Welcome to the Liberty Insider.
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This is the program
that brings you news, views,
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and up-to-date information
about religious liberty events
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around the world and sometimes
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particularly in
the Unite States.
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My name is Lincoln Steed
and I edit Liberty Magazine
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and my guest--
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my guest on the
program today is Orlan Johnson.
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Welcome, Orlan. Thank you.
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Director of religious
liberty and public affairs
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for the North American division
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of the
Seventh-day Adventist church.
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We need to get a short of
title or at least the church.
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Yeah, director of PARL.
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Yeah PARL but we
know what PARL is.
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Let's talk a
little bit about that--
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you're not long in the
job and in an other program
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we looked at your background.
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What's is you
know, you are like me,
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you are child of the church
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but you spent most
of your career in law.
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Yeah.
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Well, now you are
heading up religious liberty.
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What are we
doing in North America?
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What do you see the
opportunities, the challenges
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and some of the
directions that we take?
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Well, I think a
couple of things.
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First I think one of the
things that we are really
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just trying to do
is really just kind of
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increase our
awareness in our communities.
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And when I say our
communities I mean,
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at the top levels
of government whether
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being Washington with the
president of Unite States,
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a member of Congress, senators
but I think its also important
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that we maintain those contacts
with your local council people,
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your school board,
your community leaders.
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I'm hoping that
Liberty Magazine going out
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in the hundreds of
thousands to some of
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the same people as
laid the ground work.
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And I think it has and
I think we've had a lot
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of our ground
work that has been laid
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in the area of religious liberty
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and a clear focus and identity
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as to what Seventh-day
Adventist are all about.
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But I think people are starting
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to look for
things more personal.
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They don't simply want to know
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about our 20
fundamental beliefs.
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They want to know
well, how does that connect
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with my life today
and I think part of what
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we can in PARL is letting
people know the importance of
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how it connects
with your life today.
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I mean, you and I
have talked and others
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almost everyday you
can pick up something
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by looking a newspaper or
periodical some publication.
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Well, different
from religious liberty.
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It's not almost
everyday it is everyday.
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It is. It is.
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No, it is there's no
exception to it anymore.
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Yeah, and I
think our job is first
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to get that going
into make an impact there.
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I think second
they really want things
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that we are really
looking to do is really
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how do we engage
more young people.
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I believe that young people are
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always looking for
where the action is
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and I think if we
can do a better job
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and my opinion with letting
them know that the action
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really is in the
area of public affairs
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and religious liberty then
when you think about the church
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and the impact that
we make and the impact
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that we are capable of
making religious liberty
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is as good place as any.
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And I think if the young people
in our church really understood
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what we as a
church doing that area
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I think they would
flock to be a part of it.
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Well, there's a
quote from Ellen White.
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I think she made it
when she was in Australia
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to the college
students that they could aspire
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to anything and they
could be in councils,
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government councils and so on.
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Sometimes I wonder about that
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because I think there's a great
hazard for any person or faith
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to go into modern
politics now because its--
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it's a pretty messy business.
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But through religious our
young people can make contact
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with these leaders
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and, you know,
how government works
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and what
catches their attention.
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If we had just a little cadre
of Seventh-day Adventist youth
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that were doing
something significant
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I think our governments
leaders would be all over them
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that be divided
here hither on the--
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they be put up as exhibit
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as what youth of
this country are doing.
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And I think we are
doing a pretty good job
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of letting more people
know about our young people
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and letting our young
people get more aggressive.
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I mean, I got involved
in politics for first time
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when I was really a
student at Andrews University
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and I went out and had a chance
to meet our local congressmen
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in the fourth
district and gentleman
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by the name of Mark
Schneider at the time.
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He was considered to be
ultra conservative Republican
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but I had a chance to
work for him for probably
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about two or three
school years and had to do--
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did some
independent studies with him
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but I used to enjoy being there
because he would ask me a lot
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about what we
were doing at school
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and what our views
were and what we believe
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and he had come on
campus and I thought it was
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just a small way in
which I could kind of reflect
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a little bit of who we
were in that particular office.
