A MAGAZINE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM CENSORSHIP AND RELIGIOUS MCCARTHYISM ISLAM: RELIGION OF PEACE? DITORIAL

ell before the actual into past pronouncements), and looked divisive figure in the religious world, did inauguration of President to God for help in the difficult days not hesitate to load up his prayer with WBarack Obama there was a ahead. Its only theological gaffe, based references to "gay, lesbian, bisexual and chorus of complaints about his choice on my reading of the Bible, was the transgender people."The ordination of of Rick Warren to give the inaugural assumption that Dr. King and others Bishop Robinson, an openly gay cleric, VERY PUBLIC prayer. What might just as easily have were watching from heaven. After all, has split his Episcopal community, and been interpreted as an attempt to link the Bible says that dead know not surely represents broader religious PRAYERS up with a populist expression of main- anything" (Proverbs 21:4 ), and Paul contention. Certainly the larger faith stream religious values was instead looked forward to the return of Jesus at communities alluded to in Rick Warren's interpreted as a tilt toward the minis- the end of days when "the dead will be prayer have series issues with Robinson's ter's views on abortion and gay rights. raised." (1 Corinthians 15:52 ). However, theology. The decision to include Never mind that during the campaign, it is a common enough assumption and Robinson does indeed show a social in front of that very same Rick Warren, we should not hold it against the prayer- inclusiveness which might indicate Prayer controlled or candidate Obama had clearly outlined giver's good will. What it does, though, is otherwise good intentions with the directed by others, his differences on those points and illustrate the hazards of a public prayer, Obama administration. But it shows maintained ideological independence. either endorsed by the state or, as is the weakness of co-opting religion at a especially the state, Many seemed determined to embarrass likely here, given under the smile of the civic occasion. It does amount to a public is noxious. the new administration for the prayer ruler and tending to legitimize a particu- endorsement of a particular religious choice and see religious partisanship lar religious viewpoint—or, worse, none viewpoint—given that there is an active at work. at all, other than a broadly acceptable dispute presently within faith circles. It was almost an anticlimax to hear syncretistic model of faith. There was even another prayer given the actual prayer at the January event. To Curiously, it was another prayer, the in the context of the Inauguration of be sure the possibility of it giving offense benediction given by civil rights icon President Obama. Senate Chaplain Barry was diminished greatly by the chuckles Joseph E. Lowery, that seemed more Black prayed at the luncheon held in at Chief Justice Roberts fumbling in the inclined to move into spiritual heart- the Capitol Statuary Hall right after the administration of the oath. But it was a searching. When he prayed that"we have ceremony. His two minute, 148-word secularly sacred moment and all turned sown the seeds of greed—the wind of prayer was a model invocation that out well—even the public prayer. greed and corruption" it was pastoral and centered on the call for Divine blessing If there was a problem with the intensely revealing of our national condi- on the event and guidance for the new prayer it was its very broadness, not any tion. He continued by praying that"even administration. narrow religious viewpoint that some as we reap the whirlwind of social and Before the event Chaplain Black told had feared. The good pastor presaged economic disruption, we seek forgive- a reporter that prayers are not"another the new President's inclusiveness by ness and we come in a spirit of unity and act in the drama."He decried any political early on throwing a theological bone to solidarity to commit our support to our directives for the prayer. "I would be Islam by saying of God, "You are the com- president by our willingness to make sac- very concerned if someone or some passionate and merciful One."True: and rifices, to respect Your creation, to turn to committee was standing by to scrutinize expressed in the familiar terminology of each other and not on each other what someone had passionately felt the Koran. At the end, before reciting the The prayer lowered its tone a little compelled to say to God on behalf of Lord's Prayer from the New Testament, at the end by a reference to the racial the people for a particular occasion,' he Rick Warren identified "the One who inequalities of the past which tended to told them. changed my life" as"Yeshua, Isa, Jesus, caricature the real sin of bigotry. The blo- He is right, of course. Prayer con- Jesus (hay-5005)."Most religions covered gosphere had a paroxysm of comment trolled or directed by others, especially there, including the Republicanism of on this, but maybe we should be more the state, is noxious. At the end of the the past eight years! inclined to understand the experience of day, each prayer given at the time of the It was a very formal prayer that the old civil rights warrior. inauguration is one person speaking to invoked the Creator, the uniqueness of Another warrior of sorts gave a God. To require more is to unravel what the United States (avoiding direct claims curiously partisan prayer at the opening little we still have of the church-state dis- of Divine privilege that have intruded ceremony of the inauguration sequence tance required in the U.S. Constitution. held at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, The Supreme Court has often January 18. Gene Robinson, a truly

2 LIBERTY• MARCH/APRIL 2009 IN THIS ISSUE In recent years religion has become a force to be reckoned with; not so much because of the power of its moral strength but because of its power to drive humans into inhumanity. IP19

FINAL SUMMUM RELIGIOUS THE BEGINNINGS OF 19 1 WHEN RELIGION BECOMES EVIL McCARTHYISM? RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY 22 1 ISLAM: RELIGION OF PEACE? A question of public display A film and a saga of religious The Reformation in England repression at the Air Force Academy and its influence today 26 1 THE BRIDGE TO TOMORROW

been forced to reconcile the persistent from the state was the prevailing one. exemplary sacrifice to the genius of the religious activity by legislators and under Curiously, the role of the chaplain Constitution; and the divine rights of DE TION government auspices. They have come to was one area of church-state contention conscience! Why should the expense of call it all Ceremonial Deism. This strikes that seems to have slipped past that a religious worship for the Legislature "file/16 me as an oddly damning term. The early concern. President James Madison, be paid by the public, more than that for The God-given right of religious liberty is best justices settled on it as a way to describe framer of the Bill of Rights, wrote the Executive or Judiciary branches of the exercised when church and state are separate. religious behavior and symbols which much about this seeming contradic- Government?" have become part of society and lost tion. Obviously, as a person of faith, he Why indeed? We had better pray that Government is God's agency to protect indi- their distinctive religious nature. But the lived happily with the function of the the prayers paid for and organized on vidual rights and to conduct civil affairs; in term is odd, because in spite of revision- chaplain, but he maintained clearly the our behalf reflect our views and not the exercising these responsibilities, officials are ist attempts to portray the founding inconsistency in the establishment of the government's. Come to think of it, that entitled to respect and cooperation. fathers as religionists determined to function. is precisely the problem. No government Religious liberty entails freedom of establish some sort of religious state, Writing in his"Detached Memo- can possibly accurately represent all the conscience: to worship or not to worship; to the reality is that a significant number of randa;'Madison made the point that religious views of its citizens without profess, practice, and promulgate religious them were Deists. Back then Deists were Congress should pay for their own watering all down to meaninglessness or beliefs, or to change them. In exercising seen for what they would be today: men clergy and not use tax money for that excluding others. these rights, however, one must respect who acknowledge the fact of God, but purpose. "If religion consists in voluntary the equivalent rights of all others. act as if He were an absentee landlord. acts of individuals, singly or voluntarily Attempts to unite church and state are I would rather remember the many associated, and if it be proper that public opposed to the interests of each, subversive members of the society in the original functionaries, as well as their constitu- of human rights, and potentially persecuting colonies who were overtly religious in ents should discharge their religious Lincoln E. Steed, Editor in character; to oppose union, lawfully and their outlook. The Great Awakening of duties, let them, like their constituents, Liberty Magazine honorably, is not only the citizen's duty but 1750 produced an activist religion in do it at their own expense,"was his the essence of the golden rule—to treat others many ways. However, the view that this argument. "How small a contribution Please address letters to the editor to as one wishes to be treated. dynamic faith needed to be protected from each member of Congress would [email protected] suffice for the purpose! How just would it be in its principle! How noble in its (OVER ILLUSTRATION m CHRIS BUZELLI

LIBERTY° MARCH/APRIL 2009 3 :

, a FT II L A QUESTION OF PUBLIC DISPLAY S v firi v

n November the Supreme Court of the United States heard a case that presents an interesting twist on the persis- tent constitutional problem of religious displays on government property. Typically, the question is whether a particular display, such as a depiction of the Ten Commandments or a Nativity scene, violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment. Pleasant Grove City, Utah v. Summum involves a dispute over a religious display that defied the usual order of events. Instead of challenging a religious display on city property as unconstitutional, a small religious group claimed they had a right to display a monument reflecting their beliefs, as well. While the case offers a compelling factual setting for examining the proper relation- ship between religion and government, it will be decided without reliance on the constitutional provision best designed to protect that interest.

