American Pastors Network Has an Urgent Fix for the Lawlessness Across America: ‘Restore The Law’—Legislators Take Courage!

During the first debate of the 2020 election season, President Donald Trump made an important point that bears repeating at this time of Coronavirus: Our great nation must reopen—and reopen responsibly, carefully, and lawfully. In all states, it can be done. It must be done. And everyone, including the legislative branch of government, needs to be on board with it for the long-term well-being of Americans.

For weeks, the American Pastors Network (APN, americanpastorsnetwork.net) has stressed its vital “Restore The Law” initiative, which it first announced when Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf ordered businesses, churches, schools, and other operations to shut down across the state in March. Wisely, federal judge William S. Stickman ruled that such an edict by the Wolf administration was unconstitutional.

Yet any court ruling is insufficient. Neither the executive branch nor the judicial branch possesses the Constitution authority to write legislation and make law. Lawmaking is reserved to the respective Legislatures—and it has been usurped. Only lawmakers can reclaim their responsibility and Restore The Law.

Says the Honorable Sam Rohrer, president of the American Pastors Network and a former nine-term state representative, “Citizens across Pennsylvania must work together—starting right now—to contact members of the General Assembly, who are empowered and obligated to speak for them. Authority resides in the people, and the people must take it back through their elected representatives,” Rohrer adds.

 Stickman’s ruling gives the Pennsylvania legislature all the ammunition it needs to Restore The Law—so it must do so immediately. “We are in this situation in the first place because the legislature sought to invoke the law only to be spurned by the Governor and enabled by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Lawlessness now reigns and only the legislature can ‘Restore The Law,’” Rohrer says.

APN’s Restore The Law initiative is in line with the organization’s clear mission, which is to be “a voice for truth and an advocate for pastors in the public square by providing Bible-based and constitutionally consistent analysis and recommendations on matters of public policy.”

This is why the American Pastors Network recently released its Open Letter and Resolution at www.RestoreTheLaw.org.

Rohrer says further of Judge Stickman’s ruling last month, “It underscores not only the accuracy, but the content of our letter and resolution, and why the legislature must declare the July 1, 2020 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision (regarding HR 836) to be ‘null and void and without authority.’ Judge Stickman’s decision gives overwhelming support to the legislature—but it does not re-establish the legislature’s constitutional authority usurped by our Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the Wolf-led executive branch. Therefore, we must all, as citizens, call on our legislature to take courage and take action—now!”

Adds Rohrer, “The judge’s decision confirms the identification of the problem as lawlessness and by extension, the resultant serious unbalancing of the delicate balance of power in our Commonwealth—the same as we are seeing all across America. This usurping of authority and acting outside the law initiated by the Wolf-led executive branch and then enabled by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court was fully detailed in our open letter and resolution,” Rohrer continues.

“No citizen nor judicial branch action can re-establish the constitutional balance of power or Restore The Law,” he also says. “This is why we called upon the legislature and we call now again on the Pennsylvania General Assembly to move swiftly and boldly to ‘Restore The Law,’ as called out in our open letter and resolution. While Judge Stickman identified the problem, he cannot prescribe the solution. We call on the legislature to do what only they can do: Restore The Law.” 

Learn more about APN’s urgent open letter and resolution at www.RestoreTheLaw.org.

Photo by Amber Kipp on Unsplash

American Pastors Network Cheers Trump’s Nomination of Constitutionalist to SCOTUS

Consistent with its invitation to citizens, pastors, and lawmakers to Restore the Law violated by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, the American Pastors Network welcomed President Trump’s selection of Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court of the United States seat left vacant after the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

APN values Barrett’s distinguished record of loyalty to the U.S. Constitution, to the original meaning of words codified by the founders and later lawmakers, and to the rule of law.

“APN supports President Trump’s nomination of Barrett, an originalist and strict constructionist, which rings true to our mission to be a voice for Truth and an advocate for Pastors in the Public Square by providing Bible-based and Constitutionally consistent analysis and recommendations on matters of public policy,” said APN President Sam Rohrer, a nine-term Pennsylvania state representative.

Barrett clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia — a renowned strict constructionist — after graduating from Notre Dame Law School, where she has taught for two decades. At 48 years old, Barrett would be the youngest justice currently on the Supreme Court.

Due to Barrett’s fidelity to the “plain meaning” of the Constitution and statutes, Rohrer has hailed Barrett as a model of virtue that Wolf falls far short of.