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And I think Mark
left that office probably
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understanding a little
bit more about Adventism
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than before I
was in that office.
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At least I would
like to believe that
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and I think that's the
kind of impact that we can make.
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And that is the
area that Adventist
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and other Christian young
people can make a difference.
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I see these--
what see spend a lot
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and I watch what's happening
there as well as you know,
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I've gone into the offices
and I know from first hand.
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But seeing it on TV I
noticed when there is a hearing
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or some top political
leaders presenting there
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just a couple of young people
sitting on a bench behind them.
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I know who they are
there, they are interims
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but law students
and may be some children
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or people that they know
that got influenced but they--
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they are the guys, they
are the guys and gals there.
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They are the smart
people probably. Right.
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That whisper in the ear of that
person to tell them what to do.
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And so young people are running
things already in the country
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and if Seventh-day Adventist
as many of them are already
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are in those places
they have a huge influence.
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They don't have to be the
governor or the president--
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No, not at all.
To that influence.
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And I think we're
starting to see that as well.
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I mean, we're
finding out more and more
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about where more and more
Adventist are working and--
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You're getting a
list, aren't you?
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We're getting a list together.
Of Adventist and government.
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And, you know, Ted Wilson
our president has been focusing
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on how we can do a better
job of kind of knowing where--
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This is our world
president. Our church president.
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I'm always careful that
many Adventist watch our program
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but some people may not
know how we've structured.
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Many of our members don't know.
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You know, this
church, local conference,
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the union, the division,
the General Conference.
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We're bit hierarchical.
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We're and our
leadership at the highest levels
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I think are focusing on
let's find out where we are?
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Let's find out
where our people are?
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Let's find out how we
can be helpful to them
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and how they might be
able to be helpful to us?
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And but I think the
energy that youth bring
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to any
organization is essential.
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And you know, I think we
all agree if you go to a church
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and there are no young people
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no real vibrant
activity its dying church.
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It's a dying church.
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Well, young people have
energy and we all need it.
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That gets harder to
find as you get old.
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But what they have that I think
is the, is the make or break.
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Young people are
idealistic. They are.
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And they answer
to our vision. Yeah.
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And once you
switch that idealism on
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or direct it to
something like working for God
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and doing that
through a government contacts
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no one can stop
them, absolutely.
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Now we've seen in
political campaigns,
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we've seen it in
just general organizations
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that if you can
inspire a group of young people
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to really pick up
your cause and run with it
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then it becomes something that
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you just can't
really do anything about
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and you know, you think
about all of the social media
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and the way they operate
right now and you have some,
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you know, young people who
are being followed in this world
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they have like 49
and 50 million people
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that are
following their every word.
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You are not talking
about Katy Perry I think.
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Well, Katy Perry there
are 49 million followers.
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I don't follow
that but I know that
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she has got one of the
biggest online followers.
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And you know, in some degree--
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So we know what
she ate for breakfast.
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Yeah, you may
say to yourself well,
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who wants to really
keep up with that silliness
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but if you think to yourself
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suppose Katy Perry
went on one day said,
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you know, I went to an
Adventist church this weekend.
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You know, so sometimes
it's not even the direct impact
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that you have but the
indirect impact you have
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can actually have
an article impact.
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What it really and this goes to
apart from modern social media
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they are amplifying things
that always existed among humans
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but if you are living
and speaking for your faith
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you could do easily do a
mathematically if you speak
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to someone or several
people every day about something
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and they speak, I
mean, within a moment
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we're all
figuratively not quite literally
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but very short time
the world can does know
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something by word of mouth.
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I mean it's incredible.
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I mean, what do you think
the apostle Paul would be doing
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with the message if
he had social media.
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I mean, Paul was almost able
to get around the whole world.
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The Twitter account
according the some poll--
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Yeah, it would
just be incredible
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but I think it's
really just a sign that--
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He would have trouble.
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He had trouble
writing short sentences.
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It was stringing things.