The Case at Hand The dispute began when Summum, a New Age religious sect based in Utah, sought to display a monument depicting its teachings, known as "Seven Aphorisms," in Pleasant Grove City's Pioneer Park. According to news reports, Summum was established in 1975 and operates out of a pyramid building in Salt Lake City. The group is known for a belief system steeped in meditations and for practicing mummification, as well as for its litigation in several Utah cities. Summum designed a monument similar in size and appearance to other privately donated monuments in the park, including a Ten Commandments monument donated by the Fraternal Order of Eagles in the 1970s. When the city denied their request, Summum sued, arguing that the city had discrimi- nated against them in violation of their rights under the First Amendment's free speech clause. From Summum's perspective, Pioneer Park was a "public forum," the kind of open space traditionally used by individuals to distribute messages

BY K. HOLLYN HOLLMAN ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS BUZELLI

LIBERTY' MARCH/APRIL 2009 5 The city appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and perhaps based in part on Judge McConnell's opinion, the Court agreed to hear the case. To assist in making its case that Summum's Seven Aphorisms monument should be kept out of Pioneer Park, Pleasant Grove City enlisted Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a group that has often used free speech arguments in favor of protecting religious voices. In this case, however, ACLJ argued that Summum had no right to have their message displayed in the park. Instead, it argued that by allowing the Eagles to place the Ten Commandments monu- ment in the government-owned park, the gov- ernment exercised editorial control over the park's content, making it government speech. As such, and under existing case law, when the gov- ernment speaks, Pleasant Grove City can deter- mine its own message without being required to allow competing messages. In addition, the city argued that the Tenth Circuit decision created an unmanageable rule that would force a govern- ment that displayed the Statue of Liberty to make room to display a Statue of Tyranny. In response, the attorney for Summum argued that at least some of the displays in Pioneer Park, including the one submitted by the Eagles, were created solely by private parties to advance their own messages. The city had simply allowed those messages to be displayed and done nothing to adopt such speech as its own. Pioneer Park, they argued, was a traditional public forum Summum founder "Corky" Ra without interference by the government. in which the city may not discriminate among and some artifacts of his faith. The district court refused to force the city to speakers based on the content of the speech or AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac accept Summum's monument. But a three judge identity of the speaker. Summum argued that panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth the city's "government speech" claim was simply Circuit reversed, holding that Pioneer Park was a theory conveniently adopted to keep Summum a traditional public forum and that the city had out of the park. unlawfully excluded Summum. Under the public forum doctrine, the government is strictly lim- The Establishment Clause: ited in its ability to restrict speech, and discrimi- The Elephant in the Courtroom nation based on the viewpoint or identity of the Conspicuously missing from the pleadings in speaker is prohibited. the case was the question of whether the city had At a glance, the result of the Tenth Circuit's violated the establishment clause. For reasons decision appears only fair: if the city allows a having to do with peculiarities of Tenth Circuit religious monument offered by some of its citi- case law, Summum pursued its lawsuit based on zens, how can it reject one from others? The the free speech clause of the Constitution, not rationale for the decision, however, obscured the the establishment clause. As a general matter, point. The court's holding that Pioneer Park was reviewing courts are not free to introduce legal a traditional public forum threatened to have theories that have not been raised by the parties, far-reaching consequences. It was interpreted as even when those theories may be more obviously opening the door to a parade of horribles, pos- relevant to the case at hand. sibilities such as requiring governments to This is unfortunate because the establish- "either remove the ... memorials or brace them- ment clause provides the proper framework for selves for an influx of clutter," as Judge Michael considering government-sponsored religious McConnell, an influential expert on the law of displays, as well as adjudicating claims of religious freedom, said in his dissent from the denominational preference and religious ani- denial of rehearing by the full court. mus. As many religious liberty advocates have

6 LIBERTY• MARCH/APRIL 2009 long argued, government-sponsored religious of neither party, Americans United for Separation Noino displays harm religion and religious liberty. In of Church and State, the American Jewish many circumstances, religion's reliance on gov- Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the In many ernment, whether financially or symbolically, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, can make religion appear weak and allow a reli- and People For the American Way urged the circumstances, gious message to be corrupted by political forces. Court to reverse the decision below, clarifying The establishment clause protects religious free- that the establishment clause, not the free speech religion's reliance dom by protecting the right of religious adher- clause, provides the proper framework for adju- ents to promote their faith and by keeping the dicating the claim of religious discrimination. on government, government from usurping that role. These religious liberty advocates argued that For example, three years ago, the Supreme permanent monuments in a park are typically whether financially Court considered establishment clause challenges government speech, having been crafted or in two major religious display cases. In Van Orden adopted by the city. When government speaks, it or symbolically, v. Perry, the Court upheld a Fraternal Order of gets to choose the message, subject to constitu- Eagles Ten Commandments monument (like the tional limits, including the establishment clause, can make religion one in Pioneer Park) displayed on the Texas State but not the most restrictive free speech analysis. Capitol grounds among other statues donated by By inviting free speech arguments, the groups appear weak and and dedicated to the citizens of that state. argued, the court below missed the proper vehi- In McCreary County v. ACLU, however, the cle for claims of religious discrimination. allow a religious Court held that a county's display of the Ten Commandments among other historical docu- Conclusion message to be ments in a courthouse was unconstitutional where Whenever the government displays a reli- the record showed the intent of the display was to gious message, it creates a problem of picking corrupted by advance Christianity. Taken together the cases among the various faiths of its citizens. Even dis- illustrate the fact-specific nature of determining plays of widely accepted teachings such as the political forces. the constitutional boundaries. In Pleasant Grove Ten Commandments involve the theological City v. Summum, an establishment clause challenge decision of which version (Jewish, Catholic, or based on the city's posting of one religious monu- Protestant) will be represented. A government ment, paired with the rejection of another, could bound to serve its citizens without regard to reli- have made a stronger case for unconstitutionality. gion is hardly the appropriate authority to make Even though establishment clause concerns such decisions. Even in those contexts in which were missing from the parties' briefs, they religious displays have been upheld, it is hard to quickly appeared during oral arguments. As avoid the sense that government is showing a Chief Justice John Roberts said to counsel for denominational preference, violating a central Pleasant Grove City, "You're really just picking concern of religious liberty law. That concern is your poison, aren't you? I mean, the more you explicit in the facts alleged in Summum's case. say that the monument is government speech to As the Court heard its only religious liberty get out of the . . . free speech clause, the more it case this term, many listeners regretted that unless seems to me you're walking into a trap under the and until the case is reversed and pursued under a establishment clause. If it's government speech, different theory, Summum cannot win under the it may not present a free speech problem, but clearest command of the establishment clause— what is the government doing speaking—sup- prohibiting denominational preference. The path porting the Ten Commandments?" for the parties remains muddled. Perhaps the city Other questions from the bench indicated that will win, despite concerns that government may the justices were dissatisfied with a result that have acted out of religious animus. Perhaps the would deem the monuments private speech and Court will clarify the "government speech" doc- lead to the government having to display all kinds trine in ways that limit the ability to exclude mes- of bizarre messages of its citizens if it allowed any sages based upon the substance or speaker. Perhaps displays. The justices also expressed skepticism the Court will establish a hybrid theory to analyze that the city could avoid discrimination by simply cases that have aspects of private and government applying the label of "government speech" to pre- speech. In any event, while the case offers little ferred monuments. While the parties offered opportunity to impact religious liberty law, it approaches that appeared to be all or nothing, stands as an important reminder to those who Justice David Souter suggested that some monu- value religious liberty that a government that pro- ments may be a mixture of private and public motes the religion of some of its citizens threatens speech that defied the purely "private" or "govern- the religious liberty of others.

ment" categories the parties proposed. K. Hollyn Holtman is general counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee for In a friend of the court brief filed on behalf Religious Liberty.

LIBERTY' MARCH/APRIL 2009 7 6 0 0 Z 118 d V / H )8 V .A Id 11 James Carroll at the U.S. Air Force Academy

BY LAWRENCE SWAIM

n April 9, 2008, the administration of the U.S. In the end, footage from other sources was shown. Air Force Academy planned to present a sem- The cadets missed seeing clips from Constantine's inar titled "U.S.A.'s War on Terror: Not a Sword, but unwittingly had been present at an all-too- 0Battle Between Christianity and Islam." It typical battle of the modern culture wars. would feature Michael (Mikey) Weinstein, alumnus of the James Carroll was born in 1943 to a gifted Irish- academy and director of the Military Religious Freedom American family in Chicago, and took orders at the Foundation; Muslim scholar Reza Asian; and former U.S. Paulist Fathers' seminary in Washington, D.C., in 1969. ambassador Joseph Wilson. Their presentation included a He became active in the antiwar movement at a time when strong defense of religious liberty in the military, and his father was one of the top Air Force intelligence offi- wpm argued that military doctrines should never be deter- cers. Leaving the priesthood in 1974, he began a distin- mined by sectarian religious interests. It was to include guished career as an essayist, columnist, playwright, and selected clips from Constantine's Sword, a film documen- novelist. An American Requiem, Carroll's memoir of the tary based on a book by James Carroll. Vietnam War's impact on his family, won the 1996 But the seminar did not go as planned. On April 8 a National Book Award. He writes a regular column for the widely distributed press release was put out by Bill Boston Globe, and is probably this country's most impor- Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious tant Catholic author. and Civil Rights, decrying Constantine's Sword as "anti- Constantine's Sword is Carroll's history of Christian— Catholic," and denouncing the author of the book from and specifically Catholic—anti-Semitism. What makes which it had been taken as "an embittered ex-priest." The Carroll unique is his willingness to speculate about the Catholic League also launched a major public relations role of central theological doctrines in exacerbating anti- campaign, contacting over a hundred elected officials, Semitism in both Protestantism and Catholicism. Was it along with the secretary of the Air Force and the secretary merely that individual Christians misunderstood and of defense.' misapplied Christian theology, or are the doctrines them- The presentation on April 9 was held up for 25 min- selves wrong, to some extent? The reader is left to decide utes while Weinstein and his friends argued loudly with for himself; but Carroll's willingness to pose the question Gen. John F. Regni, superintendent of the academy, that made him a hero to liberals within Catholicism, and to they be allowed to present the seminar as planned. There those in the larger society who seek religious reconcilia- was no evidence whatsoever that Constantine's Sword was tion. (And also to those Christians seeking to learn how "anti-Catholic," they pointed out, and in any case the militarism, racism, and the lust for power and empire scheduled footage was about overzealous Protestant entered Christendom.) Evangelicals, not Catholics; but Regni, it appeared, was Garry Wills called Constantine's Sword "Augustinian," nonetheless terrified of the Catholic League's ability to and Krister Stendahl, former dean of Harvard Divinity create bad publicity for the academy. School, praised it for "clarity of insights rarely—if ever— McCarthyism

