Welcome to the Liberty Insider.
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This is a program
bringing you discussion,
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news, views,
information up-to-date
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and relevant analysis
on religious liberty events
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in the United States
and around the world.
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My name is Lincoln Steed,
editor of Liberty Magazine.
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And my guest on this
program is Miss Melissa Reid,
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associate editor of Liberty.
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So is a certain
correspondence here. Yes.
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We have a common
interest in Liberty
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and perhaps
that's why we should talk
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about the Liberty Campaign
for one of the better term.
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Right.
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We do this every year and
what are we doing this year?
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Well, so for those
that aren't familiar
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the religious liberty
campaign as an annual offering
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with the Seventh-day Adventist
Church in North America.
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And it is the
really the soul funding
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for Liberty
Magazine subscriptions
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to both sponsor subscriptions
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and those that are paid
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for by the
individual church member.
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And so it's our one opportunity
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a year to come
before each local church.
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We certainly help that
each local church takes part
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in the campaign
and we do everything
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we can to make it easy
for them to be involved
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and to promote
religious freedom.
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But like I said it's
one opportunity a year
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and so it's
really important to us.
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So part of my job responsibility
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is putting together promotional
material for that campaign.
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We've just finished putting that
together at the press right now.
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And it's really exciting story
we try to highlight a story.
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Well, the story
is the central part
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but we're sending at
whole packet of materials
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and we've try to consolidate
it into a single package
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that looks like
a Liberty Magazine
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But it has in it order
forms, it had sermon, posters.
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Yes. Oh, the sermon
this year is fantastic.
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I'm gonna talk
about that, just briefly
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before we go on
to the feature story
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that we're highlighting.
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So, the ministerial director
for the North American Division,
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Pastor Ivan Williams wrote,
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composed our
sermon for us this year.
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It's very well done.
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Not only we had
the written version
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what we make available to
individuals these are mailed
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to the religious liberty
director at the local church.
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They're also
available on our website
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which is libertymagazine.org.
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Also we have the
written version of the sermon
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but we also have a
video version available.
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So if perhaps your
church is one of three churches
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in pastor's district and
its religious liberty Sabbath
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and the pastor not there
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to preach the
religious liberty sermon
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you can show the
video of Pastor Williams
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preaching his
religious liberty message.
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Now you're mentioning
going to all the churches
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it's might be good
opportunity to tell people.
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There is a lot of those
churches about 5,000 churches
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that are getting this material.
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Fantastic.
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And we target the
Seventh-day Adventist church
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but please viewers if you
are of some other denomination
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and you think your church would
like to pick up this challenge
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we would be happy to
send the material, would we.
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Absolutely yes, contact us.
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So and they certainly
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can contact us at
libertymagazine.org.
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Yes.
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So yeah, it's a
fun part of my job
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is coming putting
together this material.
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I think both you and I
enjoy our jobs quite a bit
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we're certainly you know
Religious Liberty advocates
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it's not just a paycheck for us
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it's certainly not even
near the top of the reasons.
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Not the
paychecks, what it should be?
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What certainly not
the top of the reasons
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why we do the work we do--
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I think anybody that considered
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for the financial award
would be looking elsewhere.
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Right, so its.
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And its worth
remembering Liberty Magazine
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is essentially funded
by this money we raise.
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Right. But our
salaries don't come out of that.
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Correct, exactly.
There from a different pool.
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So all the funds raised will go
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to Liberty
Magazine subscriptions.
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I love that aspect of it
and it makes it so important.
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And again I mentioned
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I think we've
mentioned several times
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on the show one of the things
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that I love about our
magazine is our longevity.
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And it's the longevity exists
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because of the
other faithful donations
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of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church members,
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1906 is when we
first republished.
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So we're over a
hundred years old
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and yet and is
because of the faithful
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giving of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church member so--
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I don't think there is another
religious liberty general
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that's got that
pedigree both on age,
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longevities as you've
pointed out or distribution.
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Absolutely.
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We're sending out
it varies a little bit
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but the last several years
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it's been very close to
about a 182,000 every issue.
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Oh, praise the Lord.
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And I was
surprised I was reading
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I won't say that which magazine
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one of the Newsstand
Magazines and I read there.
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Well, I can tell you
what it was, it was hoppers
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and they paid subscriptions
where in the tens of thousands.
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Oh, wow.
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Now they distribute, you know,
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little bit
differently that stood.
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But I do know
that they are many,
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many major
publications secular ones
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that people see on the Newsstand
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that are less than
a hundred thousand.
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Yeah, isn't that interesting?
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And two, three hundred
thousand is quite exceptional.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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And the thing is
we're only limited
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by the funds that
come in, that so you know.
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Sure you know plenty of names.
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There is a plenty of
names and explanation of that,
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so our office, our
editorial office is put together
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what we call our
national priority list.
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Those are names that, you know,
sometimes people will sponsor
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subscriptions to
specific individuals.
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Like if I am on the city
council or identify individuals,
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you know, I want to
make sure the John Smith
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and Jane Doe both get
magazine subscriptions.
