Our Threatened Freedom

Freedom Or Control? (04:57)

R.J. Rushdoony

R.J. Rushdoony: 00:00 This is R.J Rushdoony with a report on our threatened freedom. The issue, freedom or controls.

R.J. Rushdoony: 00:09 Recently a case went to court in which a Federal agency sought to compel a theological seminary to conform to the EEOC hiring or employment requirements. The seminary in question was the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. All employees of the seminary must be Southern Baptist’s or members of similar denominations and all faculty appointments are made in terms of Godliness as well as in terms of scholastic merit. To this, EEOC objected. The court ruled that EEOC did not have jurisdiction over the seminary because the curriculum and the school are clearly religious.

R.J. Rushdoony: 00:57 Because the school had submitted to accreditation for Veteran administration benefits and to the Texas department of education spot checks, EEOC held that these constituted wavers of first amendment protection. Although this case resulted in a victory for the seminary, the victory is limited to that case. There is no reason to believe that various State and Federal agencies will not continue their efforts to try to control Christian Colleges and Seminaries. iN fact, everything points to an increase on all fronts of efforts to control the church and all kinds of religious institutions.

R.J. Rushdoony: 01:45 What we are facing is an increasing war against all freedom of religion. I myself, as a witness in a number of cases have heard State Attorney’s refer to the first amendment as a document of historical interest only. One such Attorney insisted that a dynamic view constitutional law and development requires us to see the necessity for Federal and State controls. In his thinking, all meaning in the first amendment as we have known it, is null and void. In other words, freedom of religion, freedom of press, speech, assembly and petition should be subject to careful and strict controls. There are even some that hold that it should be illegal for people to try to influence their Congressmen or Senators. For all such people, the great enemy is freedom.

R.J. Rushdoony: 02:46 Now, it is very true that freedom can be, and it is commonly abused. It is very easy to chronically abuse this freedom. However, the abuses of power and of controls are far more common and far greater. We can not have perfection this side of Heaven, and it is a mistake to hope for.

R.J. Rushdoony: 03:11 The demand for power to control is based on the belief that abuses can be eliminated given enough regulation. This is a deadly belief. The only people who are never out of line are in a graveyard. Every attempt to regulate and control men into a perfect society, gives us instead, a graveyard society. In the name of a new Heaven, such regulators place us in hell instead. There is a war going on against freedom. The basic freedom is religious liberty. If we lose that, we are then, a slave people living in a slave state.

R.J. Rushdoony: 04:02 Now, more than ever, we need to help those who fight in defense of the first amendment. The basic freedom is always freedom for the faith. Religious liberty thus, must be defended as crucial for our future.

R.J. Rushdoony: 04:25 Copies of this broadcast are available from R.J Rushdoony. P.O Box 188, Vallecito, California, 95251. Please send one dollar to help toward the cost of reproduction, postage and office expense. Ask for the broadcast on freedom or control.