The Future of Liberty, at Home and Abroad
A new book and a new State department give hope for religious liberty
I’m writing this tonight from Indianapolis, where I’ve been at The Gospel Coalition conference for the last few days. I love coming here every other year and have been since 2011 when the event came to Chicago (where I was pastoring at the time). I love TGC for a number of reasons, mostly for the emphasis on gospel proclamation, Christ-centered preaching, and theological depth. The resources have been formative for me in many ways and I’ve had the privilege of writing for TGC from time to time. This week was a bit like a family reunion, running into old friends, catching up on ministry endeavors, and getting shaped for my ministry work.
I wanted to send along a couple of new pieces of mine that might interest you. Action Institute asked me to review a book by John Wilsey, a historian and prof at SBTS. I love John’s work. He has a new book entitled: Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer. It’s a fantastic work that I plan on assigning in future classes. Here’s a bit of what I said about it:
Religious Freedom could not have come along at a more important time. As the country celebrates two and a half centuries of existence, too many Americans are cynical about the goodness of the nation into which we’ve been born. Even many Christians have been conditioned toward ambivalence or even loathing of America, while others dream up an altogether new arrangement. For a theological, philosophical, and historical perspective on conservatism, American Christianity, and the American project in general, it would be hard to find a more important read. May it find readers who will take up the book’s stirring call to faithfully steward their citizenship.
You can read the whole review here.
And then in my latest column for World, I profiled former Congressman, Mark Walker, who was just appointed by President Trump as the Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom. Walker is a good man, a former Baptist pastor, who is well suited for this role:
Today, millions around the world must worship in secret for fear of a knock on the door, or worse, an army of terrorists or state police ready to enforce a state-sanctioned ban on certain religions. Last year, 17 countries made the list of “countries of particular concern.” These include nations such as Afghanistan, Burma, China, Cuba, India, Russia, and others.
It is incumbent on American Christians to speak up for those who daily choose between death or devotion. Christianity is by far the most persecuted religion around the world, but we are not alone. In places like China, the government not only systematically enslaves and imprisons Christians, but also Muslim Uygurs and those of the Bahai faith. We should be grateful that our government prioritizes religious freedom in our foreign policy. Quite often, the lack of religious freedom is a sign that a nation fails to recognize other basic human rights. Pope John Paul II was correct when he said, “The fundamental right to religious freedom is a cornerstone of the structure of human rights and the foundation of every truly free society.”
As a Baptist, Mark Walker won’t have to be convinced of this, for religious liberty is his native language. President Trump made a wise choice for this important role.
You can read the whole thing here.