Religious Liberty

Most Christians I know are unaware of the battle for religious liberty that was fought by our forefathers in the faith and the role that battle played in the formation of our own country. The simple version of the story carries us back to the days of dispute between the Pope of Rome and those dissenters who did not agree with corruption of the Roman Church. What was set in motion was a series of events that set that the church of Rome against governmental authorities and those in the church who were vocal in their disagreement with the church's policies. The Roman Church utilized force to implement its policies and silence those who were in disagreement.

As you can imagine, force didn't calm anything, but, instead, fanned the flames. The Roman Church burned people alive for translating the Bible into the language of the people. The Roman Church seized property and confiscated possession and imprisioned people when they attempted to worship God according to their own convictions. Depending upon the alliances, governments would often times participate in the enforcement of the church's policies. In an atmosphere of oppression, the religious liberty of thousands of people was squashed and the morale of the people was broken.

Enter the Ana-baptists, puritans, seperatists and others. These are the folks who refused to bow the knee to the Pope of Rome and worship in a way that was against their convictions and conscience. Those who refused to allow their religious liberty to be taken were either treated harshly or banished or allowed to leave to go to the colonies that would eventually become the United States of America. The very foundation of this country has its roots in the fight to preserve religious liberty. I would encourage you to vote this election according to your values and not allow a secular and increasingly pagan society keep you from the polls because you're Chrisitan. You have a right to vote and a right to be heard as a Christian. Exercise that privilege that was purchased with the blood of our forefathers. Vote November 4th.