On Friday, July 21st President Bush’s Faith-Based Initiative passed the House by a vote of 233 to 198 with several congressmen not voting or absent. Fifteen Democrats voted with the President and four Republicans voted against the bill. This shows the partisanship in Washington among the Democrats. The Bush Faith-Based Initiative is nothing more than an expansion of the Charitable Choice Act that was signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. Democrats who voted for Charitable Choice suddenly see Faith-Based as a problem.

The victory came even as major social conservative organizations failed to back the president. Many large predominately white churches also did not back the Faith-Based Initiative. Many of these churches are so large and so wealthy that they had no need for the programs proposed. On the other hand, black and Hispanic pastors who are traditionally Democrat sided with the Republican President and lobbied for the Faith-Based Initiative.

Liberals tried two main tactics to derail the legislation. First, Democrats and some liberal Republicans demanded that all the programs provided by the Faith-Based Initiative have an "opt-out" rule. This rule would have allowed participants in the programs to pick and choose which parts of the programs they wanted. An individual in a drug treatment program, for example, could tell the counselors which parts of the program he would or would not participate in. This approach was not acceptable to the many groups supporting the legislation. Had "opt-out" been a major part of the legislation we would have been forced to abandon it.

As soon as "opt-out" appeared on the horizon as a threat, our legislative director, Candace Wheeler, fought to block it at every level. I also immediately hired Preston White to work exclusively on the issue. Preston has worked on the staff of both conservative congressmen and Senators. He proved invaluable in efforts to stop "opt-out".

In addition, on June 28th I issued a press release and information sheet on the dangers of having "opt-out" in the legislation. In my one page release I used the example of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, as they would be distorted under "opt-out". This example was used because virtually every religious drug and alcohol treatment program uses the Twelve Steps as a basis in one form or another. I was later told that my approach to showing the dangers of "opt-out" was copied and distributed at Cabinet level offices in the White House within hours after its release. The text of the press release appears in this edition of the William J. Murray Report.

Let me make it clear that at no time did the Religious Freedom Coalition oppose a "trapdoor" clause in the Faith-Based Initiative. Under "trapdoor" anyone could drop out of a religious program if he or she so desired, and return to the government agency issuing the voucher to attend a different religious or a totally secular program.

With the large numbers of Hispanic and black religious organizations and churches asking Democrats to back the Faith-Based Initiative, the Democrats felt they could not vote against it based on any "separation of church and state" issues. So at the last minute Democrat leaders decided on a second area of attack. They claimed the legislation was "anti-gay" and thus discriminatory. They said it was "anti-gay" because most churches would not hire homosexuals.

Churches and religious organizations have always been exempt from being forced to hire individuals who do not believe in their basic principles. No Rabbi can be forced to hire a Muslim secretary. The same rule applies to homosexuals or anyone else who does not believe the basic tenants of the organization at which they are applying for a job.

No organization is required to hire a person who does not agree philosophically with the organization. No Democrat organization can be required to hire a Republican, and no pro-abortion organization can be required to hire someone opposed to abortion. Laws against discrimination do not cover philosophical beliefs.

Democrat Gerald Nadler of New York led the charge against the Faith-Based Initiative and for "gay-rights" saying government money could not be used to promote "bigotry" against homosexuals. He used his powerful position on the Judiciary committee to help many homosexual groups lobby. So intense was the homosexual lobby effort that black Democrat Danny K. Davis of Illinois changed his vote even after promising President Bush and black leaders from his state that he would vote for the Faith-Based Initiative. In the end he voted against the bill saying, "it is regrettably silent on the question of sexual orientation."

Jim Kolbe, the only openly homosexual Republican in Congress, teamed up with Democrats and a socially liberal Republican, Mark Foley of Florida, to offer an amendment to the Faith-Based Initiative that would have forced any church or religious organization receiving funds to hire homosexuals.

Democrat Lloyd Doggett of Texas said the bill was "...a referendum on discrimination."

Our legislative director, Candace Wheeler, spent the last twenty-four hours prior to the actual vote working a target list of thirty-two congressmen who were officially undecided. Of the twelve Democrats she spent the most time with, two actually voted with the President.

The number one proponent of the Faith-Based Initiative in the House, Republican J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, said most opposition to the bill came from "misinformation and propaganda."

After the final vote, the margin was a total of forty votes. Had twenty-one congressmen moved to the left, the Faith-Based Initiative would have failed. At the height of the lobbying effort there were not a total of fifty staff members of conservative organizations working the halls of Congress compared to hundreds of homosexual activists and paid staffers from organizations such as the far left People For the American Way (PAW).

