By Rev. Mark H. Creech
November 18, 2003

(AgapePress) - How does religious liberty fare in the United States today? Not very well!

Despite the fact that the words "In God We Trust" are inscribed in the House and Senate chambers;

Despite the fact that on the walls of the Capitol dome are the words: "The New Testament according to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ";

Despite the fact that in the Rotunda of the Capitol is a figure of the crucified Christ;

Despite the fact that a picture of the baptism of Pocahontas at Jamestown hangs in the Capitol Rotunda;

Despite the fact that a painting of the pilgrims hanging in the Capitol Rotunda shows Elder William Brewster holding a Bible and the words "God With Us" are inscribed on the ship's sails;

Despite the fact that a relief of Moses hangs in the House Chamber;

Despite the fact that the Latin phrase Annuit Coeptis -- "God has smiled on our undertaking" -- is inscribed on the Great Seal of the United States;

Despite the fact that under the seal is the phrase from Lincoln's Gettysburg address: "This nation under God";

Despite the fact that the Liberty Bell has Leviticus 25:10 prominently displayed in a band around its top: "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto the inhabitants thereof";

Despite the fact that Micah 6:8: "He hath shown thee, O man, what is good; and what doth God require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God" are engraved upon the walls of the Library of Congress;

Despite the fact that the lawmaker's library quotes the Psalmist's acknowledgement of the beauty and order of God's creation: "The Heaven's declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork";

Despite the fact that engraved on the metal cap on the top of the Washington Monument are the words: "Praise Be to God."

Despite the fact that the crier who opens each session of the Supreme Court closes with the words, "God save the United States and this Honorable Court";

Despite the fact that at the opposite end of the Lincoln Memorial, words and phrases from Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address allude to "God," the "Bible," "providence," the Almighty," and "divine attributes";

Despite the fact that each President takes his oath of office with his left hand placed on an open Bible and concludes the oath with these words: "So help me God";

Despite the fact that at the deepest dimension of life, America has always been one nation under God, Alabama's Court of the Judiciary removed Judge Roy Moore from his position as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court last week. Moore was disciplined because he refused a federal court order demanding a monument to the Ten Commandments in the rotunda of the State Judicial Building be removed. Moore said, "It's about whether or not we can acknowledge God as the source of our law and liberty. That's all I have done. I've been found guilty."

Never has liberty been more threatened!!! At the close of the Constitutional Congress in 1787, Benjamin Franklin is reported to have said, "We have given you a republic -- if you can keep it."

That is the challenge of every generation. In every age we need new Paul Reveres to ride through our cities and across our countrysides to remind us our heritage is not just an heirloom handed down from one generation to another, but it is something to be relived and re-won with every new generation. Eternal diligence is still the price of liberty.

Today we must sound the alarm! America is ruled by judicial activists who interpret the First Amendment of the Constitution to mean there can be no acknowledgement of God by the state. If Alabama can't do it, neither can North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, nor any other state in the Union!

We remember the statement of Carl Schurz: "My country right or wrong." But that was not all of the statement. This is what he actually said: "My country right or wrong. When right to keep it right; when wrong to put it right." That ought to be the commitment of every citizen Christian today.

William Penn said it long ago: "Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants." Whether we will continue to be ruled by God or overrun by judicial tyrants remains to be seen.

Two young men approached an old philosopher determined to trick him. One of them had a small bird cupped in his hands. He asked the philosopher whether the bird was alive or dead. His intent was to wait for an answer and then squeeze the bird to death if the philosopher said it was alive or release him if he said it was dead. The wise man answered: "As you will it, my son, as you will it. It's up to you."

Will religious liberty live or die? Will God or tyrants rule us? It's up to you.