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Evangelical Leaders Call for Civil Disobedience Against U.S. Government
The Gospel Coalition ^ | 14 Feb 2010 | Joe Carter

Posted on 02/14/2012 3:58:36 PM PST by Gamecock

The Story: After the Obama administration's announced that health insurance coverage would require the inclusion of contraception and abortifacients, several Christian leaders---including Chuck Colson, Richard Land, and Rick Warren---called on evangelicals to stand with Catholics in civil disobedience to this law.

The Background: In a special edition of his weekly video segment, Chuck Colson said:

We have come to the point---I say this very soberly---when if there isn't a dramatic change is circumstances, we as Christians may well be called upon to stand in civil disobedience against the actions of our own government. That would break my heart as a former Marine Captain loving my country, but I love my God more . . . I've made up my mind---sober as that decision would have to be---that I will stand for the Lord regardless of what my state tells me.

On the same day, Saddleback pastor Rick Warren wrote on Twitter:

I'm not a Catholic but I stand in 100% solidarity with my brothers & sisters to practice their belief against govt pressure [...]

I'd go to jail rather than cave in to a govement mandate that violates what God commands us to do. Would you? Acts 5:29

And Richard Land and Barrett Duke wrote in an op-ed:

The Obama administration has declared war on religion and freedom of conscience. This must not stand. Our Baptist forebears died and went to prison to secure these freedoms. It is now our calling to stand in the gap and defend our priceless First Amendment religious freedoms.

Why It Matters: Because opposition to contraceptives is most closely associated with orthodox Catholics, media have portrayed the current controversy as a Roman Catholic issue. But as these evangelical leaders make clear, the direct assault on freedom of conscience should be a grave concern for all believers.

Acts 5:20 records a profession of Peter and the apostles that all evangelicals should heed: "We must obey God rather than men." In almost all cases, Christians are required to obey the laws of the state. But when we are forced to choose between obedience to God or obedience to man, we have no other recourse but to disobey the magistrate and obey King Jesus.


TOPICS: Current Events; Evangelical Christian; General Discusssion; Mainline Protestant
KEYWORDS: churchstate; moralabsolutes; obama
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To: SkyPilot

Rick Warren is a false teacher who is heavily involved with Chrislam.


21 posted on 02/14/2012 5:09:48 PM PST by SVTCobra03 (You can never have enough friends, horsepower or ammunition.)
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To: Gamecock
That would break my heart as a former Marine Captain loving my country, but I love my God more

Luckily, Chuck, you don't have to worry about your heart being broken. Your choice isn't between God or your country. You will be choosing both to obey God's commands and to fulfill your oath to protect the Constitution by fighting the tyranny of Obama's illegal edicts.

22 posted on 02/14/2012 5:28:25 PM PST by tnlibertarian (Selfishly stealing other people's witticisms for taglines since 2002.)
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To: Gamecock

In other news, the State Dept. and OIC work to implement hate speech laws for those who might defame Islam.

Definition of an Islamophobe? An infidel that knows more than they are supposed to about Islam...


23 posted on 02/14/2012 5:37:33 PM PST by wrencher
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To: wmfights; GeronL; Gamecock

We need to stand together as American Christians. Don’t draw lines to make it easier for the leftists to do their “divide and conquer” thing. They are good enough at that without our help.


24 posted on 02/14/2012 5:43:28 PM PST by magslinger (Who cares if they are"electable" if they are going to govern like Democrats? -noprogs)
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To: wmfights

Make no mistake. Many Catholics were deceived before the last election, and there are many who were and are liberal. But many of us also are very conservative. We loathe Obama and all his works. We knew he was not only in favor of abortion but that he had supported post-birth infanticide in Illinois. There is a wide movement of Catholics who have never been liberal. Yes, there are so-called Catholic like Pelosi who ought to be excommunicated, but don’t judge all Catholics by those fools. Remember that Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas are Catholics.

I was an evangelical conservative non-denominational Christian until two years ago, and since then I have spent a lot of time trying to persuade both Catholics and Protestants that they must join hands to fight this evil. Let us stand together!


25 posted on 02/14/2012 5:51:07 PM PST by ottbmare
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To: wmfights
As we keep trying to explain, real Catholics (you know, the kind that actually practice Catholicism) voted (albeit narrowly) for McCain in the last election.

(As an aside, maybe if the Republicans would run an actual conservative Republican for President, instead of a "maverick" who misses no opportunity to cut the ground out from under conservatives, they'd get more votes. Hmmm ...)

As far as the people who self-identify as "Catholic" but have no actual present-day connection with the faith, I'm not sure there's much we can do about them. If their (claimed) faith doesn't inform where they spend their Sunday mornings, how much can we expect it to inform their behavior in the voting booth?

26 posted on 02/14/2012 7:21:46 PM PST by Campion ("It is in the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins." -- Franklin)
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To: GeronL
"Maybe its the Catholics who should stand with evangelicals?"

Stercus accidit.

The government clearly singled out the Catholic Church and it is Christ who has chosen the battlefield, not men.
Anyone who thinks there are more important things than marching to the sound of the guns should buy another box or two of MREs, get their collection of, "Left Behind" books, and crawl off into their REMF bunker while the Christians fight.

Non Timbo Mala.

27 posted on 02/15/2012 8:05:52 AM PST by Rashputin (Obama stark, raving, mad, and even his security people know it.)
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To: goseminoles
Says who??