Last month, the American Pastors Network and Pennsylvania Pastors Network (PPN, papastors.netsent an Open Letter to all three branches of state government and wrote a Resolution to accompany it. Rohrer has called on pastors to lead the citizens of Pennsylvania in their shared responsibility to Restore the Law (RestoretheLaw.org).

Federal judge William S. Stickman ruled that it was unconstitutional for Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and his administration to shut down and provide other directives to businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stickman said that Gov. Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine “crossed the lines” established by the U.S. Constitution.

Rohrer emphasizes that the overreach in Pennsylvania not only disrupts the heart of democracy; it is indicative of a government power-grab all across the country.

“The judge’s decision confirms the identification of the problem as lawlessness and by extension the resultant serious unbalancing of the delicate Balance of Power in our Commonwealth — the same as we are seeing all across America. This usurping of authority and acting outside the law initiated by the Wolf-led Executive Branch and then enabled by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court was fully detailed in our Open Letter and Resolution,” Rohrer said.

“No citizen though, nor Judicial Branch action can re-establish the constitutional Balance of Power or Restore the Law. This is why we called upon the Legislature and we call now again on the Pennsylvania General Assembly to move swiftly and boldly to ‘Restore the Law’ as called out in our Open Letter and Resolution.”

With the near certain confirmation by the Republican Senate majority, the Constitution may find another friend and APN’s may find another voice as they insist on running the government in accordance with the law.

All people are invited to learn about APN’s open letter and resolution at www.RestoreTheLaw.org.

Photo by Bill Mason on Unsplash

In Response to Federal Judge Ruling PA Gov. Pandemic Shutdown Unconstitutional:

Citizens, Contact Your Legislators to Restore the Law; Legislature Cannot Recognize Court’s Ruling as Gov. Wolf Acted Outside the Law Causing Chaos

Federal judge William S. Stickman ruled that it was unconstitutional for Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and his administration to shut down and provide other directives to businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stickman said that Gov. Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine “crossed the lines” established by the U.S. Constitution. According to an article from the Pittsburgh Business Times, Stickman “…ruled limits on gatherings issued by the Wolf administration violated the First Amendment right of assembly and stay-home and business closures imposed in the early parts of the pandemic violated the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”

American Pastors Network and Pennsylvania Pastors Network (PPN, papastors.netlast month sent an Open Letter to all three branches of state government and wrote a Resolution to accompany it. APN President Sam Rohrer, a nine-term state representative, has called on pastors to lead the citizens of Pennsylvania in their shared responsibility to Restore the Law (RestoretheLaw.org).

Now that Judge Stickman has ruled Gov. Wolf’s guidelines as ‘unconstitutional,’ the legislature must do what only they can do to ‘Restore the Law,’ says Rohrer.

“Citizens across Pennsylvania must work together — starting right now — to contact members of the General Assembly, who are empowered and obligated to speak for them. Power belongs to the people, and the people must take it back through their elected representatives,” Rohrer continued.

While Rohrer understands that legislators may be hesitant, he adds that the Stickman ruling gives all the ammunition needed for the legislature to restore the law.

“We are in only in this situation in the first place because the legislature laid down to the PA Supreme Court and allowed the Executive and Judicial branches to break the law,” Rohrer said.

Rohrer said in reaction to the Stickman ruling, “It underscores not only the accuracy, but the content of our letter and resolution, and why the legislature must declare the July 1, 2020 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision (regarding HR 836) to be ‘null and void and without authority’. Judge Stickman’s decision gives overwhelming support to the Legislature, but it does not re-establish the Legislature’s constitutional authority usurped by our Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the Wolf led Executive Branch.

“The judge’s decision confirms the identification of the problem as lawlessness and by extension the resultant serious unbalancing of the delicate Balance of Power in our Commonwealth—the same as we are seeing all across America. This usurping of authority and acting outside the law initiated by the Wolf-led Executive Branch and then enabled by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court was fully detailed in our Open Letter and Resolution,” Rohrer continued. “No citizen though, nor Judicial Branch action can re-establish the constitutional Balance of Power or Restore the Law. This is why we called upon the Legislature and we call now again on the Pennsylvania General Assembly to move swiftly and boldly to ‘Restore the Law’ as called out in our Open Letter and Resolution. While Judge Stickman identified the Problem, he cannot prescribe the Solution. We call on the Legislature to do what only they can do to now, ‘Restore the Law’”.

