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Pastor Charlie Chilton's Thought for the week column: A Free Conscience? Yes! Date published: 1/10/2009
WHAT A GREAT WAY This is the real heartbeat of the history of Virginia and America. You should be a part of this annual honoring of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. In January 1786, the Virginia legislature passed this statute, which inspired the rest of the nation to follow suit. My life has been shaped by the biblical teachings on soul freedom and how the struggle was carried forward by the people called "Baptist." When I drive through Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Caroline or Culpeper, I pass churches named Waller's Baptist or County Line Baptist and more; the list is long of churches where the local sheriff came and yanked the preacher from the pulpit and beat him up and dragged him down to the local jail. A lot of Baptist blood stained the soil of this area. By the way, the congregation followed the pastor down to the jail so they could hear the man finish his sermon from his cell. Every time I pass by that little memorial on State Route 20 in Orange County that commemorates the meeting between the Rev. John Leland, a Baptist minister, and James Madison as they resolved to work together for "religious liberty," I breathe a prayer of thanks. It was not by accident that Thomas Jefferson observed, "liberty was the gift of the people called Baptist to the American story." You see, Virginia had a state-sponsored church, an official religion. No other churches were allowed. Dissenters were punished. The core issue was "should the government favor one religion over another?" Today people flock to America to share in the material wealth. Our first Americans came looking for "freedom of conscience" and "freedom of religion." Most of the nations of Jesus is still saying, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's" (Mark 12:17). Let's celebrate "freedom of religion." PRAYER: Thank You, God! Thank You, God! Thank You, God, for an unshackled conscience! Amen. Charlie Chilton is a retired Baptist minister, missionary, author and Stafford County native who resides in Orange County. He may be e-mailed at
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