Getting the President’s Faith-Based Initiative passed out of the House was no easy task. Despite the best efforts of dozens of organizations including the Republican Party leadership, the bill narrowly passed. Now it faces the Democrat controlled Senate. On the same day the bill passed the House, Democrat Senate leader Tom Daschle raised concerns about homosexual rights saying, "...I think that the Senate will take a very critical view of those provisions in the bill."

Former Democrat candidate for the Vice Presidency, Joe Lieberman, wore his Jewish faith on his sleeve during the entire presidential campaign. Now, he is not so sure about religion being a public matter. The Connecticut Senator will offer his own version of the bill to "protect" homosexual groups and to force churches and charities to hire those who do not share their views. Under the Lieberman version of the bill, a Jewish synagogue would be forced to hire a member of Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organization, if one applied.

As best we can tell, at least $409 million is given to religious organizations every year by the federal government for faith-based programs outside the United States. That amount may be much higher. The money pays for everything from famine relief to construction of new schools. The Catholic Relief Services receives 57% of its total overseas funding from the government. World Relief, which is run by the National Council of Evangelicals, receives a full 47% of its budget from the government. And, the conservative World Vision receives 19% of its funding from the government.

Various religious and secular groups compete for the $4.3 billion dollar Agency for International Development funds each year, just as President Bush proposes for the domestic version. The agencies are required to keep a separate set of books if they are deemed to be sectarian by the agency. Why are the liberals fighting a domestic program that mirrors an international program that has been in force for more than five decades?

THE "OPT OUT" PROBLEM IN THE "FAITH-BASED INITIATIVE"

Washington, DC - June 28, 2001

The Religious Freedom Coalition can agree to a "trap door" approach in which recipients can leave the program and go to a secular program if they do not want to participate in religious aspects. We cannot agree to an "opt out" provision that allows the recipient to dictate a custom program to the provider.

Perhaps the Administration and others believe that a "Faith-Based" program consists of a morning prayer, and the rest of the day is secular. Skip the prayer and the rest of the day is just like any secular program. This is not the case, particularly in dealing with alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs.

Virtually every religious alcohol and drug rehabilitation program is based on the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Let’s take a look at what happens to those Twelve Steps with an "opt out" provision.

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
   (Recipient opts out of step 2 because he believes there is no power greater than himself.)
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
   (Recipient wants to run his own life. Tells staff there is no God and "opts out" of this step.)
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
   (Recipient says there is no God and thus no "morals" and "opts out" of step 4.)
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
   (Recipient says there is no God and he does not believe he ever did any "wrongs". He "opts out".)
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
   (Recipient says he has no defects of character. Says there is no God and "opts out".)
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
   (Recipient refuses step 7 because "Him" is capitalized. He "opts out".)
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
    (Recipient says step 11 is too religious. Says he will "opt out" and go have a drink instead.)
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
    (Recipient does an "opt out" because he says there is no such thing as a "spiritual awakening.")

The Faith-Based Initiative will not work without faith. "Opt out" is just a plain stupid giveaway to the far left. We have given up fifty percent to the other side without a shot being fired, before victory in even the House. How much more do we give up in the Senate?

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution refused to carry an advertisement in its want ads for a Presbyterian youth minister because the ad specified "an energetic and outspoken Christian leader", who demonstrates "a contagious faith in Jesus Christ."

Ryan Thomas, the classified ad supervisor for the Journal-Constitution said that "‘Presbyterian’ is OK, but when you add the words ‘Christian leader’ and ‘a contagious faith in Jesus Christ,’ we don’t accept that."

Christine Davidson, who manages the employment ads for the newspaper, said that rejecting ads that refer to "Christian" faith is intended to "protect our readers" from discrimination.

The original ad had been requested by the Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church. Eric W. Robyn of the Skidaway Island Church decided to test the newspaper’s "discrimination" policy. He wrote a fake ad for a "well-respected and growing secular humanist training institution" seeking a youth leader experienced "in refuting and debating traditional beliefs, especially Christian ... Strong atheist or agnostic convictions required."

The Journal-Constitution immediately accepted the ad and sent a bill for $417.54. When confronted with the obvious bias, the newspaper simply refused to respond to Robyn’s letter demanding an explanation.

The original ad was refused only because the word "Christian" was used. Had the advertisement been for a Jewish, Muslim or Hindu "leader" the ad would have been accepted.

The moment of silence in Virginia’s schools is constitutional. So says the U.S. 4th District Court of Appeals which struck down a suit by the ACLU on July 25th. Judge Paul V. Niemeyer wrote, "In establishing a minute of silence, during which students may choose to pray, or to meditate in a silent manner, Virginia has introduced at most a minor and nonintrusive accommodation of religion that does not establish religion. By providing this moment of silence, the State makes no endorsement of religion."

