Religious Liberty for All? by Andy McDonald

With President Obama’s strong statement in support of the followers of Islam’s right to build a Mosque in New York near the site of the fallen twin towers, the issue is more in the news than ever. At the heart of the question is one of the treasured values of our United States of America, the very first amendment to our constitution:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

With all the rhetoric and fear mongering, it seems many no longer support this valuable and national strength-building piece of our constitution. It sounds like some, even Christians, wish for it to call for religious freedom unless you are Muslim. The early leaders of our “free” nation were all too familiar with state churches and the mandating of some religious test for holding office. In this new land of freedom, Jefferson was particularly interested in both “freedom of and freedom from religion!”

It is good that our nation never adopted a “state church” and instead has been a place where religious freedom was highly valued. Sure, there are religions and sects and spiritual teachings we may think we would be better off without, but our stance has been that religion’s free exercise is between a believer and their “god” regardless of anyone’s opinion.

Mosque, temple or church, local authorities can make it as difficult as they choose to build and occupy a facility. But as long as the codes are followed, and as long as they are applied equally to all, freedom must be maintained.

Undoubtedly, many who support the Muslim’s right to religious freedom simply wish those of that faith who are involved in the building of the structure might be more sensitive to their chosen location in NYC considering it was extremists from the Muslim faith who were responsible for the 9/11 attack.

This all reminds me of Pastor Martin Niemöller’s famous, "First they came ..."

"THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Jews,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

THEN THEY CAME for me

and by that time no one was left to speak up."

Seventh-day Adventists have a long track record of being major supporters of “religious liberty.” Our eschatology predicts a day when religious freedoms will be repudiated with a return to a religious-political rule. Speaking up now in support of the First Amendment may help us not repeat Niemöller’s experience. Freedom for all!

Andy McDonald

Chosen by Tami Cinquemani

I remember walking home from school when I was about 16 years old. I happened to be walking alone this day. A young man called to me from the other side of the street and asked for my assistance. He told me that he was joining a fraternity and, as an initiation ritual, he had to find someone to throw a pie in his face. He wanted me to cross the street and come into the alley where he was standing next to his car and help him out. I grew up in Chicago, and my parents “didn’t raise no dummy.” I picked up my pace and got out of there.

Looking back at that story now gives me chills. I wonder if another teen wasn’t quite so cautious. Not every tragedy made it into the nightly news back in the early Seventies, so I wouldn’t necessarily have known. I look back at that moment now, and I have no doubt that it was listening to a combination of my parent’s tutelage and the Holy Spirit’s guidance that kept me safe. I believe that even though I wasn’t a Christian at the time.

The truth is, even though I didn’t become a Christian until I was an adult, I am confident that God didn’t let that small detail prevent Him from loving me and communicating with me. How I reacted and what choices I make in my life have always been at my discretion, but I believe God has always been by my side.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:11: “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,” and in Romans 5:8: “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We are ALL His “Chosen”, and each one of us were in Christ’s mind’s eye as he hung on that cross.

We are surrounded by people of all faiths – and no faith. Good people and bad people. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists, etc. Sinners and . . . well, more sinners. God has chosen us ALL. This means that every human being has the SAME value and importance to God with each person having freedom to respond differently to God’s love, grace and offers of relationship. As difficult as it is for me to comprehend, that’s just as true for me as it is for the next teen to pass that alley, and even the young man standing next to the car.

Tami Cinquemani

Going Home by John Monday

I grew up in Cocoa, about fifty miles from where I now live in the Orlando area. It’s close enough to go to the beach or to visit friends, but too far to go all the time. Each time we visit, I notice that the sky is bluer, the air is clearer, and the living is easier than in Orlando. It’s an observation my wife, Vickie, has heard many times.

Last week our family went to the Keys with a group of my high school friends and their families. The first leg of the trip was to Cocoa from Orlando; then south on I-95 to Florida’s Turnpike. As we drove south past Ft Lauderdale, then Miami, I began my usual conversation with Vickie. This time, in addition to my usual observations, I told Vickie that the sky somehow even looked bigger.

After years of listening and smiling kindly, Vickie looked at me and said, “Do you think it might have something to do with the fact that you’re leaving work, responsibilities, and obligations behind?” Honestly, that had never occurred to me, but obviously she’s right.

Orlando’s a great place to live. I’ve got lots of good friends and a job I love. But to be relieved of responsibilities just gives you a different perspective. That’s what God wants for us.

If your relationship with God is full of obligation and measured by what you do or how you perform, you might want to reevaluate. If going to God feels like going to work, please rethink God.

But if going to God feels like going home to freedom, if it feels like going to the Keys with old friends under a bigger, bluer sky, then you’re getting a taste of the relationship God wants to have with you.