All people are invited to learn about APN’s open letter and resolution at www.RestoreTheLaw.org.

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Citizens Must Own Responsibility, Compel Legislature to Hold Executive and Judicial Branches Accountable for Unlawful Mandates

Sharp concern over Executive Branch and Judicial Branch violations of state law continues to spread among the citizens of Pennsylvania, as a growing number of the state’s pastors urge churchgoers to embrace their Biblical and Constitutional responsibility to hold the state government accountable for the unlawful coronavirus mandates currently in effect.

The groundswell of citizen concern is the latest ripple effect of an Open Letter that the American Pastors Network and Pennsylvania Pastors Network (PPN, papastors.netrecently sent to all three branches of state government.

The Open Letter affirms the central role and responsibility of the citizen, in God’s plan for civil authority, to promote and uphold lawful and just government — and to hold officials accountable.

“We implore the Governor and the Justices to recognize their accountability to God first, to the People and to the Constitution. We implore them to do their first duty, which is to uphold the law, not to seek to make the law,” the letter states.

“We recognize that these are increasingly perilous days and that in accordance with God’s plan for society and as recognized by our Founders, the citizens and those in civil authority must lead righteously, morally and with fidelity. Any alternative will be destructive to the very foundations upon which this Commonwealth and nation were founded,” the letter continues.

APN President Sam Rohrer, a nine-term state representative, says citizens have a moral obligation to urge the Legislative Branch to hold the Executive and Judicial Branches accountable for overstepping their authority.

“The Executive Branch has broken the law, aided and abetted by the Judicial Branch,” Rohrer said. “We cannot wait for the judiciary — which is compromised and complicit — to restore the rights of the people that have been trampled in the name of public health.

“Power belongs to the people, and the people must take it back through their elected representatives,” Rohrer continued. “Citizens across Pennsylvania must work together — starting right now — to contact members of the General Assembly, who are empowered and obligated to speak for them.”

Rohrer is calling on pastors to lead the citizens of Pennsylvania in their shared responsibility to Restore the Law (RestoretheLaw.org).

“Everyone has a vital part to play to keep this body politic alive,” Rohrer said. “Pastors must give direction about the biblical source and limitations of civil authority. Citizens must follow their pastors’ direction and act to hold state officials accountable. Officials must respond to the will of the people and respect the source and confines of the power God and the people have entrusted to them.”

 

According to a Resolution accompanying the letter, neither Natural Law nor Pennsylvania Statue permit the state to usurp the sovereignty and consent of the people, whose rights come directly from God, not from a civil authority.

 

“Citizens of the Commonwealth have their liberties granted by their Creator, and protected by the Constitution of the United States and the Commonwealth … and the Commonwealth has the burden of proof to show citizens a threat to others before removing their God-given liberties,” the Resolution states.

 

The Resolution cites coronavirus-related Executive and Judicial Branch abuses of power, along with Defining the Problem, the Causes, and the Solution to the governor’s unconstitutional mandates imposed on the Commonwealth’s citizens as a result of his Declaration of Emergency on March 6, 2020.

 

APN holds that pastors, congregants, voters and state officials are out of excuses to ignore the governor’s and the court’s abuses of power.

 

Pastors Have the Responsibility to Confront the Sin of Lawlessness at Every Level of Government

More pastors are speaking out against mandates Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and other members of the Executive Branch continue to impose on citizens in the name of public health. Increasingly, pastors are urging that corrective action come not only from the General Assembly but from every pulpit across the Keystone State.

Churchgoers throughout Pennsylvania have begun asking their pastors why they signed an Open Letter that the American Pastors Network and Pennsylvania Pastors Network (PPN, papastors.net) recently sent to all three branches of state government.

The Open Letter details why pastoral leadership is warranted in calling Pennsylvania citizens to Restore the Law (RestoretheLaw.org), and it includes a Resolution citing Coronavirus-related Executive and Judicial Branch abuses of power, as well as defining the problem, the causes, and the solution to the Governor’s unconstitutional mandates imposed on the Commonwealth’s citizens as a result of his Declaration of Emergency on March 6, 2020.

