Welcome to the Liberty Insider. 00:00:21.63\00:00:23.66 This is the program that brings you news, 00:00:23.69\00:00:25.60 discussions views and analysis of religious liberty events 00:00:25.63\00:00:29.20 in the United States and around the world. 00:00:29.23\00:00:31.58 My name is Lincoln Steed, editor of Liberty Magazine 00:00:31.61\00:00:35.37 and on the program my guest is, Orlon Johnson, 00:00:35.40\00:00:38.70 director of Public Affairs in Religious Liberty 00:00:38.73\00:00:40.86 for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventist. 00:00:40.89\00:00:43.02 Well, I need more breath than I had for that one, 00:00:43.05\00:00:45.53 but it is an important job as we both know. 00:00:45.56\00:00:49.66 There's so many things we can talk about 00:00:49.69\00:00:52.06 but I want to lead off with something 00:00:52.09\00:00:53.70 that connects with another program we had, 00:00:53.73\00:00:56.79 where we were reminiscing about 00:00:56.82\00:00:58.05 going on a religious liberty bus tour, 00:00:58.08\00:01:00.18 and in Mount Pelee as we pulled into the hotel 00:01:00.21\00:01:03.25 I noticed next door 00:01:03.28\00:01:04.31 there was a big banner on a building, 00:01:04.34\00:01:06.60 and it says something the effect 00:01:06.63\00:01:08.83 as bring back our children. 00:01:08.86\00:01:11.71 Yeah, yeah. 00:01:11.74\00:01:12.77 You remember this? Oh, absolutely. 00:01:12.80\00:01:13.83 And it was also in the newspapers 00:01:13.86\00:01:15.22 but they, it was this rolling-- Daughters. 00:01:15.25\00:01:20.14 Daughters, and it first it gave me a bit of take 00:01:20.17\00:01:23.70 because as you remember they were like 00:01:23.73\00:01:25.94 200,000 young people gather around the river 00:01:25.97\00:01:28.58 watching a stunt bicycle tricks. 00:01:28.61\00:01:31.95 It were yeah, BMX racing, yeah. 00:01:31.98\00:01:33.51 Well, it was suicidal acts for the BMX bikes 00:01:33.54\00:01:37.50 for they are going of, of a plank 00:01:37.53\00:01:40.10 and spinning in the air and dropping from a bridge 00:01:40.13\00:01:42.36 right down to the river bay, and the sight I thought 00:01:42.39\00:01:44.71 may be these are college students statements, 00:01:44.74\00:01:46.13 then I remembered reading in the newspaper, 00:01:46.16\00:01:48.89 the latest on the abduction by Boko Haram in Nigeria of, 00:01:48.92\00:01:54.29 I think it was nearly 300 young people. 00:01:54.32\00:01:55.87 Yeah, 200 young ladies that were abducted, 00:01:55.90\00:01:59.81 they were going to school on their particular day, 00:01:59.84\00:02:03.40 and in the name of some type of political 00:02:03.43\00:02:06.63 or strange regime of activities 00:02:06.66\00:02:10.23 and conflict between Christians and Muslims 00:02:10.26\00:02:12.85 and just a number of reasons 00:02:12.88\00:02:15.06 that are really in my opinion are so nonsensical 00:02:15.09\00:02:17.47 and particular to bring children 00:02:17.50\00:02:19.11 into something like this, it's just unbelievable. 00:02:19.14\00:02:21.23 Well, that's may be what we need to talk about, 00:02:21.26\00:02:23.81 as westerners it all seems nonsensical 00:02:23.84\00:02:26.63 but these people are ready to kill, 00:02:26.66\00:02:28.36 not just abduct over this and Boko Haram, 00:02:28.39\00:02:31.59 Haram means forbidden, and I've never figured out 00:02:31.62\00:02:35.32 where the Boko comes from but I know what it means. 00:02:35.35\00:02:37.91 It means westernization, non Christian, 00:02:37.94\00:02:40.81 you know the corrupt west views are forbidden. 00:02:40.84\00:02:43.07 Yeah. 00:02:43.10\00:02:44.13 So they're violently a times pushing back 00:02:44.16\00:02:47.81 against what they see 00:02:47.84\00:02:49.35 is the western Christian corruption. 