OBAMA SEEKS CONTROL OF CHURCHES
Rights of Conscience, Religion at Risk
UPDATE: Takeovers of the auto, healthcare and financial industries of our nation weren't enough; now the Obama Administration wants to take over our churches.In a shocking display of unbridled tyranny against our unalienable rights, attempting to rend the last shreds of Constitutional protections of our God-given liberty, Obama's Department of Justice this week claimed that the federal government has the authority to force churches to accept ministers and policies that defy church doctrine.
In arguments before the Supreme Court, the utterly corrupt Obama/Holder Department of (In)Justice argued that "public interest' should overrule churches' freedom to choose their own ministers, and administer their own internal affairs.
By this reasoning, in the name of "public interest" the federal government could force churches to hire only ministers that fit Obama's political agenda, and rather than preach church doctrine and the Gospel instead comply only with government-approved, leftist social engineering. It is no exaggeration to claim that if the DOJ were allowed to proceed, the Catholic Church could be forced to accept priests who promote abortion and a radical feminist clergy; Evangelicals could be compelled to hire preachers who promote homosexuality and embrace doctrinal integration of Islam; and Baptists could be coerced to install ministers who tell the congregation there is no heaven or hell.
When the Founders wrote the First Amendment, they believed they could not have been more simple or more clear in their meaning: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." When Jefferson wrote in his private correspondence about separation of church and state, he was not referring to whether a nativity scene could appear in a city park. Rather, he was warning against just such a situation where the government could take over the churches.
History is littered with dangerous examples of what happens when a government controls religion. A terrifying present day example is the Netherlands, where protestant ministers are appointed by the government, and as a result we see a rise in "ministers" who publicly proclaim themselves atheists and actively preach "there is no God."
Just as in the old Soviet Russia, the leftist forces today are working against America's defense of Western Civilization, and what we understand as Christendom. They know they must destroy our morality and thus our churches in order to completely control We the People; what they call "the masses."
Thankfully, the Providential legacy from our Founders is so strong and clear, the Supreme Court had no choice but to rule unanimously in favor of the Constitution, our rights, and the rights of our churches. Justice Roberts wrote in his opinion:
Requiring a church to accept or retain an unwanted minister, or punishing a church for failing to do so, intrudes upon more than a mere employment decision. Such action interferes with the internal governance of the church, depriving the church of control over the selection of those who will personify its beliefs. By imposing an unwanted minister, the state infringes the free exercise clause, which protects a religious group's right to shape its own faith and mission through its appointments. According the state the power to determine which individuals will minister to the faithful also violates the establishment clause, which prohibits government involvement in such ecclesiastical decisions.I am gratified that there remains some measure of sanity on the Supreme Court. But I am frankly concerned that the Obama administration and its ethically-challenged Department of Justice would dare attempt to rip the very foundations from under our Constitution. These people who occupy the Executive branch are not mere Democrats or liberals seeking "equal justice." Oh no, their relentless assaults upon the most fundamental principles of American liberty expose them for what they truly are – evil.
While the Supremes have correctly protected our religious liberty, our rights of conscience and free expression, and our churches' right to determine their own ministers, we continue to face a situation where the lawless and evil Obama administration seeks to destroy faith in America, in every way they can. The so called "Affordable Healthcare Act" – the Orwellian-named ObamaCare legislation – tries to force churches to choose Obama's law over God's law.
Churches and religious organizations that refuse to provide abortion, sterilization, eugenics, and all heinous manner of population reduction face bullying, fines and eventual prosecution from the hands of Great Leader Obama for non-compliance. Somehow, this administration believes that because Obama decrees it, the population must submit, and that any organization that dares defy "Dear Leader" – even on religious grounds – must be punished.
Congress has formulated a "Rights of Conscience" bill that aims to protect religious institutions from a tyrannical, overreaching Executive administration bent on destroying religious liberty and churches. That bill however, has stalled in Congress and languishes in Committee. Should the wicked ObamaCare law fully take effect before this protective bill passes, it will be nearly impossible to retroactively protect religious liberty from the Obama culture of death.
It is imperative that we compel Congress to uphold the Constitution, free the Rights of Conscience bill from Committee, and bring it to a full Congressional vote immediately. Congress simply must protect freedom of religion, freedom of conscience and the Constitution from the tyrannical death culture of the Obama administration. Fax Congress today and demand they protect our rights of religious liberty!
Keep Faith,
Alan Keyes
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Questions about the government requiring or prohibiting something that conflicts with someone’s faith are entirely real, but not new. The courts have occasionally confronted such issues and have generally ruled that the government cannot enact laws specifically aimed at a particular religion (which would be regarded a constraint on religious liberty contrary to the First Amendment), but can enact laws generally applicable to everyone or at least broad classes of people (e.g., laws concerning traffic, pollution, taxes, contracts, fraud, negligence, crimes, discrimination, employment, and on and on) and can require everyone, including those who may object on religious grounds, to abide by them. Were it otherwise and people could opt out of this or that law with the excuse that their religion requires or allows it, the government and the rule of law could hardly operate. Thus, the government can forbid discrimination against specified people and apply that law even to those who say their religion allows or requires them to discriminate. In rare (one hopes) circumstances, such a generally-applicable law could put an individual in an ethical Catch-22 if it requires one to take actions one considers immoral. For just this reason, when such binds can be anticipated, provisions may be added to laws affording some relief to conscientious objectors.
ReplyDeleteHere, it may be questioned whether there is real need for such an exemption, since no one is being "forced," as some commentators rage, to act contrary to their belief. Employers generally are not required by law to offer health-related benefits to their employees, although the practice of providing such benefits is common. IF an employer chooses to offer health benefits, though, federal anti-discrimination laws and health plan enforcement regulations act to protect an employee’s rights under those health plans. So, depending on whether an exemption to the law is allowed, either employers or employees are put to a choice. If religious employers are exempted from current discrimination and health benefit laws so they can offer health benefits omitting some medications and services, employees can choose whether to accept such benefits or seek employment elsewhere. If current discrimination and health benefit laws are enforced, religious employers can choose to offer health plans complying with those laws or not offer any health plans at all. To the extent that employers already have an option under the current laws consistent with their religious views, they have less need for an exemption from those laws.