“Unless families and churches stand up and hold state leaders accountable to Pennsylvania statute, the Constitution and the Bible as the ultimate source and limitation of authority, our citizens will continue to lose their freedoms to the sinful encroachment of unlawful governance,” said APN President Sam Rohrer, a nine-term state representative.

“Pastors must take, and are even now taking, the lead in holding members of the Executive and Judicial Branch accountable for imposing restrictions on citizens that only the Legislative Branch has the authority to impose,” Rohrer continued. “This usurpation of power by the governor is not just unlawful — it is sinful, because it disobeys the plan for authority God has established and made plain in Scripture.”

APN’s insistence that government officials obey both civil law and Biblical principles of authority follows closely on the heels of the Republican National Convention last week, which highlighted the importance of law and order in society.

“The violence must stop, whether in Minneapolis, Portland or Kenosha,” said Vice President Mike Pence during the convention on August 26, referring to violent, vandalizing riots that government officials have failed or refused to contain. “Too many heroes have died defending our freedom to see Americans strike each other down. We will have law and order on the streets of this country for every American of every race and creed and color.”

Rohrer says, “Pastors have the responsibility to confront the sin of lawlessness at every level of government.

“God has a plan for authority, and no one is above His plan, just as no one is above the law — including and especially the Governor, as the head of the branch of government responsible for enforcing the law.”

Pastors, congregants, voters and state officials are out of excuses to ignore the governor’s and the court’s abuses of power, APN’s Open Letter states.

“Now the Lawmaking Authority of the Commonwealth has been unlawfully seized by the Executive Branch and the Law spurned. … The serious and deteriorating nature of the COVID-19 policies confronting the citizens of this Commonwealth and the violations of Statutory Law and the Constitution, precipitated by the actions of the Executive and Judicial Branches, is clear. The disenfranchised and aggrieved position of the General Assembly as the Constitutionally authorized lawmaking Body in this Commonwealth is now beyond dispute,” the pastors write.

All people are invited to read and sign the Open Letter to the Citizens and historic resolution at www.RestoreTheLaw.org.

Photo by Tye Doring on Unsplash

Pa. Gov. Wolf COVID-19 Student Masking Mandates Are Dangerous and Violate Existing Child Abuse Law

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s office last week tightened up the state’s requirements for all-day mask wearing by students in schools, effectively contradicting current child abuse laws and abuse prevention policies Wolf has until now supported.

The latest clamp-down on masks drew fierce criticism from parents, teachers, students and the American Pastors Network, which recently sent all three branches of state government an Open Letter detailing the reason for Pastoral leadership in calling the citizens to Restore the Law (RestoretheLaw.org), and a Resolution citing the Executive and Judicial Branch abuses of power along with Defining the Problem, the Causes, and the Solution to the Governor’s unconstitutional mandates imposed on the Commonwealth’s citizens as a result of his March 6, 2020 Declaration of Emergency.

“Most parents, teachers and even the kids are resisting the mask mandates as applied to students who attend school, and they rightly should, because the mask mandate is not in the child’s best interest,” said APN President Sam Rohrer, a nine-term former Pennsylvania representative.

“Forcing students to wear masks all day not only produces student distraction and anxiety, it meets the definition of child abuse under existing law passed by the Legislature to protect children’s health and well-being,” Rohrer continued.

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APN and the Pennsylvania Pastors Network, which together represent more than 1,200 pastors in Pennsylvania alone, identified the harm being done to the citizens of the Commonwealth child abuse laws being violated in the Open Letter to the Citizens and historic resolution copied to all three branches of state government.

“The mandated mask guidelines for children over 2 years of age and all day in school settings, according to the provisions of 23 § 6303 (b.1) (8v) relating to child abuse, constitutes interference with the breathing of a child,” the resolution states.

“Additionally, the mask order, combined with the mandatory social distancing guidelines for children, may well constitutes unreasonable restraint or confinement of a child (b.1)(8ii), and therefore inflicts on the children of this Commonwealth a clear instance of child abuse under the law.”

Rohrer says the Wolf administration’s decisions are unlawful and harmful to children.

“Are we now at the place where such protections under existing law can be cavalierly discarded when required by a single state official and not rise to the charge of ‘state-sanctioned’ child abuse?” Rohrer said.

The Resolution with recommended legislative action as drafted by APN condemns the Executive Branch for compelling upstanding citizens to become enablers of child abuse under current law.

“Further, the mask order encourages and ultimately forces adults who are mandated reporters to enable and participate in the very actions carefully identified by existing Commonwealth child abuse laws,” the resolution states.

