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LEGAL SERVICESRecent News
Constitution of Fiji
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is grateful to the government of the Republic of Fiji for the opportunity to participate in helping to draft the Constitution of Fiji. It has been an honor to participate in these fundamental and historical discussions leading up to a constitution for a nation. It symbolizes the government’s recognition of the significance and worth of its major stakeholders, such as churches and religious organizations, in nation-building of these islands. Special recognition goes to James Standish, drafter, with input from Nick Miller and Alan J. Reinach. In the coming days the Fiji ambassador will be visiting the General Conference offices. READ MORE
Elevated by the common good
The Rev. Jim Wallis is a man of the left — perhaps the defining figure of the evangelical left. So it is not surprising that I should find some of the policy views expressed in his new book, “On God’s Side,” badly mistaken. But this does not prevent Wallis from being resoundingly right in his central premise: that American politics would be elevated by a renewed commitment to the common good. READ MORE
Liberty Dinner
The Seventh-day Adventist Church sponsors the only event in our nation’s capitol devoted to religious freedom. Special guest speakers in past years have included Senators John McCain, John Kerry, and Hillary Rodham Clinton. This year’s Liberty Dinner, was hosted at the Canadian Embassy. Some pictures of the event are linked. Kudos to the team organizing this important public affirmation of religious freedom. READ MORE
Defense Department classifies Catholics, evangelicals as extremists
The Defense Department came under fire Thursday for a U.S. Army Reserve presentation that classified Catholics and Evangelical Protestants as “extremist” religious groups alongside al Qaeda and the Ku Klux Klan. READ MORE
Governor signs Kan. religious freedom measure
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback signed legislation Wednesday that supporters believe will shield Kansas residents from government infringement on religious liberties. READ MORE
Catholic Gonzaga University won’t allow Catholic students to form Catholic group
Roman Catholic, Jesuit-affiliated Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington has refused to recognize the Knights of Columbus as an official student group because — wait for it — the Knights of Columbus is a Catholic organization. READ MORE
The Easter Message of Religious Freedom
As Christians around the world prepare to celebrate Easter, they reflect on God's purposes amid suffering and death. They look forward to the hope of the resurrection. Yet there is another aspect to the Easter story that should be as important to the skeptic as it is to the believer: its message of religious toleration. Whether read as history or allegory, the resurrection stories in the gospels offer an approach to faith that challenges the militant religions of our own day. READ MORE
Stanford Law Students Help Seventh-day Adventist
The story below is about Rick Pink and Elliott Coker who are represented by Church State Council executive director, Alan J. Reinach, who referred them to the Stanford U. Law School Clinic. Mr. Coker is incorrectly identified in the article as a Seventh-day Adventist. He is a Sabbatarian but not an Adventist. Reinach continues to represent the two clients and helps supervise the students at the Clinic who are working on the case. READ MORE
Residents of a Christian community in eastern Pakistan, among them Seventh-day Adventists, are reeling after a mob torched their homes and businesses in response to alleged insults against Muhammad.
Church property and the homes of Adventist members, however, sustained “tremendous damage,” church leaders said. The rented home of local Adventist Pastor Afzal Bhatti and his family was destroyed along with the homes and belongings of at least 40 Adventists. READ MORE
Christians decry mob violence in Pakistan
LAHORE, Pakistan — Hundreds of Christians clashed with police across Pakistan on Sunday, a day after a Muslim mob burned dozens of homes owned by members of the minority religious group in retaliation for alleged insults against Islam's Prophet Muhammad. READ MORE