Freedom of Religion

Okey L. King

Although we think of ourselves as a democratic nation, our government is that of a republic. This means that the people elect individuals to make formal decisions on behalf of those who elect them. An example of this is the Electoral Congress, by which just a few individuals elect the president of the United States, They are intended to do the will of the people but do not always comply to this will. Likewise, the representatives of the people in Congress were meant to exercise the will of the people. But, often these few are out of touch with the people that they represent. What is even worse, it is not these representatives who govern for the people. The governing has been turned over to bureaucrats. These individuals govern to suit themselves. Small government is not in the best interests of bureaucrats. As long as our nation is in the hands of these individuals who do not represent the people, what we call democracy is on the road to extinction.

What is democracy? Democracy is a system under which some people choose to coexist as a society. In a true democracy, members of a society choose to allow one another certain limited freedoms. There are no unlimited freedoms except for the natural right to breath. There is not even an unlimited right to food and shelter. We cannot eat anything we want nor can we live anywhere we want. This brings up the all-important law of priority. When one individual’s right encounters another person’s right, often one right has to give way to the other right, which has the priority. Priority is determined by the situation. In school, the freedom of speech must give way to the inherent right to learn. In church, the freedom of speech must yield to the freedom of worship,

We are not to write or speak untruths about another individual that would bring harm to that individual. However, after hearing the political ads that currently airing in West Virginia by both political parties, you might wonder where that concept as gone.

There are at least three situations that the freedom of religion is not valid.

1. You cannot use religion to illegally attempt to overthrow the government. Any change in government must come about by the ways stated in the Constitution.

2. You cannot commit crimes against the innocent such as conducting the practice of human sacrifice. You cannot use religion to harm the innocent in anyway.

3. You cannot use religion to knowingly cheat individuals for financial gain. Many individual skate a fine line here and many have used the airway illegally to garner funds from those who are emotionally unstable.

As Americans, in order to protect our own freedom of religion, we must protect the religious freedom of others. On the spiritual front, we are free to evangelize, but as citizens we must be aware of the consequences of the persecution of others who do not believe as you do. As American Christians, we only ask for the same religious freedom that is allowed to others.

The true church in America, that is the church governed by God and not by man or the government, has never been tied to the United States Government. No Christian should ever want it to be. The truth is that the Church is not American. It is worldwide. The church is not a democracy. It is an absolute monarchy. A president does not rule the Church. It is not ruled by a congress. A supreme court does not rule it. A King rules it. In a democracy, people have the right to vote. In a kingdom, the people do not vote. They follow the rule of the King. In America, the church members demand to vote. There is no scriptural authentication for that right. This is one of the reasons that the Church in America is so puny while the church worldwide is growing by leaps and bounds in the Holy Spirit.

As Americans Christians,we have a fight on two fronts. On one front, we fight not against flesh and blood, but against principalities of the air led by Satan and his lies. On the other front we fight against both flesh and blood and also principalities of the air led by Satan and his lies. We will never lose on the first front, but we may, if we are not diligent, lose on the second front.

One thing is certain. The Spiritual things are forever. The carnal things of the second front are very temporary. But, as Americans, the second front is very worth fighting for.