Classic Zig Ziglar

As a youngster, my mother taught me that all of us might not be smart but all of us can be courteous and fair. My mother was right.

History reveals that America was discovered and initially settled primarily by Christians (as described in "The Light and the Glory" by Peter Marshall and David Manuel; and "Original Intent" by David Barton). Yet, while public schools and community buildings have granted access to almost every kind of organization, in case after case, Christian groups were being prohibited from using the same buildings — until they went to court and it was ruled unconstitutional.

Jay Alan Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, presented the case of Amandola vs. Town of Babylon, N.Y. Pastor John Amandola of "Romans Chapter Ten Ministries" applied to use the Town Hall Annex for Sunday worship services and Thursday evening Bible studies. Town Commissioner James Namely agreed, which was understandable since his community in Long Island, N.Y., allowed a wide variety of groups to rent town facilities — even Christians — until the complaint came in. Someone objected because Pastor Amandola was conducting "altar calls" during his meetings, so the commissioner revoked Pastor Amandola's permission — despite the fact that the town has no written policy about who can and cannot use their facilities. Commissioner Namely makes all of these decisions.

Namely says that Bible studies are fine, religious organizations are welcome, singing religious songs is OK, and praying is allowed — but no altar calls, no mentioning of a "specific deity," and no use of the name "Jesus." "As if we could avoid using His name during our services, prayers and study! It's absurd!" Counsel Sekulow states. "The target is simply the Christian faith, it's Jesus. This is clearly an unconstitutional distinction." Now here's the frightening part:

"We persuaded the U.S. Court of Appeals to declare the Town of Babylon's policy unconstitutional ...

but the town reacted by quickly considering the adoption of a policy to ban all religious activities in town facilities — not just services involving altar calls. That's even more unconstitutional than the old policy," states Sekulow.

In Denver, a family was forbidden to hold more than one Bible study in their home each month, despite the fact that it was a small group and there were no neighborhood crowding or parking problems. It seemed that because they were Christians, they could not enjoy the same freedoms allowed all other groups.

There's more. When the Supreme Court was debating the constitutionality of partial-birth abortion, there were two groups protesting. The Christians were praying that the judges would decide that they did not have the constitutional right to perform partial-birth abortions; the others were "pro-choice." The group arrested by the police: the Christians who opposed partial-birth abortion.

Regardless of your faith, don't forget Germany. Hitler persecuted specific ethnic groups one by one. When people did not protest (because it wasn't "their" group), the day came when everyone feared that knock on the door.

"Freedom of religion" is a phrase to which it appears many people in the courts and the media seem to have added another phrase — "unless it happens to be Christianity." Think about this: Christians initially started all hospitals. The Salvation Army, orphanages, the Civil Rights Movement and Habitat for Humanity were started primarily by Christians. Twenty-five of our first 27 universities, and many other humanitarian organizations, including public schools, were started so people could learn to read — the Bible.

Question: Do you believe our country would be better off without these contributions by Christians? Question: Did you protest the movie "The Last Temptation of Christ"? What do you think would have happened if they had named it "The Last Temptation of Buddha," or "The Last Temptation of Martin Luther King," or any other religious leader?

All of us should protest against any discrimination against anyone, including Christians.

To find out more about Zig Ziglar and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. Subscribe to Zig Ziglar's free e-mail newsletter through info@zigziglar.com.

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