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Pastor Don McFarlane
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Introduction

Seventh-day Adventists are people who love freedom. Basing our faith on the Bible and understanding that at the centre of our Christian experience is God Himself we testify that freedom of choice underlines our relationship with God and with our fellow human beings. For Seventh-day Adventists freedom of religion is biblically mandated. We understand that the message of the Holy Scripture is that God forces no one. As created beings we are endowed with dignity and a freedom of choice. We clearly understand that the story of the gospels establishes an important principle that every human being has the right to relate to God according to the dictates of conscience. No one can decide for you or me. Christ expects us to give Him our heart out of our own choice. more...

As a Church we are concerned about promoting and protecting our own religious freedom. But we are not only concerned with ourselves. We recognise that ours is also a service to protect and fight for religious freedom for others. On several Church levels we study and monitor the religious liberty situation of today. We become involved in discussions about legislative matters and promote separation of religion and state. Religious liberty activities are elevated to a departmental service of the Church. It means that we are concerned, are vocal, and lobby on behalf of religious liberty around the world. Religious Liberty concerns have been on the Church's agenda ever since it was organised.

Our leadership fought valiant battles against restrictive Sunday laws in the late 19th century in the United States. Liberty magazine has a history dating back to the 1880s. Also today, the Church is vocal at the United Nations Council of Europe and other international and national bodies. We support the work of international religious liberty associations and Seventh-day Adventist experts serve as advisors to legislators dealing with laws covering church-state relations.

Links

Department of Public Affairs & Religious Liberty at the World Headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Principles of Religious Liberty

principles

The God-given right of Religious Liberty is best exercised when church and state are separate. 

Government is God's agency to protect individual rights and to conduct civil affairs; in exercising these responsibilities, officials are entitled to respect and co-operation. 

Religious Liberty entails freedom of conscience; to worship or not to worship, to profess, practice and promulgate religious beliefs or to change them. In exercising these rights, however, one must respect the equivalent rights of all others.

Attempts to unite church and state are opposed to the interests of each, subversive of human rights and potentially persecuting in character, to oppose union, lawfully and honourably, is not only the church's duty but the essence of the Golden Rule - to treat others as one wishes to be treated.

Letter To Religious Liberty Leaders (1999)

Letter

Dear Friends

A WAKE UP CALL

Religion may be defined as the belief in a superhuman controlling power in a personal God or gods entitled to obedience and worship. Therefore when we use the adjective "religious" loosely we embrace the above meaning. In the context of Religious Liberty our concept emphasizes worship of the Sovereign God who allows humankind the right of freedom of conscience.

Having taken this exalted position the concerned Christian must ask certain questions.

Has religion lost pole position on the racing grid of time and society?

A more puzzling question to the onlooker is Why does Christianity appear to be only throttling in the slow lane when she has available the transcendent power of an omnipotent God? Could it be that the formal Christianity is losing its way or is slowly being insulated from its source of power by trivia?

Recently it was reported that a train was stranded because a plastic bag became entangled between its power connector and overhead electric cable.

The whole message of religious freedom, the Good News that all peoples are free in Christ Jesus, is jeopardized if we are separated from the power of God by a synthetic way of living. Christianity becomes stranded and so is our right to human dignity and legitimate expressions of freedom.

Slowly but surely the divided world of Christianity is making way for the traffic of alternative religions to gain the ascendancy. The voice of organized and ecumenical Christians seems to be mute on vital subjects of moral and official import.

The feebleness of post-modern Christianity leads to the absence of a voice of authority for right and wrong in the world.

Watch what is portrayed in the media of so called Christian Society and you will see that nearly every boundary of morality and decency is explicitly breached.

The Scriptures, which are our spiritual guide, are allegorized. Fiction becomes fact and fact fiction. The supernatural pertaining to God is placed alongside the occult, astrology, demonology and mysticism.

Materialism, humanism and secularism and pagan atheism are given more air and academic time than spiritual Christianity on the pretext, in some countries, of the separation of state and religion.

The responsibility of Christianity to foster the principles of Religious Liberty is integral to the preaching of the gospel. The teaching and practice or tolerance towards all for their good is crucial if the followers of Jesus Christ are to fulfill to their mission for a better world.

External vigilance is the price we pay for our freedoms. Wherever injustices and evils have perpetuated against others we must do the neighbourly thing. The exercise of tolerance towards those whose value systems and culture are different from ours pre-supposes an altruistic understanding of love. True love is gentle and not self-seeking (1 Cor. 13:4-7).

This means that I can accommodate in my world peoples of different faiths, cultures, nationalities and thinking, while respecting their rights and privileges.