00:02:49.38\00:02:51.89 Yeah, it's hard to really in my opinion, 00:02:51.92\00:02:55.06 really understand, I've been to Nigerian 00:02:55.09\00:02:57.75 and the kind of the line the demarcation 00:02:57.78\00:03:01.19 between the northern region, 00:03:01.22\00:03:02.67 where the Muslims primarily exist 00:03:02.70\00:03:05.35 and the southern region 00:03:05.38\00:03:06.52 which it's more Christianity operations there. 00:03:06.55\00:03:09.72 It's just this unbelievable conflict in strive 00:03:09.75\00:03:13.50 and wondered how well we struggled with 00:03:13.53\00:03:15.81 when you deal with ethnic issues and tribal issues 00:03:15.84\00:03:19.05 and we find that at the end of all of this 00:03:19.08\00:03:22.04 somehow there's a religious connotation 00:03:22.07\00:03:24.48 that's wrapped into it 00:03:24.51\00:03:25.73 and it seems so strange sometimes 00:03:25.76\00:03:29.03 that you would take something in the name of religion, 00:03:29.06\00:03:31.24 that could end up doing so much harm 00:03:31.27\00:03:32.92 but the you think about all of the greatest-- 00:03:32.95\00:03:34.51 some of the greatest wars were "fall in the name of religion." 00:03:34.54\00:03:38.44 And hence many of them, in the name Christianity. 00:03:38.47\00:03:40.48 Absolutely. 00:03:40.51\00:03:41.54 Though it isn't just Islam, 00:03:41.57\00:03:43.13 I mean we've lately had a number of programs 00:03:43.16\00:03:45.39 about the global Islamic intolerance and its real, 00:03:45.42\00:03:50.21 but that's at this time in history, 00:03:50.24\00:03:51.89 but it has always been just Islam. 00:03:51.92\00:03:55.85 I think a lot about this 00:03:55.88\00:03:57.62 and I think even on this program, 00:03:57.65\00:03:59.90 I have indulge myself and my theory-- 00:03:59.93\00:04:02.10 I've read about you and again on this program. 00:04:02.13\00:04:04.65 It seems to me that in this present year, 00:04:04.68\00:04:07.90 even though I grew up and you did too, 00:04:07.93\00:04:11.76 now you little different as I used to be 00:04:11.79\00:04:14.81 but still our whole modern heroes 00:04:14.84\00:04:17.14 until the late 90's, 00:04:17.17\00:04:19.07 till the fall of the Berlin Wall 00:04:19.10\00:04:21.27 was under the cloud of the nuclear mushroom 00:04:21.30\00:04:24.73 you know we thought we were going under. 00:04:24.76\00:04:26.00 Yeah. 00:04:26.03\00:04:27.06 And it was-- democracy 00:04:27.09\00:04:29.96 and capitalism against communism, 00:04:29.99\00:04:31.87 but in reality now in this new century 00:04:31.90\00:04:35.40 this is post communist, you know China exits 00:04:35.43\00:04:40.22 but its stretched to call 00:04:40.25\00:04:42.12 a classic communism, its not Marxism. 00:04:42.15\00:04:45.59 So communism is degraded to capitalism is degraded 00:04:45.62\00:04:49.04 and I don't think in the US people 00:04:49.07\00:04:50.43 quite understand that, 00:04:50.46\00:04:51.49 but capitalism is a bad word to the rest of the world. 00:04:51.52\00:04:55.78 Imperialism is finished. 00:04:55.81\00:04:58.95 Pretty much all the isms are gone 00:04:58.98\00:05:01.22 and what do we left with? 00:05:01.25\00:05:02.39 It seems that and nationalism is gone. 00:05:02.42\00:05:05.54 Right. 00:05:05.57\00:05:06.60 In its classic sense, so what we have 00:05:06.63\00:05:08.39 in the world is a rapid evolution 00:05:08.42\00:05:10.41 I believe to a religious identity. 00:05:10.44\00:05:12.85 It's a sort of a, a bit of a slide 00:05:12.88\00:05:14.59 between a ethnic or a tribal 00:05:14.62\00:05:18.04 and religious identity, but religion trumps-- 00:05:18.07\00:05:20.50 Yeah, yeah. 00:05:20.53\00:05:21.80 And so the whole world is bring sort of a separated that way 00:05:21.83\00:05:27.03 and it means that religion is becoming is more toxic, 00:05:27.06\00:05:29.59 because it's an identity religion 00:05:29.62\00:05:31.48 rather than a spirituality we reached toward the divine. 