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For the best night's sleep in the whole wide world, visit MyPillow.com. Did you know you can do your tithing and love offering right from your computer? Visit www.chosengenerationradio.com to support Chosen Generation and make a tax deductible donation. Now back to Chosen Generation with Pastor Greg. And welcome back to Chosen Generation Radio where no topic is off limits and everything filtered through biblical glasses.
And I'm so pleased to welcome my next guest to the program. He is the director of public relations and communications for First Liberty, First Liberty Institute. FirstLiberty.org is where you can find them.
FirstLiberty.org. And let me welcome Lathan Watts. Lathan, welcome.
Thank you, sir. Good to be back. Hey, good to have you.
Good to have you. So, question for you, sir. Let's begin. Talk to me about the U.S. Supreme Court. You're going to the Supreme Court because a city in Virginia has denied tax exempt status to a church?
Right. So in in Fredericksburg, Virginia, there's a college ministry. Basically, it's like a campus ministry house that lots of other churches have similar facilities. And this church had their campus ministry set up there and the two ministers that live there in the house to do that campus ministry. And the city denied their basically it's called like a parsonage exemption where churches can provide housing for pastors.
And that makes the property tax exempt. And the city denied this church's exemption based on the city's own interpretation of the Presbyterian Book of Church Order. So the city interpreted the Presbyterian Book of Church Order to say that these two people don't really qualify as ministers. And therefore, this isn't a parsonage and therefore we can tax you. And there is long, long standing precedent and history and tradition in this country that we do not let government interpret religious texts for people of that faith. It is not up for the government to decide who's a minister and who isn't.
That's up for churches. And that's exactly what's going on here. So a municipal court did this. And then the Virginia State Supreme Court basically in one sentence agreed with the municipal court.
So we're going to United States Supreme Court and I will be filing that. And hopefully the Supreme Court will take it, remind both the city of Fredericksburg and the Virginia Supreme Court that it's none of their business deciding who's a minister and who isn't. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. And even under the IRS code, and I know there's argument about it, but I believe it's 508A that says that churches are automatically exempt, period. They're exempt. Right. So this nonsense of having a city come in and try to make the determination, it's really kind of a scary thing when you stop and think about it.
Oh, definitely. You do not want the government starting to decide who is and who is not a minister of your church. You do not want the government starting to interfere in the internal workings of your church, of whatever church that you attend. You don't want the government in there deciding these sorts of things.
The establishment clause was meant to keep the government out of God's business, not the other way around. Well, and that is exactly, you know, I mean, in my early part of this program, we did a lot with some ministries in the Ukraine. And we used to have a gentleman that came on and spoke to us about what was happening over there, you know, about 10 years ago. And, you know, they would talk about how the Russian government, when they would go, they would literally have to sneak back into Russia because they had orphans. They were taken care of there and how the Russian government would literally sit in the back of the church and take notes on what the pastor said. And if that pastor got out of line or said something that the government found to be, you know, offensive or what have you, there would be major consequences to pay for that church and that minister. He may get a warning, but that's it.
And if he didn't heed the warning, he and his family were off to jail. Yeah, I mean, that's exactly why you don't want state control of religion. It's the biggest difference between, you know, those who think that, you know, our government grants us these rights versus what the founders wrote in the Declaration and the Constitution, that God grants us these rights and government's only job is to protect them.
Because if you start down the road of your rights coming from government, well, then the government can take them away. One hundred percent. One hundred percent. And that, I think, kind of leads into the issue of the packing of the court. Because one of the reasons for the pushing back against that is that if the judiciary is fully politicized so that you have appointments based on their political world view so that you can ram these kind of things through and not have any kind of balance. That's really where the concern lies. Am I on target with that statement, Lathan?
Yeah, absolutely. The court, politicizing the court to that extent is there's no going back from it. If you if you start the other side, once they're in control of the legislation, the executive branch will retaliate and then, you know, they'll add seats to try to balance the court back or whatever. And you end up with the court being a political football, just another extension of the legislature, which it was never intended to be.
We wanted three separate and co-equal branches. And part of the judiciary's role is when the executive branch or the legislative branch gets out of line, does something unconstitutional, they have the authority to say so. But if you start packing the court with people for the sole purpose of basically turning the court into a rubber stamp for your agenda, then it's just another legislative body. With zero accountability, because these people are appointed for life. The reason they're appointed for life is that it was to to inflate them from the political whims of the day. If the if the people of the popular political opinion is expressed through the legislature and turned into a law and that law conflicts with the Constitution, it's the judiciary's job to say no. You know, this this conflicts with the Constitution.