Rohrer says the Wolf administration’s latest abuse of power not only violates the law but also coerces citizens — including parents and teachers responsible for the safety of their children and students — into breaking the law.

“The Executive Branch’s infatuation with mask wearing, first over adults and now students, forces people in the setting of the school to actually participate in a violation of the law as written — and that is truly unjust,” Rohrer said. “This is hypocritical not only of Governor Wolf but of all those in Executive Branch positions who are making these rules based on feeling, disregarding existing law or objective fact. This is just one more example of continuing harm resulting from the Governor’s refusal to follow the lawful Legislative directive in HR 836 to rescind his March 6, 2020, Disaster Declaration and the need to Restore the Law!”

All people are invited to read and sign the Open Letter to the Citizens and historic resolution at www.RestoreTheLaw.org.

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Pastors Send Historic Open Letter with Resolution Urging PA General Assembly to Restore the Law and to Declare Unlawful the Current COVID-19 Mandates by Gov. Wolf and PA Supreme Court Decisions

Includes the Constitutional Lawmaking Remedy to Restore the Balance of Power Usurped by the Governor and the Supreme Court, Restore Violated Constitutional Freedoms and Declare Certain Actions to Be ‘Null and Void and Without Authority’

As a growing number of restaurant and bar owners prepare to open at full capacity in defiance of coronavirus-related restrictions imposed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, hundreds of pastors led by the American Pastors Network and Pennsylvania Pastors Network (PPN, www.papastors.net) are raising their voices as leaders in the pulpit — and now at the statehouse — with an Open Letter to the Citizens and an historic resolution copied to all three branches of state government, and also featured today on RestoreTheLaw.org.

This letter from APN and PPN, which represent more than 1,200 PA pastors, explains that the current COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the executive branch are without authority, are therefore unlawful, and in violation of both the Constitution and statutory law, particularly since the General Assembly in accordance with the law ordered the Governor to rescind all COVID-19-related orders resulting from his natural disaster proclamation on March 6. The resolution calls out these realities and highlights how the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has only deepened the constitutional crisis, the letter states.

“To make matters more serious, the justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unilaterally assumed ‘King’s Bench’ supreme authority and aligned the court with our defiant governor and executive branch against the General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Constitution and the citizens of the Commonwealth….

“Recognizing that the constitutional status of the General Assembly has been unlawfully assaulted, the freedoms of the citizens limited or violated at will and seeing these actions justified by ever-changing guidelines and policies, we as pastors and moral leaders serving in ordained positions of authority within the church and society are compelled to step forward with wisdom and courage,” the pastors write.

APN President Sam Rohrer, a nine-term former Pennsylvania representative, says it’s time for the citizens of Pennsylvania to demand accountability of officials who clearly, repeatedly, unlawfully abuse their authority.

“Our goal is to make the people of Pennsylvania — pastors, ordinary citizens and even members of the legislature — fully understand how the current orders and guidelines imposed by the executive branch, and aided by the judicial branch, have their entire basis outside the law,” Rohrer said.

APN and PPN represent more than 1,200 pastors in Pennsylvania alone “committed to Truth and Liberty” — and poised to lead the country in lawful resistance to unlawful civil authority.

We are asking Pennsylvania citizens to urge their respective state representative and senator to issue a concurrent resolution declaring the decision of the PA Supreme Court justices acting on ‘King’s Bench’ authority in declaring the lawful action of the General Assembly, as contained in House Resolution 836, to be null, void, and without authority. This action would restore the law and the Constitutional Balance of Power usurped by the governor and court and set a needed precedent for other state legislatures to do the same,” Rohrer said.

The letter crescendos into a four-page resolution as a framework for immediate use by state lawmakers. Between the letter and the resolution, the actual Problem, Cause and Solution for the enormous hardships and confusion caused by unlawful executive orders are carefully considered and can with the fulfilment of Constitutional duties and obligations by the General Assembly Restore the Law in the Commonwealth. The resolution includes such statements as:

“WHEREAS, in defiance of the law, and with ill respect for the cries of the citizens and in defiance of the actions of the legislature, the governor and the Secretary of Health are guilty of imposing continued physical harm and perpetrating actions detrimental to the health of the citizens of the Commonwealth, as evidenced by measurable and identifiable increases in hospitalizations, panic, suicide, and addictions,” the resolution states.