Despite the seeming weaknesses of Christianity as a world power and growing violations of religious liberty around the world we have a golden opportunity now to point the way to religious freedom.

The Apostle Paul has a message for the Christian world who may be becoming complacent preferring mistakenly to wait anxiously for the passing of the works of darkness:

The night is nearly over, the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. (Romans 13:12 NIV).

The call is not only for us to be awake but to open our eyes to what threatens our God-given right to worship Him in "spirit and truth". Freedom today does not guarantee freedom tomorrow.

The world has become a global village and violations of human rights in one country if unchecked could become a possibility in another. Silence against tyrants could be interpreted as consent. Jesus said "Don’t resist evil" but He did not say "Don’t point it out". Whenever there is a bad legislation affecting religious freedom there is no law against Christians speaking out for conscience sake.

If this means writing a letter to your MP or local or national government do so in a spirit that glorifies the name of Christ.

Have a blessed New Year.

C R PERRY, Director
Religious Liberty and Public Affairs

Did You Know?

Did You Know?

1. Monetary Union threatens bank holidays. The launch of the Euro could kill off bank holidays. EU bank chiefs have so far agreed that Christmas Day and New Year’s Day should be declared non-working. The implications would be that financial institutions would be expected to open on the other days.

2. Barbara Crossette has highlighted the growing concerns in the United States over a 5000 year-old procedure which has subjected 100 million girls and women world-wide to what she entitled in her book "Female Genital Mutilation". The question is being asked if the practice, which still obtains in 40 countries, should be a matter for governmental intervention of a painful custom or a matter of human rights concerns. Legislation on March 30 1997 made genital mutilation a criminal offence in the United States.

3. The fall of hard line communism in Eastern Europe giving way to new found freedoms is now being replaced with new restrictive laws as the Orthodox Church flexes its muscles to what it sees as an invasion from the West – EBF.

4. A campaign for the separation of church and state in North England was launched calling for the de-establishment of the church of England and its attendant functions as bequeathed by parliament.

5. Seventh-day Adventists in Pune, India, were urged to Defend Religious Rights for all. Dr Watts, President of the Southern Asia Division said "that Adventists believe in the rights of the majority and minority faiths alike."

6. Belem, Brazil. Legislative action in Brazil confirmed by Governor Almir Gabriel ensures that state exams in Brazil region of Para will not be held on Saturday. This action may have been a spin off from the Religious Liberty World Congress held in Rio de Janeiro in 1997. "That congress was fundamental in the sense of clarifying my ideas in relation to religious liberty and awoke in me the desire to present this project in this area" said Goes.

A public announcement was made from the Palacio dos Despachos at which time Governor Gabriel of the State of Para confirmed the "project of Law" which determines that tests for college entrance examinations and public courses in the state are not to be scheduled on Saturday.

Additionally, students who miss classes on Friday night and Saturday because of their religious convictions can immediately make up for their absence.

For Jews, Seventh-day Adventist and other observers of the Sabbath as a day of rest this governmental law is a historical moment" comments Eneas, Director of Communication and Education for the Adventist Church in Brazil. ANN.

7. Dr Wilson Endruveit, Rector of the SDA Theological Seminary, speaking at the worship service at the Seventh-day Adventist headquarters in South America, reacted to the Pope’s letter calling for the observance of Sunday with the following comment:

"The proposition that Christians must naturally endorse civil legislation to keep Sunday is contrary to the constitution of almost all countries that presuppose the separation of state and church. Even though the pope’s appeal to attend church frequently is understandable nothing justifies putting aside constitutions and the commandments of God". ANN.

8. Beng Tang sends this clipping from the Observer (July 26) and written by Melanie Phillips:

"The European Working Time Directive lays down the requirement for one rest day in every seven but only as an average. To achieve this, it permits a choice between taking a day off in a seven-day period or two days off in 14. Other European Countries have settled on one day off in seven. The regulations before our parliament permits this choice thus opening the way for employers to force employees to work through Saturday and Sunday.

The deregulation of the Sunday Shops Act and the 40-hour week lend themselves to making life more challenging for those claiming Sabbath privileges".

9. Metropolitan Gregorios Ibrahim of the Syrian Orthodox Church welcomed the opportunity for greater cooperation with the Seventh-day Adventist Church during a visit to the Adventist headquarters on July 2 1998:

For the Syrian Orthodox Church it is a new day to have a relationship with the Adventist Church. We need to work to develop better relationships between Christians" Ibrahim said. The Syrian Orthodox Church has 90,000 adherents and still uses Aramaic in its services. ANN.