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But sometimes we get money
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and I think it's probably
even more frequently money
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that is not for a
specific subscription
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is just general
donation to the magazine.
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And so that's when we
can fund subscriptions
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of this national priority list.
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And our office is dedicated
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to maintaining that
list whenever there is
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you know these are politicians,
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federal government
employees, federal judges.
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Well, the administrative
system is as we speak.
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Yes. Working diligently on that.
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Absolutely, I mean,
you know, there is--
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It's an important list.
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Yeah, it's an important list
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and it's important to
keep it accurate in current
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and it can
continue to grow or you know
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there're so many
individuals that make decisions
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that can affect
our religious freedom.
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And so in that way should we
be receiving Liberty Magazine.
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So again, you
know, we're incredibly
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grateful for
longevity of the magazine
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and we hope for, you know,
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that it will really
continue as long as it continues
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to service purpose
meaning until Christ comes.
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By definition
that's we could also say
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until there are no
religious liberty issues
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to negative issues to counteract
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but we know that will
never be until Christ come.
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It will never be, right.
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It's always been something
that has we thoughtful. Yes.
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You know, exhibit
day the reformation
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the western world not
just the Islamic world
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that we now see stirred
with, you know bad, tendencies
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but the western
world went through
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a difficult
period of 100s of years
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where religious freedom
was essentially unknown.
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Right.
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And so we're defending something
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that was hard one and
even in our modern era
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it could drift away
if we're not careful.
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And don't you feel
like and this is one thing
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I love about the magazine
is that we typically will do
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or feature articles
or series of articles
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on the history
of religious freedom
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and how it was
well fought and won.
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Because I think a
lot of times just like
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we aren't students
of the Bible in the way
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that we should be
we're not students
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of history in the
way that we should be.
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Its right people have
forgotten the lot of history.
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Right and so it
doesn't have that impact,
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you know, to say
that I am protestant
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or that, you know or to talk
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about the
reaffirmation unless you,
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you know have really
studied and understood
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you know what these individuals
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fought for and
sometimes died for.
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You don't really understand
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why it's so important to
hold on to that identity now.
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Well, it's always
dangerous to write something
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large on the
comment of one individual
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but that said Senator Santorum's
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heartfelt comment
during the primaries
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in the last presidential
election were shocking to me.
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Yes.
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Where he is a
dedicated Roman Catholic working
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I'm sure very closely
as you can you would expect
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with the Roman
Catholic hierarchy.
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He said that in America
Protestantism is absent.
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I mean, that's just amazing.
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The Protestantism is
not affiliation. Yes.
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Its ongoing
description of people
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of valued religious liberty,
valued religious purity,
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doctrinal
correctness some other.
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Right. Many of them
were burned at the stake.
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You know, whole
countries were convulsed
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by intolerance as
they struggle to--
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in some cases to fight
for their religious liberty.
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And so it just for
the someone representing
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the very entity
change as it may be.
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That was the antagonist to say
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"oh, its all over
they're gone" amazing.
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Yeah, that is incredible.
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And I hope is not quite right
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but he's right to some degree
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or the comment wouldn't be made.
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Right, now I think that's true.
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You know, I want to come
back to what was we were talking
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about before about the magazine
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going out to so many
people enabled by the donations
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but there's
interesting part of this
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and I thought of it many
times most of these recipients
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whether they are
congressman, senators,
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judges, lawyers
they didn't ask for it.
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Right.
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We believe or our sponsors
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believed that
they need to have this.
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So they informed and educated.
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But it's amazing
to me how few of them
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send letters or notes saying
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"you know saying I didn't ask
for this take it of the list."
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Right.
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Very seldom. Right.
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I mean proportionality everyday
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or two we will get a contact
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that which sometimes
might be a couple of addresses.
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Because you're
dealing with the judges office
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or some administrative
office but it's rare.
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And to me
that's great indication
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of what the value for
what we're sending out.
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Absolutely, absolutely.
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Well not only are individual
sponsoring the subscriptions
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they're certainly
prayerfully doing that as well.
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And I think
they're be doing directed
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you know as to who
needs these subscriptions
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and I think you know certainly
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the Holy Spirit
is that work as well.
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But it's
interesting most of the time
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when we hear from individuals
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we are being told
about updated information.
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You know here's the
new city's clerks name
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and so you need to
change the name of subscription.
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We've heard a couple of
times from I believe both times
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that I am recalling from judges
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who are now
retiring from the bench.
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Oh, I know. And
wanted to receive it at home.
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Can they keep getting it
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and they've
appreciated some of these.
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Can they keep
getting at home? Yes, yes.
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So certainly you know
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its God is very
good and is certainly
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I think blessed this ministry
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and the Holy Spirit is worked
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on the hearts of
these individuals
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and Liberty has certainly
made an impact in cases
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that have been
tried or in fought
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or you know individuals have
had religious liberty issues,
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you know, the
magazine has made it's mark.
