Timothy King Lent’s Post

In a world increasingly divided by ideological and religious differences, the true tragedy lies in the erosion of our shared humanity. Acts of violence and hatred are committed, not in the name of religion, but in the pursuit of power, control, and intolerance. These actions betray the very essence of what it means to be human—compassion, empathy, and the innate desire to uplift one another. Yet, those who perpetuate such atrocities often demand loyalty and allegiance, expecting others to follow blindly. It is a stark contradiction and a deep moral failure, revealing the hollow nature of their cause. To restore humanity, we must recognize that our greatest strength lies not in division, but in unity and the shared commitment to justice and peace.

Today is Religious Freedom Day, marking the date in 1786 that the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was passed. It articulated the concept of faith freedom for all, and the principle was enshrined a few years later in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As this day marks that landmark legislation, we must remember that not all citizens nor all people enjoyed the rights and privileges of religious freedom in 1786. Baptists believe that we are inherently free to choose whether to worship God and follow Christ without efforts by the government to advance or restrain religion. This historic commitment to religious liberty for all people can be traced back to 17th-century England and Colonial America, where Baptist leaders called for complete religious freedom. Baptists declared that the government was powerless to control conscience and was incompetent to dictate spiritual matters. Learn more about what religious liberty is from one of BJC’s most-used resources: https://lnkd.in/eCSWzFe 

As discussions about faith are ongoing in Georgia today, I’d like to pose some questions to “professionals”: • What is the concept of God in Georgian religion? • Which words did Christ use to defend Mary Magdalene? • What did he ask of God when he was crucified? And what values are you defending? • The right of the Georgian Dream to cuss out the National Movement, or the right of the National Movement to cuss out the Georgian Dream? • The rights of “normal believers” to hate those who are non-normal, or non-normal love toward aggressors who have harmed Georgian believers and kill them? • The government that despises its own citizens, or the citizens who despise freedom and Love? The image depicts the 9th-century Georgian temple Lomisa, which Russian occupants blocked after war 2008. In 2023, they killed persons and continuing to arrest people attempting a pilgrimage to one of Georgia’s most renowned religious sites.

Freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right, closely linked to freedom of expression, and every other freedom. It's being threatened everywhere from West to East and North to South. https://lnkd.in/eBkepk2Y

The First Amendment indeed serves a dual purpose: it protects both the Church (religious institutions) and individuals from government interference in matters of worship and expression of beliefs. This constitutional provision establishes a critical separation between church and state, preventing the government from favoring or hindering any particular religion (only religions rooted in God are protected). Satanic worship is not protected as a religious practice in America! Thus it’s a special interest group with limited rights to free speech only. No other “group” is protected in the Constitution! Groups aren’t created by God so don’t have a God given right! In essence, it upholds the principle of religious freedom by safeguarding the rights of both religious organizations, including the Church, and individuals to practice their faith without undue influence or interference from the government. This fundamental protection contributes to the pluralistic and diverse nature of American society. Just your average paralegal holding lawyers accountable for their duty as GATE KEEPERS of Rights!

Senseless killings, and all acts of terrorism, mass murder, and genocide are not borne out of any particular world religion. Rather, these acts are rooted in certain attitudes, mindsets, and ideologies that reflect selfish and narcissistic worldview that places one's own interests above the dignity and wellbeing of others. It lies in a racist and bigoted attitude that says, "I am better than others because I belong to a particular religion or ethnicity." It is grounded in the outlook, first encountered in paganistic cultures that predate the rise of world religions, which assigns special and exceptional privileges to particular ethnic and religious groups on the ground that they are the children of "a great god" (or a great race) and that others are the children of "lesser gods" (or lesser races).

Inner thoughts of Respect and integrity. 🪶 This United States of America was built on stolen lands by those seeking religious freedom. Then to only “divide and conquer” Indigenous Tribes via broken promises and policies directed to suppress, oppress the original inhabitants of Turtle Island. Now looking at this “psychedelic” movement, some within this movement find ways to avoid “bona fide” voices, practices and forget what Respect looks like. They adopt practices without acknowledge, consent from the stewards of these medicines and call it their own. Rather than build a trusting relationship with stewards of these medicines (not drugs) they look for loopholes and call it Religious Freedom/Religious Restoration. Although policy revision is needed they seldom include Tribal Voices that steward these medicines and don’t realize some of these medicines don’t originate from the USA .. so they grow their own without acknowledgment just because they WANT to for their own purposes. Understanding bona fide Indigenous World Views is a good practice. Truth. ✨🪶

Have you forgotten what it means to be a true liberal, a humanist? A democrat? Do you stand for justice and brotherhood, equality, and peace? You must always act against national fanaticism and religious fanaticism! The left was the first to stand up and fight against Italian and Spanish fascism, against German Nazism, and fascism in South America and Europe. The left is always committed to standing against organizations like Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and ISIS! Nothing in these entities of brutal bigotry is even approaching justice, brotherhood, equality, and peace. The opposite: they believe in righteousness, holiness, or supremacy only on behalf of their own god/religion/people/nation. Many human/liberal individuals and organizations worldwide are confused by superficial information and a bias to always be against Goliath Israel and to think that the Palestinian people are always David. This, by the way, is indeed one of the damages of the occupation, which turned us from a just, young, and modest country into an occupying, arrogant, greedy country, indifferent to the suffering of others. Yes, we must end the conflict and the occupation with a lasting two-state solution. But the Israeli left does not need to apologize or be confused about its determination to strive for reconciliation between the nations and peace.  Peace of the brave! A true peace that, along with painful compromises, will never give up on protecting eternal humanistic values. For that reason, we must always fight nationalist and religious fanatics and terrorist acts against an innocent population, regardless of what nation, origin, or ethnic affiliation they are coming from. It is not a shame to be both leftist and Zionist. On the contrary, precisely in the shadow of the disaster that we live in right now, it is more important than ever! And it is a terrible shame to be a leftist in any country while you support Hamas.  It's an ethical and moral disgrace. The left has never supported slaughtering innocent women, children, and older people. The will for independence of any nation does not justify such atrocious acts. You cannot be a Democrat, a Liberal, a Humanist, or a Leftist and support religious fanatics of any religion who believe in the death of non-believers.  

This is not a political post. It’s a human rights support post. It’s a post in support of religious freedom. We all know what is happening in Israel is not okay. If that’s “political” then we have lost sight of our values as Americans. And when it comes to our values on the world stage, we need politicians to speak on our behalf. Yet our politicians have remained largely silent until yesterday. What happens to Israel has far reaching consequences for Israelis, for the Jewish diaspora but also for the Western world at large. Do we accept religious persecution? Do we accept civilians deaths? Do we accept yet another war for Israel and the Middle East? How do we help support peace? That should always be the question. But we also need to help protect Israel from further attacks. All questions outside of my field of expertise and frankly, ones that even experts grapple with, but we have to understand the importance of Israel, the importance of civil rights, the importance of religious rights, and above all else, the importance of human life. Regardless of your religion, say a prayer for the people living through this tough time, and if you are so inclined, I’ll drop a link for support.

The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 (AIRFA) (42 U.S.C. § 1996.) protects the rights of Native Americans to exercise their traditional religions by ensuring access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites. AIRFA is primarily a policy statement. Approximately half of the brief statute is devoted to Congressional findings. Following the Congressional findings, the Act makes a general policy statement regarding American Indian religious freedom: “On and after August 11, 1978, it shall be the policy of the United States to protect and preserve for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise the traditional religions of the American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut, and Native Hawaiians, including but not limited to access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites.” 42 U.S.C. § 1996 (2011).