As government social services agencies, courts of law, and legislative actions follow the religions of secular humanism and psychology, Christians are finding that their constitutional rights of freedom of religion and conscience are being compromised. As Christians we need to be prepared to stand firm in our faith and to pray and to watch. Besides watching for opportunities to share our faith we need to be watching what is happening around us, so that we can fight the good fight of faith as long as we can within the biblical admonitions to obey our government. As illustrated in the article “Believers and Home Schoolers Alert,” believers need to learn about changes in the institutions we have trusted and to be prepared and equipped. Deborah Dewart’s book Death of a Christian Nation is a timely source of help.
Death of a Christian Nation is loaded with specific cases involving Christians who are suffering for their faith. Dewart not only reveals what’s going on. She lists numerous organizations to which Christians can turn when their application of biblical principles is being attacked. The four parts of her book are titled; “Sliding Down Slippery Slopes,” “Civil Rights: Promiscuity, Perversion, & Privacy,” “Religious Wrongs: Shoving Christians In The Closet,” and “Conclusion: What’s left of Religious Rights?”
Dewart begins her book by reviewing the history of our nation and says:
In the beginning, God blessed America. Christianity was the bedrock of this country. People found a safe refuge when they came to our shores to escape religious tyranny abroad. The right to freely worship God was guaranteed with the drafting of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The biblical principle of morality is the basis of our laws. America is not a theocracy like ancient Israel. Early Americans chose to serve the Lord and establish a nation where citizens could freely worship God according to conscience and practice biblical principles without fear of state retribution.
Throughout the book Dewart shows how this foundation has been eroded through distorting the original intent. While her book does not deal directly with mandated psychological treatment, she includes a chapter “Behind Church Doors” having to do with counseling in the church that every pastor should read. Not only does she describe court cases; she advises how one might avoid similar situations.
Dewart has written many articles about the intrusion of psychology into the church and book reviews critiquing books by popular Christian psychologists, which are available on her web site: <www.christiandiscernment.com>. After earning a master’s degree in theology from Westminster Seminary in Escondido, CA, she earned her law degree from Chapman School of Law in 2002. Since that time has written briefs for the U.S. Supreme Court in cases involving constitutional law and religious liberty. One of the reasons for her pursuing law was her concern over court-mandated psychological treatment and enforced psychological programs in prisons. Words on the back cover of her book give the reason she’s working so hard in this area: “… we cannot stand by idly while fellow believers suffer serious legal consequences for practicing their faith.”
Dewart’s book is available through <www.godandcountrypress.com> and from major bookstores and online outlets.
(PsychoHeresy Awareness Letter, September-October 2010, Vol. 18, No. 5)