If the government requires you to do something that goes against God's word, then it's go time.
28 posted on 02/15/2012 8:24:23 AM PST by crosshairs (Liberalism is to truth, what east is to west.)
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To: Campion
As we keep trying to explain, real Catholics (you know, the kind that actually practice Catholicism) voted (albeit narrowly) for McCain in the last election.

This is such a tired old lame argument. I can play that game and get the Evangelical Christian %'s up into the high 80% area. Your church embraced implementation of it's "social justice" beliefs by means of an ever increasing authoritarian fed govt. When a majority of your members actually vote for conservatives it is not by a huge %. If the RCC and it's members really want to embrace supporting conservative values, which include free exercise of religion, I say welcome!

However, I am in that Reagan school of thought that teaches, "trust but verify". IOW, I'll believe it when I see what happens in 8 months.

29 posted on 02/15/2012 3:26:29 PM PST by wmfights
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To: Gamecock; little jeremiah
Because opposition to contraceptives is most closely associated with orthodox Catholics, media have portrayed the current controversy as a Roman Catholic issue.

Note: Many Reformed folk, as well as other conservative Evangelicals, recognize that oral contraceptives can function as abortifacients and therefore oppose their use.

Appreciate your pointing that out. Wrong is wrong.

30 posted on 02/15/2012 3:34:56 PM PST by aposiopetic
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To: ottbmare; 185JHP; 230FMJ; AKA Elena; APatientMan; Albion Wilde; Aleighanne; Alexander Rubin; ...
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People of every religious faith (naturally I leave Islam out of the equation as usual) need to stand togheter. Even non-religious people need to realize that if part of the First Amendment is made null and void, the rest of it is sure to be made null and void as well. It was Franklin who said "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately".

31 posted on 02/15/2012 5:01:36 PM PST by little jeremiah (We will have to go through hell to get out of hell)
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To: magslinger

Correction: We need to stand together as Americans. Atheists included. What if atheists were required to bow down to a god? We’re all in this together, except for the fascists.


32 posted on 02/15/2012 5:13:48 PM PST by firebrand
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To: SVTCobra03
Rick Warren is a false teacher who is heavily involved with Chrislam.

He denies that about Chrislam, fwiw. I suppose he would though.

33 posted on 02/15/2012 6:30:55 PM PST by prairiebreeze (Who are you and what have you done with Ann Coulter?!)
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To: goseminoles; wmfights; GeronL; Gamecock; FatherofFive

Make no mistake if the Catholic Church loses on this, then every single protestant church is next and will fall faster. Don’t let foolish pride blind you.


34 posted on 02/15/2012 6:35:50 PM PST by verga (Party like it is 1773)
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To: Gamecock

We all need to stand together, all Christians and anyone, Christian or not, who wants to end this tyranny and restore our Constitutional liberties, especially religious freedom.

This anti-religious fascism must NOT be allowed to stand.


35 posted on 02/15/2012 7:07:12 PM PST by madmaximus (Anyone But Robamney.)
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To: Gamecock

This is a site you might want to look at. I am not a member of this site, nor do I know who the people are(yet). Wake Up America, Inc. seeks to educate, equip and call to action individuals, churches, and other like-minded organizations to Reclaim America’s Godly Heritage. We are passionate about this mission because we believe that a war is waging for the souls of our nation and her people. God is calling His people to action. Respond and get involved! Begin by reviewing the Ministry Message section of our site to see how you can make a difference.


36 posted on 02/16/2012 8:26:07 AM PST by winkadink (During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. George Orwell)
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To: verga; goseminoles; wmfights; GeronL; Gamecock; FatherofFive
Make no mistake if the Catholic Church loses on this, then every single protestant church is next and will fall faster. Don’t let foolish pride blind you.

Realism is not foolish pride.

It's instructive how the RC hierarchy and the admn want to make this unconstitutional intrusion into religious institutions all about the RC's. It's not and never has been. Evangelical Christians let the RCC take lead because the incursion into religious rights involved contraception.

Evangelical and Reformed Christians should be very cautious in doing anything with the RCC because it s not conservative and will abandon us as soon as it is in it's best interest. We will be fighting the growth of socialism long after the RCC quits. At best the RCC is a co-belligerent in this fight, not an ally.

37 posted on 02/16/2012 9:05:19 AM PST by wmfights
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To: wmfights; goseminoles; GeronL; Gamecock; FatherofFive
Realism is not foolish pride.

Then you need to begin to deal with some.

It's instructive how the RC hierarchy and the admn want to make this unconstitutional intrusion into religious institutions all about the RC's. It's not and never has been. Evangelical Christians let the RCC take lead because the incursion into religious rights involved contraception.

Name names because I have not seen any that I can recall doing this. The Catholic Leaders I have seen have been suggesting ALL religions need to fight this based on Religious Freedom.

On the other hand the only protestant leaders I have seen speaking out (late to the party) are Chuck Colson, and Rick (AmerIslam) Warren)

Evangelical and Reformed Christians should be very cautious in doing anything with the RCC because it s not conservative and will abandon us as soon as it is in it's best interest. We will be fighting the growth of socialism long after the RCC quits. At best the RCC is a co-belligerent in this fight, not an ally.

Apparently They have as a group been so cautious as to be almost invisible.

38 posted on 02/16/2012 10:54:58 AM PST by verga (Party like it is 1773)
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