If the people want it bad enough, then they can amend the Constitution. But that's the reason the judges are are given that sort of life. And they're not elected. They're supposed to be above the political fray and just apply the Constitution to what's going on.
And once you start down this road, there is no going back. And, you know, it it's bad for a lot of reasons. But when once people see the court as politicized, they they lose confidence in that court's decisions. You're it's it's an existential threat to our our Republican little our Republican form of government.
You're it. When you're yeah, you're you're taking and this is the thing where, again, you know, I talked in the first half hour a bit about, you know, the stealing of definitions. And, you know, when when people talk about this left right thing and they talk about left right when it comes to the Supreme Court. People like you and I, all we're asking for is that the jurists that be put on the court are going to follow the Constitution with its original intent, that they're going to look at the 150 years worth of legal documentation that that gives clear interpretation as to how the Constitution was intended to be applied. And then look at the cases that come before it and make decisions accordingly based on those precedents. That's all we're asking.
That's it. We know that there are going to be times when they're going to say things we're not going to like the outcome necessarily. That may be the case because we may want something that, you know, really just doesn't quite line up. OK, you know, I mean, I'd like, you know, the whole country to be professing Christianity for two reasons. In part, the largest reason is, is I love people and I really believe there's a heaven and a hell. And I want everybody to be saved because I don't want anybody to go to hell.
I don't want anybody to end up under the judgment and the wrath of God because of their bad decisions. Now, on the other hand, I also like that because I think that we would have a happier place. We'd all be getting along. We would have, you know, so much commonality in that. But, you know, should a law be put in place that mandates something like that? No.
And if there was one, I would expect a constitutional Supreme Court to shoot that down and say, Pastor Greg can't have that kind of a law. That's exactly right. And, you know, you can be for something. You can be for something and be against mandating it. You can be against something and be against banning it.
Right. It's you know, that's how we're supposed to get along in a free and civil society. And you mentioned something I think is important that the outcome of a decision may not be something that I agree with. But if it was decided on the correct principle, then I can respect that decision. And that is the difference between the way some people in this country view the courts. They there and some judges, frankly, who view their role through the lens of, well, I've got to come up with the right outcome.
And that's really not it. The late Justice Scalia said, you know, any judge that is happy about every decision he reaches is a bad judge. Because applying the principle correctly may lead to results that you don't like, but the principle itself is more important. And and that's what just as you said, I mean, that's why we need, you know, jurists who are willing to apply the Constitution as it was written, as it was intended, and let the chips fall where they may. If people don't like the outcome, they have means available to them. Like I said, you know, you can amend the Constitution, you can rewrite the law in a way that does fit with the Constitution, that gets you what you want. But packing the Supreme Court is not how you go about it. It's at that point, you're no longer under the rule of law. You're under the rule of men and your rights, including religious liberty, the ones that we defend, are up for grabs every two years, every time there's an election. Right.
Or every four years, I guess, every time there's a presidential election to make those appointments. So, yeah, it's why God gives us free will as well, folks. I mean, it's why, you know, I have people ask that. Well, then, you know, why doesn't God just make it so that everybody? Because it's a choice as to whether or not to love. It's a choice as to whether or not to obey. There's a drawing.
There's a drawing in every person, but it is a choice. And, you know, I've learned for years and years of managing people. You know, it is so much better to get people working for you that actually have the same vision and will come into agreement with you and work with you to accomplish the mission versus trying to pull somebody and make them do what you want them to do. Those are the kinds of employees I don't want, you know, because it's a war. It's a battle every day.
And it's the same principle. Let's shift real quick. We've only got about a minute or two or a minute and a half left. This situation with mask mandates and mandatory vaccines, you know, whenever they start talking about, teasing about, whenever it starts kind of leaking out, you know that it's not too far behind, that they may start trying to come down with this.
There are reasons why believers are going to say, no, we don't want that. Talk to me about what we do. Well, this, as you can imagine, in the last couple of weeks has absolutely lit up the phone lines here in our office. And so what I would suggest is that if someone has a religious objection to taking a vaccine, the best thing they can do is go to our website. At the top of the page, click the get legal help button and fill out that little short form that helps us keep track of all the requests.
And then we can get in contact with you and walk you through your specific situation. All right, folks, there's a lot of information at the site. FirstLiberty.org.
