Jacksonville, FL – Liberty Counsel sent a letter to the Clay County School District, demanding it stop interfering with constitutionally protected prayer prior to the start of the school day. For some time, students, some teachers, and community members have voluntarily gathered at the Flagpole at Clay Elementary School to pray prior to the start of the school day. But the district buckled under pressure from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), which alleged that the district must stop the prayer. The FFRF demanded that all prayer at the flagpole cease immediately, stating that “it is grossly inappropriate.” In response, Liberty Counsel sent a letter to the district setting forth the law.

The district cannot prohibit constitutionally protected religious speech or prayer during individuals’ free time. The United States Department of Education has issued guidelines addressing constitutionally protected prayer, entitled “Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools.” These guidelines state in part:

“Students may organize prayer groups, religious clubs, and ‘see you at the pole’ gatherings before school to the same extent that students are permitted to organize other non-curricular student activities groups. Such groups must be given the same access to school facilities for assembling as is given to other non-curricular groups, without discrimination because of the religious content of their expression.”

Regarding teachers, the guidelines state: “Teachers may, however, take part in religious activities where the overall context makes clear that they are not participating in their official capacities. Before school or during lunch, for example, teachers may meet with other teachers for prayer or Bible study to the same extent that they may engage in other conversation or nonreligious activities.”

Mathew Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: “Public schools may not interfere with constitutionally protected prayer. Before or after school hours or at other noninstructional times, students may pray. Teachers may also participate in prayer on their own time to the same extent they can participate in other secular activity.”

Nimrod was the first would-be tyrant to try and bring the world into a global “New World Order.” His handiwork produced the Tower of Babel, which brought about a cataclysmic judgment from Jehovah. However, while Nimrod was the first globalist to try and unify the nations against God, he was certainly not the last. The Pharaohs, Darius, Artaxerxes, Cyrus, Alexander, Nebuchadnezzar, the Caesars, and hundreds like them have all brought their tyrannical rule over the hearts of men. And their ideas and passions are as alive and active in the world today as ever.

With every would-be world tyrant, there is one constant: the unholy marriage between a supranational government and Big Religion. If Jehovah God made anything clear in the Mosaic model of government, it was the fact that–until Christ Himself comes to occupy both offices–the offices of Priest and King were to be eternally separate. At least one Old Testament Jewish king learned that lesson the hard way.

Yet, Big Government and Big Religion have always come together for the purpose of enslaving the masses. The devilish duo of Big Government and Big Religion killed the Old Testament prophets. They hung Jesus on the cross and persecuted the early Church. They murdered masses during the Dark Ages; they managed the Holocaust; and their obnoxious offspring are still at work today. This criminal cabal has been the bane of genuine faith and personal liberty since the beginning of time.

When Colonial America fired that shot heard around the world and fought their way to independence, they broke free, not only from the political domination of the Crown, but also from the religious domination of a State Church. No longer would citizens be required to join a particular church in order to hold public office. No longer would citizens be required to financially support churches and institutions they deemed to be offensive to their spiritual convictions. No longer could a religious institution use the power and force of civil government to subjugate men to its tenets and, yes, tentacles. Indeed, the apostate kingdom created by Constantine’s spiritual whoredom ended at the eastern shore of America!

And dare I say that I am proud of my Anabaptist forebears for helping to embed the principle of religious liberty into American law and jurisprudence? Indeed, I am! What many Americans do not know (and what many militant secularists refuse to acknowledge) is that it was the influence of the Colonial Baptists–most notably, the Baptist minister John Leland—that was most responsible for the First Amendment being added to the US Constitution.

Therefore, it is more than disturbing when I see evangelical Christians being seduced by the ancient Big Government/Big Religion whorish union today. How can any true Gospel preacher accept federal Faith-Based Initiative monies, except that he has either lost all understanding of what freedom truly means, or is willing to sacrifice the sacred principles of liberty upon the altar of his own selfish interests? How can any true Gospel preacher not realize that Big Religion has always conspired with tyrannical governmental forces against the true Gospel message? Why are they so blind to these devilish conspiracies? At the highest levels of virtually every major religion, the conspiracy to hijack truth and enslave the masses is constantly at work, whether it is Catholicism, Judaism, or Protestantism.

This is what the Apostle Paul warned about in Ephesians 6:12. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Of course, the “rulers of the darkness of this world” are demonic. But it is also an absolute certainty that these demonic forces accomplish their devilish deeds through evil men who are given to “spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Was not the spiritual netherworld complicit in helping to construct Nimrod’s Tower of Babel? Was not spiritual wickedness at work when Pharaoh murdered the little children of the Hebrews? Were not dark principalities at work when Nebuchadnezzar ordered everyone to bow to the image of the Babylonian leader? When the Lord Jesus called Jewish King Herod a “fox,” was not He acknowledging Herod’s complicity with evil? Were not spiritual powers aiding and abetting the Jewish Sanhedrin when they moved the crowd to crucify the Son of God? When the early Church was being persecuted, was not spiritual wickedness at work? When nonconforming Christians were thrown to the lions and sawn asunder, were not their tormentors influenced by these same rulers of darkness? Of course they were!

Then, why is it so difficult for modern Christians–especially our pastors and preachers–to understand that this unholy union of Big Government and Big Religion is as evil and sinful today as it ever was? Why are they unwilling to recognize that the same devilish system that plagued the Church throughout the ages–suspended only temporarily by the successful revolution for American independence–is rearing its ugly head again? Why are they unwilling to believe that many of America’s leaders (from both parties) routinely give themselves to luciferian rituals, such as those annual dances around the fire at the Bohemian Grove? Why is it so hard to believe that we have leaders (from both parties) who have given themselves to dark, secret societies, such as Skull and Bones? Why are they not suspicious when certain religious schools and institutions repeatedly produce many of the leaders (from both parties) who seem to universally take America down the same path of globalism?