10. The Israeli Knesset (parliament) including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved on May 20 1998 on a first vote a bill that "would imprison for three years or fine US$13,700 anyone found guilty of preaching with the intent of causing another person to change his religion".

This is a private members bill proposed as an amendment to the Penal Code Clause 174 replacing an earlier bill that would have outlawed the distribution of religious literature to encourage persons to change religions. ANN

11. A proposal was made for a new morality to replace God at the heart of the school curriculum has been made by the government "guru" who heads the standards unit at the Department of Education and Employment, Professor Michael Barber.

Professor Barber suggested the teaching of ethics and citizenship should take over in schools for what he saw as the crumbling belief systems of Christianity. Methodist Recorder (March 26 1998).

12. Paul Barker, a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Community Studies pointed out in The Evening Standard May 21 1997 that a research conducted shows that skin colour may not now be the most important difference among the New Britons -- Religion is the big divide. 80% of Asians told the researchers they did not think of themselves as "black". Most identified themselves by their creed – Muslim, Sikh or Hindu. The main prejudice the survey uncovered was also religious, not racial.

13. The Witness Oath should be changed to replace the risk of God’s wrath with prosecution for perjury, a leading barrister said in October 1998. It is believed that the oath is not as powerful as it used to be because Britain is now a less God-fearing nation Nicholas Price QC told the BBC.

14. "State your religious affiliation" is unlikely to be among the questions on the next National Census form. One of the reasons given is that ethnicity is more relevant as a determinant of a person’s identity than religion.

15. The US model of church-state relations underlines the importance of equal treatment of religious organizations, the tide in Europe (not just Eastern Europe) is towards the distinction between traditional and non-traditional religions. This trend is largely due to fear caused by the rapidly changing cultural and political landscape. Factors such as increased Muslim immigration, new religious movements, the reform of the welfare state and the fall of the Berlin wall.

A distinction between traditional and non-traditional churches already exists in the legal systems of many European Countries. In Italy, Belgium and Spain the state "recognizes" a number of religious denominations (Belgium however have classed SDAs among the cults). In Germany some churches are given the status of "public cooperations" by the State; in Greece and in Nordic countries one religion or church also receives preferential treatment. Professor Silvio Ferrari, University of Milan.

16. There is a draft law under discussion in the Austrian parliament, in addition to requests from other quarters to the European Parliament, that there be regulations defining and identifying "sects".

17. The Rutherford Institute reported that officials in the Siberian Republic are now trying to shut down a Lutheran Mission. In Moscow the Pentecostal Church has been denied registration. In Macedonia only the Orthodox, Muslim and Catholic faiths are recognized.

18. Religious Freedom suffered in California when Governor Pete Wilson vetoed AB 1617, the Religious Freedom Protection Act.

The Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion and Civil Rights Groups, AB 1617. The bill, supported also by Seventh-day Adventists, was designed to provide broad protection for religious freedom from interference by government regulations and policies that do not intentionally discriminate against religion but inadvertently conflict with individual religious practices.

The local Seventh-day Adventists gathered more than 1600 petition signatures and generated hundreds of calls, letters, e-mails and faxes to legislators and the governor.

The Wilson administration had opposed the bill because of its application to prisons. Pacific Union Recorder.

19. Brussels. The Pope’s head will be allowed on Euro coins issued by the Vatican under a European Union scheme (Charles Bremner writes). San Marino have traditionally issued Italian lire. Coins with their own designs and Monaco has used the French franc under an arrangement with Paris.

The Commission’s proposal in effect admits the micro-states into the monetary unions provided they abide by all rules and let Italy and France supervise their coinage. Daily Mail, December 22 1998.

20. Christians targeted in Hindu Hate Campaign. Hindu fundamentalists have stepped up a campaign of violence against Christians in India’s western state of Gujarat. In the latest attacks two churches were burnt down in Sarat district on Tuesday.

The fresh attacks come at the end of a bad year for India’s Christians who comprise about 2.5% of the population. Up to 90 attacks on their community have been reported during 1998.

Over the Christmas four prayer halls belonging to the church of North India were targeted in the Gujarat tribal area of Dangs. Daily Telegraph, December 31 1998.

Resources

Resources

The Religious Liberty Leaders’ Hand book is available for new appointees to this department. In it the following subjects are treated:

  • What does the Religious Liberty leader do?
  • The Biblical basis for Religious Liberty
  • Conscious and Liberty
  • The Christian and Government
  • The Christian and Politics
  • Religious Freedom and Human Rights
  • The Relationship to other Churches
  • The Christian and other Organizations
  • Tips on How to Get Involved
Religious Liberty Handbook 2009
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