When our founding fathers left England, they had one reason above all others for their abandonment of the place of their birth. The Anglican Church had conspired with the rulers of England to institute a single religion within the land. The majority of dissenters were not religious men. They were ‘Deists.’ They believed that there was some form of a higher power who created the heavens and earth, but that he was not concerned with the daily lives of humans, and never spoke directly to them.

When the Constitution was signed in 1789, ten amendments known as the Bill of Rights were added. The most important amendment to all who penned their names to the law of the land was the first. This was a guarantee of what they considered the most important rights of all citizens of the United States. The first part of that amendment forbade the institution of a single religion, and guaranteed the rights of all men to practice the faith of their choice. Today, many of our politicians seek to establish Christianity as our national religion. Many ignorant Americans fear all Muslims and deny the truth regarding the religion of Islam

Religious leaders are seldom theologians. They lack knowledge of other faiths, and pronounce to their followers that theirs is the only true religion. They create cults, which have no similarity to the basic principles of those who founded that particular faith.

The first amendment also guarantees free speech; everyone has the right to their own opinion, whether it is popular or not.

Wheaton College has suspended tenured political science professor Larycia Hawkins. She did not commit a crime, and was well respected within her profession. However, she did make one serious mistake; she acted like a true American who felt empathy for the plight of others.

Ms. Hawkins posted an essay on Facebook. In it she expressed her solidarity with the Muslim community after Donald Trump’s prejudiced and racial remarks about millions of innocent men and women. Ms. Hawkins also said that Muslims were “formed of the same primordial clay, descendants of the same cradle of humankind.”

But here’s the statement that resulted in her suspension. “I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book. And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God,” Hawkins wrote.

The small evangelical college objected to any comparison between Christianity and Islam.

The school issued the following release to the press.

“In response to significant questions regarding the theological implications of statements that Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Larycia Hawkins has made about the relationship of Christianity to Islam, Wheaton College has placed her on administrative leave,” the statement said.

Our nation’s people suffer from a lack of understanding, tolerance, and facts. Has Trump become the symbol of the nation in which I live today? Am I in the minority because I continue to believe in the real United States of America and the principles for which it stood? I now know that I am not in concert with other white people my age who are allowing the gospel of hatred and discrimination to control their lives.

The destruction of America began with the politics of fear. The spawn of fear is hatred, and hatred begets violence. Wheaton College should be ashamed of itself. Although it professes to teach its students about Jesus Christ, it does not believe in His instructions to His followers.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

Source

Photo Courtesy of Stevan Sheets

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