Religious Liberty Offering January 27 2018 Editorial

2018 LIBERTY CAMPAIGN MATERIALS INSIDE

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY OFFERING JANUARY 27 2018 EDITORIAL

ife of late has taken on a advent vision and the Lord’s promises offering on that day are to go to the roller-coaster aspect. One day to bear on your church-state accom- religious libertry ministry. Lit is flooding in Texas, the next modation challenges. Beyond that as you work with members to puerto Rico is reduced to ruins, then Liberty magazine continues to reach identify local thought leaders and TAKE talk of fire and destruction has guam out to thought leaders across the allocate funds to send them Liberty trembling. and in a political race north american Division with a magazine, we need funds to sponsor COURAGE in alabama, Ten commandments uniquely positive take on the religious tens of thousands of subscriptions to memorial stone judge Roy moore freedom that the United states in decision makers across the remainder emerges as the moderate candidate. particular claims as a foundational of the north american Division. We We are not living in normal times! principle. Liberty magazine is able have the list of names—we just need It is easy to just close your eyes to put religious liberty into a biblical your funds to activate them! and wish it all away. But reality has template that relates well to these In advance of the Religious a way of intruding. my suggestion, end time alarms. Liberty sabbath and in the weeks as we enter the time of our church’s please use this special issue of following, take every opportunity annual Religious Liberty emphasis, is Liberty to bind your church’s Religious provided to share the reality of our that we take a cue from the psalmist: Liberty campaign into a coherent religious liberty work, its principles, “Wait on the Lord. Be strong and and effective singular effort. We want and examples of the challenges let your heart take courage.” (psalm you to shine and succeed at this vital we face. You won’t have to look 27:14). Or, if you want it a little end times challenge of “proclaiming hard to find them: just scan your more contemporary, go for the new Liberty throughout the land.” daily newspaper, television screen, century Version and read: “Wait for You will find a sermon by pastor/ computer monitor, or smart phone. the Lord’s help. Be strong and brave, attorney alan Reinach to use on and above all, Take courage. The and wait for the Lord’s help.” Religious Liberty sabbath. a digital Lord’s coming is soon! Our religious liberty case study version is available to stream or this year illustrates how this holy download at www.libertymagazine. patience can pay off. god is “an org/campaign. Use it, or better yet, ever-present help” if we wait on Him. allow the pastor to personalize Lincoln E. Steed, Editor Your public affairs & Religious Liberty the day. Don’t forget that as per Liberty magazine department is able to bring legal the church calendar, all loose and resources, coordinated assistance, designated monies received as

Experiencing religious discrimination? Call the Religious Liberty Helpline: 877-721-3700

2 LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 2018 LIBERTY CAMPAIGN MATERIALS

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CLASS CODES Communications Education 30 Libraries 50 Business and Corporations 71 SDA Church Members Associations 10 Communication associations 20 Educational associations Government Professional 72 Friends sponsored by SDA’s 01 Boards of trade 11 Press 21 Governing boards 40 International 60 Judges, except federal and state/ * Except libraries, which are code 30 02 Chambers of Commerce 12 Radio and TV 22 Colleges and universities* 05 Labor organizations 41 Federal provincial 13 Columnist 23 High schools* 42 State/provincial 61 Attorneys 06 Religious organizations 14 Religious publications 24 Junior high schools* 09 Miscellaneous 43 County* 62 Clergy 15 College newspapers 25 Elementary schools* 44 Municipal* 63 Doctors 45 Military 64 Dentists 46 Municipal/County attorneys 65 Entertainers 49 Political organizations 66 Service organizations 69 Hospitals*

LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 3 for conducting the Tips 2018 Religious Liberty Campaign 1. Display poster in church foyer during January and February. Plan & Emphasize 2. present sermon by church state council executive director, alan J. Reinach on January 27. 3. Insert brochures in church bulletins on January 27. the Religious 4. continue various religious liberty promotional events thoughts throughout the campaign season: Liberty Offering » Hold sabbath afternoon panel discussion on religious liberty » Feature a church member who has had a sabbath work problem 1 » Interview a local attorney who specializes in religious liberty discrimination issues

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Visit our website at www.libertymagazine.org/campaign for online access to the 2018 Religious Liberty campaign Liberty Magazine materials, including a video featuring the story of seventh-day adventists Richard Tabura and guadalupe Diaz, who website for were fired from their jobs at a Kellogg production plant because of their commitment to keeping the seventh-day Support Materials sabbath holy. also available: footage of attorney/minister alan Reinach preaching his timely sermon “Overcoming 3 Religious Intolerance.” Filling Out the 1. Use the new subscription Order Form for church members who are not on the printout, but who have turned in a New Subscription Freedom Bond and want Liberty. also use the new subscription Order Form for priority names you want to add to the printout. Be sure to always use full names and complete mailing addresses. Order Form 2. To add a priority name in an area where there is frequent turnover, use the position instead of a name (e.g., mayor, chief of police, pastor). 3. please indicate your church and local conference codes which are listed at the top of your printout, as well as 4 the name and phone number of the person filling out the order. 4. Donor codes should be completed as follows: amount given Donor code CHURCH: CHURCH CODE:

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43-44 GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS: Include only munici- 61 ATTORNEYS: check city directories or blue pages or school principals (public and parochial); school board pal and county officials. call city hall or local county the martindale-Hubbell legal directory may be found at members, law professors, higher education political and office for a directory, or check the blue pages in your a law or public library. specialties to include: labor, social science teachers, and religion teachers. telephone directory. employment and land use. 63-69 PROFESSIONAL GROUPS: check the yellow pages, 46 MUNICIPAL, COUNTY ATTORNEYS: check blue 62 CLERGY: check city directories or blue pages, com- various county and city pages of your telephone directory or city directories. munity directories, yearbooks published by various directories published by specific professional organiza- denominations (available in your local library), or church tions, and chambers of commerce. 60 JUDGES: Only local municipal judges should be on ads in newspapers. your list. all state/provincial and federal judges are on 01 RETAIL ORGANIZATIONS and 02 CHAMBERS OF the naD priority List. 05 LABOR ORGANIZATIONS: check city directories or COMMERCE: check the yellow pages. blue pages under “labor organizations” or “trade 30 LIBRARIES: Law libraries, school, city, and county 45 MILITARY: If military bases are located in your unions.” send to their president and/or legal counsel. libraries should be on your list. area, obtain a directory from them or consult the 20-25 EDUCATION: check city directories or blue pages yellow pages. Include chaplains, base commanders, 10-15 COMMUNICATIONS: check city directories or or the state/provincial department of education directo- legal departments, intelligence officers, and libraries. blue pages. Include only local media personalities— ries found in the public library. Include local university newspaper, radio, and TV organizations and individuals. administration, college, high school, and elementary COMPLETE LIST ASSOCIATIONS 11 press 23 High schools 44 municipal 60 Judges, except federal OF CLASS CODES 01 Boards of trade 12 Radio and TV 24 Junior high schools 45 military and state/provincial 02 chambers of commerce 13 columnists 25 Elementary schools 46 municipal/county 61 attorneys 05 Labor organizations 14 Religious publications 30 Libraries attorneys 62 clergy 06 Religious organizations 15 college newspapers 49 political organizations 63 Doctors 09 miscellaneous GOVERNMENT 50 Businesses and 64 Dentists EDUCATION 40 International corporations 65 Entertainers COMMUNICATIONS 20 Educational associations 41 Federal 66 service organizations 10 communications 21 governing boards 42 state/provincial PROFESSIONAL 69 Hospitals associations 22 colleges and universities 43 county 30 Libraries 71 sDa church members 72 Friends sponsored by sDas

