Tornado Alley (PROG)

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During Congressional Hearing, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) Grills Rev. Barry Lynn on Whether He’s a True Christian

June 11, 2014 By Hemant Mehta 94 Comments

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The wrong person is in Congress.

(On a side note, The Blaze‘s Billy Hallowell referred to Lynn as a “church-state separatist .. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/06/10/louie-gohmert-confronts-reverend-over-his-christian-beliefs-during-congressional-hearing/ .” Which connotes something far worse than how he uses it… and I know he knows that because I’ve said it before .. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/03/15/note-to-the-blaze-the-freedom-from-religion-foundation-is-not-a-separatist-group/ .)

By the way, in case you’re wondering what Rev. Lynn actually came to say, here’s an excerpt from his written remarks ..
http://judiciary.house.gov/_cache/files/e795ba7a-11fe-4a8b-badf-df0faed916be/06102014-lynn.pdf : [ all emphasis in the original ]

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The largest threats [to religious liberty] as I see them today can be placed into two broad categories: threats to religious minorities and non-believers, and efforts to radically redefine religious liberty. Threats to the Christian majority are few, far between, and sometimes, frankly, untrue.

Non-believers and adherents to less popular faiths are still denied the basic rights that many of us practicing a majority faith take for granted every day. They face religious coercion, harassment, exclusion, and overt religious employment discrimination.

Another threat is the mounting attempts to radically redefine religious liberty. To me, religious freedom means having the right to practice your religion free of harassment and undue influence from governments at any level. Categorical religious or “faith specific” exemptions to law and other generally applicable rules and regulations should be granted only where they will not unduly burden the legitimate rights of others. But what are often described as threats to religious freedom today are really attempts to obtain sweeping exemptions that could deny others fundamental rights to make lawful moral choices and exercise their own individual conscience; efforts to seek privileges reserved for religious entities by organizations that are engaged in commercial enterprises or that serve as a government provider of services; and attempts to use the machinery of government to promote particular religious beliefs, often resulting in the coercion of others to follow those doctrines. Ironically, under these circumstances, the accommodations and privileges sought in the name of religion become a real threat to religious freedom overall.
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That’s the view of a person who truly respects religious liberty for everyone.

That’s the view of the guy who’s not in Congress.

#Merica

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/06/11/during-congressional-hearing-rep-louie-gohmert-r-tx-grills-rev-barry-lynn-on-whether-hes-a-true-christian/

.. loved the report card on Perry, the Reid Report ..

.. it's about 2/3 down in yours ..