

Glenn’s newest work, Crucifying Morality, is a fresh, insightful consideration of the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5.1-12. Crucifying Morality is a walk through the beatitudes in modern language.  It is fresh and highly applicable for the Believer’s everyday life. It is written in a verse-by-verse format making it easy to follow.

Glenn’s overarching interpretive principle is that the beatitudes are not commands, but rather Christian principle, sort of a code of conduct for the believer.

If one is ever intending to preach or teach on the beatitudes, this will serve as an excellent resource. Glenn provides thoughtful insight as well as some applicable illustrations.

As a study, growth and application aid, there are questions upon which the reader can reflect at the end of each chapter

There is no reason to prolong the evaluation of this book. For Christians and non-Christians who have ever wondered what in the world Jesus was talking about as he began the sermon on the mount, get this, read it, digest it and apply it. Your life will be better for the effort.

Note:I was provided this book by Cross Focus Reviews in exchange for my honest review.