LIBERTY' MARCH/APRIL 2 0 0 9 9 - IL" Weinstein was shocked by the Jews; but he also received calli

reached in the telling of this painful story." Susannah Heschel sectarian religion is a gross violation of the First Amendment. wrote: "For two thousand years Jews have been longing for a But nothing could have prepared either the academy or its Christian who would understand their experience. At last critics for what happened in February 2008. Three supposed James Carroll has written a book delineating the history of "reformed terrorists," who had been invited by the U.S. Air Force Christian-Jewish relations that demonstrates empathy and Academy to speak to cadets, shocked their audience by turning compassion for both sides." Religion scholar Karen Armstrong the academy's historic fiftieth assembly into an old-fashioned thought it "heartfelt and eloquent," suggesting that it could "do revival meeting. They declared that Islam was satanic, that what the Vatican has signally failed to do: to help Catholics Evangelical Christianity was the cadets' only hope, and advo- accept the truth, as a first step to repentance." cated an apocalyptic religious war against the Muslim world. It was Carroll's willingness to ask hard questions about Mikey Weinstein was appalled by the negative publicity this epi- institutional Christianity that enraged the Catholic League. sode generated, especially in the Muslim world. But their success in banning film clips of which they disap- Weinstein proposed a seminar consisting of a Jew, a proved was infuriating to those who had organized the April Christian, and a Muslim, who would jointly make the case for 9 seminar at the U.S. Air Force Academy, especially Michael the war on terror within a context of religious coexistence. Weinstein. For one thing, he appeared in the censored footage. After some foot-dragging, the superintendent of the academy But he was also deeply attuned to Carroll's concern about agreed, and the seminar was set for April 9, 2008. Footage of Christian anti-Semitism, because he and his family had been Weinstein speaking about religious liberty in the military was victims of it at the academy. to be shown at the seminar, as well as clips of academy cadets Mikey (he prefers the nickname to Michael) Weinstein attending Protestant Evangelical events. The footage would be endured anti-Semitic slurs while at the U.S. Air Force Academy taken from the film documentary Constantine's Sword. in the early 1970s, but assumed things had changed. He was Bill Donohue and the Catholic League found out—or were shocked in 2005 when his son reported that Christian told—about the seminar. They objected to the film clips Evangelicals at the academy who sought to convert him had because they came from a film documentary based on a book called him a "#*&#+*% Jew." Because the academy's administra- by James Carroll, whom the League believes is an "angry and tion did little to correct the situation, Weinstein formed the unfair" critic of the Catholic Church. The League referred to Military Religious Freedom Foundation to advocate for religious the film clips to be shown as "an outrageous assault on liberty at the academy, and also within the military generally. Catholicism," but they had nothing to do with Catholics, nor Weinstein quickly discovered that the command structure did the seminar. On the contrary—the film clips in question at the U.S. Air Force Academy was being used by Christian were about Protestant Evangelicals, not Catholics. officers to promote Evangelical worship, films, and books. It is Instead of facilitating a robust debate in which their con- hard for a young cadet at the academy to refuse the direct order servative religious ideas could get a hearing, the Catholic of an officer—and even harder to imagine a clearer example of League seems more intent on intimidating, silencing, and pun- religious coercion. Weinstein believes that the Evangelical offi- ishing those with whom they disagree—which interferes with cers responsible for the unwanted proselytizing are often fol- a free exchange of religious ideas and short-circuits healthy lowers of a fanatical, extremist form of Christianity called religious debate. Dominionism. Furthermore, the Catholic League seemes to promote a Weinstein was shocked by the anti-Semitism that accompa- highly questionable definition of anti-Catholicism. Anti- nied attempts to proselytize Jews; but he also received calls Catholicism usually means any form of law or politics that from Catholics who were being similarly proselytized. And he would deprive Catholics of civil rights, discriminate against heard from Protestant Christians—including many Evangelicals them, or deny them religious liberty. It could also mean libel —who understood that using military rank to force-feed or slander, or defamation of Catholics likely to incite religious hatred or hate crimes. But James Carroll's books clearly fall within the spectrum of acceptable religious discourse, and just because the Catholic League doesn't like them doesn't make them "anti-Catholic," nor give the League the right to censor film clnriimpntaripc made from them _

10 LIBERTY° MARCH/APRIL 2009 rnti-Semitism that accompanied attempts to proselytize from Catholics who were being similarly proselytized.

Interestingly, the Catholic League doesn't appear to care much about real anti-Catholicism (Evangelical Protestant offi- cers in the military using the command structure to prosely- tize Catholics, for example). Furthermore, Donohue has made bigoted statements about other groups, such as in a 2004 inter- view in which he said that secular Jews in Hollywood tend to hate Christianity.2 Critics pointed out that it was precisely this kind of generalization—or guilt by association—that was at the heart of Christian anti-Semitism historically. Donohue has increasingly engaged in violent rhetoric. In 2007 the Catholic League led an intense, and ultimately suc- cessful, lobbying effort to prevent the showing of a sculpture consisting of a chocolate figure of Jesus at the Lab Gallery in New York. Donohue told the sculptor Cosimo Cavallaro, "You're lucky I'm not as mean [as the Taliban] because you might lose more than your head." Donohue also said to Cavallaro, "You stuck your middle finger up at the Catholic Church, and we just broke it, pal."' Some people dismiss Bill Donohue and the Catholic League as harmless, yet their attacks have the power to destroy careers, relationships, and reputations. Above all, they are able to intimi- date. In our time, the free exchange of religious ideas is threat- ened not just by the state, but also by cultural vigilantes who seek compliance with their theological extremism by using disinfor- mation and name-calling. In the past, religious dissenters suf- fered pogroms, physical torture, dismemberment, and the public horror of the auto-de-fe; today it is religious McCarthyism, and its capacity to publicly stigmatize dissenters with unfounded accusations, that is often our society's unique test of faith. While less excruciating than being burned at the stake, it impoverishes American culture because it so often works. So shall it be—until people of faith have the courage to denounce the bullies who seek to censor religious debate.

Lawrence Swaim is the executive director of the Interfaith Freedom Foundation. His academic special- ties are American studies and literature. He writes from Fremont, California. Burning of the Heretics (Auto-de-fe) by Pedro Berruguete ' Catalyst, May 2008, p. 13. The Catholic League published all the names of the people they contacted on April 8 (apparently mainly by sending them e-mails) in the online version of their publication. They devoted three articles to their success in getting the U.S. Air Force Academy to change the format of the April 9, 2008, seminar. This writer also received an e-mail on April 8 denouncing the film clips to be shown at the seminar as "anti-Catholic," and making derogatory statements about James Carroll. Shmuley Boteach, Bill, 'Jews Are Not the Enemy," www.behefnet.com/story/158/story_15826_1.html ' CNN interview on youtube.com (www.youtube.comiwatch?v=1115Mqu4Fr5w&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fw ww%Evideosift%2Ecom%2Fvideo%2FChocalate%2Diesus%2DMakes%2DCathohcs%2DCRAZY/) ° MAKES11 AND RELIGIOUSFREEDOM,1 THE ENGLISHREFORMATION' 12 THE well intothe nineteenth century),declared thatHenryVIIIhadno real Foxe's Bookof Martyrs—one intention ofreforming thechurch—reformation cameonlybecauseof the what aboutreligion?Whatrelationshipwastherebetweentheseparationfrom O accepted allthekeydoctrines oftheCatholicChurch.Thiskeypointwasrec- and whetherbecausetheyweremoreradicalorconservative thanthe The EmergenceofDiversity Rome, whichheremembered, theProtestantmartyrologistJohnFoxe,author of ognized atthetime;earlyEnglish Protestants,unlikesomelaterhistorians,did ordinary peopleresistedroyalpolicies,whetherbycommission oromission, not attributetheReformation tohim.Writing30yearsafterthebreakwith government. ReligiousreformwasnotinevitableinEngland norcoulditever dence inearly-modernFrance,Savoy,theNetherlands, and Ireland.Insix- teenth-century England,asmuchrecenthistoricalresearch reveals,many the EnglishReformationwas"anactofstate."' the king'swill(andlatertwoofhischildren's),itbecamereality. Inthisview, English ReformationoccurredbecauseHenryVIIIwilledit; andbecauseitwas architect ofProtestantEngland? Rome andtheProtestantReformationinEngland?WasnotHenryVIII have beenthefruitofasingledecisionbyHenryVIII. desire wasaminorfactor;hesoughttoperpetuatetheTudordynastyand enhance itspowerinEngland.Iflustwasnotasignificantfactor,however, Reformation canbeshowntohavebeenunworthy,theologicallyunimportant,or appetites ofKingHenryVIII.Someseemtoimaginethatiftherootcauses own supremacyovertheEnglishChurch(rejectingpapalauthority),carnal trayed asnotbeingreallyaboutreligionatall,butratherthesexual both, thenitwillbeeasierforitsconsequencestoundone. BY DAVIDJ.B.TRIM Acts andMonumentsofthese LatterandPerillousDayes LIBERTY' MARCH/APRIL 2009 Traditionally, textbooksandpopularhistorybookshavedeclaredthatthe The firstofthisseriesarticlesshowedthatwhenHenryVIIIassertedhis In anycase,whileHenrydeniedtheuniversalauthority ofRome,he However, lawsalonedidnotsufficetoerasesubstantial religiousdissi- FlittGlAS Reformation. However,theReformationinEnglandisoftenpor- ne resultoftheEnglishcolonizationAmericaisthatreligious diversity and,consequently,theveryconceptofreligiouslibertyin the modernUnitedStates,bothderivefromEnglish BEGINNINGS of themostpopular booksintheUnitedStates (better knownas PART - 1 1 II

