What is religious liberty?

I have been free to write more than 100 columns on religious topics in this newspaper, and I have received well more than 100 comments, half of them positive and half of them negative. Our readers have felt free to write letters to the editors or place comments at the end of my columns in the online version. They are not reluctant to email me directly or stop me when they see me on the street.

For some, I am the "resident heretic;" for others: a "breath of fresh air." I either "stir up trouble" or I "raise valid questions." My research is "accurate" or it's "imaginative." I am a "Biblical scholar" or a "Bible-wrecker." But whatever I am, I am protected by the First Amendment in both the exercise of my religion and in the freedom of my speech. And so are my critics.

Here's where we differ:

Nearly half of my readers believe that God would not, could not, have allowed an error or mistake to find its way onto any of those Biblical pages. Obviously, I deny that.

Secondly, some readers place the New Testament evangelists as Jesus-eyewitnesses; I maintain that all four of them never saw Jesus and that they wrote their stories 40 to 70 years after he died. That's my opinion.

Thirdly, and this is where the major explosions take place: The words of Jesus. When one of the four evangelists quotes Jesus, I question whether this is a historical quote or something the evangelist wanted to say to his readers, like Matthew 16:18.

Am I right? Not always, and I try to admit it when I'm wrong. I recognize that I have the bully pulpit on this page and I really do try not to abuse that privilege. I'm also quite aware that I'm dealing in "opinion," not fact. I cannot prove what I write, but then, neither can my critics. We are all mucking around in a pool of uncertainty. Their faith brings no more objective credibility to the issue than my historical research. But it's enjoyable for me to fence with people who recognize this, and I trust it's enjoyable for them as well.

Not all see it this way, however. The ones who are the most offensive are the priests and pastors and "wannabe preachers" who have become as "righteous" as the Pharisees. We can laugh at some of their Biblical interpretations and how they're always right, but we cannot laugh when they lash out at gays and lesbians based on their translation of the three Greek words attributed to Paul and three dubious Old Testament texts, or their reliance on "infallible" tradition.

Last week, Gov. Nathan Deal promised to veto House Bill 757, saying: "I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia, of which I and my family have been a part of for all of our lives."

Immediately, a Macon clergy meeting was called in a south Macon restaurant to condemn the governor for his veto of this bill, (fatuously called "religious liberty" instead of "disgusting discrimination"). Thank God (and I mean this literally) there were two courageous clergy members from Macon who disagreed with this large group of "religious" leaders on the grounds that discrimination is not Christian.

When Father Ben Wells from St. Francis Episcopal Church and the Rev. Cassandra Howe from the Unitarian/Universalist Church stood up for Christianity, they were asked to leave. So much for religious liberty.

What is religious liberty? It certainly isn't discrimination. I remember the same kind of "religious liberty talk" in the Jim Crow exclusion of African Americans not only at lunch counters but from legitimate jobs in businesses. There are 25 references to slaves and slavery in the Bible, and many "Christian leaders" used these texts to keep slavery alive in the South. They called it religious liberty and they were just as wrong as the framers of HB 757.

American Baptists have a real hero in Roger Williams, who came here in the early 1600s from religion-torn England to establish Providence, Rhode Island, the first colony in America to welcome every religious preference — even Catholics. I just wish several Southern Baptists would read what Roger wrote.

I am proud to be an American. I have walked the streets in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia, and talked to the Iranians in Tehran, and I know the difference. But we're going to need more courageous leaders like Gov. Deal and Father Ben and Rev. Cassandra — and Roger Williams — if America is going to stay religiously free. And that's a fact!

Dr. Bill Cummings is the CEO of Cummings Consolidated Corporation and Cummings Management Consultants. His blog is www.progressiveheretic.com.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 7:59 PM with the headline "What is religious liberty? ."