By Robert J. Ray – Realistically, can a government allow every employer to customize the rules without descending into administrative chaos? Justice Antonin Scalia argued in Oregon v. Smith that one’s religious beliefs don’t negate the need to comply with valid laws.
On the other hand, freedom of religion is a crucial principle that must be defended. But how far?
Pastor Tony Brandon – What I am going to be addressing this morning is a very specific issue, and that is abortions in Adventist institutions. So that’s what I’m going to be focused on and I have taken a whole different angle on this, that I don’t believe that you’ve heard before.
On November 2, 2013 Pastor Tony Brandon delivered this sermon at the Baker City Seventh-day Adventist Church addressing the issue of elective abortions in Seventh-day Adventist hospitals.
By Loren Seibold – [dc]P[/dc]erhaps you’ve seen reports of the new United States $100 bill, with new and improved anti-counterfeiting features. I like it. I’ve been surprised at the number of people who’ve objected to it’s colorfulness. “It looks too much like the Euro” many comment. Anything having to do with US currency brings out…
On September 19, a bipartisan group introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would prevent the federal government from discriminating through the tax code against individual religious believers who hold the principle that marriage is a union of one man and one woman. According to bill author, Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID)H.R. 3133, the “Marriage and Religious Freedom Act,” “will ensure tolerance for individuals and organizations that affirm traditional marriage, protecting them from adverse federal action.” The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Steve Scalise, Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC), and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL).
Though, in its current form, the charter is limited to regulating the religious expression of government employees there can be little doubt that given time, considering the inflationary nature of state bureaucracy to expand its influence in citizen’s private lives, this policy of “neutrality” will move further toward the private sector employees.
By Michael Peabody – Despite serious public opposition to involvement in another quagmire in the Middle East, chances are the United States will soon be involved in the two-year-old civil war in Syria. While there are many questions regarding how this will help or hinder national foreign policy aims, few have considered how a shift in power could affect the religious freedom of the people of Syria.
By David Hamstra – It is tempting to resolve the question in favor of one or the other depending on what our moral intuitions tell us about the way the world should be, but to do so, as I will argue later, is to impose upon the weak the vision of morality held by the powerful, putting our society on a trajectory towards totalitarianism. Instead, I want to propose an principled way to approach these cases that will hopefully allow those on either side to find common ground.
This October the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments in Town of Greece v. Galloway, a case that could change the way that prayers are conducted in legislative proceedings. The Court will determine whether city council rules, which do not openly discriminate against non-Christians or permit prayer to be used to promote a particular religion, are unconstitutional when most of the people offering the prayers are Christians.
Based on Mark 15 and Revelation 13, this seminar examines current events in light of Bible prophecy. The fickle crowd dynamics at Christ’s trial parallels today’s political and religious crowd. As our nation’s founders predicted, this foment is leading to the dissolution of our Constitution. But Christ is preparing those who will listen and learn—as He did with His disciples—for a greater revolutionary calling in these last days.