As most Christians should know, The Beast of Revelation is as much a SYSTEM as it is a person. As the Apostle John warned, the “spirit of antichrist . . . even now already is it in the world.” (I John 4:3) He also warned, “Even now are there many antichrists.” (I John 2:18)

Any Big Government/Big Religion system that seeks to bring nations into global unity, enshrine a politically correct theology of universalism, establish Church/State uniformity, and marginalize independent, nonconformist ideology is nothing more than the emergence of another Tower of Babel or Beast-like system! And, dear Christian friend, has it occurred to you that our central government in Washington, D.C., is currently engaged in all of the above?

Both political parties–including most of our national leaders and news media–actively promote globalism; universalism is, without a doubt, the unofficial–but clearly understood–national religion; and anyone who holds nonconformist views (i.e., pro-life, Jesus-only theology, anti-UN, anti-illegal immigration, questioning official government explanations of national tragedies, etc.) is being viciously ridiculed, impugned, and marginalized by virtually everyone in the national press corps and central government. Yes, I am saying it, THE BEAST IS EMERGING IN WASHINGTON, D.C.!

The powers that be in both Big Government and Big Religion want to control both our hearts and our minds. They cannot tolerate dissent. Mind you: they do not care if one is Republican or Democrat, because at the national level, both major parties are marching in the same beastly direction. They do not care if one is conservative or liberal, because the leaders of both camps are, likewise, marching in lockstep to the tune being played by The Beast. They do not care if one is Jewish, Catholic, or Protestant, because at the highest levels, these religions are committing whoredom with The Beast.

If a pastor or preacher is going to be true to his calling today, he must be willing to adopt the philosophy of the late, great Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who said, “The more prominent you are in Christ’s service, the more certain are you to be the butt of calumny [slander]. I have long ago said farewell to my character. I lost it in the earlier days of my ministry by being a little more zealous than suited a slumbering age. And I have never been able to regain it except in the sight of Him who judges all the earth, and in the hearts of those who love me for my work’s sake.”

Any desire for promotion, pleasure, riches, or fame will quickly make one a servant of The Beast. And, I’m afraid, that is exactly what many of today’s pastors and preachers have become.

The fight for independence was as much for the freedom of the heart and mind as it was for the freedom of a State or nation. In fact, one cannot enslave the latter until he first enslaves the former. And this is what is currently at stake: the freedom of the heart and soul to be governed by God and no other! And this battle will never be won–at least not nationally–as long as Christians and pastors are unwilling to recognize the enemy for what it is: “spiritual wickedness in high places.”

If you would like to check out more from Chuck Baldwin, go to http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/

Standing Up For Right

Four hundred Pace High School students in Santa Rosa County FL defied the bullies from ACLU by standing and reciting the Lord’s Prayer during their graduation ceremony on June 4. The Anti-Christian Liberties Union got worked up into a tizzy when days before, the principal had the audacity to permit a blessing at a dinner function. This should not be, they warned the school. Food must be eaten unblessed. In demanding the school censor any student religious expression, they created a situation where no student was permitted to have any part in the program.

Benjamin Stevenson, an attorney for the ACLU whined, “Our feeling is that it’s regrettable that the students took over the ceremony to impose their religious views on the audience who may not have shared the same religious views. School officials have a responsibility to protect the silently held religious views of others.”

Translated, this means that imposing the secular religion must be done at the expense of those who chose to recognize God in public. I would venture to say that Mr. Stevenson, Esq. Would have been smacked senseless by most any of our founding fathers who saw recognition of our creator and protector as a necessary part of public life.

By sticking together and holding to their values, these young people, many of whom even sported crosses on their caps, made the point that they were free people… freely exercising their rights to free speech and free exercise of their religion. There are a few lessons that can be learned from this student rebellion.

The first lesson is to stick together. Individually, any of them may have gotten into trouble, missed receiving their diploma or whatever the vindictive would-be masters should decide to inflict on them. Benjamin Franklin understood this when he said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” There is safety in numbers, but there is also the multiplier that is recognized as far back as the book of Deuteronomy where it says, “one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight,”

The second lesson is that often the power of those seeking to control us exists more in our own minds rather than in reality, Sure there are times when we can be faced with billy clubs and handcuffs, but often the bullies have nothing more than hot air. Push back and they frequently turn tail and run, yelping all the way.

The third lesson we see is that the control hungry statist types believe in rule from above by the elites who know better than anyone else what should be done. This shows they have no understanding of the beauty of the US constitution where the power rests, not with the government, but with the people… who then assign some of it to the government to accomplish needed tasks. They do not understand that any official, the principal included, works for the people and is subject to the direction of his employer. Most in DC have forgotten this as well, but as Bob Dylan sang years ago, “Times, they are a changin’”, this time for the good.

As time goes by, and issues become more serious and the desire to control us becomes more intense, we may be called upon to face more intense harassment or arrest, like the protesters recently objecting to a commencement speech by a pro-abortion president at Notre Dame. By hanging together everyone gains extra courage and resolve.

Restrictions on prayer are just the tip of the iceberg that we see coming toward us. These kids got the idea… stand up for what you believe. Otherwise you become just another one of the sheeple that Ted Nugent talks about. For those content to live a life where they are told to jump, and then told how high to jump, none of this will make any sense. However, for those of us with a strong sense of right and wrong, we must agree with James Madison when told us, “Resistance to tyranny is service to God.” It’s also service to our fellow man.