Top Ten RLTV Articles of 2008

Since launching in June 2008, we have posted over 200 articles.  Here are the top 10, and we equally appreciate and value the contributions of many, many others who have worked to make this website a possibility.

10.  Religious Pluralism & America’s Christian Nation Debate: Revisiting the Intentions of America’s Constitutional Founders –  By Gregory W. Hamilton –  “The constitutional system of the United States of America remains the envy of the outside world despite the growing unrest of our European allies towards our country’s Administration, and the continual provocation against it by terrorists and a few hostile Arab-Muslim nations.”

9.  J. Brent Walker – “Church and State in the USA: Promises and Challenges” – This thought-provoking address was given by J. Brent Walker of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty at the Congress on Religious Liberty in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 28, 2008.  It was originally posted on the BJC website (bjcpa.org) and is reposted here in its entirety with permission.

8.  Announcing and Enacting Peace in an Age of Empire – By Ryan Bell – “Some have said that the church shouldn’t get involved in politics. While I agree that partisan politics have no place in the church, we cannot escape the call of Jesus to affect our world for his kingdom. This is what it means to be peacemakers – to announce to the world, “Our God reigns!” and to enact God’s peace in tangible ways in the neighborhoods where he has planted us.”

7.  It’s about the Kids, Stupid: A Review of The Future of Marriage by David Blankenhorn – By Nicholas P. Miller – “everal thousand years of nearly universal experience has shown that traditional marriage, with all its flaws and shortcomings, is a very good way of raising children.”

6.  Controlling Freedom of Conscience – By Robert Moon – “Historically, most governments required citizens/subjects to have the same religion or belief-system (e.a. Fascism and communism ) as the ruler(s). Exceptions were seldom tolerated. Those who publicly practiced an alternate belief system to the ruler(s) were often intimidated, persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and martyred. In the discussion that follows paradigms typically used by governments attempting to control freedom of conscience are referred to as: the Gold Rule Paradigm (GRP), the Gatekeeper Paradigm (GP), and the Over Stimulation – Fantasy Paradigm (OS-FP).”

5.  Could Chet Edwards be Obama’s Running Mate? Edwards speaks on Religious Liberty – Rep. Chet Edwards – “I believe perhaps America’s greatest single contribution to the world from our experiment in democracy is our model of religious freedom and tolerance. The foundation of that religious freedom is the principle of separation of church and state, imbedded in the first 16 words of our Bill of Rights: �Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’ In his letter to the Danbury Baptists of Connecticut in 1802, Thomas Jefferson expressed his belief that the principle of church-state separation is one of the most sacred of our founding principles. Unfortunately, many Americans today have come to perceive that separation of church and state implies disrespect for religion. Nothing could be further from the truth as Jefferson stated over a century ago.”

4.  The Hijacking of Religion – by Jonathan Gallagher – “For a country to move from general tolerance to extreme intolerance in just a few short years speaks of the power of religion, and its ready exploitation by those seeking political authority and control. The fuel is human competition. For where there is enough food, land, water and other resources, the need to fight other communities is much reduced. But as the world becomes increasingly overpopulated, then such scenarios can only increase. Religion is so close to the heart of how any society defines itself that those seeking political power and worldly goals will readily use such a potent weapon. The exploitation of religious belief is not new-witness the jihads and crusades from history-but its greatly increased impact and extent will be the dominant factors for the foreseeable future.”

3.  Manifest Destiny and the Momentum of Empire: Making Sense of America’s Global War on Terrorism – By Gregory W. Hamilton – “Today there are two significant global movements that enjoy a symbiotic relationship. The first involves America’s accelerated role as the world’s propagator of democratic values, and as a matter of national and international security the world’s enforcer of those values. The second is the not-so-obvious rapid global expansion of Christianity, a phenomenon that is aided by the expansion of democratic values while also facilitating the spread of those values.”

2.  BREAKING NEWS – Russia Moves to Liquidate Fifty-Six Religious Groups – by Derek Davis – ” On October 15 the Russian Ministry of Justice took steps to begin liquidating 56 non-Russian Orthodox religious organizations. The groups face dissolution, Russian news sources reported, because they failed to file required annual reports on their activities. Those targeted include a range of non-Russian Orthodox organizations and churches but hardest hit were various Christian groups, both Protestant and Catholic. Baptist groups were prominent on the list, but Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Seventh-day Adventist and Pentecostal groups were also included. Well known humanitarian groups such as World Vision and Youth with a Mission were also named, as was the Russian branch of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Non-Christian organizations were also named, including Muslim and Buddhist associations.”

1.  On September 23, 2008 an Innocent Man is Scheduled to Die – By Terry L. Benedict – “How Easily Can an Innocent Man Lose His Life?  Ask Troy Davis, who came within a harrowing 23 hours of execution by lethal injection last year and received a new execution date of September 23, 2008.”