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Henry VIII being presented with Cranmer's Bible, godly character of Henry's son, Edward VI, and Christendom; in the mid-1520s it was a still the first authorized edition daughter, Elizabeth I. stronghold of the Roman Catholic Church. By of the Bible in English Henry did institute some reforms of the the late 1540s, England was not yet Protestant, English Church, but they were very moderate and but heterodox opinion flourished where once he rejected Protestantism until his death. It must there had been near uniformity. also be stressed that he utterly rejected any notion This was not Henry VIII's intention, nor was of religious liberty. Indeed, under Henry for the England's substantive transformation in the first time religious dissidence could be treated as decades after his death. But we can see today treason, as well as heresy; the Henrician religious that the emergence of heterodoxy was the begin- regime thus was actually more repressive than nings of the English Reformation. that of the medieval church. Despite this, a range of dissident religious HENRY VIII AND REFORM movements took root in England during the fit was not Henry's intention, then how did final third of his reign. Those English people it happen? Although it was not clear at the who retained a deep attachment to the Roman time, with the benefit of hindsight we can Church were one of the persecuted "sects," but see that a kind of foundation had been laid there were also various groups interested in the in the second half of Henry's reign by the mod- ideas of Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, erate reforms of Henry and some of his minis- Heinrich Bullinger, Martin Bucer, John Calvin, ters, and by the emergence of heterodox groups and the Anabaptists. Even many people who despite Henry's persecutions. accepted most of the doctrines and practices of Although Henry's own original idea for "his" Henry's church might be at least interested in church seems to have been Catholicism without one or two heterodox ideas. England in his the pope, it was possible for a range of ideas to father's reign had been judged by foreign visitors circulate in Henrician England and even at to be one of the most devout countries in Latin Henry's own court, because the king himself was

14 LIBERTY' MARCH/APRIL 2009 of support for the Papacy), the cult of saints SINCE NO ONE (which included pilgrimages, shrines, and the reverencing of relics), and the "worship" DARED TELL THE of images and sacred objects. The result was considerable iconoclasm, as English churches HIM THAT HE HELD were "cleansed" (by smashing). In addition, he king was often open to arguments for TWO MUTUALLY further limited reform of the church—such itarguments could be made not only by royal INCOMPATIBLE ministers who secretly favored Protestantism (discussed below), but also by those who BELIEFS, HENRY'S In iopposed it, but who, like the king and many continental Catholics in the 1530s, still wanted IDIOSYNCRATIC _ to reform church practices, though not doc- trines. This meant that those who were (often PERSONAL FAITH covertly) Protestant had breathing space and room for maneuver. RESULTED IN A Henry did dabble with doctrinal reforms as well. The king personally was extremely devout; PECULIAR OFFICIAL he fancied his abilities as theologian, and his self-fashioned persona of "church reformer" THEOLOGY. seems to have been an important part of his identity. This meant that as well as wanting to Title page of the first authorized end practices he saw as debasements of pure edition of the Bible in English, authorized by Christianity, he also read and discussed heretical Henry VIII to be read aloud in the church services texts and doctrines and, in the first years after of the Church of England. the break with Rome, he allowed some at court and in the church to do likewise. One consequence was that the Church of a would-be reformer. His interest in church England's official theology was both fluid and reform was of a more moderate kind than that unique. Although around 1539 Henry even toyed endorsed by Luther, whom the king (an amateur with Lutheran doctrines, he ultimately remained theologian) had openly attacked in 1521.2 attached to the faith of his childhood; he simply However, Luther himself was part of a broad could not bring himself to accept justification by spectrum of reform in the early sixteenth-cen- faith alone, nor abandon belief in the real pres- tury church, which included humanists, such as ence of Jesus in the Eucharist, nor give up prayers the celebrated Erasmus of Rotterdam and for the souls of the dead, despite finding Luther's Henry's friend and lord chancellor, Sir Thomas denial of purgatory persuasive. Since no one dared More, who remained loyal to Rome. Henry VIII, tell the king that he held two mutually incompat- like Erasmus and More, wanted to suppress ible beliefs, Henry's idiosyncratic personal faith abuses and corruption (whether the corruption resulted in a peculiar official theology. of church officials or the debasement of belief by Thus, the net effect of Henry's sympathy for superstition) rather than make significant doc- restricted reform was that, at some times trinal changes, and his reformist instincts had between 1533 and his death in 1547, heterodox little to do with his desire to end his marriage, ideas could legally circulate to a limited extent. but when, as a by-product of its annulment, he This should not be overstated—in 1539 the king, became master of the English Church, he natu- almost as though frightened by his own doctri- rally sought to reshape it in his own image. nal dabblings, reverted to a far more traditional Thus, in the late 1530s, reform of the Church of theological stance and (as we will see) inaugu- England went beyond removing prayers for the rated stringent persecution of those who would pope. Henry or his ministers had the Bible trans- not conform. Yet by the time some significant lated into English and a copy placed in every local reformist doctrines were repudiated by the king church. They suppressed monasteries (which were and declared heretical, there was already a large perceived as strongholds of superstition, as well as enough group of committed believers that

LIBERTY' MARCH/APRIL 2009 15 persecution could have only limited success. been false, then what else might have been a cor- Furthermore, the presence of both Catholic and ruption of original truth? Protestant doctrines in the theology of the Then, in the 1530s and early 1540s, the ongoing Henrician Church of England meant that the process of limited reform meant some government, many people who genuinely were confused about church, and court officials who secretly were com- what God really wanted, and were not yet will- mitted to the Protestant "heresies" were able to ing to make one "great do-or-die decision" for or clandestinely promote reforms within the church against "the Reformation," had some time and hierarchy. They included Thomas Cromwell, the space to experiment and to think over the alter- architect of the break with Rome and Henry's chief native positions.3 minister from 1532 to 1540 when he was disgraced In sum, because of Henry's interest in reform and executed largely because of his covert "further- and his idiosyncratic personal religion, the ance of the evangelical cause." 5 Thomas Cranmer, boundaries between Catholic and Protestant who as newly-installed archbishop of Canterbury remained fluid in England even after they had in 1533 had annulled Henry's first marriage and essentially become fixed on the continent. The gradually underwent a genuine personal conver- dividing lines between Catholics and different sion to Protestantism; the brother of Jane Seymour, sorts of Protestants were not clearly demarcated Henry VIII's third queen, who died giving birth to in Henrician England. a son (later Edward VI), Edward Seymour, who, as the king's brother-in-law and uncle of the future EARLY ENGLISH PROTESTANTS king, had considerable influence; and Catherine his theological fuzziness benefited those Parr, Henry's sixth and last wife, and active step- Englishmen and women who actively mother to the king's two younger children. Both did want substantial reform of the Edward and the future Elizabeth I were given PERSECUTION church, including of its doctrines as well Protestant educations thanks to the quiet influence as its practices. In addition, although they were of Cranmer, Seymour, and Catherine. COULD LIMIT HUT later disappointed by Henry's conservatism, they Meanwhile, as noted earlier, Henry in 1535 were encouraged and given impetus by Henry's had authorized the translation and publication NOT UNDO THE defiance of papal authority. of the Scriptures in English. Unfortunately (for In 1525, even as Henry contemplated how he Henry and the conservatives in the English CIRCULATION Of might get rid of a wife and get an heir, William Church), people then actually did read the Bible Tyndale began printing his English New or had it read to them. Many ordinary people NEW IDEAS AND Testament in Germany. The first formal evi- wanted to discover God's words for themselves; dence of Lutheranism in England dates to that one convert to Protestantism later recalled how, TEACHINGS, EVEN Christmas Eve, in a sermon delivered at after the weekly Sunday service was finished, Cambridge University. Well before the decade people gathered in the back of the church to read THOUGH, ON was done, Cambridge had become "a seedbed of the New Testament aloud; many illiterate people protestant beliefs, and a center, along with "would flock about them to hear their reading," Henly's DEATH, London, for the distribution of protestant books." while others learned to read specifically so that This attracted the heavy-handed persecutory they could read the Bible.6 OUT—AND—OUT attention of Sir Thomas More, who was very far Strict control of doctrinal orthodoxy was lost. from being the martyr for religious liberty that In 1535 Henry had probably been inspired by PROTESTANTS some, based on A Man for All Seasons, imagine Erasmus's vision of farmers chanting Scripture him!' But in the late 1520s and early 1530s the as they plow and weavers keeping time to their REMAINED A VOCAL eyes of the church hierarchy were mostly fixed moving shuttles "by humming the Bible."' on the problem of how to annul Henry's mar- By 1545 he was appalled that the Word of MINORITY. riage to Katherine of Aragon, rather than on the God "is disputed, rhymed, sung, and jangled in small body of English Protestants. Heresy laws every alehouse and tavern, contrary to the true were not implemented as rigorously as they had meaning and doctrine of the same."8 been—or indeed were to be again under Henry The Bibles that had been placed in every par- VIII. Other English people, interested in reform- ish church at the king's command were now ist ideas (not all of which were yet definitively chained up by his command, and Parliament Protestant), were encouraged to explore further passed laws allowing only the nobility and gen- by Henry's denunciation of papal authority; if try to read the Bible in English. In the 1530s the Rome's claim to universal authority had always full force of the state had been focused on those