Yeah, well, he would have--
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It was 120 characters he
would put hold to the stretch.
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Really, Twitter account issue
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but I think he would
have also been some--
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He would find a new way to
make sure to get the message.
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What it was, was if
we are under a compulsion
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because of what God has done
for us we need to tell somebody
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and we will do it
whatever mains present.
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And it was let us impulse day,
it was visiting the churches
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and we still travel
and do things that same way
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but still electronic
media its phenomenal.
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Things could
become viral. Absolutely.
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What if the word of
the second coming of Christ
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and Adventist on fire and
young people just you know,
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not doing things
like radical Islamist
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but showing their
faith in a real way, that--
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if that went viral, man,
that will be called a revival.
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Absolutely and it would
be something that you know,
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we probably would
have never seen before but
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and I think if we can just
get comfortable with the fact
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that it is gonna be
a little bit different.
00:10:06.34\00:10:07.90
Its not gonna be how it
used to be and, you know,
00:10:07.93\00:10:10.54
my wife and I, you
know, we kind of joking.
00:10:10.57\00:10:13.00
She still tells me, you know,
I really hate to be in church
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and I don't know hear people
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flipping through the
pages of the Bible anymore.
00:10:17.56\00:10:20.79
And you know, getting
comfortable in understanding,
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you know, what, it is
gonna be a little different
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but if that difference
is really focused on drawing
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more men and women towards
Christ it's also a good thing.
00:10:28.31\00:10:31.54
Well, you're tell us
something that's a burden upon
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which we read the Bible
more and sometimes we content
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to have it put up on
our screen in front of us
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and that is the real
words but there's nothing like
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looking it up on a page
where you see it in context
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and as nothing like being able
to know what page to look up.
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I watch people doing that
I don't think anymore people
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as used to knowing
where stuff is in the Bible.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Don't know the
books of the Bible anymore
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because you don't
need to know the order.
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You're just gonna push
your button and you are there.
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And you know, we've
had previous discussions
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about the reformation.
00:11:06.39\00:11:07.79
Well, central to
the reformation was
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people going to God's word.
00:11:09.89\00:11:11.63
Yeah. It needs to be
easily available and read.
00:11:11.66\00:11:15.55
Not just its one
thing to have laws
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as we do in the United States.
00:11:18.17\00:11:19.38
Good laws that
first amendment says
00:11:19.41\00:11:22.30
government suppose to be
out of the religion business,
00:11:22.33\00:11:24.80
allow you to exercise
your religion as you want.
00:11:24.83\00:11:27.67
But you know,
any-- your own compulsion
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can make you go and
do something about it.
00:11:29.89\00:11:31.73
Right. Right.
Well, you have to--
00:11:31.76\00:11:32.99
You know freedom not exercised
is pretty theoretical. Yeah.
00:11:33.02\00:11:38.66
I mean, you got to be
willing to believe in something
00:11:38.69\00:11:41.80
that you willing
to go to the mat for
00:11:41.83\00:11:43.36
and in a instance
of religious liberty
00:11:43.39\00:11:45.50
we're willing to die for.
00:11:45.53\00:11:47.07
And if you find yourself
in a position where that's not
00:11:47.10\00:11:50.03
what you're willing to do then
you're not gonna be affective
00:11:50.06\00:11:52.72
and in
particularly with young people.
00:11:52.75\00:11:55.12
They can spot a
fake person a mile away.
00:11:55.15\00:11:58.71
If you are not genuine in your
belief, if you are genuine in
00:11:58.74\00:12:01.65
how you are approaching
it then you can't get the--
00:12:01.68\00:12:04.72
you know, you can't get the
masses to take you seriously
00:12:04.75\00:12:07.15
and I think that's a large part
of what we have to focus on.
00:12:07.18\00:12:10.66
And I think getting
young people involved
00:12:10.69\00:12:12.99
and I think really
impacting whoever we can
00:12:13.02\00:12:15.81
and whatever our
circle is I think
00:12:15.84\00:12:17.58
that's the most important thing
we can do in religious liberty.
