History

Speak Now – A Response to the European Sunday Alliance

In its Founding Statement, the European Sunday Alliance argues that, in the interest of synchronicity, Sunday is the appropriate day of rest for all of Europe, and makes no allowance or acknowledgment of what should be done for those whose faith requires them to rest on a day outside of Sunday. In fact, it is not hard to see how those who rest on a different day might be an annoyance or hindrance to Sunday rest, and even in the debate may be portrayed as roadblocks, troublemakers, or even anti-religious. Businesses who open on Sunday could be fined, and those who conduct their own entrepreneurial endeavors on Sunday could also find themselves operating against the law.

July 18, 2011 Read →

Church, State, and the Postal Service: The Contentious History of Sunday Mail Delivery

Between its inception in 1775 and 1912, postal employees delivered mail seven (7) days a week. In the early 1800s, religious leaders became concerned that employees were forced to work on the “Christian Sabbath,” or Sunday, and began to petition Congress to use its Article I powers to disallow Sunday delivery. This concern reached a fevered pitch in 1810 when Congress required post offices to open at least one hour on Sunday. Outraged that Congress had thus enforced Sunday desecration, religious leaders began to clamor for legislation that would outlaw Sunday operations.

May 12, 2011 Read →

EDITORIAL: Hero without a gun – Washington Times

Desmond T. Doss was 23 years old when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942. The lanky Lynchburg, Va., native was much like other young men of the Greatest Generation, but one thing set Desmond apart from the other new troops. He was a devout Seventh Day Adventist and refused to touch a weapon. Some of the men in his training unit made jokes about him, others threatened him, but Desmond held firm to his beliefs. . . . >>>

March 25, 2011 Read →

Obama Administration Changes Its Approach to the Defense of Marriage Act

During the brief window between the California Supreme Court’s decision finding a ban on same-sex marriage in violation of the California Constitution on May 15, 2008 and the ballot-initiative amending said constitution on November 5, 2008, Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer got married.

While same-sex marriages during this window period have been recognized in California since they were presumably “constitutional,” the newlyweds filed a case against the federal government in state court that was transferred upon motion of the federal government into federal court alleging that “the refusal of all states and jurisdictions” to recognize the validity of their marriage resulted in the denial of their marriage status by other states, and federal rights and benefits that other married couples received so long as they were of the opposite sex.

March 11, 2011 Read →

In Defense of Separation

In the past few months there has been a renewed debate about the principles surrounding the first amendment, and especially about what scholars call the religion clauses – “Congress shall […]

January 6, 2011 Read →

Greg Hamilton’s Book Shelf – 2011

Greg Hamilton, President of the Northwest Religious Liberty Association and advisory panel member of ReligiousLiberty.TV presents his book list for 2010-2011.  Amazon.com Widgets 1) Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, […]

December 23, 2010 Read →