Redefining the First Freedom

As you'll hear on today's classic BreakPoint commentary, when it came to religious freedom, Chuck Colson was ahead of his time. Eric Metaxas: I'm really excited to announce that Chuck Colson's new book "My Final Word," will be released this coming Tuesday, August 4. "My Final Word" is a riveting collection of never-before published material that reveals just how prophetic Chuck truly was on so many of today's hot-button issues. When I read the book, I felt like Chuck was still with us, helping us to think through how we Christians should respond to the cultural tsunami that seems to be overwhelming us. I wanted you to hear an amazing BreakPoint commentary that Chuck aired back in 2010. Long before the rest of us, Chuck foresaw the looming threats to religious freedom in our country. Now, here's Chuck.

For some time now, I’ve been warning you about the various threats to religious freedom. We’ve talked about the gay rights movement, which insidiously insists that religious believers and organizations bow before the altar of sexual freedom. We’ve talked about the so-called health care reform bill, which does not protect freedom of conscience of medical practitioners. But now I’m seeing the threat to religious freedom in its most pernicious and dangerous form ever. In a nutshell, here’s what happened. In a speech at Georgetown University, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a speech on human rights. Not only did she talk about the right “to love in any way you choose,” (an obvious attempt at making protecting gay rights a top priority for the U.S. government), she also talked about “freedom of worship.” But she never mentioned freedom of religion. Only freedom of worship--a big change. In the First Amendment, the founders (whose work we celebrate this weekend) wisely ensured that government could not prohibit the “free exercise” of religion. And that means so much more than freedom of worship. It guarantees that we're not restricted to living out our faith in the privacy of our homes or church sanctuaries. It means we're free to exercise our religion—and contend for faith—in every area of life. Just this clever dissembling of words is an apparent attempt to restrict freedom of religion to freedom of worship only. Do you see the implications? Sure, I'm free to attend church, sing hymns, pray over meals, offer thanks to God for my children and grandchildren. That’s my own private affair. But should the government succeed in redefining freedom of religion, how much longer can I practice my faith in public? If you read history, you'll see that the first act of a tyrant is to suppress religion, which means, of course, religious practice. Our Founders knew this. They knew the first English settlers came to these shores precisely so they could practice their faith. And if you read history, you’ll know that the one true threat to a tyrant’s rule is always a believer’s loyalty to a God Who is above the god of the state. This is why Christians were thrown to the lions in ancient Rome. The earliest baptismal confession of the young Christian Church was “Jesus is Lord.” And that meant Caesar was not. This is why Hitler and Stalin first went after the church. The star of David and the cross were symbols of an authority higher than their own. We all know about the battles over the Pledge of Allegiance and the phrase “under God,” the battles over manger scenes on public property. These are important, but they are skirmishes, mere skirmishes. The real battle is about whether God is Lord, or whether government is Lord. And make no mistake, if government can redefine or restrict our freedom of religion, our first freedom will be gone. And, as our Founders understood, when that freedom is gone, we will, in short order, lose all of our other freedoms as well.

To pre-order your copy of Chuck's new book "My Final Word," come to our online bookstore at BreakPoint.org. The book will be released officially August 4.

Further Reading and Information

Redefining the First Freedom: More Than Worship Pre-order your copy of Chuck Colson’s "My Final Word: Holding Tight to the Issues That Matter Most" at our online bookstore. And check out the links below for more information on the subject of freedom of worship vs. freedom of religion.

Available at the online bookstore

My Final Word: Holding Tight to the Issues That Matter Most Chuck Colson, Anne Morse | Zondervan | July 2015

Resources

'Freedom of Worship' Worries Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra | Christianity Today | June 22, 2010 Freedom of Religion vs. Freedom of Worship Michelle Boorstein | The Washington Post | June 22, 2010 Why "Freedom of Worship" Is Not Enough Ashley Samelson | First Things | June 22, 2010

07/31/15