The names of church members and friends of church members who received Liberty for the past year are listed A Note on SDA separately, usually at the end of the printout, under class codes 71 and 72. These are automatically deleted unless names on the you clearly mark “KEEp” next to the name and the printout is returned to your union or conference religious liberty director to be processed. Church Printout If any of the names on the Freedom Bonds that were turned in to you or your church appear on your printout, write “KEEp” to the left of the line number on the printout, and write the donor code number for the amount given 6 in the column marked “Donor code”. » The 2018/2019 subscription starts with the may/June issue of Liberty. Liberty » campaign subscription Rate: $6.00 (U.s. and canada) (Regular subscription rate: $7.95) Subscription » subscriptions to addresses outside the United states, canada, and Bermuda cost $8.00 (cdn $10.00). U.s. territories Facts: such as guam, micronesia, Virgin Islands, and puerto Rico are not foreign subscriptions.

7 LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 5 Dear Pastor and Church Religious Liberty Leader:

The Religious Liberty Offering is scheduled for January 27, 2018. Each year we have one opportunity to make an appeal to our church members for their financial support. We depend on your leadership and assistance.

We are blessed that religious freedom is protected and cherished within all the countries that make up the North American Division: Bermuda, Canada, the United States, and the Guam- Micronesia Mission. As citizens and church members, it is our responsibility to emphasize the meaning of religious freedom. It is our responsibility to keep before the thought leaders of our governments the importance of religious accommodation and freedom of expression.

Included in this packet are materials that will help you promote religious liberty in your church. Please be sure to note the 2018 promotional video featuring the story of Seventh- day Adventists Richard Tabura and Guadalupe Diaz, who were fired from their jobs at a Kellogg production plant because of their commitment to keeping the seventh-day Sabbath holy; and footage of attorney/minister Alan Reinach preaching his timely sermon “Overcoming Religious Intolerance.” Both items are available for download at the Campaign Resources section of our website: www.libertymagazine.org/campaign.

You will need to turn in your new and renewed subscriptions to your union Religious Liberty director (in Atlantic or Mid-America union, please send them to your local conference Religious Liberty director). Please check with your church treasurer for the list of individuals who are requesting a subscription to Liberty magazine. The deadline for turning in subscriptions to your union or local conference is March 15. $6 must be remitted in the offering for every subscription submitted. If you do not have enough money to cover your subscriptions you must delete the appropriate number of subscriptions. Your church treasurer should remit the offering through the local conference, however federal tax code requires that the local church retain the Freedom Bond envelope. The deadline for your offerings to be turned in is March 31.

Offering deadlines and subscription deadlines need to be followed closely. Your union Public Affairs and Religious Liberty department carefully processes your subscriptions within the shortest amount of time possible. The turn-around time from March 15 (the deadline for your names to be sent in) to May (the beginning of the subscription mailings) is very short. In this amount of time 200,000 names are processed for Liberty magazine subscriptions!

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Thank you for your commitment as you support and promote the cause of religious freedom!

God bless!

Elder Daniel R. Jackson President

6 LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 Dear Church Treasurer,

The North American Division Religious Liberty Offering Sabbath is January 27, 2018. However, you will receive significant religious liberty offerings in February and March, and donations may be made throughout the calendar year. As treasurer of your church, you are greatly needed by your pastor and religious liberty leader to make the offering a success.

On Religious Liberty Sabbath when the offering is taken, all church members will be given a brochure with a tear-off envelope called a Freedom Bond. Church members should put their offering in the tear-off Bond and place it in the offering plate. After you receive these bonds, please do the following:

1. Make sure the ‘Amount Enclosed’ is correct and the money is enclosed.

2. Receipt the offering and give the Freedom Bond back to the religious liberty leader each week. (Step 2 must be done in order for each church member who requests it to receive Liberty magazine. If you do not give this information back to the religious liberty leader, your church members will not receive Liberty magazine.)

3. Send the offering to your local conference treasurer with your regular monthly remittance. You must retain the Freedom Bond at the local church level according to tax regulations. Your church will not be billed for subscriptions. The deadline for your offerings to be turned in is March 31.

Thank you for your part in making the 2018 Religious Liberty Offering the most successful ever. We pray that the message of religious freedom and the mission of Liberty magazine may reach its full potential!

If you have any additional questions, please contact your union or local conference Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department.

Sincerely,

Michael R. Jamieson Associate Treasurer

LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 7 ABOVE, LEFT: armenian woman kneeling beside a dead child in a field “within sight of help and safety at aleppo.” ABOVE, CENTER: armenian civilians, escorted by Ottoman sol- diers, marched through Harput (Kharpert) to a prison in nearby mezireh (present-day Elâzığ), april 1915.

8 LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 The armenian quarter after the massacres in adana in 1909.

The Trail of Crocodile Tears By Clifford Goldstein

ost people have heard the phrase century’s first mass murder on a genocidal “the Young Turks.” The appella- scale, the Armenian Massacre, which itself led tion first came to prominence in to the phrase “starving Armenians.” American politics in the early What happened in the Armenian Massacre, M1960s, when it referred to some Republicans in what are its implications for today, and what Congress who, upset with the status quo, sought lessons can we take from it? to bring radical change to the party (among these “Young Turks” were Gerald Ford, Donald The Historical Background Rumsfeld, and Melvin Laird). Since then, the Almost everyone knows about Armenia, phrase has taken on a life of its own, referring to even if most can’t find it on a map (it’s in the any group of people who, within a system, politi- Caucasus region of Eurasia). Not being able to cal or otherwise, seeks to bring radical change. find it isn’t surprising, because for much of recent At the same time, a few people have heard history it didn’t have well-defined borders. And the phrase “starving Armenians” as well. yet the nation itself has a long heritage, going What most people don’t know is that the back to about 800 B.C., and in the early centuries two phrases, “the Young Turks” and “starving A.D. it was the first nation to adopt Christianity Armenians,” are in their original context as the official state religion. related. It was the scheming of the original However, in the centuries that followed, “Young Turks” that brought about the twentieth Armenia was part of one empire or another until

LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 9 the 1400s, when it was absorbed by the Ottoman Turks. The Ottoman rulers, like most of their subjects, were Muslim, and though permitting religious minorities such as the Armenians some autonomy, they also subjected them and other armenian deportations “infidels” to unequal and unjust treatment. in Erzurum. Armenians were systematically discriminated against, did not have the same rights as Muslims, and were treated as second-class citizens. Despite their stature, however, the Armenians did well under the Ottomans. The Armenians tended to be better educated and wealthier than their fellow Turks, which caused some animosity between them and the Turkish majority. Also, fear existed that because many Armenians were Christian, their loyalties would be more with their Eastern Orthodox Russian neighbors to the north than they were to their Ottoman overlords, a fear not entirely unfounded, as World War I would show. By the nineteenth century, however, the Ottoman Empire was coming apart, and by 1914 it had lost its lands in Europe and Africa. This collapse included the consistent loss of territory to nationalist movements in the Balkans, whose new Christian rulers, not wanting any more fights with the Ottomans, killed or drove out as many Muslims as they could. When Bulgaria became independent in 1878, hundreds of thousands of Muslim civilians fled toward Istanbul, with many dying along the way. Meanwhile, the Christian Armenians were ritorial expansion helps explain why, when echoing nationalist sentiments as well, and thus World War I broke out in 1914, they joined with were deemed a threat to Ottoman hegemony. the other Central Powers, Germany and The first massacre, a precursor to the big one Austria-Hungary, and declared war on Russia that would follow about 20 years later, occurred and its Western allies, Great Britain and France. during the reign of the sultan Abdul Hamid Whatever hopes the Young Turks had of II (1876-1909). Between 1894 and 1896 regaining lost land, however, were soon dashed he instigated a series of pogroms by a string of catastrophic military setbacks. throughout the empire that were What didn’t help matters either was that intended to break the back of Armenian Armenian volunteer units fought with the aspirations for political autonomy. Russians against the Ottomans. This act, Though hard numbers are not easy to come viewed as treachery, kindled even more animos- by, hundreds of thousands were killed. ity against the Armenians, who were viewed as a clear and present danger to the Turkish nation The Young Turks as envisioned by the Young Turks. As the Ottoman Empire continued declin- In short, especially as the war was not going ing, a group of reformers in Turkey, who called as hoped, the Young Turks needed to find some- themselves the Young Turks, overthrew Sultan one to blame for their calamities, a scapegoat. Abdul Hamid and established a more modern And who better than this longtime “infidel” constitutional government, in hopes of saving and “foreign” element right in their midst, the the Ottoman legacy. Though instituting a few Armenians? liberal reforms, they ended up becoming fiercely nationalist, advocating the formation Red Sunday of an exclusively Turkish state and even an April 24, 1915, known in history as “Red expansion of the borders in order to reconquer Sunday,” is to the Armenian Massacre (to lands in which Turkish residents had come some degree) as was November 9-10, 1938, under Russian hegemony. This desire for ter- Kristallnacht, was to the Nazi Holocaust a few

10 LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 VIKTOR PIETSCHMANN VIKTOR

“Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” —Adolf Hitler.

decades later: a violent precursor to much more having been moved around the empire, were violence to come. almost all killed. In response to the perceived threat to Turkey This was Red Sunday. by the Armenians, exacerbated by those Armenians fighting alongside the Russians (not The Massacre Begins a position that, perhaps, even a majority of Red Sunday, however, was only the begin- Armenians were sympathetic with), the Ottoman ning. With the authority of the Tehcir Law, the government ordered the deportation of numer- state began what is known as the Armenian ous Armenian intellectuals on April 24, 1915. Massacre or, as it has been called (much to The law itself, called the Tehcir Law, was modern-day Turkey’s strenuous objections), from the Arabic word “deportation,” or officially the Armenian Genocide. known as the Relocation and Resettlement Law; Orders went around the empire, instruct- it authorized the deportation of the Armenian ing local governors to carry out “deportation” population from the lands of the Ottoman and “resettlement” of Armenians to Ottoman- Empire (or at least what was left of it). controlled Syrian deserts. Those governors The first wave of “deportations” consisted who refused (and some did) were replaced by of the arrest of more than 200 Armenian intel- more compliant bureaucrats. Despite the lectuals from Constantinople. These included euphemistic language, many knew what was clergy, physicians, editors, journalists, law- intended: the extermination of the Armenians. yers, teachers, and politicians. Eventually the Indeed, the Young Turk, Taalat Pasha, one of total number of arrests and deportations the top leaders in Turkey, had made it clear amounted to 2,345. These detainees, after that were he to get power, the extermination

LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 11 of the Armenians would be a priority. children were attacked on their way by the It was. Between 1915 and 1916, Armenian (“Shotas”), the armed bands organized by the men, women, and children were driven from Turkish government, who attacked them and homes, schools, and workplaces, their property seized a certain number. After plundering and being redistributed among the Turkish popula- committing the most dastardly outrages on the tion itself. Much like what happened in the women and children, they massacred them in Holocaust, when entire areas were judenfrei cold blood. These attacks were a daily occur- (free of Jews), entire provinces were emptied of rence until every woman and child had been Armenians. In what sounded also frighteningly got rid of. The military escorts had strict orders like the future SS Einsatzgruppen (Nazi troops not to interfere with the “Shotas.” whose main task was the murder of Jews), the “The children that the government had Young Turks created a “Special Organization,” taken in charge were also deported and which created “killing squads” who carried out massacred. Deportations of armenians. “the liquidation of the Christian elements.” “The infants in the care of the American Consul of Trebizond were taken away with the pretext that they were going to be sent to Sivas, where an asylum had been prepared for them. They were taken out to sea in little boats. At some distance out they were stabbed to death, put in sacks and thrown into the sea. A few days later some of their little bodies were washed up on the shore at Trebizond.” Though the Turks had hoped to perpetrate their crimes under the cover of war, stories leaked out and made the international press—the U.S. media in particular. Headlines ran like this: “Million Armenians Killed or In Exile.” “Armenians. Half a Million Killed. Blood-curdling Horrors.” “The Massacre of a Nation: All of the Horrors, Tortures and These killing squads were often made up of Barbarities of History Surpassed in List of murderers and other ex-convicts. They drowned Cruelties Practiced by Turks on Defenseless people, beat them to death, crucified them, and Armenians.” burned them alive. Women were systematically It was during this time, too, that the phrase raped and tortured before being killed. “starving Armenians” entered the world One Turkish soldier later described what lexicon. happened like this: What’s not well known now, amid the dif- “Then the deportations started. The chil- ficult politics in the present Middle East, was dren were kept back at first. The government Kurdish involvement back then. Though today opened up a school for the grown-up children, bitter enemies of the Turkish government, dur- and the American Consul of Trebizond insti- ing this tragedy various Kurdish tribes openly tuted an asylum for the infants. When the first participated in the carnage, though some others batches of Armenians arrived at Gumush- worked very hard to help save as many Khana all able-bodied men were sorted out with Armenians as possible. Unlike the Turks even the excuse that they were going to be given to this day, the Kurds have been very open about work. The women and children were sent ahead their complicity in the massacre, calling it a under escort with the assurance by the Turkish “genocide” and admitting their guilt. authorities that their final destination was Mosul and that no harm would befall them. Aftermath The men kept behind, were taken out of town After World War I ended, and the remains in batches of 15 and 20, lined up on the edge of of the Ottoman Empire were carved up by the ditches prepared beforehand, shot and thrown victors, a reckoning needed to take place for into the ditches. Hundreds of men were shot the atrocity, somewhat like what happened after every day in a similar manner. The women and World War II and the Nuremberg war crimes

