Rally warns of perceived dangers of secularization in U.S.

Author William J. Federer spoke about the importance of remembering history and the dangers of secularization during a small rally Friday in Cape Girardeau.

Nearly 50 people gathered to hear a series of speakers, including abortion opponent Mark Loos and Emerald Street Church of God pastor Robert Hendrix Jr.

Hendrix told the crowd religious institutions -- especially Christian ones -- are being edged aside by the government.

"We have a fear that they are taking the Constitution away from us," he said, referring to the First Amendment's protection of the free exercise of religion.

"When you research the Founding Fathers, you realize it is based on holy Scripture," he said. "It is based on a Christian attitude."

He called upon those to get involved and warned against the dangers of complacency.

"Eighty years ago in Germany, they were going through something similar to this," he said, and went on to explain how the fear and complacency of the populace allowed the government to "start taking rights away from people just because they didn't like them."

Patriotism in the Christian perspective, he said, involves recognizing religious people are governed by a higher authority, the Christian God.

"This country needs to turn from the way that it's going and return to God," he said. "Telling us what's right and wrong is not the job of the government."

Loos spoke about religious freedom, calling the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision recognizing same-sex marriages a political act as opposed to a judicial one.

"Practicing Christians, that are exercising their faith, are now the ones on trial," he said. "The sexual revolutionist wants no one to tell them what they can or cannot do, and the church has been the only one in their way."

He blamed liberal media outlets, ruling elites and the Obama administration for an "unrelenting war on Christianity and the family."

But when Federer took the microphone, he offered a more optimistic take on what Christians can do in everyday life to better their communities. History, he said, is important.

"History is to the nation what memory is to the individual," he said, paraphrasing Arthur Schlesinger Jr. "We've lost our memory."

He said he'd spent years researching every civilization that has existed, looking for patterns in governance, and noticed power tends to concentrate around individuals, resulting in monarchy, oligarchy and other top-heavy systems.

"Power wants to consolidate," he said, "[but George] Washington set a precedent for it to be a noble thing, giving up power."

He said the Founding Fathers looked to the Israelites for inspiration when establishing the United States.

He also warned against what he characterized as a growing movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.

"The LGBT movement is a lust-driven movement," he said, adding that submitting to lust does not dissipate it. "They want more and more until they want your little kids."

Secularization and legalized same-sex marriage aren't the only threats to Christians' place in society, he said, citing Islam as a growing threat.

"Wherever there's division, Islam usually comes in and takes over," he said. "But wherever Christians can say, 'We could work together even though we don't agree with everything,' Islam is stopped."

He also said he feels the 14th amendment is being misused to the point it infringes upon Christians' First Amendment right to free exercise of religion.

"By getting God out, they're establishing atheism as a religion," he said. "Everyone is tolerated in America except the Christians who founded the country."

He ended his speech on an optimistic note.

"God likes to wait until things look hopeless," he said. "Then he raises up little nobodies with great courage to do big things."

tgraef@semissourian.com

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