John Monday

Diversity = Unity by David Achata

Last weekend we had some Christian friends over who belong to another denomination. As we were talking, the issue came up of differing doctrinal views. One friend asked me what the Adventist position was on hell. With a great philosophical argument, I presented the position of hell as annihilation (vs. eternal burning). Then she asked me a question—“What texts could you use to support that biblically?”

Uhhh….

I stuttered through some texts with their contexts. I threw out some Greek and Hebrew words and their meanings. But the truth is…I was caught off guard.

As we ate dinner together, I admitted freely that it had been a long time since someone had challenged me about my view on hell. Then it hit me. The reason I’ve not been challenged is because most people I'm around either view it the same as me or don't care.

When our friends left that night, I got out my books and my bible, and I went right to work. It was great! I refreshed myself on the reasons why I believe what I believe, and I went to bed that night feeling good, yet still slightly disturbed.

Aside from the Authority of Christ and the Supremacy of the Word, some people think having differing Theological views is dangerous. They might argue that it creates an atmosphere of disunity. I would argue, however, that unity couldn’t be real without diversity. If everyone looks/acts/believes the same, then unity isn’t unity—it’s uniformity. Genuine unity comes from bringing together differing viewpoints/people/personalities and not dividing. In short, unity becomes more beautiful as diversity increases and people still stay together. (Rev. 7:9)

In Jesus’ prayer to His Father in John 17, He prayed “that they would be one as we are one.” Surprisingly enough, He said this unity would cause the world to know that “you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (vs. 23)

Is this wonderful or scary? What do you think? Is this what our church should be striving for?

David Achata

Allways Trust in god by Taylor Monday

Literal interpretation:

Allways Trust in god. And he

will love you. Trust in god

and he will live in your hart.

Trust in god and you will

go to hevin forever noboty

will get sick or hrut he will rise

evreboty form the ded.

It will take a week to get there

Italics added by verbal direction of the author; she ran out of space.

Taylor Monday is seven years old and will begin 2^nd grade in the Fall.

The Joy of Coloring Outside the Lines by Andy McDonald

In my denomination, every five years delegates from around the world attend and do business at what is called the General Conference Session of Seventh-day Adventists. The most recent one just ended a week ago in Atlanta. Events, votes, and sermons at the session created an uneasiness in me. It seems like leadership, and many of the members attending the meetings in Atlanta, are interested in turning Christianity, and especially the Seventh-day Adventist branch of Christianity, into a boxed-in way of thinking and living where all “true believers” see eye-to-eye on everything, and those who don’t should find some other group where they can be accepted. This thinking is scary to me.

Reflecting on this reminded me of a story told by Mike Yaconnelli. He asked some friends to have their two-year-old daughter color him a picture. When she presented him her work it was horrible. She’d only used the red crayon. It was just some color marks all across the page with no reference or attempt to work within the lines of the picture. He lied and told her it was wonderful. Why? Because the grace of a child knows it is okay to color outside the lines.

I want to be part of the Christian movement where people color outside the lines – to be part of the kingdom that Jesus talked about when he said his yoke was easy and his burden light. I believe a faith worth protecting is one that lifts up the believer and is like wind in the sails.

Christianity (and I hope Seventh-day Adventism, too) is not about learning how to live within the lines, to color within the lines, but simply about the joy of coloring. And like a good dad presented with a picture colored outside the lines, our Father finds joy in our presentation and our use of color and the fact that we wanted him to have our picture. Christianity is about the joy of coloring because our God is Love, Light, and Grace.

Maybe in five years at the next session we’ll get to hear about some of this!

Andy McDonald

Faith by Choice by Tami Cinquemani

Today we celebrate the 4^th of July – a memorial of the day our country officially declared its independence. We gather together with family and friends, barbecue, and blow things up. We happily look forward to this event every year because freedom is something worth celebrating. We celebrate a country founded on the belief that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” We celebrate Freedom.

Freedom. Nelson Mandela once said, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” I sometimes wonder how fragile that freedom might be and if we truly understand how easily it could slip away.

I see signs of it in our world – people justifying the mistreatment of others because of ignorance and fear. The willingness to ignore the rights of someone if it makes us feel safer.

Sadly, I have even seen glimpses of it in our denomination in the last week. Church policies dictating what types of Bible study or worship styles are “acceptable”. Coffee shops asked to close their doors during the recent General Conference Session. Could it be because of fear that a participant might have the choice of a caffeinated beverage?

2 Corinthians 3:17 states, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” I wonder – Is it possible to experience the full spectrum of faith without freedom? When raising our two children, my husband and I knew there would come a day when our children needed to discover their own faith. That discovery demanded the freedom to possibly make choices that were not the same as ours. We took that chance without hesitation.

Our founders understood that the United States’ only hope of being a vibrant country of freedom was based on the possibility of free choice for all people. I hope and pray that our church leaders understand that the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s only hope of being a healthy, vibrant beacon of Christ’s love, mercy and grace is based on a membership of people who have freely chosen how they will live out their faith.

Tami Cinquemani