“In God do we trust, for our cause is just” – Francis Scott Key

Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey has promised a vote before Easter on HR2431, the ill-named Freedom From Religious Persecution Act, which is correctly titled A Bill to Provide for the Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring and to Provide for the Imposition of Sanctions Against Countries Engaged in Patterns of Religious Persecution and for Other Purposes (“ORPM”). The power to pass this bill appears overwhelming. The Freedom from Religious Persecution Act will provide religious bondage, not freedom; It legitimatize persecution by persecution?s most fiendish experts, big government; it creates another government agency with unbridled power to control thought.

The promoters of ORPM are the same Warmakers George Bush called “the New World order.” Their puppets who are selling world religious control to the public are the TV evangelists and Political Christian leaders, including Pat Robertson, Christians Coalition and many others.

The author of the bill is Career Bureaucrat and Senior Fellow at the internationalist, Hudson Institute, Michael Horowitz. Freedom House, a Council on Foreign Relations world government front, is its major promoter. Sponsors of the legislation are Frank Wolf (R-VA), Republican Senator Arlan Spector of Pennsylvania, an abortion advocate and practicing socialist. Avowed homosexual Congressman Barney Frank is one of the latest among the 105 co-sponsors. However, most of its support has come, strange as it may seem, from conservative Republicans responding to urging from nationally prominent Christians, media evangelists and Christian organizations.

If HR2431 is passed by Congress, it will legitimize the Presidents past executive war orders in places like Bosnia and Sudan, and allow future embargoes and blockades to be turned on and off like a spigot. The Act effectively legitimatizes the United Nations? Covenants as documents to be observed by our lawmakers. In effect, the United Nations becomes the equivalent of a warmaking CIA, on call at the whim of the President?s appointee. In the name of protecting the world from “Religious Persecution” the bill grants warmaking powers to President Clinton.

Why would any Christian leader want to give the President more of the Executive power that thrust us into the last Gulf War? On November 4,1997, President Clinton sanctioned Sudan by imposing a War Powers Act, cutting off its fledgling oil production before it could be started. Again it is the poor in Sudan, and the consumers in America who pay the cost in higher prices. Our Christian leaders say nothing about all this child starvation in Arab countries. We wonder, why not?

Christian promoters admit that the ORPM recognizes and legitimizes the United Nation?s religious tenets. Pat Robertson on the 700 Club, Gary Bauer of Family Research Council, officials of Christian Coalition are among the many political Christian leaders who assure us the new agency will forever remain small and benign and will not monitor Americans. Americans were once told the same thing about the IRS, and that would NEVER take more that 3%, and only from the wealthy.

The United Nations has commenced monitoring religions in America, even before the bill is passed, a sign of things to come. On January 28, 1998, the Atlanta Journal Constitution carried a story entitled “Emory Draws Un-Religious Officials.” The United Nations was at Emory University for a forum on the status of religious freedom in the southwestern United States. The article tells us that the UN Special Rapporteur is submitting a report to the Security Council on the state of religion around the world. In other words, the United Nations is already monitoring race relations under the color of religion–not in some foreign country–here.

The position of Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance was established by the United Nations Commissioner on Human Rights in 1986. The standard for examining religions, according to the Special Rapporteur Abdelfattah Amor, “is the UN?s 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religious Belief.”

Mr. Amor was also in Arizona interviewing Indian tribes in search of religious persecution only a week later. Where else he went, we do not know. But we do know the Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring will have total authority to pick up where the UN leaves off in monitoring any group they want to examine–anywhere.

If the UN can monitor southwestern Indians or black Americans in the southeastern United States under pretext of religious persecution, why couldn?t homosexuals claim their perversion is a religion, or abortion advocates claim persecuted status? What if the ORPM decided parents are persecuting children by teaching them at home? The ORPM has free reign to define what a religion is and to define persecution.

Amazingly, Christian Leaders of groups, including David Hodel?s Christian Coalition, tell us the ORPM will not monitor Americans. But the monster that Congress is about to create cites the same United Nations covenants in its Section 2. Mr. Amor is quoting his authority for monitoring religion in Atlanta and Phoenix. Can the political Christians restore our freedom if they are lost?

The ORPM also enjoys control over immigration whenever the Office judges that religious persecution is involved. The Director of the ORPM could unilaterally declare “Native American” population of Mexico a “persecuted religion” under HR2431 and could declare the entire population eligible for resettlement in the US at taxpayer expense.

Because we are debating over life and death for those sanctioned, and because the religious freedom of future generations hangs on the defeat of HR2431, is necessary that we confront head on the argument made by certain Christian apologists for HR2431. The following are excepts from an Alert by Christian Coalition dated March 5, 1998 (emphasis added):

“For many communities of faith around the world, the simple act of worshipping in a church or at home creates a real threat of brutal persecution such as enslavement, imprisonment, rape, murder — even crucifixion. To help address this worldwide horror, Congressman Frank Wolf (VA) and Senator Arlan Specter (PA) introduced the ?Freedom From Religious Persecution Act? (H.R. 2431). Christian Coalition supports this legislation…. A terrible misconception is that this bill would establish a powerful government office that would threaten religious liberty within the US and worldwide. This is simply not true. An office would be established in the State Department that Would only act if a ?Fact Finding” Capacity.”