“WHEREAS, the mandated mask guidelines for children over 2 years of age, including the guidance for mask wearing of children and social distancing of children in schools according to the provisions of 23 § 6303 (b.1)(8ii) and (8v) relating to child abuse, constitute interference with the breathing of a child. Additionally, the mask order, combined with the mandatory social distancing guidelines for children, constitutes unreasonable restraint or confinement of a child, and therefore inflicts on the children of this Commonwealth a clear instance of child abuse under the law. Further, the mask order encourages and ultimately forces adults who are mandated reporters to enable and participate in the very actions prescribed by the Commonwealth’s child abuse laws,” it continues.

In addition to causing physical harm and directly violating statutes — such as by depriving the children of Pennsylvania of “necessary educational opportunities as required by law” — the executive branch has proactively and illegally cut the legislative branch out of the now ill-informed regulatory process.

“The governor and the Secretary of Health not only do not seek but actively refuse the input of the legislature, they also reject the experience of other western nations and health professionals in the Commonwealth who understand that there is no proven harm for children to return to schools nor an increased risk to teachers or parents of children transmitting COVID-19.”

Rohrer says pastors should take the lead in holding officials accountable for abusing authority.

“Pastors should guide and lead citizens in identifying these violations of moral and civil authority and seek to hold these officials accountable to the Constitution and to the Bible, both of which make plain that all authorities are subject to God and are obligated to use their power with fidelity. In the United States, this includes obeying constitutional limits on each branch of government.”

 

 

American Pastors Network: Pastors Should Impart to Church Members Basic Biblical Teaching That Civil Authority Is Limited

Officials keen to enforce coronavirus-related mandates imposed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf have issued another spate of citations to businesses allegedly in violation, drawing criticism from faith leaders who point out Wolf’s rules were never approved by state lawmakers, which the constitution requires.

When officials flout the limitations of their offices, it’s up to citizens — led by their pastors — to hold them accountable, according to Pastor Sam Rohrer, a nine-term former state representative and the president of the American Pastors Network.

“When Executive Branch officials demand changes in the lives of their citizens which affect their duty to God or violate their constitutional guarantees of freedom, these same officials are guilty of violating their oaths of office and the constitutional Separation of Powers, and usurp the authority of the Legislature.” Rohrer said. “Pastors should guide and lead citizens in identifying these violations of moral and civil authority and seek to hold  these officials accountable to the Constitution and to the Bible, both of which make plain that all authorities are subject to God and are obligated to use their power with fidelity. In the United States, this starts with obeying constitutional limits for each branch of government.

“Many Christians assume that the Bible commands people to yield blindly to authorities or to follow every command of every person in office, but this is not true.” Rohrer continued. “America’s pastors must lead their flocks to properly understand the principles of basic authority, which demand ordered submission insofar as they uphold the Revealed Law of God, which is then reflected — in our nation — in our state and federal Constitutions.

“Christians need to grasp from the apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans in the New Testament that authorities who rebel against God’s authority undermine the basis of their own authority,” Rohrer concluded.

Rohrer says the preservation of religious liberty hinges on whether America’s pastors will speak up and stand up against unlawful actions imposed on them — in disobedience to the highest civil laws of man and highest moral laws of God.

“The law is the law. Just law starts, of necessity, with objective truth — God’s moral Truth, and in our nation the precepts of the State and Federal Constitutions as our highest civil truth,” Rohrer said. “When either body of truth is ignored or redefined, both the moral and civil law are violated. It is then the citizen’s duty led by others in authority — in either civil government or the pulpit — to biblically and constitutionally resist that law or order and to seek a re-calibration to the truth and law. We as pastors, teachers and defenders of the truth, are urging that our legislators and all people begin asking the right first questions: ‘What is the law?’ And ‘What is the authority behind the civil order or directive?’ ” 

To see what Pastors in Pennsylvania are doing to hold their officials accountable, please click HERE.

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Pastors Must Lead in Pandemic Response by Asking Most Basic Questions about Authority and Law, Separation of Powers, Says American Pastors Network

As states experiencing increases in the number of patients testing positive for coronavirus, reprisals of mandates arising out of limited duration and questionable executive branch ‘emergency powers’ threaten to become the new normal. Although pockets of Americans continue to dispute the sweeping regulatory powers that non-legislative bodies are wielding, many are blindly yielding to these unlawful demands. Others are asking if resistance is possible or how it should be done.