12 LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 trials. Talaat Pasha, one of the three head Young Turks and considered the mastermind behind not, the killings, was sentenced to death in absentia, they claim, a sys- along with others: but he had fled to Berlin. tematic attempt to exterminate the However, because of political pressure and vari- Armenians. Turkey’s most conciliatory step ous agreements with the victors, most of the has come in some condolences offered in 2014 proceedings fell by the wayside. The new gov- to descendants of genocide survivors by Recep ernment of Turkey simply wanted to move on, Tayyip Erdogan, who was then prime minister and the allies seemed more than ready to let it. and now the president. (Something similar also happened after World In Turkey itself, Article 301 of the Turkish War II, when the Allies, eager for West German Penal Code, which took effect in June 2005, help in countering the new threat, the Soviet makes it illegal “to insult Turkey, the Turkish Union, had turned a blind eye to many lower- nation, or Turkish government institutions.” It level functionaries. As it has been said: “After aims to silence any kind of valid criticism of state the war, the Russians killed their Nazi war policies, official ideology, or history of Turkey. criminals, while the Americans hired them to Thus, when anyone in Turkey tries to bring up work for the CIA.”) The Allies did hold many what happened, they face the threat of jail. war criminals accountable at the Nuremberg Meanwhile, despite fierce objections from trials, but practical considerations did result in Turkey, about two dozen nations have formally many scientists and others simply seconded to acknowledged the reality of the genocide, with ongoing war efforts against Japan. Germany finally doing it in 2016, an action that Maybe others were ready to move on, but brought a harsh rebuke from its longtime ally, many Armenians weren’t. In what sounds like Turkey, which recalled its ambassador, arguing a spy thriller, a group of Armenians, called the that the Germans did it to turn attention away Armenian Revolutionary Federation, created from its own dark past. As of this writing, the a covert operation to seek revenge on the leaders United States—for a host of reasons, mostly of the massacre. Dubbed Operation Nemesis, political—still refuses to officially use the G-word. between 1920 and 1922 these Armenians Unfortunately, despite the harsh lessons of hunted down and killed a number of senior the twentieth century, early events within the officials involved in genocide. The most sensa- beginning of the twenty-first century don’t tional of those assassinations was that of Talaat make it appear that those lessons have stuck. Pasha, killed in broad daylight in Berlin, on That part of the world, as others, remains a March 15, 1921. He was shot dead in front of festering cauldron of religious, political, and numerous eyewitnesses by an Armenian named ethnic tensions that more often than not have Soghomon Tehlirian, a man who had watched resulted in bloodshed. ISIS, the Syrian Civil as his family was massacred in 1915. Arrested War, the Shia-Sunni divide, have all shown how on the spot, Tehlirian went on trial in Germany quickly ancient animosities, fueled by desire (he had wanted to get caught), and the proceed- for a resurgence of the “glory” days of a mythi- ings helped bring to light the horror that hap- cal past, can quickly escalate into violence, pened. This was especially needful in Germany, especially when it’s so easy to forget how dan- which, as an ally to the Ottomans, hadn’t had gerous these ideals can be. much access to news about the atrocities. A recent example of how fast these things Tehlirian himself had been acquitted, and even- can be forgotten can be seen in American news tually he moved to the United States. and commentary program on the YouTube channel. Called the TYT Network, the show Lessons? focuses on such issues as money in politics, What about today, more than 100 years after drug policy, Social Security, the privatization the massacre? What have we learned? One could of public services, climate change, and ques- argue that with the Nazi Holocaust, with all its tions of sexual morality. The TYT Network horrific parallels, following right on its heels— takes a liberal position, with host Cenk Uygur not much. What hasn’t helped matters is that, asserting that the show is aimed at the “98 per- to this day, the Turkish government, while cent ‘not in power’” and at what he describes admitting the violence against the Armenians as the Americans who hold progressive views. had taken place, refuses to call it a genocide, All in all, it sounds pretty harmless. Except for arguing that use of the term was a gross distor- one thing. What does TYT stand for? tion of the truth, and that the deaths were just The Young Turks. an unfortunate consequence of a war in which many different people groups suffered. It was Clifford Goldstein writes from Mount Airy, Maryland.

LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 13 LIBERTY SERMON BY aLan J. REInacH

Overcoming Religious Intolerance

In 1991, the Federal authorities conducted military-style operations on American soil against a minor religious offshoot derided as a cult. The group was isolated, with no lines of communication. Their leader was accused of child abuse, but there had been no formal investigation, and no criminal charges had been filed. The initial assault on the group’s compound was met with return gunfire, leading to a stand off that lasted for several weeks. Eventually, the Federal authorities broke the siege with tanks, set the compound on fire, and a holocaust ensued. Dozens were killed, many burning to death, including women and children.

There are important lessons for Seventh-day Adventists from the tragedy suffered by Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. When the crisis came, the Davidians had no friends to speak for them. They were cut off from the outside world, and they could not communicate their side of the story.

Seventh-day Adventists expect a crisis to come for us before Christ returns. We interpret Revelation 13 to warn of a crisis concerning the enforcement of Sunday as a day of rest and worship, with legal restrictions and monetary sanctions imposed on dissenters. The question is: will we have a voice when that times come?

Too many Adventists indulge the temptation to speculate on when or how Sunday laws will come about. The Bible doesn’t tell us. Ellen White doesn’t tell us. God hasn’t told us. I guess we’re not supposed to know. What we need to ask ourselves, is, what are we supposed to do with what we do know? If we know a crisis will come, how do we prepare?

The Public Affairs and Religious Liberty ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is vitally important in preparing for the coming crisis. The first, and most obvious way, is that the church defends the principles of liberty of conscience for all peaceful people of faith. Religious persecution and religious freedom cannot coexist. Our success in preserving religious freedom serves as an ounce of prevention. Maybe even a pound.

But the Adventist religious liberty ministry is not really grounded in our beliefs about last day events, so much as it is founded on core gospel principles.

From the beginning, God gave humanity freedom. Looking back at the opening book of the Bible, notice the scene in the garden of Eden. The tree of knowledge of good and evil is the most dangerous place ever on Planet Earth. Now, today, we are very good at protecting dangerous places. We put guard rails on winding mountain roads, and barbed wire fences to keep children away from train tracks or other dangerous places. Reading the book of Genesis, do you see a barbed wire fence around the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Why not? What about a big sign, a circle with a line through it, the universal “not” symbol, and the words: “Do No Eat.” Why did God not put a reminder sign, and a fence around the tree?

It’s not as though he gave Adam and Eve no warning, no instruction. He taught them not to eat. His Word should have been enough. But he took no measures to prevent them from eating. Adam and Eve were free to eat, if they so chose, even though the consequences would be so destructive.

14 LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 LIBERTY SERMON PAGE 2

There is a very simple principle at play here. It is the principle of Love. Quite simply, God is love. (1 John 4:8) We read in Desire of Ages, “…love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened.” (22)

God could not command Adam and Eve to love and trust Him. He could not restrain their free choice. Maybe sometimes you wish He had.

If you are a parent, no doubt there are times when you are tempted to pray that God would rear- range the brain chemistry of your kids, rewire them to fix them from the inside, and make them perfectly happy, holy, healthy and obedient. And even if you’re not a parent, you may have been tempted to say that prayer for yourself, at times of discouragement.