00:05:31.51\00:05:35.10 Yeah, and to me it's really kind of turning 00:05:35.13\00:05:39.03 into something that's very different. 00:05:39.06\00:05:40.45 Its becoming also a generational issue 00:05:40.48\00:05:42.81 because as individuals may be my age 00:05:42.84\00:05:45.17 and older think about religion and more of a structured format 00:05:45.20\00:05:48.82 and what you do on a regular basis, 00:05:48.85\00:05:50.69 whether diet or health. 00:05:50.72\00:05:52.55 Younger people are looking at it 00:05:52.58\00:05:53.97 in a completely different way as well and-- 00:05:54.00\00:05:56.20 and I think part of it is-- 00:05:56.23\00:05:57.47 part of this whole Boko Haram situation, 00:05:57.50\00:05:59.81 where you have younger individuals 00:05:59.84\00:06:01.44 that are really almost like creating there own ideas of-- 00:06:01.47\00:06:06.49 well, this is how my religion ought to work 00:06:06.52\00:06:08.57 and this is how I'm gonna emphasize it. 00:06:08.60\00:06:11.19 And it just kind of flies into face is some of the-- 00:06:11.22\00:06:14.31 you know, formal what I would call 00:06:14.34\00:06:15.55 formalize structures that you would normally see. 00:06:15.58\00:06:17.67 But I tell you what really 00:06:17.70\00:06:19.10 is kind of hitting me with Boko Haram 00:06:19.13\00:06:20.83 and the idea of this abduction of this 100s of young ladies 00:06:20.86\00:06:24.54 is the way its has just kind of taken on this worldwide focus 00:06:24.57\00:06:29.32 and I'm always amazed Lincoln, 00:06:29.35\00:06:31.29 that I always wonder what is the issue, 00:06:31.32\00:06:33.56 what is the topic that will actually ring 00:06:33.59\00:06:35.85 the bell around the world? 00:06:35.88\00:06:37.65 And you never know, what it's gonna be 00:06:37.68\00:06:39.68 and sometimes you thinking know 00:06:39.71\00:06:40.74 what it's gonna be and then something happens. 00:06:40.77\00:06:41.80 But you don't know, but I do believe 00:06:41.83\00:06:43.71 that this would be very predictable 00:06:43.74\00:06:45.28 because I know in advertising or in PR these two things 00:06:45.31\00:06:49.15 that catch peoples attention, 00:06:49.18\00:06:50.36 when you do with children and animals. 00:06:50.39\00:06:52.61 That's true. That's true. 00:06:52.64\00:06:54.32 And this was guaranteed to hit a never with any society with-- 00:06:54.35\00:06:58.07 where you know the parents and society 00:06:58.10\00:07:00.13 this is an unthinkable thing. 00:07:00.16\00:07:01.95 You know even in other than the Nazis 00:07:01.98\00:07:04.75 they didn't seem to be restrain, 00:07:04.78\00:07:05.82 usually women and children are exempted from bullets 00:07:05.85\00:07:08.73 to the back of the head or bombing and so on. 00:07:08.76\00:07:13.13 But here young girls but what I need to say, 00:07:13.16\00:07:17.51 that this part of the tragedy here, 00:07:17.54\00:07:19.43 I mean abducting is bad enough 00:07:19.46\00:07:21.29 but it didn't really come out clearly until the end 00:07:21.32\00:07:23.89 that a good percentage of those girls 00:07:23.92\00:07:25.71 are Christian girls. 00:07:25.74\00:07:27.14 So they're not only been abducted, 00:07:27.17\00:07:28.47 they not only the roll proclamation 00:07:28.50\00:07:32.33 of the leaders saying, they're gonna sell them 00:07:32.36\00:07:33.52 into slavery and of the marriage. 00:07:33.55\00:07:35.60 They have been forcibly converted to Islam. 