{"id":72004,"date":"2019-03-25T11:13:20","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T17:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=72004"},"modified":"2019-03-25T11:25:04","modified_gmt":"2019-03-25T17:25:04","slug":"remember-the-alamo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/remember-the-alamo.html","title":{"rendered":"Remember the Alamo!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"San<\/a>
The Alamo, in San Antonio, Texas \u00a0\u00a0(Wikimedia Common public domain image)
We may well lose many battles in the struggle to maintain religious liberty. \u00a0We probably will. \u00a0But it\u2019s a glorious fight and a moral imperative.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A few days ago, I posted a blog entry entitled \u201cSan Antonio and the rise of anti-religious tyranny in the United States.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

That topic reminded me of a passage on the very first page of the late British scholar F. F. Bruce\u2019s classic book New Testament History<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRoman law set its face against Christianity, so that a man was liable to suffer \u2018as a Christian\u2019 [1 Peter 4:16] without its being necessary to produce evidence of positive criminal action on his part.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

David French, a conservative author for whom I have great respect (and a specialist in the First Amendment who was trained at Harvard Law School), has also commented on this case, and I was pleased to note that he too recognizes the Orwellian character of San Antonio city councilman Roberto Trevi\u00f1o\u2019s explanation of the city\u2019s decision:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSan Antonio Violates the First Amendment to Punish Chick-fil-A\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In other news related to San Antonio\u2019s city council:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSix-year prison sentence for Jehovah\u2019s Witness in Russia sparks outcry\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRussia Confiscates $30.4 Million Property from Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses: The Seizure of the Administrative Building is the Latest in a Series of Confiscations of the Religion\u2019s Properties\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m no particular fan of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, but the Russian government\u2019s actions toward the group are appalling and a blatant assault upon religious liberty and freedom of conscience. \u00a0Moreover, they suggest the likelihood of a looming threat to the freedoms of other minority religious groups, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In this context, it seems appropriate, once again, to quote the famous passage from\u00a0the German Lutheran pastor and theologian Martin Niem\u00f6ller (1892-1984), a prisoner between 1937 and 1945 at the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps,\u00a0about the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis\u2019\u00a0rise to power and the subsequent purging\u00a0of their chosen targets, one by one, group after group:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out\u2014<\/span><\/strong>
\nBecause I was not a Socialist.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out\u2014<\/span><\/strong>
\nBecause I was not a Trade Unionist.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out\u2014<\/span><\/strong>
\nBecause I was not a Jew.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Then they came for me\u2014and there was no one left to speak for me.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another cheery little item, this time out of England:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUse Wrong Pronoun, Get Investigated by Police:\u00a0\u2018This potentially constitutes a criminal offense. Let that sink in'\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s not just political elites who pose a threat to freedom of thought and belief. \u00a0Cultural and pop cultural elites are also hostile. \u00a0Indeed, the truths and values we embrace are mocked on every hand and, where possible, are suppressed and excluded:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHollywood Is Trying To Bury an Important Movie with an Unjust \u2018R\u2019 Rating\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Well, did<\/em> you see Gosnell<\/em>?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGosnell<\/i>: When Art Collides with Reality and Exposes the Truth:\u00a0A new law in New York legalizes the actions for which abortionist Kermit Gosnell was sent to prison for life.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 A few days ago, I posted a blog entry entitled \u201cSan Antonio and the rise of anti-religious tyranny in the United States.\u201d \u00a0 That topic reminded me of a passage on the very first page of the late British scholar F. F. Bruce\u2019s classic book New Testament History: \u00a0 \u201cRoman law set its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4276,4303,4309,4306,2743,3811,2740,4312,4318,2100,2097,4300,4315,4297],"class_list":["post-72004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bigotry","tag-chick-fil-a","tag-first-amendment","tag-gay-marriage","tag-gay-rights","tag-homosexual","tag-homosexuality","tag-jehovahs-witnesses","tag-martin-niemoller","tag-religious-freedom","tag-religious-liberty","tag-roberto-trevino","tag-russia","tag-san-antonio"],"yoast_head":"\nRemember the Alamo!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    A few days ago, I posted a blog entry entitled "San Antonio and the rise of anti-religious tyranny in the United States."   That topic\" \/>\n<meta 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