Surely, the omnipotent God could have wiped Adam and Eve’s memory bank clean, and started over. A do over. Rewire them. But love cannot be coerced. God is love.

God gives us freedom because He has to. It is His nature and character to permit us to love Him, or to rebel. He cannot, will not force us. And that’s why Jesus had to die on the cross.

God knew what would happen when He created Adam and Eve. That’s why Revelation refers to Jesus as the “lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (13:8) The decision that Jesus would become our savior, our atoning sacrifice, to deliver us from the penalty and power of sin—that decision was made even before Adam and Eve sinned.

So religious liberty is an essential component of the gospel itself. Jesus paid the highest price on account of our freedom.

When we, as a Church, work to protect and defend religious freedom, we become the gospel in shoes. We defend religious freedom, not just for ourselves, but for everyone. And we have been doing so in an organized fashion ever since we first organized the International Religious Liberty Association in 1893.

Last year, IRLA, as its known, conducted its 8th World Congress. People came to Florida from 65 nations—scholars, activists, government officials, pastors. They came together to work on creating a world where people of different faiths can live together in peace and mutual respect.

Such work is needed, now more than ever. Seventy years ago, after the holocaust, world leaders came together and drafted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The effort was led by the former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Every nation that has joined the United Nations has signed onto this universal declaration. Human Rights has now become enshrined in international law and diplomacy. When dictators or terrorists violate human rights, they know they face the wrath of the international community.

Article 18 of the Universal Declaration protects liberty of conscience, religion and belief. Yet, despite the amazing progress on human rights, religious freedom has deteriorated around the world, so that today, 75% or more of the global population live in nations with little or no religious freedom. They do not have the freedom to choose. Many in those nations can remain part of the majority religion, but will suffer severe consequences if they convert to another faith.

The Adventist work of protecting and defending religious freedom is needed, now, more than ever.

LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 15 IMAGINE YOUR WORLD WITHOUT IT WWW.LIBERTYMAGAZINE.ORG RELIGIOUS LIBERTY OFFERING JANUARY 27 2018 LIBERTY SERMON PAGE 3

The global situation implicates another value of religious freedom—the Great Commission. Jesus taught his disciples to go out into all the world for a witness, to teach, and baptize. Adventists have preached the gospel and raised up churches in more than 200 nations of the world. But there are countries where it is very difficult to preach, or to have churches.

Just last year, Russia banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses, seized their bank accounts and shut down their churches. Seventh-day Adventist leaders fear they may suffer the same fate.

But let’s return to the lessons of Waco, for this brings us to the public affairs aspect of this ministry.

Religious minorities—and make no mistake, Seventh-day Adventists are a minority—need to work in coalition with others to protect and defend religious freedom. We lack the numbers and the power to succeed on our own.

So, in our organized ministry, we collaborate with many other groups, both liberal and conservative. Interfaith work has been compared to sandlot baseball. Every week, we pick up teams. One week, one issue, we may side with conservatives. Another week or issue, we may be on the side of liberals. It depends on the issue at hand.

But the same may not be true at the local church and community level. Our churches are not suf- ficiently engaged with the community. We are not building bridges of friendship, and establishing lines of communication in our local communities, at least not often enough.

One lesson from Waco is this: when the final crisis comes, will the leaders in our community have their doors open, and welcome Adventists to come and sit down face to face and share their concerns? Do we have the friendships, the respect in our community? Or do we live in a bubble, isolated, alone? If so, we have set ourselves apart, set ourselves up for persecution.

We need to establish the best friendships, the best lines of communication we can in our own local community, now, in a time of relative peace and security, before the crisis comes.

But this requires an attitude adjustment on our part. A paradigm shift even. You see, we Adventist people have been so preoccupied with our understanding of last day events, that we have allowed this to poison our relationships.

We have looked at others as a potential threat, instead of as souls for whom Christ died. In Ephesians 2, Paul writes that Christ’s death demolished the wall that separated Jew and Gentile. Yet, Adventists have built our own wall, separating us from everyone else. We have precious truth, and this truth should make us all the more eager to build bridges of friendship with others, and to enhance those opportunities to share that truth. Instead, this truth creates barriers, and we treat those not of our church as outsiders. We even have a word for them: “non-Adventists.” How would you like to be called a “non?”

We need to take a fresh look at some key scriptures:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your

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Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:43–48.

Historically, the Adventist concept of perfection emphasized performance rather than attitude. Here, Jesus clearly establishes that our perfection or completion is a function of our compassion, our love for the ones who are the most difficult to love, even our enemies.

Anyone here have any enemies? Do you love them? Is it even possible to love them? Is Jesus asking you the impossible? The answer is found in Romans 5:8, “While we were yet enemies, Christ died for us.”

I don’t think most of us have the ability to love our enemies. Only the love of Christ in our hearts can do that.

The famed German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was writing about the verse in Revelation 3: “… behold I stand at the door and knock…” (“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20)

He asked the question, who is this Jesus knocking at the door of our hearts? By the way, here again, we see religious freedom. We see Jesus, ever the gentleman, patiently, persistently, knocking. But He won’t force his way in. He won’t enter your life unless you invite him in. Unless you are willing.

I hope you are willing to invite Jesus into your life. If there is anyone in church today who has never invited Jesus into your life, today can be your day. Just say so now, in your mind, say yes to Jesus. Invite Him in.

Bonhoeffer answered the question—who is this Jesus knocking?—by reference to Matthew 25. Let’s turn there.

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25: 35-40

Who are the least of these my brethren? Jesus doesn’t call anyone the least, does He? Jesus doesn’t demean anyone, or put them down. He doesn’t see others as beneath him. No, we are the ones who do that. Jesus calls them the least for our benefit, because we all see someone as somehow lesser than ourselves, beneath us, lower class, lower something. None of us are immune. We all have biases.

Make no mistake. In the new covenant, God promises to give us a new heart and a new spirit. Here, Jesus defines that new heart and that new spirit in terms of our compassion for the ones who are

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naked, sick and in prison. Jesus tells us plainly that we need to see Jesus in the most unlikely people, at least unlikely to us.

This requires an attitude adjustment on the part of the entire church. We have to abandon any vestige of “us vs. them.” Instead of separating ourselves, and building walls, we have to build bridges. Instead of seeing others for how they differ, whether in belief, or race, or national origin, or whatever, we have to learn to see Jesus in them.

The more we learn to see Jesus in them, the easier it will be for them to see Jesus in us. Let me take that a step further. It may be that others will be unable to see Jesus in us until we learn to see Jesus in them!

Today, we live in a polarized nation. Liberals and conservatives hate each other. We don’t talk to each other. We’re engaged in a culture war fight to the finish. Adventists have eagerly joined these culture wars, even though it’s not our battle.

We are neither the secular left or the religious right. Our aim is to protect the liberty of conscience and religion of everyone, believer and unbelievers alike. Liberal and conservative protagonists in the culture wars want to protect their own rights, not the rights of others.