Pastor and statesman Sam Rohrer says that’s because they’re asking the wrong question.

“The question each human being should start with precedes questions about the efficacy, consistency with medical science and basic truth regarding face masks, church and business closures or social distancing — although asking substantive questions about these policies will certainly illuminate whether mandating those measures is even justifiable.” Rohrer said.

Rohrer, a 9-term former Pennsylvania state representative and the president of the American Pastors Network, says Christians must find the courage to ask — out loud — the most basic questions about the source of civil authority in our American Constitutional Republic and about the foundational moral authority outlined in the Bible which undergirds the duties, extent and  limitations of all civil  authorities and the basic structure of our civil law.

“Any individual — man, woman or child — who wants to emerge from this pandemic with their health and freedoms intact must start by asking, Who or what is the source of authority behind civil orders or directives coming from civil authorities? Where does authority come from in this matter? What is the actual law? Christians know from the Bible that all authority is not merely ordained, (established, ranked and ordered) by God but subject to God — obligated to obey God, and will give account to God including acting in accordance with Natural Law.”

Consequently, America’s federal and state governments were founded and designed specifically to ensure that elected and appointed officials recognize the existence of Revealed law, and the reality of sinful hearts which lead civil authority to become tyrannical and deceive themselves into believing they are the law.

“Separation of powers is one of the obvious and essential principles in recognizing the Rule of Law and preventing tyranny (exceeding lawful restraints),” Rohrer continued. “According to our Constitution, only lawmakers- the Legislative Branch – possesses the authority to make laws. The executive branch is intentionally restricted and therefore lacks this authority. Judges lack this authority. The power belongs exclusively to the legislative branch in all 50 states and in Washington, D.C.

“So-called ‘laws’ not passed through the constitutionally prescribed legislative system are therefore unlawful and illegitimate , regardless of what the executive or judicial branches say. . Most middle schoolers know this — but do their parents? Do their pastors? Do our government officials?”

Rohrer says the preservation of religious liberty hinges on whether America’s pastors will speak up and stand up against unlawful actions imposed on them — in disobedience to the highest civil laws of man and highest moral laws of God.

“The law is the law. Just law starts of necessity with Truth.  When Truth is ignored or redefined and the proper lawmaking process is usurped or violated, it is our duty to morally and constitutionally resist that law or order and to seek a re-calibration to the truth and law,” Rohrer said. “We as pastors, teachers and defenders of the truth, are urging that our legislators and all people begin asking the right first questions: ‘What is the law?’ And ‘What is the authority behind the civil order or directive?’ ”

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American Pastors Network’s Note to Fellow Pastors: Denounce Government Overreach Now To Preserve Freedom Tomorrow

Leading conservative Christian voices are calling on Americans to recognize and resist the overreach of elected officials who oppress God-given and constitutionally protected rights by imposing restrictions on businesses, schools, homes and even churches.

American Pastors Network President Sam Rohrer invited fellow pastor and author Matthew J. Trewhella, author of “The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate,” onto the “Stand in the Gap Today” radio show to sound an alarm and to inspire pastors and parishioners to resist tyranny God’s way.

Interviewing Trewhella, Rohrer identified complacent citizens as one of the greatest accomplices of totalitarian dictatorship.

“You know, the greatest ally of tyranny are citizens and pastors and government officials who refuse to confront lawlessness and aggressive immorality in a Biblical and historical way,” Rohrer explained“We’ll either define the problem of tyranny and resist it God’s way and therefore defend freedom, or we’ll embrace tyranny by choosing to work the system to our own selfish advantage.”

Trewhella offered a 1-to-10 scale to gauge how the Coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the government’s abuse of power and increased the threat to religious liberty.

“[With] 10 being you’re sitting in a gulag or being haunted by the officials for simply trying to live free and faithful and true to Christ, we’re definitely at 8,” Trewhella said. “This is a pernicious evil, this whole COVID thing.”

Rohrer says the preservation of religious liberty hinges on whether America’s pastors will speak up and stand up against authoritarian actions.

“I submit that here in America, if we don’t soon begin stepping up, including our pastors in our pulpits and all in positions of authority, then instead of being the home of the free and the land of the brave, America will become the home of the enslaved and the land of the coward,” Rohrer concluded.

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