16 LIBERTY' MARCH/APRIL 2009 Left to right: Prince Edward, Henry VIII, Jane Seymour c. 1545

who wanted to maintain the connection with schismatic, but not heretical. It had thrown off Rome; there had been many executions of those the authority of the pope and abolished the cult of (most notably Sir Thomas More) who denied saints, but apart from the exclusion of papal Henry VIII's supremacy over the church. In the jurisdiction only minor theological changes had 1540s the focus of persecution reverted to been made. The dissolution of the monasteries "heretics"—torture and death now befell those certainly altered the geographic dispersion of who openly denied transubstantiation or insisted religious observance and arguably had wider on "uttering the scriptures."9 social consequences; the iconoclastic "cleansing" However, with biblical teaching and Christian of churches, along with the general attacks on doctrines the stuff of "alehouse and tavern" debate, superstition, had changed the physical appearance the growth of heterodoxy had been given tremen- of churches and altered worship patterns; but dous momentum. Persecution could limit but not there was no shift to overtly Protestant doctrine undo the circulation of new ideas and teachings, as had occurred in parts of Germany and even though, on Henry's death, out-and-out Switzerland by the early 1540s. The Mass was Protestants remained a vocal minority. retained, along with its theological significance, as were most of the liturgical rituals that were AN IDIOSYNCRATIC CHURCH important parts of the lives of ordinary people enry created an idiosyncratic national throughout the country; services were still in church, distinct from all confessions. Its Latin. Many people would have noticed little official beliefs and practices changed as changes in the day-to-day practice of their faith. IIHenry himself toyed with somewhat In combining rejection of papal authority radical positions, then veered back to conserva- with an essentially orthodox Catholic structure tive ones. On Henry's death on January 28, 1547, of belief, the Church of England on Henry's the Church of England still formally considered death was unique. It was not Roman, but nor itself to be part of the universal church. It was was it Protestant.

LIBERTY• MARCH/APRIL 2 0 0 9 17 Canterbury Cathedral THE HENRICIAN CHURCH just as incubated eggs do not always develop, AND THE ENGLISH REFORMATION when Henry VIII died on January 28, 1547, a nd yet ... by the end of Henry's reign Protestant Reformation was an uncertain in 1547, although the majority of peo- outcome. ple conformed, at least outwardly, religious uniformity had nevertheless Professor D.J.B. Trim teaches history at Newbold College, Bracknell, Berkshire, near London, England. beena broken and heterodoxy flourished in a country that only 20 years earlier had been one ' F. M. Powicke, The Reformation in England (London: Oxford University Press, 1941), p.1; cf. Christopher Haigh, English Reformations (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993), p.18. of the chief defenders of the church of Rome. Assertio septem sacramentorum adversus Martin Lutherum (facsimile edition, England was at a tipping point—capable of Ridgewood, N.J.: Gregg Press, 1966). being steered back to that allegiance to Rome or 3 Haigh, p.14. 'Seymour Baker House, "More, Sir Thomas (1478-1535)," Oxford Dictionary of of adopting different types of Protestantism. National Biography. (Oxford University Press, Sept. 2004); online ed., Jan. 2008 The decisive years would be while Henry's chil- (www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/19191, accessed May 15, 2008). dren reigned. 'Howard Leithead, "Cromwell, Thomas, earl of Essex (b. in or before 1485, d. 1540r Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, Sept. 2004); online What is very clear is that the creation of ed., Jan. 2008 (www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/6769, accessed May 19, 2008). Protestant England (and thereafter America) 6 "The Cruel Treatment of William Maldon when a Boy, at Chelmsford, by his Father," was neither the fruit of Henry VIII's lust, nor in John G. Nichols (ed.), Narratives of the Days of the Reformation, Camden Society, ser. 1., 77 (London: 1860), 348-351. even what Henry wanted. The emergence of ' Erasmus quoted in T. A. Morris, Europe and England in the Sixteenth Century heterodoxy, of limited (and illegal) diversity, (London & New York: Routledge, 1998), p. 24. was unintended and vigorously resisted, yet 'Henry VIII, speech to Parliament, Dec. 1545, in A. G. Dickens and Dorothy Carr (eds.), The Reformation in England to the Accession of Elizabeth I, Documents of it was indispensable for the subsequent suc- Modern History series (London: Edward Arnold, 1967; New York: St Martin's Press, cess of the English Reformation. With the 1968), p.119. benefit of hindsight we can see that the final 'The specific charge against one early Protestant, the poet Anne Askew: "The examination of Anne Askew, 1546," in David Cressy and Lori Anne Ferrell (eds.), years of Henry's reign witnessed the incuba- Religion and Society in Early Modern England: A Sourcebook (London & New York: tion of Protestantism in England. However, Routledge, 1996), pp. 33-34, at 34.

18 LIBERTY' MARCH/APRIL 2009 E I 1 ED EL ROD RIGU Z When ReligionBecomes Evil REVIEWED BYCLIFFORDGOLDSTEIN 300 yearssincetheEnlightenment,whichoffered the foundationformodernrationalism.Ithasbeen and superstitionsitinheritedfrom thedarkdaysof hope that,throughreason,rationality, andnatural philosophy, humanitywouldperfect andprogress its waytoutopia,leavingbehind themyths,fables, what AugusteComptederided as the"ageoftheol- Charles Darwin eliminatedtheneedofanycreator, ogy." Andithas beenmorethan150yearssince because naturalselection andrandom mutation twasn'tsupposedtobethisway.Afterall,it has beenmorethan400yearssinceRene Descartes lockedhimselfinaroomand,with his famousmantra"Cogitoergosum,"laid BM IIEVIh were declaredthemeansbywhichhumanitycame and religiousfaithanymore.Hereweare,having is, therewasn'tsupposedtobesomuchreligion into existence. and still—eveninanageofCERN, iPhones,and one wouldhaveeverimagined. pushed ourwayintothetwenty-firstcentury, a forcetobereckoned with;notsomuchbecause nanotechnology—religion and religiousfaith of thepower itsmoralstrengthbutbecause of remain, evenstrongerinsome placesthanany- its power todrivehumans intoinhumanity. In Thus, itwasn'tsupposedtobethisway;that Of course,inrecentyearsreligion hasbecome LIBERTY• MARCH/APRIL 2009 19 BOOK REIllh

Why, then, do some folks, most of whose faith teach

the twentieth century, secular ideologies were the boogeymen: Fascism, Communism, Nazism. things such as the Today, especially in the post 9/11 world, the focus has shifted, and religion is now center stage as a force that carries with it not just the potential for golden rule, evil but for the realization of that evil. After 9/11 we know full well the truth of Pascal's maxim: "Never will men do evil more willfully and more love, charity, cheerfully than when they do it from religious conviction." Who needs reminding that the men who flew and kindness, those jets into the Twin Towers weren't Kantian idealists, atheistic materialists, Humean skep- tics, Derridean deconstructionists, or logical end up epitomizing positivists? Now, it would be naïve to argue that religion alone is the motivating factor behind these acts of the worst in terrorism. One doesn't need to remember (though it helps) G.W. F. Hegel's famous line that "the state is the march of God through the world" to realize humanity? just how intertwined politics and religion can get. Most, if not all, violence done by religious fanatics today are also done by political fanatics as well: that is, the suicide bomber, perhaps screaming "Allah Akbar!" as he (or she) detonates the explo- sives, is also thinking "Death to the Zionists" or "Death to America" as well. Even a quick survey of most of the religious extremist movements in the world today—what- ever their religion (Christians, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu)—would reveal a political undertone. It's rare, at least in the most violent of the move- ments, for political considerations not to play a major role. From the violence that once plagued Northern Ireland, to the fighting in Kashmir, politics and religion cannot be separated. And, unfortunately, it's when religion mixes with poli- tics that it "becomes evil." Hence, Charles Kimball's aptly titled volume When Religion Becomes Evil, published in 1992 (right in the wake of 9/11). The title itself could easily make one think it's just one in the slew of anti-religious diatribes by the likes of Richard

20 LIBERTY' MARCH/APRIL 2009

wHEN Five Warning Signs

When Religion Becomes Evil RELIGION By Charles Kimball BFCOMFS FVIL (Harper San Francisco, 2002)