In this climate, unchurched secular people do not have a positive image of Jesus. They associate Jesus with hatred and bigotry. I’m not saying this is right. I’m definitely not accusing conservatives of being full of hate and bigotry. There is plenty of bigotry on both sides. Yes, moral equivalence is appropriate here. Liberals and conservatives are capable of equal doses of intolerance. What I’m saying is that secular folks are not being given a fair shot at seeing Jesus.

Preaching alone isn’t going to change that. Traditional evangelism isn’t going to change that. What we need to do is personal. We need to become the hands and feet, the eyes and ears, the heart of Jesus in our community. We need to go out into our world, our community, and not just teach, but live the love of Christ. In serving our community, we need to go out and see those we regard as the least in our own town, see them as Jesus, treat them as Jesus, give them a cup of cold water, feed them, clothe them, love them, as we would Jesus, if they are to have any hope of responding to the gospel. This, in short, represents both the public affairs and community service ministries of the Adventist Church.

If our church is to take this attitude adjustment seriously, we will also want to learn the first lesson of Waco, and establish the best lines of communication we can now, before a time of crisis, with the leaders in our community. Let’s make sure that when a crisis comes, their doors are open to us, because they know us as loving and lovable Christians, persons of faith and integrity, and they are willing to listen to our concerns. Let us build bridges of friendship as we seek new ways to serve our community. And let us pray and work to become the hands and feet and heart and soul of Jesus in serving our community. This approach to public affairs is the best way to preserve religious liberty, but it is also essential to our Great Commission to bring the knowledge of Jesus to every kindred, tongue and people in the hour of God’s judgment.

Alan J. Reinach is Executive Director of the Church State Council, the religious liberty educational and advocacy arm of the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. He is a licensed attorney, a Seventh-day Adventist minister, and the host of a nationally syndicated weekly radio broadcast devoted to religious liberty issues.

20 LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 Does the Protestant arc run from Martin Luther’s Priesthood of All Believers to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s civil rights movement? Or to Donald Trump’s populist nationalism?

Professor Nicholas Miller draws on his quarter-century of observations on five hundred years of Protestant history to evaluate and answer this vital question. He also explores the underpinnings of American national prosperity, as understood by our founders and their heirs, and reveals what it would truly take to make America great again.

Nicholas Miller, JD, PhD is an expert in law and religion, has appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court, is author of the best-selling Religious Roots of the First Amendment (Oxford University Press), and has analyzed church/state matters in a lively and provocative manner in Liberty magazine for more than twenty-five years.

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500 Years of Protestant Contributions to Civil Rights Evangelizing Freedom Protestant Dignity and the Rise of Worldwide Democracy and Human Rights

By Nicholas ave Protestant ideas of human dig- Robert Woodberry, in his groundbreaking Miller nity and the importance of the article “The Missionary Roots of Liberal individual impacted modern con- Democracy,” published in the flagship secular ceptions of human and civil rights? political science journal American Political HWe have previously looked at the metaphysical Science Review, makes the historical and ideas behind modern conceptions of human statistical case for this connection between rights, and the rooting these ideas had in dissenting Protestantism and global Protestant conceptions of human dignity and democracy.1 He demonstrates a very strong the priesthood of believers. It is one thing, how- correlation between nonconformist Protestant ever, to make arguments of logic, and another missions and the implementation of mass to find these sorts of connections actually exist- education, implementation of mass printing, ing in the historical record. Such strong con- rise of social institutions, and rule of law, all nections, however, between certain Protestant necessary building blocks of functioning mission groups and the rise of global democracy democracies. Protestant workers contributed and human freedoms and liberties have been to these factors, Woodberry shows historically, analyzed. because of their ideology of the equality and

22 LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 dignity of the individual before God. decide which faith to follow.”4 These views “...a very strong On the face of it, this seems an ambitious “changed people’s ideas about [whom] books correlation and even audacious claim. Yet Woodberry’s the- were for. According to CPs (conversionary between sis withstood secular and skeptical peer review- Protestants), everyone needed access to nonconformist ers at APSR, as well as the larger academic com- ‘God’s word’—not just elites. Therefore, Protestant munity. The strength of his documentation is everyone needed to read, including women causing political scientists and historians to and the poor.”5 missions and the rethink and reevaluate the causative role of reli- implementation gion in political and social development. 2. Woodberry’s analysis makes clear that it is of mass Previously it had often been dismissed as a “soft,” not just a generic belief in human worth and education, or secondary, factor, itself driven largely by dignity that spreads democratic institutions, implementation “hard” factors, such as economic, political, or but a commitment to helping people actual- social class interests. Woodberry makes a compel- ize that dignity by providing them the edu- of mass printing, ling case that this is not so, and that religion mat- cations, tools, and resources to do so. Along rise of social ters, and often helps shape these other factors. with commitments to human equality, the institutions, The paper is too complex to summarize dissenting Protestants engaged in mass edu- and rule of law, fully in this article, but the following points are cation (not just education of the elites, as all necessary directly relevant to the issues of human dignity other groups carried out), development and building blocks and rights. spread of mass printing, the activation of nonstate civil organizations, and the promo- of functioning 1. Woodberry notes that it is not just tion of the rule of law (equality before the democracies.” Christianity or Protestantism in general law). All of these elements contributed to that is associated with the growth and the shaping of a culture where liberal spread of liberal democracy and civil democracy could take root and flourish.6 freedoms, but that of what he terms “con- Thus, it was not just support of human versionary Protestantism,” which overlaps dignity in the abstract that mattered, or even significantly with what I call “dissenting an implementation of a legal scheme to pro- Protestantism.”2 He notes that the positive tect rights. Rather, such a legal structure correlation between widespread education could operate meaningfully only when these of laity, spread of printing, and resistance other conditions were in place: an educated to abuse by the commercial and political populace who could read and write, spread interests of the colonizers is connected only ideas and interests in print, organize societ- with nonstate-connected or nonstate-spon- ies to share and further their views and sored missionaries. So missionaries from interests, and ultimately shape political and state-connected churches, whether they be legal patterns. Catholic or magisterial Protestant churches, did not show such correlations.3 3. The programs and assistance of the dissenting Thus, those missionaries that advanced missionaries were not such that made persons democratic structures were from churches dependent on their long-term care, or nur- that took most seriously the human dignity ture, or support. Rather, they gave people the of stewardship rooted in the Protestant doc- ability to care, nurture, and support them- trine of the priesthood of all believers. This selves and others in an engaged and active belief emphasized the importance of indi- civil society. Indeed, after the catalyzing influ- vidual Bible study leading to personal belief ence of these missionaries, other religious and and faith by all. It led to arguments for the secular groups also became involved with separation of church and state, eventually mass education, printing, and institution systematized by John Locke’s political building, often to compete with the Protestant philosophy. efforts in these areas. Many countries that As Woodberry puts it in his discussion developed the features of a liberal democracy of the rise of mass printing catalyzed by soon did not require the Protestant involve- nonconformist, or dissenting, Protestant ment to keep it going, and many forgot that missionaries: They “expected lay people to they were involved at all. But Woodberry has make their own religious choices. They statistically documented the strong correla- believed people are saved not through sacra- tion between Protestant missions and the rise ments or group membership but by ‘true of democracy in no less than 142 non-Euro- faith in God’; thus, each individual had to pean societies.7

LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 23 4. A significant feature of what made the nonstate Protestant missionaries effective was their willingness to oppose abusive colonial practices by commercial or governmental officials. It was not that the missionaries were not “racist” in some sense; they were products of their time in many ways.8 Yet they did possess a commitment to the equality of human dignity, as all persons were made in the image of God. Because CP missionaries were not connected with the state, they were able and willing to fight abuses of natives and locals in a variety of ways, including writing to supporters and newspapers back home, rallying legislative support for proposals reigning in commercial and government leaders, and, in some instances, confronting abuses openly in the field.9

In carrying out these efforts to curb colonial abuses, the missionaries made explicit their underlying philosophy of the obligations of stewardship in relation to human dignity. As Woodberry puts it, they “popularized the idea of ‘trusteeship,’ [another term for stewardship]— that the only justification of colonization was the ‘social uplift’ of the colonized people.”10 This notion of “social uplift” may have had a paternalistic air to it, and this was undoubt- edly reflected in some of their practices. But the missionaries generally did not forget that the social uplift was to put colonized people into a better position to carry out their own After the catalyzing influence of these roles as stewards of themselves and their countries. Hence, their emphasis on education, missionaries, other religious and secular printing, and the creation of structures and systems that would give those locals willing to groups also became involved with mass apply themselves the tools to manage themselves and their countries in a world rapidly education, printing, and institution becoming much more globally connected, industrialized, and commercialized. building, often to compete with the This argument about the correlation between free-church Protestantism and the growth of Protestant efforts in these areas. civil rights does not claim that only free-church Protestants are supportive of the growth of human dignity and civil rights. Any religion or even ideology that chooses to take human dignity seriously, in terms of stewardship, can support and produce such results. Protestants that were more paternalistic in their outlook and connected with state churches, the so-called magisterial Protestants, did not have such a politically significant impact in the mission field. On the other hand, at various times in history, both Jewish and Muslim groups have taken this type of dignity seriously, and have had periods of cultural growth and enlightenment as a result.

24 LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 The relative peace and flourishing of Jewish and defined, stewardship will provide guidance to Christian “heretical” groups in medieval, create a minimal set of common values that Muslim Spain is one such example.11 provide the stronger and richer in society with In response to Protestant educational and obligations to the poorer and weaker; but they printing efforts, Catholics also made significant will be obligations to equip and empower, rather contributions to these institutions, in many than to dominate and dictate, either in a hard instances eventually outstripping Protestant or soft paternalistic tyranny. Let all people of achievements. After Vatican II, Catholics also faith do what we can, during and now beyond made human dignity and freedom formally a this five hundredth anniversary of our central part of their philosophy of social and Protestant heritage, to recover and promote the political engagement. transcendent dignity of stewardship as a check The reality is that most religious or even and barrier to the rising tide of paternalism and political groups that take this thick sense of tyranny in our modern world. human dignity seriously, and acknowledge the Nicholas Miller, an attorney and author of an upcoming book covering the stewardship role of helping others actualize themes of this series on the Reformation, is a professor of church history at their own role as stewards, can promote mean- Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan. ingful growth and protection of human rights and liberties. It is just that during much of the ¹ Robert Woodberry, “The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy,” American Political Science Review 106, no. 2 (May 2012): 244-270. eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the evi- 2 Ibid., p. 244, n. 1; “conversionary Protestantism” is an unfortunate label, as it dence strongly indicates that it was dissenting implies that only nonstate churches were concerned with conversion. This is not Protestantism that was the primary vessel for true, as many state church missionaries, including Anglicans, Lutherans, and the worldwide spread of these values. Calvinists, were concerned with the individual experience of conversion of the Thus, the lesson that should not be lost on believer. Better language would focus on the relation of the church to the state, which often indicates the ability of the church to be an independent actor. Thus, us today is the alleged superiority, not of any in this article I use the language “dissenting,” or “nonconforming,” Protestant. particular religious tradition, but of the impor- 3 Ibid., pp. 246, 247. tance of a certain kind of human dignity to the 4 Ibid., p. 249. creation and maintenance of a meaningful and 5 Ibid. 6 robust system of human rights in a society. It Ibid., pp. 247-254. 7 Ibid., p. 245. must strike the balance between too much, or 8 Woodberry notes that, ironically, racism was worse among more educated too mediated, a transcendence and the absence missionaries, who had absorbed ideas about “scientific racism.” Still, “mission- of any notion of transcendence, the collapse of aries were typically far less racist than other colonial groups.” Ibid., p. 255, n. 28. all values into the subjective, autonomous self. 9 Ibid., pp. 254, 255. 10 Further, it must recognize that commitments Ibid., p. 255. 11 Maria Rosa Menocal, The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and to the importance of human rights in speech or Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain (New York: Back Bay on paper is insufficient in itself to guarantee that Books, 2002). While claims of a “golden age” of toleration may be overstated, these rights will be protected. Rather, there must Jews, and even certain minority Christian groups, were treated with greater be a constant safeguard of the institutions that freedom and dignity in medieval Spain, especially during the tenth and eleventh ensure the implementation of these rights: educa- centuries, than in most other places in Europe. tion for all, a vibrant and free print culture, civic organizations that provide a buffer against state institutions, the checks and balances that provide a meaningful rule of law—and all of this sus- tained in the popular mind by an ethos of the transcendent dignity of the individual. The potential paradox or irony this represents is that the dissenting Protestants did their jobs in good part because of their separation from the state. So any attempt to enforce or even promote some kind of minimal civil religion will actually undermine the very spirit and ethos it is seeking to promote. But the state does not necessarily need to become “religious” or promote “religion” to recognize that there is a power greater than itself, a transcendent realm that will limit its own power in dealing with its citizens. It is also a realm that can provide value and guidance to the concept of stewardship. Rightly

LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 25 Fifteenth Annual Religious Liberty Dinner Voices for Freedom

Sierra ore than 150 diplomats, religious simply being free to worship and being free to Emilaire liberty advocates, and guests exercise religion not only in the public sphere gathered in support of religious but in private businesses and institutions. liberty on June 1 at the fifteenth Carson praised the United States for its stance Mannual Religious Liberty dinner held in the on religious liberty. Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum “The Founding Fathers were very aware of Institute in Washington, D.C. The annual event the sectarian strife that affected Europe,” is held to celebrate and bring attention to a cen- Carson said. “They thought of a better way; tral human right: the freedom of religion or they instituted a better way. A government that belief. would not establish a single religion. They left Dr. Ben Carson, U.S. secretary of Housing the choice of religion up to each individual Dr. Ben carson, keynote and Urban Development, delivered the keynote, person. This was more than tolerance; it was speaker for the event. in which he made the clear distinction between religious liberty.” PHOTOS BY MARIA BRYK MARIA BY PHOTOS