“The Director, after being confirmed by the Senate, would be responsible for gathering information of reports of widespread and ongoing persecution in foreign countries and make annual reports to Congress to determine if those countries should be subject to the penalties established in H.R. 2431.”

“We are targeting the week of March 9-13 as the ?lobby? week for contact and communication in support of the Freedom From Religious Persecution Act, H.R. 2431.”

We Hold These Truths believes Christian Coalition already has reason to know the above is deceptive or outright false. The statement that HR2431 was amended to lodge the ORPM Office in the State Department is true, but irrelevant. What is important, is the power it enjoys. CC?s statement that the agency only has power to perform ?fact-finding? and not to make decisions is provably untrue simply by reading the bill.

HR2431, Sec. 5(b) clearly states the Director is appointed by the President with advice and consent of the Senate, and(c) “shall serve at the pleasure of the President.” This process is similar to Cabinet appointees.

Sec. 5(3) provides that the Director will “consult with” the Secretary of State but in no way does this suggest subornation to the State Department.

Sec. 5(5) provides that the Director shall “coordinate with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Treasury to insure that the provisions of this act are carried out.” Clearly, the director remains in control.

Sec. 6(a) defines Reports to Congress–no other requirements are implied, and the act does not even say what Congress can do if they don?t like the report.

Sec. 7(a)(1)(A) “The Director shall notify the relevant United States department and agencies and such departments and agencies shall”-(i) “prohibit all exports to the responsible entity—” etc.

Sec. 7(a)(3.) provides for penalties for U.S. Citizens, also at the complete authority of the Director.

The ORPM is so powerful it can order other departments, including State, to place sanctions on its chosen victims. The language of the act is clear. Once appointed and confirmed by the Senate, the ORPM Director has near total authority, except that the President can remove him as with any Cabinet appointee.

Clearly, the Director makes the decisions and has only to “report” and “confer” with others, a mere formality. Would Christian Coalition or Dr. James Dobson (another ORPM supporter) recommend we tell our kids they may do anything they wish so long as they report and coordinate with parents?

Because the bill is unusually concise there can be no excuse for Christian Coalition misleading their readers. Please forgive our frank language, but Christian Coalition has born false witness in its Alert. We challenge Christian Coalition to correct this error and publicly repent because of the grave nature of this act. As in the Gulf War, some of the life lost will be our own children. And, there is no way to replace a lost freedom.

Congress is being pressured to pass HR2431 by internationalist Warmakers. The movement is funded and controlled by non-government organizations, including Hudson Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations dominated Freedom House. The goal of these organizations is and always has been international government.

Once created, the Office will no doubt be staffed by Warmakers appointees like Horowitz and Wolf, with window-dressing selected from prominent Christian leaders. The ORPM would be no more acceptable with Billy Graham as its first Director than it would be with Janet Reno.

If you have any remaining doubts about what HR 2431 says,

read the bill. Those who read the bill oppose it; those who wrote it are its supporters. And those who do not read are no better off than those who cannot read.

The House Internal Relations Committee (see below) has heard and amended the bill and is expected to pass HR2431 to the floor in March. Matt Salmon has led opposition so far. Donald Manzullo of Illinois is said to oppose the bill–thank them for their continued leadership.

A Call to Action:
Demand a “NO” vote in Congress on HR2431, and S772. Start with the Committee members listed below.
Distribute copies of A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, the Religious Persecution Monitor a 49-minute professional audiotape describing the ORPM.
Read Right to The Point journal article, Using Christians to Make War, an analysis of the compromising of TV Evangelists and Mail Order Missionaries giving names and probably reasons for this paradoxical phenomena.
Contact David Hodel?s Christian Coalition and other politicized Christian leaders and warn them that God will hold them accountable for the consequences of their acts as he held the Israelites responsible for theirs. Boycott financially any group that supports the ORPM.

Spread this alarm. The enemy is inside the gate.

CAPITOL SWITCHBOARD: 1-800-522-6721,1-202-225-3121

HOUSE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE

REPUBLICANS: Benjamin Gilman, NY (Chairman); William Goodling, PA; James A. Leach, IA; Henry Hyde, IL; Doug Bereuter, NE; Christopher Smith, NJ; Dan Burton, IN; Elton Gallegly, CA; Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, FL; Cass Ballenger, NC; Dana Rohrabacher, CA; Donald Manzullo, IL; Edward Royce, CA; Peter King, NY; Jay Kim, CA; Steve Chabot, OH; Mark Sanford, SC; Matt Salmon, AZ; Amo Houghton, NY; Tom Campbell, CA; Jon Fox, PA; John McHugh, NY; Lindsey Graham, SC; Roy Blunt, MO; Kevin Brady, TX.

DEMOCRATS: Lee Hamilton, IN; Sam Gejdenson, CT; Tom Lantos, CA; Howard Berman, CA; Gary Ackerman, NY; Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, AS; Matthew Martinez, CA; Donald Payne, NJ; Robert Andrews, NJ; Robert Menendez, NJ; Sherrod Brown, OH; Cynthia McKinney, GA; Alcee Hastings, FL; Pat Danner, MO; Earl Hilliard, AL; Brad Sherman, CA; Robert Wexler, FL; Steve Rothman, NJ; Bob Clement, TN; Bill Luther, MN; Jim Davis, FL.