Dawkins (The God Delusion), Sam Harris (The Kimball goes through a host of examples reli- End of Faith), and Christopher Hitchens (God Is gion becoming evil—from David Koresh, Muslim Not Great). The only problem, however, is that extremism, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and Kimball is an ordained Baptist minister and a Hindu—in each case looking at the basic assump- Christian. Working from radically different tions of these groups and why, he believes, those premises than does Hitchens and Company, he assumptions lead these folks to everything from of course comes to a radically different conclu- mass suicide, to mass murder, to both, or in some sion about potential solutions. cases to just an extremism that defies logic or rea- One thing, though, Hitchens and Kimball son. In one particularly moving section, he would agree on: religion can be exploited and recounts the story of a girls' school that caught turned into a force for evil. It's the question of fire in Saudi Arabia but the firemen were forbid- how, and why, that Kimball explores. den by the religious police to enter on the fear that "Understanding the factors," he writes, "that some of the girls would not be properly attired. As can and do lead people of faith and goodwill— a result, 15 of the girls perished. That, it seems, wittingly or unwittingly—into destructive and was even too much for the Saudis, and the outcry evil patterns of behavior must be a high priority on in the country brought about some changes in the the world's agenda." A sentiment no doubt echoed oversight of women's education. even as, perhaps, the smoke from the World Trade What, then, is the solution? Kimball, in great Center catastrophe hadn't yet fully cleared. contrast to Hitchens and so forth, believes that Why, then, do some folks, most of whose faith "people of faith offer the best hope for correcting teaches things such as the golden rule, love, char- the corruptions leading to violence." In the final ity, and kindness, end up epitomizing the worst in chapter, he seems to argue for some kind of ecu- humanity? The answers, of course, are complex, menical dialogue between faiths, in which each and Kimball wisely avoids any simplistic, one- seeks to draw out what they can from the others. size-fits-all response. Early on, though, he does While better than doing nothing, the solution deal with what he calls "absolute truth claims," hardly seems feasible. The kind of religions folks which, simply put, is that each religion makes willing to engage in these discussions are pre- claims on truth that, by nature, must mean that cisely the kind we don't have to worry about the other man's "absolute truth claims" must be (Can one imagine Osama bin Laden or the wrong. The Christian absolute truth claim that Taliban engaged in interfaith dialogue?). For the Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God who died for extremists, the ones of their faith willing to talk the sins of the world, by default automatically like this are often deemed apostates, themselves means that Jews, Muslims, and in fact any other worthy of some sort of censure, or worse. faith that denies that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son No, it wasn't supposed to be like this. Religion of God who died for the sins of the world, are was supposed to have died off, slowly replaced by wrong. At the same time, those who deny that the gods of science, rational inquiry, a priori mate- belief must, by default, believe that the Christians rialism, and the like. It hasn't. Nor was it supposed and their "absolute" truth claim is, in fact, false. to be like this, either: folks killing others in the Multiply these conflicting "absolute truth claims," name of a faith that espouses peace and kindness especially on what many religions believe are doc- to others. But it is like this, and one of the greatest trines which constitute, Kimball writes, "the challenges of our times is how to deal with it. foundation on which the entire structure rests," Clifford Goldstein writes from Mount Airy, Maryland. A former editor of Liberty, and it's not hard to see why tensions rise. Clifford now edits Bible study guides for the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

LIBERTY• MARCH/APRIL 2009 21

BY SALEEM AHMED

To the majority of Muslims, Islam is a religion of peace. They are law-abiding citizens who mind their own busi- ness, respect others' religious beliefs, and lead a low-key life. Their interfaith activities are guided by verses such as the following in the Qur'an, their holy book: Invite (all) to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and discuss with them in ways that are best and most gracious (Qur'an 16:125) (Within parenthe- ses are chapter (sura) and verse (ayah) numbers); The food of the People of the Book is lawful unto you and yours is lawful unto them. (Lawful unto you in marriage) are (not only) chaste women who are believers, but (also) chaste women among the People of the Book (Qur'an 5:5); Let there be no compulsion in religion (Qur'an 2:256). While extremist Muslims also believe Islam is a religion of peace, this peace can only be on their terms, based on

RELIGION OF PEACE? • =•1 • II _ •

their interpretation of selected Qur'anic verses and hadith (Muhammad's pur- ported sayings and actions). They do not mind their own business. In their ven- detta for perceived injustices to Muslims historically or currently, they are willing to kill others, including Muslims who disagree with their philosophy. They thrive on terrorizing the public—locally and internationally. And while they also use the Qur'an for guidance, the tenor of verses they select is totally different: Fight and slay the pagans wherever you find them. And seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war) (Qur'an 9:5); Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day nor hold that forbidden which has been forbidden by Allah and His apos- tle, nor acknowledge the religion of truth (even if they are) People of the Book, until they pay Jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued (Qur'an 9:29); Take not Jews and Christians for your friends and protectors. . . And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them (Qur'an 5:51). While thoroughly confusing messages Thousands of Muslims circle the Kaaba at prayer during the hadj in Mecca. REUTERS/Ahlareks when taken as "snapshots" frozen in time, these "mixed signals" in the Qur'an repre- in his ministry when he was a marked rized verses)." The Qur'an thus compiled sent an evolution in the divine message man with a price on his head; and the contains more than 6,200 verses, arranged Muhammad received over the 23 years of reconciliatory posture toward "People of in 114 suras of unequal length. The short- his prophethood (610-632 C.E.). While the Book" was part of the last message he est has three verses (sura 108); the longest, guidance on spiritual matters remained received around 632 C.E., when Islam 286 (sura 2). While some Muslims believe unchanged, that on temporal matters had spread throughout Arabia and he no Muhammad had instructed his followers evolved after he fled from Mecca (622 longer faced the same danger. on the placement of verses, others believe C.E.) and was welcomed as head of state While the prophet lived, no need was this was a later decision. Probably both in Medina. Responding to fluctuating felt to consolidate all guidance he had happened to varying degrees. sociopolitical developments, these verses received as this was an ongoing process. guided Muhammad on how to respond to The need for consolidation took on Qur'an's Divergent Interpretations threat: with equal force, or with diplo- urgency after a particular battle, one to ince Qur'anic verses indicate neither macy and compassion. two years after Muhammad's death, in Scontext nor chronology of revela- which several Qaris (who had memorized tions, some Muslims freely pick whichever The Challenge Muslims Face the divine guidance) were killed. Fearing guidance and/or hadith supports their nfortunately, the Qur'an is not that Muslims would be lost without a cen- agenda at any time, ignoring other guid-

REUTERS U arranged chronologically. For tral repository of prophetic guidance, ance suggesting the opposite. The conse-

AZI I example, guidance permitting Muslims Umar (later the second caliph) suggested quence of this pick-and-choose approach to eat with and marry "People of the to Abu Bakr (then caliph) to consolidate is exemplified by the following divergent NIKOUB

A Book" (Jews and Christians) is followed all revelations into one book. Initially writings on terrorism, all quoting verses

RTEZ 46 verses later—in the same sura—by reluctant to do something that had not from the Qur'an: (1) press releases from guidance prohibiting Muslims from been "sanctioned by the prophet," Abu the Fiqh (Islamic law) Council of North

GE 0 MO trusting them. While this gives the Bakr asked Zaid, another close compan- America and Islamic Society of North PA

S impression that initially Muslims could ion of Muhammad, to coordinate this America (both dated July 25, 2005) con- OU trust Jews and Christians but were later project. Zaid collected verses written on demning terrorism, labeling suicide

PREVI advised against this, actually the oppo- "leafless stalks of the date-palm tree and bombers as criminals/murderers, and ON site happened: Muhammad was cau- pieces of leather, hides, and stones, and promoting Islam as a "Religion of Peace;" OTO

PH tioned against trusting "outsiders" earlier from the 'chests of men' (who had memo- and (2) an article by Saudi Arabia's former

24 LIBERTY' MARCH/APRIL 2009 "peace verses," revealed later when Islam had spread throughout Arabia and he no longer faced danger. So, while Muslims continue to recite Qur'an's "war verses," they should only follow its "peace verses". This would be similar to our read- ing of the U.S. Constitution. The origi- nal U.S. Constitution set the value of non-free men and women at 3/5 the value of free individuals. And while the abolition of slavery in 1865 repealed this, the original Constitution, pre- served in the U.S. Archives, will forever carry that proclamation.

Demystifying Islam as a Religion of War ince "sensationalism sells news," the Svoice of majority Muslims—moderate and self-respecting humans—gets drowned by the "noise" of extremists. For example, majority Muslims were saddened by the 2001 destruction of Buddha's statues by the Taliban in Afghanistan and by the emotional and violent outburst of some Muslims pro- testing publication of Muhammad's unfavorable caricatures by some European newspapers in 2005. While the media prominently covered both these reactive chief justice Sheikh Abdullah bin won 20 percent of the seats in Pakistan's events, it largely ignored the press releases Muhammad bin Humaid inciting National Assembly in 2002 and formed of Muslim organizations expressing dis- Muslims to constantly fight unbelievers governments in the two provinces border- may at both above-mentioned reactive and projecting Islam as a "Religion of ing Afghanistan and Iran, they won less Muslim actions. War." Reading this 19-page article than 5 percent of the seats in 2008 and also Perhaps the media—and publications (included in the book Interpretation of the did poorly in these two provinces. In fact, like Liberty—can help bring to the world's Meanings of the Noble Qur'an in the the 2002 results probably represented a attention the voice of "Muslim majority English Language by Al-Hilali and Khan "protest vote" against the U.S.A.'s massive protest"? And while at it, the media might [Riyadh: Darussalam Publishers, 1996], bombing in adjacent Afghanistan. also consider investigating the following suicide bombers shine as martyrs. Similarly, the 2008 results clearly showed questions: (1) To what extent do Sheikh The extremists' puritanical vendetta people's protest against extremism. Abdullah's thoughts reflect the official against other Muslims may also be Undeterred by their increasing Saudi position? (2) Should Muslims who gauged from the following five headlines unpopularity, however—but having unquestioningly follow Qur'an's "war in the newspaper Dawn (Karachi) during more faith in bullet than ballot—extrem- verses" be permitted to live in or visit April through September 2007, mostly ists march on, destination unknown. countries where such violence is prohib- involving Lal Masjid, a pro-Taliban Hidden within Qur'anic passages we ited? (3) Why don't we hear of extremist group in Pakistan: "Lal Masjid Threatens also find an antidote for extremists' blind leaders killing themselves in suicide mis- Suicide Attacks"; "Anti-polio Campaign use of selected Qur'anic verses. This is in sions? Why are their followers so "expend- Thwarted by Clerics"; "Woman and the form of another Qur'anic verse: None able," while they decline to sacrifice them- Three Men Publicly Executed"; "Lal of our Revelations do we abrogate or cause selves for a cause? Masjid Fatwa Against Magazine"; and to be forgotten, but We substitute some- The bottom line: Yes, Islam can be, "Women Beheaded for 'Immoral thing similar or better (Qur'an 2:106). and in practice usually is, a religion of Activities"' (April 7 and 27, June 5 and Thus, earlier Qur'anic guidance on peace; but we cannot say the same for all 17, and September 8, respectively). any subject stands abrogated by later its followers. That extremists have little following guidance. "War verses," revealed to worldwide may be gauged from the abso- guide Muhammad in earlier years, when Dr. Saleem Ahmed writes from Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the author of Beyond Veil and Holy War: Islamic Teachings and Muslim Practices with lute routing of orthodox Muslim parties in enemies were out to throttle his fledgling Biblical Comparisons (Moving Pen Publishers, 2002). A second book Pakistan's 2008 elections. While they had religion, should be considered replaced by on Islam—Islam:A Religion of Peace?—is due out early 2009.

