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<b><font color="0000ff">Reject defamation of religions laws, panel of experts advises</font></b> <BR> <BR><b><font color="ff0000">Hate speech legislation could be enforced unequally, religious liberty advocates say</font></b> <BR> <BR><a href="http://news.adventist.org/2009/09/reject-defamation-of.html" target=_top>http://news.adventist.org/2009/09/reject-defamatio n-of.html</a> <BR> <BR>Laws or education the answer to attain "margin of respect"?
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<b><font color="ff0000">Hate Speech Protection</font></b> <BR> <BR>Christianity thrives on courage; lean and mean. From the words of Christ we learn that he never intended for his followers to have an easy road. He called it narrow; a baptism by fire; taking up one's cross. I think it is misguided for Christians to want to be protected by hate speech laws. <BR> <BR>Christians should be watching out for matters of justice for those around them. Hate speech laws need the Christian's support. Never should they involve themselves in hate speech. Sometimes a Christian's understanding of salvation could be viewed as against other religions, since the NT declares that salvation is only through Jesus. <BR> <BR>History shows that hate speech develops into murderous events; consider what has happened to the Jewish people, the Catholics, the Irish, the Protestant, the Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. etc. etc. <BR> <BR>Adventists have been active in defending their religious rights under law. This has served society in that some of the precedent setting cases have been litigated by Adventists. This is somewhat out of step with what I have mentioned above. Christians should not be concerned about their own rights; rather, they should watch to support the rights of others. <BR><b><font color="0000ff"><font size="+2">__________________________________</font></font></b> <BR> <BR>Adventists hold certain severe understandings which, if improperly promoted, sound an awful lot like hate speech. Our evangelists especially need good manners when presenting topics such as the Mark of the Beast, Babylon, etc. <BR> <BR>Ellen White suggested that the Adventist emphasis on the Roman Catholic prophetic role should become less and less prominent. We are not under obligation to preach against other denominations. <blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1><b>quote:</b></font><p>There is need of a much closer study of the Word of God. Especially should Daniel and the Revelation have attention as never before in the history of our work. We may have less to say in some lines, in regard to the Roman power and the papacy, but we should call attention to what the prophets and the apostles have written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit has so shaped matters, both in the giving of the prophecy, and in the events portrayed, as to teach that the human agent is to be kept out of sight, hid in Christ, and the Lord God of heaven and His law are to be exalted. <BR> <BR>Evangelism (1946), page 577, paragraph 1<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote> <BR><font color="ffffff"><font size="-2">.</font></font>
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