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Liberty in the Balance

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Liberty in the Balance Liberty in the Balance by Russell R. Standish, founder, Remnant Ministries and Colin D. Standish, president, Hartland Institute CONTENTS SECTION A: The Development of the Principles of Religious and Civil Freedoms 1 Divine Rights and Human Responsibilities 2 The Rights and Limitations of Government 3 Judging the Law 4 The Role of the Jury 5 The Judge and the Jury—a Case History SECTION B: The Erosion of the Bill of Rights at the End of the Twentieth Century 6 The Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. 7 Erosion of the First Amendment 8 The Supreme Court Overrides the Fifth Amendment SECTION C: The History, Philosophy, and Theology of Persecution 9 The Rise of Tyranny 10 Toleration or Liberty 11 The Development of Religious Persecution 12 The Theology of Persecution 13 The Papal Encyclical of 1995 and Religious Liberty SECTION D: The Bible, Christianity, and Freedom 14 The Ten Commandments and Civil Law 1 15 Common Law and Religious Freedom 16 The Bible in Public Schools 17 Christians and Politics SECTION E: The Significance of Sunday Legislation into the Freedom Debate in the United States 18 The Post Office and Sunday Regulations 19 The History of Sunday Legislation 20 Sunday Laws in the United States During the Latter Part of the Nineteenth Century 21 Judicial Confusion and Inconsistencies Regarding Sunday Laws SECTION F: The Struggles of Religious Minorities in Britain and the United States 22 An Anglican Bishop’s Support of Religious Freedom 23 Contribution of the Baptists of England to the Cause of Liberty 24 Further Contributions of Baptists to the Cause of Religious Liberty 25 Struggle for Religious Freedom by the Baptists in Virginia SECTION G: Toward a Perfect System of Civil and Religious Justice 26 The Jewish System of Justice 27 Changing Political, Religious, Economic, and Social Patterns 28 The Genuine Principle of Liberty 29 Biblical Counsel and Civil Authority 30 The Author of Liberty SECTION H: Appendix—The Issues Faced in the Australian Constitutional Convention 31 Australian Constitutional Crisis 32 Candidate’s Policy 33 Russell’s Report 34 Bendigo Promotes Sunday Law 2 Chapter 1 Divine Rights and Human Responsibilities THE year was 1661. John James was preaching in a small hall in London to a small gathering of people on a Sabbath (Saturday) afternoon. Well into his service, the doors opened; the sheriff and his assistant appeared demanding in the name of the King that James cease his preaching. James’ "crime" was twofold: first, he was preaching without a license from the Church of England, the only official church recognized by the British government; second, he was a Sabbatarian, believing that the Bible teaches that the Sabbath of the Lord is the seventh day of the week. James believed he had a higher authority than the King of England, and continued to preach. He was arrested forthwith, and placed in prison. To the consternation of all who respected him, he was charged with high treason. The best efforts of the defense could not prevail and James was condemned to the enacted punishment for those convicted of high treason—to be hanged, drawn and quartered. It must be remembered that only a year before, the monarchy had been reestablished after eleven years of the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell and his son, Richard. Concerns were high, and justice swift, for those who were found guilty of treason against the new King, Charles II. Even the most plaintive pleas of James’ wife did not prevail, and James was hanged and drawn and quartered; and as a warning to others, the sections of his body were scattered to various parts of London and his head displayed in front of the hall where he had preached his fateful Sabbath sermon. He died a martyr. The year before the martyrdom of John James, shortly after the restoration of the British monarchy, John Bunyan stood in Bedford court charged with preaching without a license from the Church of England. The minimum sentence for this "crime" at that time was seven years imprisonment. The transcript of the Bunyan trial, rediscovered in recent years, revealed an unusually compassionate judge who did what he could to avoid sentencing Bunyan to a prison term. The judge inquired of Bunyan whether it was true that he had a blind two-year-old daughter. Bunyan responded in the affirmative. The judge then indicated that he did not desire to send Bunyan to prison, and provided a statement for Bunyan to sign, pledging not again to preach without a license from the Church of England. Bunyan quickly refused, declaring he did intend to preach again. The long-suffering judge then made what would seem a most magnanimous offer. He proposed to speak to high officials of the Church of England to obtain a license for Bunyan to preach. To the shock of the judge, Bunyan refused this judicial attempt to free him, declaring that if he accepted the judge’s offer, it would confirm the right of the Church of England to violate his religious freedom. Bunyan rightly contended that God had not authorized the Church of England or any other human agency to exercise the right to decide who could and who could not preach. Bunyan spent many years in 3 Bedford prison, but while there wrote books such as Pilgrim’s Progress, which have provided great blessings to all subsequent generations. Many would have felt that the final offer of the judge was an answer from heaven. But Bunyan witnessed to a mature understanding of the most basic principles of religious liberty. He recognized that a calling to preach the Word is not at the discretion of any human priest or potentate, but is the calling placed upon humanity by Christ Himself. But dare we conclude that such situations as those to which James and Bunyan were subjected could never have occurred in the United States? Tragically, the same intolerance that had led the Pilgrim Fathers to seek refuge in the new world, was in turn frequently to be found in the intolerance of these new settlers in North America. Non-conformists have frequently been the object of persecution. Majorities have, during the years of "civilization," almost always felt it their right to oppress, persecute and punish minorities. In March 1775, the young attorney, Patrick Henry, was sickened by the sight he saw as he rode into the town square of Culpeper, Virginia. There a man, tied to the whipping post, was being beaten mercilessly by a scourge laced with metal tips. The bones of his ribs were exposed as blood ran freely down his back. When Henry inquired what crime this man had committed to deserve such a fearful beating, he was informed that the man was a Baptist minister who had refused to take a license from the Church of England. Indeed, he had been one of twelve ministers who had been jailed because they refused to seek a license to preach from the Church of England. Sadly, history records that three days later, being pitilessly scourged again, the preacher died a martyr to his burden only to preach the gospel of Jesus as he understood it. This man had committed no crime against his fellow humans, he had not defrauded them, he had not assaulted another human, he had not taken sexual advantage of any one, nor had he spoken untruths. It was this incident that sparked Patrick Henry to pen the famous words which became the rallying cry of the American Revolution, What is it that Gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, for to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death! Later, this statement became part of Henry’s famous speech at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. (Citizen’s Rulebook, Whitten Printers, p. 15) There is no question that religious persecution in the American colonies led to the protection of the most basic forms of citizen rights within the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Also of great significance was the experience of James Madison, third President of the United States, who earlier in his life had been visiting in the small town of Orange, Virginia, some four miles from where he lived. On this occasion he heard the voice of a preacher, and, upon investigating, discovered it was that of a Baptist minister incarcerated in the town jail. Madison could not but reflect upon the kind of laws that would forbid a man from freely preaching the Word of God, irrespective of his religious convictions. 4 These illustrations are specially poignant to Colin who, as the President of Hartland Institute, lives between the two towns of Culpeper, twelve miles to the north, and Orange, eight miles to the south of Hartland Institute. These historic events, which reflected upon the inhumanity of man to man and the tyranny that existed in the new world, were to make a great impact upon the development of liberty and freedom in the United States. While neither Henry nor Madison were signatories of the unanimous Declaration of Independence, nevertheless they made a profound impact upon the principles that are enshrined in the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights. The search for freedom and liberty is positioned at the most basic level of human existence. For many, liberty is more to be desired than food, clothing, shelter, and even life itself.
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