LIBERTY• MARCH/APRIL 2009 25 BY REX D. EDWARDS

n Monday, March 29, 1948, the city of Jerusalem had on hand only a five-day supply of margarine, four days0 of macaroni, and ten days of dried meat. There was no fresh meat, fruit, or vegetables avail- able in its markets. Any eggs that could be found sold for 20 cents apiece. The city, with its 100,000 Jews, was living off its slender reserves of canned and packaged food: sardines, macaroni, and dried beans. Convoys bringing relief had been wiped out. With the road up to Jerusalem cut, one sixth of the entire Jewish settlement in Palestine was isolated and menaced by starvation. Rationing had been avoided as long as pos- sible so as not to create a climate of insecurity in the city. Now it began with a vengeance. Adults were allowed, for example, 200 grams (about four slices) of bread a day. For children, a supple- mentary ration consisted of one egg and 50 grams of margarine a week. Nor was food the only staple in short supply

"Never does the human soul appear so strong and noble

26 LIBERTY" MARCH/APRIL 2009 as when it forgoes revenge, and dares to forgive an injury." -Edwin Hubbell Chapin

LIBERTY® MARCH/APRIL 2009 27 in the city. No kerosene had reached Jerusalem the world was young: Palestine. since February. Housewives had begun using Before the General Assembly was a proposal DDT as cooking fuel. People learned how to to cut the ancient territory into two separate improvise. Anyone with a patch of land or a win- states—one Arab, one Jewish. That proposal dow box tried to grow a few vegetables. For those represented the collective wisdom of a United who did not own even a flowerpot, a handful of Nations special committee instructed to find erudite biologists at Hebrew University sug- some way of resolving 30 years of struggle between gested hydroponics, a technique of growing veg- Jews and Arabs for the control of Palestine. etables in water without soil. Soaked cotton was A mapmaker's nightmare, it was categorized recommended for nurturing seedlings. "at best, a possible compromise; at worst, an abom- Occasionally help came from the enemy. One ination." It gave 57 percent of Palestine to the Jewish night a Jewish householder heard a soft whistle people despite the fact that two thirds of its popula- coming from beyond the barbed wire ringing his tion and more than half its land was Arab. The home. Creeping to the sound in the dark, he Arabs owned more land in the Jewish state than the found Salome, the elderly Arab woman who had Jews did, and before immigration that state would been his maid for years. She passed him a few contain a majority of barely 1,000 Jews. tomatoes through the wire, whispering, "I know All these facts were known to Salome. She you having nothing." knew the partitioning of the land in which her As I read this account' it struck me that this people had been a majority for seven centuries vignette of history was naming an aspect of that was a monstrous injustice. Was her magnanimous noblest—and rarest—of all human graces: response to the needs of a hungry Jew easy? When magnanimity. we feel sorely sinned against, our first impulse is The dictionary-makers define magnanimity to strike back, to exact the ancient world's eye for as the quality of being "noble in mind; elevated in an eye and tooth for a tooth. But the advent of soul ... ; rising above pettiness or meanness; gen- Christianity brought a nobler goal: to "overcome erous in overlooking injury or insult."2 C. P. Snow evil with good" (Romans 12:21, KJV). "Love your calls it "this major virtue, which at any level sweet- enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to ens life, and at the highest glorifies it." Of it, the those who hate you, and pray for those who spite- late Harry Emerson Fosdick, the most famous fully use you and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44, Protestant preacher of a past era, wrote: "No man NKJV), Christ commanded.* To most of us such ever saved anybody, or served any great cause, or triumph over vindictiveness doesn't come natu- left any enduring impress who was not willing rally. It's a grace that must be developed, made to forget indignities, bear no grudges . . . . The habitual by practice. Jesus, asked how many times world's saviors have all, in one way or another, an enemy should be forgiven, replied: "Until sev- loved their enemies and done them good." enty times seven" (Matthew 18:22, KJV). Magnanimity, applied to relations between Magnanimity does not condone wrongdoing, nations and peoples, transforms hostility into of course. Nor does it suggest that the wrongdoer helpfulness. Salome's magnanimous act is quite should go scot-free, or "lessen the claim of just astonishing considering a decision made on the obligation."3 He who forgives easily invites offense. sxvcd ANybody, On serwed ANy grzexu CAUSE, OR LEFT ANy eNduruNg imprzess Who WAS NO'S wiLIANg ro longer mdigNrcics, beArz NO grzudges."

afternoon of Saturday, November 29, 1947, in a But it does call for understanding the pressures cavernous gray building that had once housed an that led to the transgression, plus a willingness to ice-skating rink, in Flushing Meadow, New York, help the guilty one. "If you do not forgive," said when delegates of 56 of the 57 members of the Jesus bluntly, "neither will your Father in heaven General Assembly of the United Nations were forgive your trespasses" (Mark 11:26, NKJV). In called upon to decide the future of a sliver of other words, those who refuse to forgive cast away land set on the eastern rim of the Mediterranean. their "own hope of pardon."4 It is just. Why? Half the size of Denmark, harboring fewer peo- Because we have been forgiven a debt that is ple than the city of St. Louis, it had been the cen- beyond all paying. Our sin brought the death of ter of the universe for the cartographers of antiq- God's own Son, and if that is so, we must forgive uity, the destination of all the roads of man when others as God has forgiven us, or we can hope to

28 LIBERTY• MARCH/APRIL 2009 find no mercy. The unforgiving unforgiven dies. satisfied and mercy extended. It was there that the Two Israeli children hold We are, in fact, called to not only forgive but very ultimate in magnanimity was verbalized in banners during a protest in to forget. While an injury is a part of our mem- that noblest of all prayers: "Forgive them, Father, Tel Aviv against Israel's ory history, forgetting involves a deliberate act of for they know not what they do." offensive in Gaza January the will, putting the injury out of our minds, Forgive whom? Forgive enemies? The soldier in 2009. The left banner reads refusing to dwell upon it. This takes some doing, the courtroom of Caiaphas who struck Him with a in English "Yes to peace." but the person who says, "I can forgive, but I can mailed fist? Pilate, the politician, who condemned a REUTERS/Eliana Aponte never forget," is saying, in the words of Henry God to retain the friendship of Caesar? Herod who Ward Beecher, "I cannot forgive." Clara Barton, robed Wisdom in the garment of a fool? The soldiers founder of the American Red Cross, reminded who swung the King of kings on a tree between once of a cruelty done her, replied serenely, "I heaven and earth? Forgive them? And yes, the Jews distinctly remember forgetting that!" who stole your land, dispossessed you, and bull- General Wilfred Kitching, when international dozed your house! And yes, the colleague who falsely head of the Salvation Army, was fond of telling of accused you and assigned to another credit for your the man who arose in one of his public meetings work! And yes, the professed Christian pastor who to testify: "God has not only forgiven my sins and gives new meaning to the scandal of Christianity: cast them into the sea of His forgetfulness, but He when the righteous are ungodly. Why? In the words has put up a notice, 'Fishing Prohibited!" of the Duke of Buckingham, The Gospels make it plain that Jesus made magnanimity's possession and practice the "The truest joys they seldom prove Who free from quarrels live: prime aim of those who would live the good life, the ultimate test of character. Consider His gentle `Tis the most tender part of love treatment of the adulteress about to be stoned. Each other to forgive." —John Sheffield Why would He not condemn her? Because He would be condemned for her. Innocence would Dr. Rex D. Edwards is the retired Griggs University associate vice president and not condemn, because innocence would suffer dean of Religious Studies. for the guilty. Justice would be saved, for He * Texts credited to NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright ©1979, 1980, would pay the debt of her sins; mercy would be 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. saved, for the merits of His death would apply to ' Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre,°Jerusalem! (New York: Pocket Books, 1972), p. her soul. But He did not make light of her sin, for 265. He assumed its burden. Forgiveness cost some- Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary, unabridged, 2nd. ed. (1977), s.v. "mag- nanimous"; cf. "magnanimity." thing, and the full price would be paid on the 'Ellen G. White, Christ's Object Lessons, p. 247. hill of the three crosses where justice would be ' Ibid., p. 247.

