By Frank R. Wolf, The Washington Times.
I write with a deep and growing concern about the future of religious liberty in the United States. Grateful to have had the privilege of serving our country for 34 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, I have come away from this experience believing we do ourselves a disservice when we assume that the government can solve all of the problems our country faces.
After leaving Congress in January 2015, I joined the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, an organization, founded by Randel Everett, to advance religious freedom as a universal right through advocacy, capacity-building and technology. Randel, a longtime advocate for religious freedom, both international and domestic, was Chuck Colson’s pastor for a number of years.
During my time in Congress I often reached out to Chuck Colson for his wise advice and counsel. Chuck was a mentor to me and I always benefited from talking with him.
A 2015 book titled, “My Final Word: Holding Tight to the Issues That Matter Most,” is a collection of previously unpublished material from notes and memos Chuck wrote over the years. I am struck by Chuck’s foresight on the erosion of our religious liberty. Here are a few excerpts:
“I believe we are heading for a new Dark Ages, with persecution coming to the church soon. It’s going to happen as a result of conflicts over sex. This is where modern human beings do not want to be in any way restrained. They will accept the law that governs them in just about every area of their lives except sexual passion.” (Pg. 123)
“We must reflect on how we defend religious liberty. We don’t want to defend it by claiming our opponents are bigots. Instead, we have to show why, if we allow the government to take away our freedom of conscience, we’re going to lose all other liberties. That’s the kind of approach that is going to have to be made to get a majority of the people with us.” (Pg. 139)