Religious Freedom can be Defended

Religious freedom has to combat constantly the tendency of teachers and students to sit on their hands and remain mum when new ideas may offend those who adhere to an ideologically “correct” way of thinking. Churches have a reputation for little tolerance toward those who are courageous enough to challenge prevailing systems of thought. But, religious freedom fighters know that a new idea involves both an intellectual and a personal risk while challenging the presumptions of group think, therefore both intellectual and personal courage are taken on to defend and transform the new idea into an accomplishment.

Churches are no more immune than the larger society to the malicious and unsavory behavior of community or collective consciousness. Due to sedentary thinking, if churches received wisdom and ideology are challenged, the knee jerk reaction is to become defensive, however the nonsense that we stop receiving wisdom is defenseless.

Sadly, the institution of church suffers and chases people away as it pressures thinkers into ideological conformity, but religious freedom fighters decompress and pro-actively return to the original intent of church as being available for discovery and research and constructive criticism. New ideas are revived and religious freedom is felt.

From, 21st Century Science and Health, “To the ritualistic church authority, and hypocritical Pharisees, Jesus said, ‘The tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.'” (Matt.)