LIBERTY• MARCH/APRIL 20 09 29 No Conflict Between Clauses religious purposes? What violation of among European warlords. This is not Regarding the article"Avoiding Misguided liberty was not done by one who be- different from what goes on today Metaphors' by Carl H. Esbeck (Liberty, lieved he was exercising his own rights? in other parts of the world. They also May/June 2007), the author ostensibly at- The First Amendment not only knew that the same people who had tempted to prove that the establishment restricts what the government can do in fled religious persecution in Europe had clause and the free exercise clause are the name of religion; it also prohibits the established official faiths in the colonies not in conflict. While the clauses are not use of government for religious purposes, and were busy persecuting both less- in conflict, the author sounded more like even if—especially if—by citizens. One observant members of their own sects he was trying to prove that they were in cannot say that the establishment clause and those of other faiths. Remember conflict: that the establishment clause is limits what government can do with that Jefferson's letter to the Baptists trumped by the free exercise clause; that religion but does not limit a citizen's use was to members of a persecuted faith. "Most religious "free exercise" includes the use of govern- of government for religious purposes. Therefore, when you admirably believers find it hard to ment by citizens for religious purposes. If it were so, the establishment clause defend the separation of church It was as if he were saying that would indeed conflict with the free and state, please remember to be understand that it is the two clauses taken together do not exercise clause. Thank God it does not. inclusive of people with other- possible to have a limit the use of government for religious DEAN MILLER than-Abrahamic belief systems. Collegeville, Pennsylvania PAOLO MAFFEI strong moral compass purposes. It was as if he were regurgitat- ing the tired old argument that enforcing District 2 Supervisor without faith." the establishment clause would be"dis- Defending All County of Tuolumne crimination"or"hostility" (he used these I appreciate your stance on the consti- Sonora, California words of rhetoric in the article) against re- tutional guarantees of religious liberty. ligion—that is, that enforcement of the However, I would ask your readers to Liberty Needed establishment clause is a violation of the consider that what is important to you as I've just finished the current issue of free exercise clause. Of course, if this were members of a minority group is equally Liberty and must say that it is superb! true, then the clauses would conflict. important to others, especially minorities It should be in the hands of every The author seemed to be coming with whom you may differ theologi- voter. Unfortunately, most will never from the angle that the religious clauses cally, but who nevertheless enjoy the see it, and are sadly ignorant of the of the First Amendment exist only to same guarantees; Wiccans, animists, crucial state-church issues that will restrict government but that citizens have humanists, agnostics, and atheists. eventually lead to the final crisis. no restrictions whatsoever on freedom Most religious believers find it hard May God continue to richly of religious exercise. The truth is that to understand that it is possible to bless you and Liberty in the quest the citizen's rights are indeed limited have a strong moral compass without to protect our religious freedoms. also. Just as citizens have no free speech faith. However, if you were to attend DON ROTH rights to utter physical threats, citizens a humanist convention, you would E-mail have no free exercise rights to perform be struck by the moral content and human sacrifices even if in the name of the strong commitment to values, Prepared to Witness religion. Moreover, citizens' free speech although those values are often at odds I'm surprised you haven't received any rights and free exercise rights do not with those of fundamentalists of any comments on a rather weak cover include the right to use government to religion. One value humanists share is a story ("Telling It Like It Is,"May/June advance their religion. That is not part recognition of the democratic rights of 2008). First, in looking for persecution of the right to free exercise. If it were, others, especially in the realm of faith. in Judge Young's court, it finds only a then the establishment clause and the The Founders included deists, argu- strange man with possible anti-woman free exercise clause would indeed be ably not exactly Christians. As educated bias expressing himself in domestic, contradictory. What violation of the men, they were well aware of the role immigration, and religious matters establishment clause was not perpetrated religion played in European politics. The (with religion treated less harshly than by some overzealous religionist who Thirty Years'and Hundred Years'wars the others). Then the sidebar quotes thought it was his right of free exercise were ostensibly fought over the nature St. Peter about being prepared to or free speech to use government for his of the Trinity, but in reality were the use and abuse of religion in power conflicts

30 LIBERTY° MARCH/APRIL 2009 witness, without mentioning St. Paul's policy is adversely being affected by Mr. Goldstein's article would have appearances before authorities. the secular world toward Christians. been far more credible if he had refrained ULIBERTY® In the spirit of Paul, Ms. White should Catholic adoption agencies being shut from the use of such extreme phrases Chairman, Editorial Board Halyard B. Thomsen have accepted the judge's interest as down for refusing to provide services to describing atheist thought and words Editor Lincoln E. Steed genuine and rejoiced, especially since same-sex couples; public school teachers as "dystopia,""puerile,""elitist clique7 Associate Editor Melissa Reid she had already identified herself as being fired for telling a colleague,"I'll "bizarre views," and warning us dread- Administrative Assistant Snehlatha Bathini Consulting Editors Eugene Hsu someone willing to debate religious be praying for you"; students being fully of an atheistic "eternal blackness of Jan Paulsen issues publicly. It is sad to see someone disciplined for silently reading their a cold and dead universe' Is he serious? Don C. Schneider John Graz so naive about persecution. She may personal Bible on a public school I know that some atheists are really Consultants Vernon Alger have been uncomfortable, but it was campus (I have personally known such a "anti-theists;' but I am not, and there Amireh Al-Haddad really a quite benign situation. Under student)—these are no isolated cases! is a difference. I slightly knew and did Barry Bussey Walter Carson current situations, we should all look TRENT LOGAN not like Madalyn Murray O'Hair,"the Charles Eusey beyond man vs. government and Holbrook, Arizona ultra-nasty den mother of American Samuel Green Gregory Hamilton consider the overarching purposes atheism". I think she was an "anti-theist;' Kevin James of God in preparing His people. I think the quote from Goldstein is valid, but I also know that she was threatened Grace Mackintosh Matthew McMearty GARY even as the points raised by Trent are and physically assaulted and was Adrian Westney E-mail also true. There is indeed a pushback by eventually murdered, so I think that her Alan Reinach those of a secular mind-set The need attitude was somewhat understand- Art Direction/Design Bryan Gray Correct! It was relatively benign—but is for bold Christian proclamation that able, even if misguided. Mr. Goldstein Website Management Emanuel Pelote Treasurer Kenneth W. Osborn also indicative of the dynamic often does not itself push improperly across the should dial down his clueless scorn a bit. Legal Advisor Todd McFarland challenging a faith stand. The emphasis line between church and state. Editor. H. WATKINS ELLERSON www.libertymagazine.org Hadensville, Virginia was more on how she responded than Liberty* is a registered trademark of the General Conference on how dangerous or threatening the Agree to Disagree Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists'. challenge from the judge. Editor. As an "incidental" atheist of some 40+ An interesting riposte to Goldstein's take Liberty•(ISSN 0024-2055) is published bimonthly by the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, years, I must declare my agreement on the atheist challenge. Some good 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600. Pushback with Clifford Goldstein's observa- points and some unnecessary sensitivity. Periodicals postage paid at Hagerstown, MD. I really appreciated the article by tions about the likely effect of the Always dangerous to assume the role of POSTMASTER send changes of address to Liberty, P.O. Box 1119, Hagerstown, MD 21741-1119. Copyright 0 2009 by the North Clifford Goldstein,"Faith Attack," in the alleged words of prominent atheists speaking for others, but of course, some American Division. September/October 2008 issue, and about which he bitterly complains, like Madalyn O'Hair and Dawkins do just Printed by the Review and Herald Publishing Association, the point is well made that the rants that those words will be"the fertile that. Goldstein is a past editor of Liberty, 55 West Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21741-1119. Subscription price: U.S. 57.95 per year. Single copy: U.S. $1.50. of the "secular elite" are increasing the fodder [provided to] the Christian and not quite 'clueless." Point well taken Price may vary where national currencies differ. For subscrip- determination of the Christian Right to Right" (September/October 2008). that at times we might go a little easier. tion information or changes, please call 1 (800) 456-3991. Vol. 104, No.2, March/April 2009 "gain the reins of political power The I think it is very important to observe I do appreciate the writer's concern for last sentence of the last paragraph is that no atheist speaks for the beliefs of separation of church and state. Editor. Moving? Please notify us 4 weeks in advance well stated: "In short, the extremism any other, just like no Baptist, or Method-

of the new atheists will only feed the ist, or Seventh-day Adventist speaks for Patriot and Freedom Name extremism of the Christian Right, each any other of similar persuasion. Thus, I do Does Liberty magazine have any articles side pushing the other further in a not feel confined or defined by anything on how the Patriot Act (2001) or its Address (new, if change of address) direction that neither needs to go." that may have been uttered or written by revisions affect religious liberty? City However, the last paragraph also any of those excoriated by Mr. Goldstein. BOYCE B. DULAN seems to suggest that the Christian Right I personally have no problem with E-mail State Zip is incorrect to believe that "their religion anyone else's beliefs, so long as they New Subscriber? is under attack by secular elites." I wish I don't try to control my supported Liberty has often dealt with how such ATTACH LABEL HERE for address change or inquiry. could agree with Goldstein here. Perhaps government. I usually refrain from legislation as the Patriot Act and similar If moving, list new address above. Note: your subscription expiration date (issue, year) public policy in the United States toward "proselytizing" that there is no deity reactions to 9/11 have changed the is given at upper right of label. Example: 0308L1 would Christianity is not under imminent out there, which is also a pretty absurd dynamic of civil and, indeed, religious end with the third (May/lune) issue of 2008. threat by Dawkins and the like. However, thing to do. I have no idea, really, but I freedom. We must be on our guard to To subscribe to Liberty check rate below and fill in your name and address above. Payment must accompany order. there can be no question that public also have no reason to suspect as much. protect the true values of freedom. Editor. Ui 1 year $7.95 Mr. Goldstein cannot prove me wrong. Mail to: Liberty subscriptions, 55 West Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, Maryland 21740 1(800) 456-3991

LIBERTY* MARCH/APRIL 2009 31 Wot wi nor with sol -PERSUASION that truth is to be propag by counsel and sweet persu --Athanasius, op of Alexandria, quoted in y: An Inquiry (New York

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Nicholas saves three innocents from death. By Ilya Repin (1888; Russian Museum, St. Petersbur P.