Commentary: GRANT US LIBERTY

By Dr. John Cooper

 

John Cooper says Grant Us Liberty.

 

Dear Pastor and Church;

 

     Issac Backus was a leading Baptist preacher during the era of the American Revolution who campaigned against state established churches. He served on a delegation from Massachusetts which ratified the U. S. Constitution in 1788. He strongly believed that the State should not interfere with the Church.

     “All America is alarmed by the TEA TAX “ said Issac Backus in 1774, in his forthright letter to the Massachusetts Congress. “Though, if they please, they can avoid it by not buying the Tea; but we have no such liberty. We must either pay the little tax, or else your people appear, even in this time of extremity, determined to lay the great one upon us.”  Backus referred to the Clergy Tax which required that Baptists contribute to the support of the State church Ministers. Baptist suffered persecution for many years because of the Tax and were repeatedly unsuccessful in efforts to have it repealed.

     Backus said “these lines are written to let you know that Baptists will not pay the Clergy Tax, not only under your principle of Taxation without representation but because we dare not render homage to any earthly power which we are convicted belongs only to God.” He said, “If you want to know what we ask of Massachusetts authorities, only allow us freely to enjoy the Religious liberty that they do in Boston. We ask no more.” The Baptist leader said. “Must we be blamed for not lying still, “ he demanded in a letter to the Massachusetts Congress, “and thus let our countryman trample upon our rights and deny us that very liberty that they are ready to take to arms to defend for themselves?”

     A study of American history will show that The Ministers of the State Churches were paid by a Tobacco Tax until tobacco escalated in sales and the Church Clergy was getting paid to much. The State then took over the Tobacco Tax and gave the ministers a salary. This happened in America, the 13 Colonies as we know them. We did not have Religious freedom when our Constitution was first adopted.

     We need men of God, Ministers and dedicated laymen, to stand today and proclaim that we are taxed not by Taxation without representation, but taxed with INADEQUATE representation in our Government. We misunderstand the principle of the Separation of Church and State that we have been taught over the years. It was never meant for the Church to stay out of Politics but that the State could Never control the Churches. If you study the history, it will show that the U. S. House of Representatives and Senate were filled with Christians. Our Ministers of God and our dedicated Christian laymen must lead the way in establishing Conservative Christian leaders back into our Government lest we lose to a Socialized Government that will destroy every principle of decency left in America. We must arm ourselves with the most powerful weapons that we have, that is prayer, Biblical principals, and THE VOTE. Conservative Christians must be elected to our State and Federal offices. We the People have the power to VOTE Conservatives into office, if we will use it. We must use all the power at our disposal to repel this vicious attack on our freedom.

 

     Could I have 5 to 10 minutes at some church service to distribute Godly Election literature to inform the people what the Churches can and can’t do legally, and then be available to answer questions afterwards?


     W. A. Criswell said, ”The commitment to religious liberty and the consequent belief in the separation of the institutions of the Church and the State need not, however, imply that Religious views should not inform Political issues. Religious liberty requires an absolute separation of the institution of the Church and the State…The Christian not only has the right, but also the duty to bring his or her Religious convictions to bear upon the Political issues of the day.”

 

Please read the two PDF documents:
Church – Guidelines
I R S – Churches

Yours in Christ

Dr. John Cooper
For United States House of Representatives, 4th District of Texas

903-439-1218
[email protected]

John Cooper

Author: John Cooper

Dr. John Cooper is a professional land surveyor at Cooper Land Surveying, Inc., business owner and sales consultant, he prepares every survey according to the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying standards. He graduated from Luther Rice Seminary with a Doctorate of Ministry Degree preparing him for a long tenure in working with people.

3 thoughts on “Commentary: GRANT US LIBERTY

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  3. Graig
    Graig January 21, 2015 at 10:23 pm - Reply

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