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D. Meares: Address to Summit 2022, Session V
Written by Bishop Don Meares, senior pastor, Evangel Cathedral, Maryland, United States
Friday, August 12, 2022
Address to Summit 2022 and Leadership Conference,
Seoul, Korea, August 11-15, 2022
The hour is late, and you are hungry. And I've been asked to be short, and I will do that.
For most people in the world there are few things more precious than freedom. Freedom is the power to live and to choose, and is one of the great sources of human dignity.
Exercising freedom correctly, however, is one of the great responsibilities that humans hold. We're always continuing to grapple with how to define our freedoms, how to understand them and how they should be cultivated and tempered. And at the heart of any question of freedom, we will find the most fundamental of all freedoms, and that is the freedom of religion.
Freedom of religion is a fundamental human right, as has been said, by God. It protects the conscience of all people. It allows us to express and to act upon what we deeply believe. But around the world and in the United States, this freedom is eroding quickly. Churches and religious organizations are facing increasing restrictions as they participate in the public square, express their beliefs, or even serve in society. God's love of all of His children, in my opinion, is so much deeper and prior to any human judgment. It is deeper than race. It is deeper than gender. It is deeper than sexual orientation. It is deeper than any of the human constructions that we know.
And that, to me, is one of the most important reasons we have for religious freedom. As Joshua said, as for me and my family, I shall serve the Lord. And as Newt Gingrich said, it is a choice between our belief in God and being a pagan. I choose to believe in God. How about you? We must take a stand with Japan. At this time, as has been said by many, not just say in words, for actions are important. The Bible says, faith without works is dead. God bless.
To go to the World Summit 2022 Schedule page, click here.