A prominent politician issued a statement to decry the involvement of several mega-churches in the political process. Among other things, he claimed that "politics do not belong in the church" and "the church must be separate from the state." Later in the speech, he pledged to "ensure the purging from our public life of all those priests who have mistaken their profession and who ought to have been politicians and not pastors." This followed a previous press release that stated, "[t]o educate the young people into religious ways may perhaps be the task of the church, but to educate the young in politics is very much [the government's] affair."
Take a moment to think about the profound effect these sentiments would have on American society if they were fully enacted.
Who do you think said these things? Before I tell you, I want you to firmly fix in your mind the people you think would be ideologically willing to make these statements. Got it? Now, scroll down to find out who it actually was.
These statements were made by Nazis in the mid-1930's.
Adolf Hitler created the first two slogans as a deliberate campaign to marginalize the church, which he knew would oppose his tyrannical and violent objectives. He made the third statement in a speech in 1934, and the last statement was made by Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda and one of his closest aides. Hitler then prohibited all churches from meeting in public venues, banned all children's youth organizations (except Hitler Youth), and essentially sought to bottle up all Christians inside their sanctuaries, preventing them from speaking their message outside the church's walls. The church capitulated.
And look what happened.
Think it can't happen in America? In 1954, then-Senator Lyndon Johnson was running for President. Angry at some non-profit organizations for opposing him, he used the IRS to force them into silence. That legislation still holds today - pastors can't support or oppose specific candidates from the pulpit, nor can churches do any more than hand out non-partisan voter guides without fear of losing their tax-exempt status. Make no mistake, the ACLU has 'spies' that are more than willing to sue into silence any church or pastor that tries to actively enter the political process. Just wait - I bet you'll start hearing more about it again as we get closer to the 2008 election.
I'd like to point out three conclusions here. First, the ACLU is the most dangerous organization in America. They actively seek to subvert freedom, especially freedom of religion (without which Hitler had his way in Germany), and constantly wield the battle axe of expensive lawsuits to silence anyone who might have the gall to exercise their First Amendment rights. The ACLU is also a great friend of Islamic terrorism, and actively defends terrorists (for free, or even at taxpayers' expense) and seeks to win them the due process and rights reserved only for American citizens. Americans need to understand what the ACLU is all about, and rise up against them before they have legislated the American people and our fundamental rights into an abyss.
Second, this is yet another reason to fear activist judges. Judges who actively seek to re-write the law according to their own agendas are becoming more and more common, and it is with these judges that the ACLU works hand in hand. Together, the ACLU and activist judges can literally wipe away your legal right to choose and practice your religion, to speak freely, and to think whatever the heck you want to think about something. They do it under the guise of 'hate crimes' or 'Islamophobia' or some other such politically correct nonsense which always sounds so innocent until people realize they've been suckered and it's too late to change things. Just remember - judges are appointed by our elected leaders. Elections matter, so get involved!
Finally, think back to the beginning of this post. Before I told you who made those statements, who did you have in your mind as the speaker ? Which political party -- and which specific candidates -- did you automatically think had those views and would say those things? I admit, I played a bit of a trick on you, but I hope the point was driven home. The very same statements that Hitler used to marginalize the German church and pave the way for his Nazi regime are being used again today to marginalize the American church in an attempt to pave the way for ultra-leftist liberalism. Ultimately, that liberalism will destroy the foundational principles of America and the backbone of the resistance to the radical Islamization of the world. And, as horrific as the Nazis were, I believe the radical Islamists are making a strong case of being even worse.
We have the benefit of looking back at history, and can match certain warning signs now with the same warning signs back then. We are hopelessly foolish if we don't utilize that benefit and put a stop to the things (and organizations, and people) that are certain to be a disaster down the road.
Think carefully about who you are going to vote for in 2008. It matters.
There's my two cents.
***The factual information above came from Bryan Fischer, Executive Director of the Idaho Values Alliance, an affiliate of the American Family Association. The conclusions are my own.
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