I bet most of you didn't know there was such an observance as Appreciate a Dragon Day. Today, Jan. 15, is that day. And, of course, dragons do exist -- such as the 20-inch, half-pound bearded dragon; the 9-foot, 170-pound Komodo Dragon; and other like-named critters. But I'll talk about dragons another time because a more important topic is on my mind. Tomorrow, Jan. 16, is National Religious Freedom Day.
Since 1993 when President Bill Clinton was in office, our presidents formally proclaimed Jan. 16 as Religious Freedom Day. The day marks the anniversary of the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on Jan. 16, 1786, which cut formal ties between the Church of England and the state of Virginia.
President Clinton began his 1998 proclamation with: "The right to worship according to one's own conscience is essential to our dignity as human beings. Whatever our religious beliefs, they represent the essence of our personal values and cannot be dictated to us. Recognizing this truth, our founders made religious liberty the first freedom guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. They wisely understood as well that in protecting the free exercise of religion, we must also prohibit the establishment of religion by the state."
President George W. Bush said in his 2008 proclamation, "The freedom to worship according to one's conscience is one of our Nation's most cherished values. It is the first protection offered in the Bill of Rights: that 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.' In America, people of different faiths can live together united in peace, tolerance, and humility. We are committed to the proposition that as equal citizens of the United States of America, all are free to worship as they choose."
Both Presidents Obama and Trump began their Presidential Proclamation on Religious Freedom Day with: "On Religious Freedom Day, we celebrate our Nation's long‑standing commitment to freedom of conscience and the freedom to profess one's own faith. The right to religious freedom is innate to the dignity of every human person and is foundational to the pursuit of truth."
So, whether or not you support a Democrat or Republican president, and whether or not any of them actually believes what they said, we have an annual proclamation from the White House that encourages us to celebrate and honor our religious freedom.
And last year, President Trump announced that everyone -- in America, anyway -- has the right to choose their religion, and that he would do all that he can to protect our religious liberty. This is not religious bigotry on President Trump's part; in making their Proclamations on Religious Freedom, our other presidents essentially agreed with the U.S. Constitution that our religious freedoms were and are granted and affirmed by Almighty God.
But I have several questions. Why are some of our governmental and judicial leaders lying to us by telling us that Christians cannot worship as our conscience dictates? Why are we, citizens of the United States of America, allowing our leaders in Congress and in the judiciary to deny Christians of our God-given, Constitutionally-affirmed freedom of religion? Why are we allowing some citizens who demand their own freedoms to vociferously deny us of ours?
Please hear me: Even though you may not agree with my Biblical values and ethics, if you support those who will deny me of my national and religious heritage, those same people will eventually turn against you, too. Study Russian and German history from 1900 to 1940. Study our own national and religious trends within the past 75 years.
If you value your freedoms -- political, religious, or otherwise -- you better vote into office those who will protect them. I'm not talking about Democrats, Independents, Republicans, tree-huggers, environmentalist, or any other political ideology. I'm talking about preserving our national heritage, which includes freedom to worship according to our understanding of what the Bible says. And if anyone -- Christian, Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, or any other of the multi-thousand religions in the world -- tries to squelch our freedom, our governmental leaders need to openly support the very constitution they vowed to defend.
Today is National Religious Freedom Day. Our freedom of religion includes the freedom of speech. We have freedom to disagree, but we don't have freedom to shut each other down. If you truly value your freedoms, vote for those who will fight for you.
True freedom is eternal. You'll read about that in the Bible.
-- Gene Linzey is a speaker, author and mentor. Send comments and questions to [email protected]. Visit his website at www.genelinzey.com. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Religion on 01/15/2020