00:07:35.63\00:07:38.97 Yeah, yeah, and I mean 00:07:39.00\00:07:40.27 and you talk about violation 00:07:40.30\00:07:41.99 of ones religious liberty and ones freedom 00:07:42.02\00:07:44.89 and that is about as bad a poster operation for that 00:07:44.92\00:07:48.27 as you could imagine and-- and also at the end of the day 00:07:48.30\00:07:51.69 what are they open to accomplish with this? 00:07:51.72\00:07:53.63 And you know what are they hoping 00:07:53.66\00:07:55.12 to do other than to really kind of like elevate themselves. 00:07:55.15\00:07:58.31 And you know and-- for me its always been an issue 00:07:58.34\00:08:01.71 that you know when we see religious liberty violated 00:08:01.74\00:08:04.23 and in its worst day its really an elevation of self. 00:08:04.26\00:08:07.97 Somebody who is decided that my name 00:08:08.00\00:08:10.41 should be proclaimed in a great way 00:08:10.44\00:08:12.30 and I see that in the Boko Haram as well. 00:08:12.33\00:08:14.22 Yeah, agreed itself, its fairly easy for human beings 00:08:14.25\00:08:19.51 that don't keep their reality clear 00:08:19.54\00:08:21.65 and don't make their point of reference 00:08:21.68\00:08:23.65 the holy word and God himself 00:08:23.68\00:08:26.44 they can identify whether than sort of thing 00:08:26.47\00:08:28.49 that they are God's instrument. 00:08:28.52\00:08:29.77 Right, right. 00:08:29.80\00:08:31.01 And they self ordained and therefore anything is right 00:08:31.04\00:08:34.66 because you become God almost. 00:08:34.69\00:08:36.64 And I think that's what happening here, 00:08:36.67\00:08:37.98 they feel that judge jury and execution-- 00:08:38.01\00:08:40.02 Absolutely. 00:08:40.05\00:08:41.47 And they point a references rather skewed. 00:08:41.50\00:08:43.63 Yeah, yeah, there's no question about it. 00:08:43.66\00:08:45.38 And obviously in some of those countries 00:08:45.41\00:08:47.44 this type of religious fanaticism 00:08:47.47\00:08:49.16 appeals to the less educated, less sophisticated. 00:08:49.19\00:08:51.90 I mean this group are almost screaming it out, 00:08:51.93\00:08:53.87 we don't want westernization. 00:08:53.90\00:08:55.03 What they mean is they don't understand the world at large. 00:08:55.06\00:08:57.88 So you got narrow minded poorly educated people, 00:08:57.91\00:09:01.32 indulging their prejudice and it's aided 00:09:01.35\00:09:03.61 and abided by a religious paranoia. 00:09:03.64\00:09:08.26 Yeah, but I think one of the important thing 00:09:08.29\00:09:10.37 that I really see from this is making clear 00:09:10.40\00:09:13.06 from a worldwide prospective that freedom 00:09:13.09\00:09:16.50 that's being constrained in anyway 00:09:16.53\00:09:19.20 we all have to speak up. 00:09:19.23\00:09:20.93 The idea that you know, that you think 00:09:20.96\00:09:22.88 that somebody else's problem, 00:09:22.91\00:09:24.61 I mean one day it's trained on them 00:09:24.64\00:09:26.46 and the next day is trained on you. 00:09:26.49\00:09:27.74 Well, that's right, and Seventh-day Adventist 00:09:27.77\00:09:30.05 we know this that the key-- 00:09:30.08\00:09:32.81 if there's any secret litmus, it's a mixture of metaphor 00:09:32.84\00:09:38.45 which is anyway you can tell of something's correct 00:09:38.48\00:09:41.07 or incorrect on religious behavior in government, 00:09:41.10\00:09:43.60 church state relations whenever this 00:09:43.63\00:09:45.50 for so compulsion involved you know that is wrong. 00:09:45.53\00:09:48.00 Yeah. 00:09:48.03\00:09:49.06 Like we believe in the seventh day Sabbath, 00:09:49.09\00:09:51.12 but it would be wrong, wrong, wrong. 00:09:51.15\00:09:53.24 Suddenly this country mandated by Lord 00:09:53.27\00:09:55.77 everyone had to worship on the correct day. 00:09:55.80\00:09:57.93 Absolutely. It would still be wrong. 