You can find them by going to the CG contributors at the ChildrenGenerationRadio.com web page. CG contributors, just click on Lathan Watts, First Liberty, and you will head over there. They've got five points about vaccine mandates to help protect religious liberty for parents and students. Tyranny in disguise, critical race theory in America's schools is a threat to religious liberty, and they walk you through that and explain that.
And if you need legal assistance, they're there to help you. Lathan, thanks as always for being here. I'll be back with more Children Generation Radio on the other side. Hi, this is Michael, creator of Michael's MNP supplements. Let's talk energy. Do you wake up tired even after a full night's sleep? Does keeping up with your family and or your job leave you exhausted by noon? Do you find yourself turning way too early in the day and too often to caffeine-loaded drinks just to get you through it all? Why not turn to Michael's MNP's energy factors instead? Our energy factors are safe, healthy, and a natural way to keep your body energized and without that caffeine crash that you get from those laden drinks. Visit us today at michaelshealth.com. This is Pastor Greg and I use energy factors.
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Trustednewspaper.com. Help the Epoch Times keep truth alive. I believe our Constitution was intended for a moral people and that the Bible contains the only true moral code. I believe we are all born sinners and that God in His grace and mercy sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins and that if we will confess our sins, He is just and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I believe salvation is not just accomplished in a little prayer, but that it is found in how that transformation is lived out. Jesus is to be the Lord of our lives, and we should follow biblical precepts. This is not legalism or works, but a life lived out in love and honor towards the one who died for my sins. Faith without works is dead and is no faith at all. I believe that we will fall and that we need to have a repentant heart and that God will ultimately bring us into perfect action through Jesus Christ, spirit man perfected and soulish man in progress. I believe that we are not to live in guilt and shame when we fall, but we repent and get up and move closer to Jesus. I believe that if our nation will repent and turn from wickedness that God will heal our land.
I believe that as a Christian I must occupy until He comes and that to call evil wicked and to warn about those evil acts is a part of the mandated Christianity. That to love also means to be willing to take the risk necessary to confront a friend with the truth in hopes that their heart will be turned because their life matters, even if it means, in that moment, they will possibly hate me. It means that I must risk scorn to stand for truth and that I can never sit silently by while evil attempts to conquer the world. God is my everything and Jesus is the love of my life. That does not make me weak but strong, not silent but bold, and not fearful but courageous. Therefore, if you are my friend, while we may not fully agree, know that I share what I share because I care.
If you strongly disagree with these beliefs, they are not debatable for me, and you can, if you choose, unfriend me. I do not say this in anger but in love. I wish for you eyes to see and ears to hear that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation and that God, not man, gets to decide what is truth, life, and the way. God bless you.
Let me encourage you to check out my sermon that I gave last weekend at the website chosengenerationradio.com and you can find it. He is here. Greetings sir.
Can you hear me? Oh, no. There we go. Hey, there you are. I'm a bit early. You are and we're live on air so just be quiet for a second and I'll be right with you. My sermon is... I concluded in four minutes. Well, no, we're live right now.
Everybody's hearing everything we're saying. It's all good. Just stick around for a minute.
No problem. Folks, I encourage you to check out. It's called Sermon Faith That Sets You Free. Stop living a half Christian life struggling for what you already should have.
It's a strong word to encourage you and it is a bit long but it's going to walk you through having victory in Christ right here, right now as we're living. And you know, I cannot think of honestly. Think about all that we're dealing with, all the stuff that's going on in our country today, the challenges that we are facing. We just talked about some serious religious persecution challenges with Latham Watts from Liberty Instance, from First Liberty.
We talked with Don Jans before. Al Rasouli who's on the phone with me right now, we'll be back with him at the top of the hour for our next half hour talking about Islam and Sharia and the threats of that in our country. Folks, knowing who you are in Christ and having that faith moving in your life and really understanding it. The victory that you have, the theme of this message is the victory is ours, the glory is God's.
The victory is ours, the glory is God's. I encourage you to check that sermon out at the website ChildrenGenerationRadio.com in the blog section. The second one in, Sermon Faith That Sets You Free.
Stop living a Christian half life struggling for what you already have. I'll be back with more Children Generation Radio. Al Rasouli joins us right after this brief break. This is Adam Mundahl with State Air and we are sponsors of Chosen Generation and Pastor Greg. Sponsoring this program has been a real blessing to our business and I want to encourage you to join me in sponsoring Chosen Generation and Pastor Greg. Call him today at 830-446-3624. Once again, that's 830-446-3624.
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