"Isn't it wonderful that we have 'freedom of
religion' here in America?" We've been convinced that "freedom of religion" is a
good thing, but it is a sham. My Father in Heaven did not send His Son to die on
a cross so I could have "freedom of religion"! He sent His Son to die so I could
have His government on earth as it is in Heaven. It was not intended that
everyone would be part of His government, only the "called-out ones." The United
States, on the other hand, set up a government for everyone, including the
Christians.
Freedom of
Religion is Number One on the United States Bill of Rights. You can have any
beliefs you want. This concept is also reflected in the
Treaty
of Tripoli, which the United States made with
the Barbary Pirates in 1796. Article 11 of the Treaty declares, "the
government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the
Christian Religion."
The purpose of
the Treaty was to make peace with the Barbary Pirates. The pirates said,
"We are Muslims. How can a Christian and a Muslim ever be at peace?"
The United States replied, "Oh, we're not a Christian nation. Therefore, we
can be at peace and make a treaty with you."
In
the Treaty of Tripoli, the United States openly declared that the United
States was not founded on the Christian religion. Then, to further win the
Pirates' favor, they said that the States had never entered into war or an act
of hostility against any Muslim nation, and that they had no enmity against the
laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims. Why were they showing such tolerance
for the Muslims? Because "freedom of religion" is good for commerce.
Constitutional Framers were Atheists
What were the beliefs of these men who offered
us "freedom of religion?" They could not have been Christians. Their
constitution does not even mention our Lord Jesus Christ. We, as Christians, are
to confess Jesus before men. And whatever we do in word or deed, we do in the
name of the Lord, Jesus (Colossians 3:17). God is missing from their
Constitution. They founded their government without God.
Surely if the Mohammedans would have
undertaken the momentous task of drawing up a constitution, they would have done
it in the name of Allah or at least paid their god homage. We can only conclude
that the framers of the United States Constitution did not recognize a Supreme
Being. They resembled the fool mentioned in Psalm 14:1, who said in his heart,
"there is no God."
The framers of the Bill of Rights must have
been atheists. They claimed no religion. Therefore, atheists or unbelievers
granted you freedom to be a believer. But there is one condition. You must be
subservient to them.
What we have is a situation where infidels are
granting you the privilege to worship in any manner you choose, as long as they
remain god. In fact, anyone who declares freedom of religion is a god and is
competing with the Almighty.
There is no "freedom of religion" for a
Christian. Jesus Christ gave us His government and His word. We are not free to
seek out other gods and other forms of worship. Therefore, "freedom of religion"
has no value in our lives. It means nothing. I find it part of antichrist. It is
the same deception Rome used 2,000 years ago.
Legal Religions
During the early days of Christianity, Rome
discovered she could make her conquered subjects submit to her authority in
almost every sphere. The conquered peoples would fight in the Roman armies and
pay Roman taxes. But Rome found they could not force the people to abandon their
religion and worship Roman gods.
Rome developed
an ingenious device to circumvent this problem: the license. Rome
generously declared that the people could worship any god they chose, and in any
manner they chose. They could even proselytize for their religion. This
marvelous "freedom of religion" was granted, with just one minor
condition. They must first obtain a license from the Roman government.
This established their religion as a legal religion of the Roman State.
Every religion
in the Empire, except one, readily complied with this request. Even Judaism
registered with Rome and became an officially recognized religion. But the
obscure sect known as Christianity remained a "religio illicita," an
illegal religion.
Christians were soon viewed, not so much as a
religion, but as politicians of the worst kind. If they were not stopped, they
would overturn the Roman Empire with their allegiance to another Kingdom.
Why would the
Christians not accept a license? To accept a license, means to become
"legal." It means to accept the sovereignty of the one who issues the
license. One key principle is the lesser authority never licenses the greater
authority. Rome wanted the Christians to acknowledge that they must obtain
Caesar's permission to worship Jesus Christ. If the Christians accepted Caesar's
license, they would be acknowledging the authority of Caesar over that of
Jesus Christ. The Roman Emperor would stand above God Himself.
This was exactly what the Romans intended to
accomplish by issuing religious licenses. They would graciously allow "freedom
of religion" throughout the Empire. The only catch was that every religion must
acknowledge Caesar's authority over the gods of all religions, including the God
of Christianity.
Hitler praised the Romans for their
"tolerance" of all religions. But he shared the Romans' hostility toward
Christians who would not submit to licensing. Later, he said that he viewed
Christian resistance as an implicit challenge to his own totalitarian claims.
Christians who confessed that "Jesus is Lord,"
could not accept the Roman license without making Caesar lord over Christ. They
told Rome, not just with words, but with their very lives, that Christ, not
Caesar, was Lord.