00:12:17.61\00:12:20.05
Well, I believe that
young people will respond
00:12:20.08\00:12:22.91
and going back to my young days,
00:12:22.94\00:12:26.91
no but I came from
Australia as a teenager
00:12:26.94\00:12:30.78
and it was not long
after that, that I remember
00:12:30.81\00:12:35.26
several significant events
on that will never disappears.
00:12:35.29\00:12:40.12
That the Martin
Luther King wrote
00:12:40.15\00:12:41.61
when Washington was an arm camp
00:12:41.64\00:12:43.52
and smoke rising up but
I also remember a huge--
00:12:43.55\00:12:47.80
I wish I could
remember what it was called.
00:12:47.83\00:12:49.11
It was in Nixon's winding that
00:12:49.14\00:12:51.70
but hundreds of thousands of
young people camp there on the-
00:12:51.73\00:12:56.84
what is it the
ellipse, the mall on the mall
00:12:56.87\00:13:00.38
and they were fired up
and it was the same era
00:13:00.41\00:13:02.79
and I don't think
it was just connective
00:13:02.82\00:13:04.16
when the Jesus
movement took off.
00:13:04.19\00:13:06.22
Right.
00:13:06.25\00:13:07.29
You can look at it
theologically and you know,
00:13:07.32\00:13:09.22
it was little bit
tied up to hippy them
00:13:09.25\00:13:11.24
and all other but
what I think it was,
00:13:11.27\00:13:13.25
was this sense of impoundment
that young people had
00:13:13.28\00:13:17.27
and yearning towards spiritually
00:13:17.30\00:13:19.02
and they want to
do something with it.
00:13:19.05\00:13:20.14
Right. Right.
Now I don't think--
00:13:20.17\00:13:21.57
So that can happen again.
In fact, I'm sure it will.
00:13:21.60\00:13:24.23
It will have to because to
me that's really the only way
00:13:24.26\00:13:27.19
that the message is
gonna go where it needs to go
00:13:27.22\00:13:29.18
and I think Dr. King made
it very clear when he said,
00:13:29.21\00:13:32.33
you know, his real pain was
00:13:32.36\00:13:33.64
really the
silence of your friends.
00:13:33.67\00:13:36.54
I mean, when you have friends
00:13:36.57\00:13:38.38
that supposedly
aren't willing to speak up
00:13:38.41\00:13:40.34
and to go and to be impactful
based on what they know,
00:13:40.37\00:13:44.08
I mean, that to me
drags a society down
00:13:44.11\00:13:46.80
more than anything else.
00:13:46.83\00:13:48.34
And I think religious liberty
the question is are you willing
00:13:48.37\00:13:51.31
to be someone who is going
to speak out on behalf of God
00:13:51.34\00:13:54.76
and make a difference? And--
00:13:54.79\00:13:55.99
And speak out for other people.
00:13:56.02\00:13:57.09
Well, and they just
did. We listed that before.
00:13:57.12\00:13:58.57
We got to defend scientologist,
we've got to defend Islam,
00:13:58.60\00:14:05.78
all of these
things that we might find
00:14:05.81\00:14:07.61
a little bit doctrinally funny
00:14:07.64\00:14:09.00
but there are human beings
that have chosen that path
00:14:09.03\00:14:12.00
and talking about
dying for something
00:14:12.03\00:14:14.80
but we should even die for
someone else right to belief.
00:14:14.83\00:14:17.11
Absolutely and I
think that's what really
00:14:17.14\00:14:19.13
its all about making
yourself be in a position
00:14:19.16\00:14:21.94
where you're willing to
stand for the right to law.
00:14:21.97\00:14:24.36
No matter what.
00:14:24.39\00:14:25.48
We'll be back
after a short break
00:14:25.51\00:14:26.89
to continue this discussion
about aims and programs
00:14:26.92\00:14:31.17
and how to involve
particularly young people
00:14:31.20\00:14:33.27
in religious liberty
and for changing society.
00:14:33.30\00:14:36.58
Stay with us.
00:14:36.61\00:14:37.83