00:09:57.96\00:09:59.31 Yeah, and I think that's the thing 00:09:59.34\00:10:01.06 that we as Adventist have to really be cautious, 00:10:01.09\00:10:03.70 that simply because you have the truth 00:10:03.73\00:10:05.84 that's not mean that it should become a weapon 00:10:05.87\00:10:07.66 where you end up clubbing other individuals. 00:10:07.69\00:10:09.48 But you use it as a means 00:10:09.51\00:10:10.87 of being able to hopefully elevate them 00:10:10.90\00:10:12.53 and to teach them more about out God 00:10:12.56\00:10:14.75 and then hopefully allow the Holy Spirit 00:10:14.78\00:10:16.98 then to come in and to touch their lives 00:10:17.01\00:10:19.07 so allow the change really take place. 00:10:19.10\00:10:20.63 Absolutely, but this manifestation 00:10:20.66\00:10:23.27 of religious intolerances is too mild 00:10:23.30\00:10:25.33 the word to put to lot of the behavior by Islamist, 00:10:25.36\00:10:29.49 and of course not every Muslim 00:10:29.52\00:10:31.50 is even wanting to behave that way, 00:10:31.53\00:10:33.07 but the Islamist or the Salafist 00:10:33.10\00:10:34.96 and the extremist in Islam, 00:10:34.99\00:10:36.64 in many countries are really just going out 00:10:36.67\00:10:38.72 on a-- on a limb. 00:10:38.75\00:10:40.84 And when we talk about that we need to realize 00:10:40.87\00:10:42.69 it's not just in some dark corner 00:10:42.72\00:10:45.11 of trouble part of Nigeria 00:10:45.14\00:10:47.32 its even in the middle of the Europe. 00:10:47.35\00:10:48.38 Remember when we visited our church headquarter 00:10:48.41\00:10:51.79 there in Paris and they were telling us 00:10:51.82\00:10:54.57 about the work and so on. 00:10:54.60\00:10:56.72 They made some little nodding past to missions 00:10:56.75\00:11:01.18 to what the Islamic community. 00:11:01.21\00:11:02.77 Right. 00:11:02.80\00:11:03.85 But is it turned out this not much going on 00:11:03.88\00:11:06.28 and yet in France as a whole I think 00:11:06.31\00:11:08.53 it's about 11 percent, 11-12 percent Islamic, 00:11:08.56\00:11:13.05 but that's quite misleading because they don't live 00:11:13.08\00:11:16.47 in the country side by in large, 00:11:16.50\00:11:17.85 they live in the big cities and I wouldn't be surprised 00:11:17.88\00:11:20.84 if Paris itself as maybe 25 percent Islamic. 00:11:20.87\00:11:24.66 I mean it's hard to tell and I think the real concerned 00:11:24.69\00:11:27.90 that we in particular as Christians, 00:11:27.93\00:11:29.54 and in particular Seventh-day Adventist 00:11:29.57\00:11:31.41 understanding how we can make sure 00:11:31.44\00:11:33.22 that we're just bringing our information to people. 00:11:33.25\00:11:35.84 I mean you know we sometimes have off the opinion 00:11:35.87\00:11:39.16 that everyone knows who we are, 00:11:39.19\00:11:40.66 and they know what we are about 00:11:40.69\00:11:41.84 and in reality fewer and fewer people are really clear on 00:11:41.87\00:11:45.84 who we are as Adventist which is why I think the work 00:11:45.87\00:11:49.18 that we do in the area pf public affaires 00:11:49.21\00:11:51.17 and religious liberty is critical 00:11:51.20\00:11:52.54 not only an North American division, 00:11:52.57\00:11:54.38 but on a worldwide basis because the first thing 00:11:54.41\00:11:57.34 that causes someone who want to persecute you 00:11:57.37\00:11:59.68 is because they really don't know who you are. 00:11:59.71\00:12:01.46 Right, you are the other. You are the other person. 00:12:01.49\00:12:03.39 Yeah, and sticking with Islam I can make the same point. 00:12:03.42\00:12:09.06 And I remember what they told us, 00:12:09.09\00:12:11.30 did they tell us or I read it when I was in France 00:12:11.33\00:12:13.74 but those statistics are fairly unassailable 00:12:13.77\00:12:17.78 that is 10 percent or so is the whole 00:12:17.81\00:12:20.00 and about may be 25 percent in some of the major cities. 