26 LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 Carson further encouraged attendees to promote mercy and compassion, rejecting hate- ful speech and actions, in response to the recent murders of two heroic Portland men who were killed by a White supremacist for intervening when said supremacist attacked two Muslim women with hate speech and biased language. “While he represented the worst in humanity, his victims represented the best,” Carson said. Two notable awards and a special recogni- tion of service were presented during the dinner to honor national and international religious liberty pioneers and advocates. Kimberlee Colby, director of the Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law and Religious Freedom, was awarded the national award for dedicating more than 35 years to domestic religious liberty cases. Colby commented on the importance of religious freedom and the cultural lack of respect for religious freedom recently, voicing concerns regarding the repercussions this shift in mind-set may have on the capacity at which people may be free to live according to their religious conscience. “I think that if you are wanting religious freedom for everyone,” Colby said, “the golden rule is that the religious freedom you wish for yourself, you must extend to others. [Religious freedom] is really the basis for tolerance.” Thomas Farr, president of the Religious Freedom Institute, was awarded the international award for more than 20 years of advanc- ing the cause of religious liberty. Farr believes religious liberty is the first freedom of not only the Constitution but of the human soul. He voiced concerns about the skewed perception of religious liberty both domestically and internationally currently. Then he proposed ways to become involved in the fight for religious liberty. religious liberty leader for the Seventh-day Top: Kimberlee colby, director “Individuals can live their lives and do what Adventist Church, Dr. Bert Beach. Nearly of the christian Legal society’s they do as citizens by protecting religious lib- ninety, the man who had come to define his center for Law and Religious erty,” Farr said. “If they happen to be religious church’s interdenominational relations, Freedom receiving her award. people, exercise religious liberty publicly, not responded with self-effacing humor to the well- just in your church, synagogue, or house of wor- deserved honor. Lower: Thomas Farr, presi- ship. If you are an entrepreneurial type or work- The annual religious liberty dinner is spon- dent of the Religious Freedom ing in an allied field, get involved either with sored by Liberty magazine, the International Institute gave a memorable your church or religious organization or with a Religious Liberty Association, the North challenge to all attendees. separate NGO that advocates religious freedom. American Religious Liberty Association, the Finally, if you’re an American, push your own Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the government to do what its required by law to Religious Freedom Center at the Newseum do but is not doing very well, and that is advance Institute. religious freedom in our foreign policy.” Sierra Emilaire is a student at Southern Adventist University. She interned The third person honored was longtime for Liberty during the summer of 2017.

LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 27 Determined to be Faithful

By Melissa eeping the Sabbath is so important of Seventh-day Adventists. Attorney Alan Reid to me,” explains Richard Tabura. Reinach immediately drafted a letter for the “Jesus went to the cross and died for two church members, which explained the me. The very least I can do in return church’s historic seventh-day Sabbath obser- Kis spend that day with Him each week. I can’t vance, and requested a religious accommoda- turn that day into a day of making money, turn- tion from their new employer. ing my back on my Savior and my Creator. I “The Adventist Church’s approach in these have to be obedient to my loving God.” situations is an attitude of biblical peacemak- In 2007, Seventh-day Adventist church ing,” explains Reinach. “We seek to resolve members Tabura and Guadalupe Diaz worked conflicts as quickly and amicably as possible. at a Gardenburger production plant when When we file in court, it’s because we’ve been Kellogg took it over. A few years later the plant unable to resolve the situation outside the legal changed to a 24-7 operation plan, and adopted system despite our best efforts. It’s never our a rotating schedule known as “continuous crew- desire to be antagonistic or acrimonious to an ing.” Under the continuous crewing plan, every employer. We’re simply looking for a religious employee was expected to work approximately accommodation that will cause their company half of the Saturdays each year. As faithful minimal to no hardship.” Sabbath keepers, Tabura and Diaz knew they Unfortunately, in response to the request could not work that schedule. for religious accommodation, Kellogg gave Tabura and Diaz contacted the religious Tabura and Diaz only two options for avoiding liberty ministry of the Pacific Union Conference work on their holy day: use vacation or sick

Richard Tabura PHOTOSBY PIETER DAMSTEEGT

28 LIBERTY® campaIgn maTERIaLs 2018 time, or find other employees with whom they could switch shifts. Although both employees made substantial effort to find switches, neither could find enough shift changes –even with vacation time– to avoid work on all twenty-six Saturdays annu- ally. While production was unaffected because the shift manager moved employees around to cover their jobs, both Guadalupe and Richard were fired by Kellogg for absenteeism. “I was surprised that the Kellogg Corporation and my supervisors would treat me this way because of my religious beliefs,” admits Diaz. “Particularly since John Harvey Kellogg had been a Seventh-day Adventist at one time and advocated the church’s health message, I thought they would support my right to practice my faith. That was what surprised me the most out of this whole situation.” In the spirit of biblical peacemaking, Attorney Alan Reinach phoned Kellogg’s in- house counsel, and urged them to work with him to help resolve the matter, citing the historic friendship between the Seventh-day Church and deepen your relationship with Him. And I guadalupe Diaz the Kellogg Corporation. The lawyer responded wanted my sisters, my brothers, my uncles, that they didn’t have sufficient information to everybody in my life to have that same relation- speak on to the issue, so Reinach offered to send ship with God that I have. My commitment to a draft of the complaint before filing it in court. the Sabbath, and going through this ordeal, this “I was disappointed we never received a is my witness to others of my love for Jesus.” response,” said Reinach. “The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a Tabura and Diaz lost their suit against long-standing commitment to religious freedom,” Kellogg for wrongful termination. Their appeal says Todd McFarland, associate counsel for the is currently pending. Although the outcome office of general counsel at the Seventh-day wasn’t what they hoped for, neither has any Adventist Church’s World Headquarters. “We’re regrets for maintaining their commitment to unique in that we have a religious liberty advocate Sabbath observance. as part of each local congregation. It’s vital that “I heard the message of the seventh-day church members reach out to that individual Sabbath forty years ago. From the minute I along with their pastor at the first sign of Sabbath heard it, I knew it was the truth,” said Diaz. workplace trouble. Most conflicts can be resolved “For that reason, I never lost faith throughout early and without the need for litigation if the this ordeal. In fact, my faith was strengthened. church is able to help from the beginning. I trust in God, because we don’t have a weak However, if we get involved after termination, it God, we have someone powerful.” makes assisting the church members much more Richard Tabura echoes her sentiments. difficult and not nearly as effective.” “I was raised a Christian, a Seventh-day “My advice to anyone who finds themselves Adventist. But I was out of the church a long in a similar situation is to be upfront going into time,” recalls Tabura. “When I got back in to the job,” counsels Tabura. “Let your employer the church, and realized how much love God know right away that you’re going to need had for me, I wanted to return that love. I’ve Sabbath off. Most importantly, be true to God. been purposing in my heart every day to do Be true to your convictions. You may lose your just that. Keeping the Sabbath day holy, and job, you may not receive the earthly outcome spending that day with Jesus Christ is some- you want, but you’ll never regret being faithful thing I’ve committed to do, no matter what. to Him. He’ll work for you and through you.” But when I committed to keeping the Sabbath The Seventh-day Adventist Church is continuing to help Richard Tabura and the holy, it wasn’t just for me. The Sabbath is Guadalupe Diaz with their wrongful termination case. It is currently under an opportunity to spend time with Jesus, and appeal. For an update, visit www.libertymagazine.org/campaign

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