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Absolutely and you
reminded me as story
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just heard from the man
himself a few weeks ago.
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Seventh-day
Adventist at an event
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I went to he told me, he said,
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you know I used to
work in a county office.
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He was highly placed
local government official
00:11:52.28\00:11:55.37
who would worked for many
years prior to that in the CII.
00:11:55.40\00:12:00.17
And he says I was tough--
00:12:00.20\00:12:02.29
He say you know no nonsense guys
00:12:02.32\00:12:05.84
but this magazine
came Liberty Magazine.
00:12:05.87\00:12:08.22
And he said "he read it he said
00:12:08.25\00:12:09.50
I want to find that
more about this group
00:12:09.53\00:12:11.41
and he said I became
the Seventh-day Adventist
00:12:11.44\00:12:13.42
because of the
Liberty Magazine."
00:12:13.45\00:12:14.66
Oh, praise the Lord.
00:12:14.69\00:12:15.72
And you don't often here
00:12:15.75\00:12:17.62
that with any publication
even Science of the Times
00:12:17.65\00:12:20.92
which is a clearly
design missionary paper.
00:12:20.95\00:12:24.83
Usually there're several factors
00:12:24.86\00:12:27.20
but here this
man said "I read it
00:12:27.23\00:12:29.13
and because of that I
wanted to become a member."
00:12:29.16\00:12:31.55
Right, well it's interesting
00:12:31.58\00:12:33.31
because, you know, our audience
00:12:33.34\00:12:35.08
that we write for is for
the non-Adventist audience.
00:12:35.11\00:12:38.15
But in that way you know
00:12:38.18\00:12:39.27
I think as someone
who's been on staffer
00:12:39.30\00:12:42.36
I think a decade now
00:12:42.39\00:12:43.82
and avid reader
of the editorials
00:12:43.85\00:12:45.36
which you write each issue.
00:12:45.39\00:12:47.33
Good, I didn't
know you were reading.
00:12:47.36\00:12:50.42
We do not hide the
fact we're published
00:12:50.45\00:12:52.77
by a Seventh-day
Adventist Church.
00:12:52.80\00:12:54.53
You know, we feature
00:12:54.56\00:12:56.49
you know some Adventist authors
and some Adventist stories
00:12:56.52\00:13:00.46
and always the
editorials are explaining
00:13:00.49\00:13:04.21
why this is so important to us.
00:13:04.24\00:13:06.32
You know why the--
and I really appreciate
00:13:06.35\00:13:08.68
that you know its something
00:13:08.71\00:13:09.81
that we should be
proud of our churches
00:13:09.84\00:13:11.13
distinctive history with us.
00:13:11.16\00:13:12.91
Well, we don't
need to be worried
00:13:12.94\00:13:14.45
about I mean they are Adventist
distinctive included here.
00:13:14.48\00:13:19.27
But separation of church
00:13:19.30\00:13:21.49
and state which
is constitutional,
00:13:21.52\00:13:23.62
reiterating the US narrative
of why religious liberty
00:13:23.65\00:13:27.29
so important going back to
the protestant reaffirmation,
00:13:27.32\00:13:30.80
then talking about enlightenment
00:13:30.83\00:13:33.64
naturalistic arguments
for rights of conscience.
00:13:33.67\00:13:37.59
These are far wider than
just an Adventist concern
00:13:37.62\00:13:40.55
but they all support
our concerns, so that's--
00:13:40.58\00:13:42.60
Absolutely.
00:13:42.63\00:13:43.66
That's really
where I am very confident
00:13:43.69\00:13:45.31
in telling people
we're Seventh-day Adventist
00:13:45.34\00:13:47.96
because it's not
just an Adventist story
00:13:47.99\00:13:49.78
but it supports
the Adventist story.
00:13:49.81\00:13:52.26
Right, right.
00:13:52.29\00:13:53.71
And we have great
faith in the legislators
00:13:53.74\00:13:56.67
that when they're
reading this regularly
00:13:56.70\00:13:59.56
when an issue comes
up they won't just apply
00:13:59.59\00:14:02.39
it to Adventist they
will see the bigger picture.
00:14:02.42\00:14:03.89
Absolutely.
00:14:03.92\00:14:04.95
And as they
administrator religious liberty
00:14:04.98\00:14:06.55
generally well it will be good
00:14:06.58\00:14:08.79
for an Adventist
interaction with government.
00:14:08.82\00:14:09.85
It benefits not only
ourselves our church members
00:14:09.88\00:14:12.52
but others in our community,
00:14:12.55\00:14:14.43
you know, who we want
to see in heaven as well.
00:14:14.46\00:14:17.00
Absolutely.
00:14:17.03\00:14:18.06
We will back after a short break
to continue this discussion
00:14:18.09\00:14:21.08
of getting the word out
Religious Liberty Campaigns
00:14:21.11\00:14:24.84
and Promotions to you the viewer
00:14:24.87\00:14:26.85
and the
supporter of the Liberty.
00:14:26.88\00:14:28.28