00:12:20.03\00:12:23.01 But much more important 00:12:23.04\00:12:24.93 is the religious activity and on-- 00:12:24.96\00:12:29.12 somebody told me or I read that 00:12:29.15\00:12:30.61 on a given weekend in France 00:12:30.64\00:12:35.02 there about twice as many people in mosques 00:12:35.05\00:12:38.94 that there are in Christian churches or cathedrals. 00:12:38.97\00:12:41.60 Well. 00:12:41.63\00:12:42.76 Now so that's a measure not of religious identity, 00:12:42.79\00:12:45.64 but religious activity. 00:12:45.67\00:12:46.98 Right. 00:12:47.01\00:12:48.04 And Seventh-day Adventists a church with the real agenda 00:12:48.07\00:12:52.56 we need to show through our activity who we are. 00:12:52.59\00:12:55.21 If we are active we'll be seen. 00:12:55.24\00:12:56.61 Right. 00:12:56.64\00:12:58.04 And we can't drift into what the nominal churches 00:12:58.07\00:13:01.74 and Roman Catholic church has this problem with a vengeance. 00:13:01.77\00:13:04.81 You can go into St. Peters, 00:13:04.84\00:13:06.45 you know remember on the tour you went into St. Peters, 00:13:06.48\00:13:09.58 you could go to a mass there, I have seen the mass there 00:13:09.61\00:13:11.90 it might be 100 people this is a massive cathedral. 00:13:11.93\00:13:15.08 Yeah. 00:13:15.11\00:13:16.53 So, yeah, to be identified 00:13:16.56\00:13:18.57 in some peripheral way of the religion 00:13:18.60\00:13:20.34 its better than not 00:13:20.37\00:13:21.79 but those that are really active, 00:13:21.82\00:13:23.74 that are worshipping, that are witnessing, 00:13:23.77\00:13:26.04 those are the ones that make the identity. 00:13:26.07\00:13:27.74 Oh, absolutely and I think that's why it's so important 00:13:27.77\00:13:30.44 even at what we do everyday that we go out 00:13:30.47\00:13:32.43 and realize that you're a witness 24 hours a day. 00:13:32.46\00:13:35.25 I mean you don't get a chance 00:13:35.28\00:13:36.33 to separate your religious activities 00:13:36.36\00:13:38.30 from your nonreligious activity. 00:13:38.33\00:13:39.39 But you get the chance, 00:13:39.42\00:13:40.46 but you shouldn't take the chance. 00:13:40.49\00:13:41.52 Well, yeah, and you shouldn't-- it makes you ineffective. 00:13:41.55\00:13:44.48 It makes you ineffective and it ends up in my opinion 00:13:44.51\00:13:47.42 really creating confusion for people who see you, 00:13:47.45\00:13:50.20 when they think that you know at this point of the day 00:13:50.23\00:13:52.39 as when I turned of my religion 00:13:52.42\00:13:53.81 and I become this other individual 00:13:53.84\00:13:56.11 and I don't think that's how Jesus will. 00:13:56.14\00:13:58.20 I think, Jesus was religious when He was a carpenter 00:13:58.23\00:14:01.18 as much as He was religious when He was in-- 00:14:01.21\00:14:03.87 Same as sanctimonious. No. 00:14:03.90\00:14:05.58 But I do think someone's you know the life of the party 00:14:05.61\00:14:08.43 and you know bruising it up and partying it up, 00:14:08.46\00:14:12.03 in the worse sense its a party and then there on the front pew 00:14:12.06\00:14:15.40 and on Sabbath are on Sunday there's a contradiction there. 00:14:15.43\00:14:18.94 So they're not consistent on one level 00:14:18.97\00:14:21.69 and they're also not speaking powerfully 00:14:21.72\00:14:23.98 or positively for their belief. 00:14:24.01\00:14:25.65 Right. 00:14:25.68\00:14:26.97 We've come to the end of the first half, 00:14:27.00\00:14:28.45 so we need to take a break, lot more to talk about, 00:14:28.48\00:14:31.34 stay with us we'll be back shortly. 00:14:31.37\00:14:32.98