This was the second loss for the ACLU on this case. Previously a federal district judge in Alexandria had ruled the moment of silence legal. The law specifically allows for a moment of silent prayer, meditation or "other" silent activity. Because a student can do anything silently during that time, there is no grounds for the ACLU lawsuit. Still the ACLU filed a lawsuit and has sworn to take the case to the Supreme Court rather than to allow students a minute in the morning during which they may have the opportunity to pray if they so desire.

The ACLU must now pay court costs and their own expenses--something they are not used to doing!

The ACLU also lost a case in Colorado. A Colorado court has held that the Ten Commandments monument in front of the city hall in Grand Junction, Colorado is not an unconstitutional establishment of religion. The court stated the monument is primarily secular.

"There is no doubt that the message of this monument is primarily religious," said Jay Baker, of the Denver firm of Bjork, Lindley, Danielson & Baker, who filed the lawsuit as an ACLU volunteer cooperating attorney. "The monument advocates believing in only one God; keeping the Sabbath holy; and foregoing the worship of idols. The Constitution guarantees individuals the right to embrace or reject such religious precepts, and it forbids the government from promoting them."

The court disagreed with Baker, whose firm must now pay its own expenses in the case. This is a cruel verdict for the ACLU, which is a criminal enterprise whose business is extortion through the court system. Pray for more ACLU losses.

A judge in Kentucky ruled against the ACLU in a lawsuit to force the Baptist Homes For Children to retain a lesbian worker. Judge Charles Simpson III ruled that, "While the Baptist Homes seek to employ only persons who adhere to a behavioral code consistent with their religious mission, the absence of religious requirements leaves their focus on behavior, not religion." In other words the judge said that since Baptist Homes does not require someone to be a Baptist, but does require certain standards of behavior, the ACLU case was without merit.

Since the Baptist Homes receive over half their funding from the state of Kentucky, the ACLU claims they should be forced to hire every pervert who applies. Ken Choe, staff council for the ACLU in New York said, " This decision is a stark example of taxpayers seeing their dollars used for discrimination". By this Choe means that unless these homeless kids are taught and handled by homosexuals, tax dollars should not be used. Perhaps Mr. Chou should place his children in a homosexual-run children’s shelter for a year or two.

In a statement the Baptist Homes said, "This allows us to continue serving children based on the principles and standards we’ve always had."

The ACLU may appeal the decision to try to avoid paying court costs and legal fees.

Rudy Giuliani was the first Republican in almost one hundred years to be elected twice consecutively to the office of mayor of New York City. Although claiming to be a Republican, he split from the party on the abortion issue and on the homosexual agenda. He stood for abortion with no restrictions, and openly promoted the homosexual agenda. On several occasions he showed up at press conferences in drag (wearing a dress). The mayor’s residence, Gracy Mansion, has been turned into a soap opera stage with his wife filing a lawsuit to stop his mistress from visiting while his children are there. The people of New York City are used to this kind of Republican.

Now comes the billionaire Republican candidate Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg says that kids in school would be better off if they said the Lord’s Prayer every day. "I don’t have a problem if the kids say the Lord’s Prayer as long as there is not social pressure..." he said. He continued that he had no problem saying the Lord’s Prayer when he grew up in school. Bloomberg is Jewish.

The first 20,000 IRS Truth Posters produced by the Religious Freedom Coalition will be distributed to churches by direct mail the last week of August for September delivery. The posters are designed to undo the lies sent to conservative churches by groups such as the ACLU and the PAW (People for the American Way).

During many election years, in the few months leading up to an election, liberal organizations would send threatening letters to conservative pastors telling them, incorrectly, that they could not participate in the political process. The Truth Poster will undo the lies of the groups like the PAW by telling pastors exactly what they can and cannot do politically. For example, churches can lobby to stop sex-clubs from being opened or to shut down pornography outlets.

The Truth Poster program will last one year during which about a quarter of a million churches will be contacted.

THE TEMPLE MOUNT IS UNDER ATTACK

Learn why the Temple Mount is so important in light of Bible prophesy with this J. Randall Price video, The Coming Last Days Temple! A prophecy and Middle East expert, Dr. Price takes you behind the scenes for interviews with key individuals in the Temple rebuilding movement. There is also exclusive footage of the very latest developments in the reconstruction movement including the articles and instruments destined for use when the third temple is completed.

If you have any interest in the End Times, this is a must see video. Because of his wealth of knowledge about the Bible, ancient Israel and Bible Prophesy Dr. Price makes the past, present and future come alive. This sixty minute video is available from the William J. Murray Report for just $20.00 including postage and handling. Order one for your church library as well. Please note offer 01F08 on your check and mail to William J Murray Report, P.O. Box 77511, Washington, DC 20013. Credit card orders call (800) 650-7664.