Missourians who cherish religious freedom are one step closer to securing it after the Missouri Senate endured 39 hours of frivolous filibustering by eight Democrats to pass Senate Joint Resolution 39 (SJR 39), otherwise known as the Missouri Religious Freedom Amendment, by a vote of 23-9, on March 9. The amendment now awaits two committee hearings, floor debate and a vote in the Missouri House of Representatives, which is expected to pass it by an overwhelming majority. Once passed it will … [Read more...]
Missourians: Your phone calls may save our religious freedom
I have written nearly 400 of these columns as editor of The Pathway and I am certain that this is one of the most important. The importance does not lie in my prose or in who I am. It lies in its subject matter. By the time you read this, the Missouri Senate will have begun spirited debate on one of the most essential pieces of legislation in its history. It is known as Senate Joint Resolution 39 (SJR 39), or the Missouri Religious Freedom Amendment. If approved, something that at this … [Read more...]
Religious freedom battle about to heat up
Last summer Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Executive Director John Yeats asked me to organize a statewide effort to strengthen Missouri’s religious freedom laws following the U.S. Supreme Court decision that redefined marriage. For four months I had the privilege of leading discussions about the matter with lawmakers, State Capitol staffers and First Amendment scholars and attorneys. I am pleased to say that through hard work and much prayer a bill has been crafted and is being sponsored … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptist Dee Wampler: Spreading ‘In God We Trust’
Political correctness has been a three-decade-long attempt by the left to restrict the First Amendment rights of those who disagree with them. The late New York Times columnist William Safire researched the phraseology and discovered it had originated in Communist literature in the early 20th century. Philosopher Philip Atkinson describes it this way: “(Political correctness) is the communal tyranny that erupted in the 1980s. It was a spontaneous declaration that particular ideas, … [Read more...]
The electorate and America’s destiny
A clear division of responsibilities between the government and the church was a needed principle that emerged out of the Protestant Reformation. The duty of the church is to pray for the government and to be supportive as long as it does not require the church to do something that contradicts God’s Word. The government is responsible for guaranteeing the freedom of the church and to protect the church from those that would seek to destroy it – and it does so without favoring any particular … [Read more...]
A 20-year-old prayer and God’s faithfulness
God’s answers to prayer are grounded in God’s graciousness and faithfulness. But He will not answer if we do not petition Him. An examination of Scripture reveals that Christian prayer has always been essentially petitionary. Thus prayer should be part of our everyday lives. We may ask God for spiritual and material needs (though the latter should be subordinated to the former), letting God know the desires of one’s heart (Job 6:8; Ps. 21:2; Phil. 4:6). I, like many of you, have been … [Read more...]
Hawley brings faith into public arena
I have had more than one friend in recent days suggest that Americans will ultimately repeal the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, freedom to peaceably assemble, freedom of the press and freedom to exercise our religion of choice. His suggestion follows an informal poll by Fox News of students at an Ivy League school who were asked: “Should the First Amendment be repealed?” The overwhelming response was “yes.” What was thought … [Read more...]
Mendacious ‘journalism’ targets Tebow, prayer
As someone who has worked in the newsrooms of three significant daily newspapers, I can testify to the lostness that exists. The lostness often surfaces as hostility and ridicule – especially toward Christianity. In recent days Christians have witnessed a pair of incidents that were contemptuous, even cruel. The first involved former football star and television sports analyst Tim Tebow, the son of Southern Baptist missionaries who attends First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Fla. Tebow is … [Read more...]
Political neutrality, sex and quizzy pollsters
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Public Religion Research Institute’s American Values Atlas estimates that about 64 percent of the total delegates in states with presidential primaries on or before March 8 will come from states with electorates that may be at least 50 percent evangelical. In Missouri it is believed to be around 60 percent evangelical in advance of the March 15 primary, with Southern Baptists representing the bulk of that vote. Yet we still have untold thousands who … [Read more...]
Is death coming for The Pathway?
Will Missouri Southern Baptists always have The Pathway, and if so, what will it look like? I have no idea. But God does. From the day it was born on June 8, 2002, The Pathway has always belonged to God through the churches of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC). People have tried to discredit it and even silence it. Not surprisingly, it is despised by liberals. As someone who has been in journalism for four decades, I can tell you such attempts are not unusual and are even expected … [Read more...]
Proposing a religious liberty bill for Missouri
As attacks on our religious liberty have intensified in recent months, Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Director John Yeats asked me to spearhead a statewide multi-faith initiative that would further secure religious liberty for Missourians. For the past three months I have had the privilege of being a part of a broad coalition of church leaders, legal scholars, State Capitol staffers, lawmakers, pro-family and religious liberty groups in crafting legislation that would respect and … [Read more...]
Religious liberty challenge facing Missouri Baptists, faith groups
JEFFERSON CITY – It is coming to Missouri and if its citizens do not act soon, religious liberty for everyone will likely face an unprecedented threat. Last month the Oregon Department of Labor ordered Melissa and Aaron Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery, to pay a $135,000 fine because they refused to bake a “wedding” cake for two lesbians. It is not because they hate homosexuals. In fact they have repeatedly stated and demonstrated their love for homosexuals. The state is … [Read more...]
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