Freedom For Religion

The U.S. Constitution, in its first amendment says, "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 to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Religious freedom is under assault. In a policy decision by Health and Human Services Director Kathleen Sibelius, religious based employers would be required to offer contraceptive products and services under Obamacare. When they say contraceptive products, they mean not only condoms, birth control pills and inter-uterin devices, the requirement would include the abortion causing "morning after pill."

The Roman Catholic Church is outraged by this requirement because they do not accept abortion or contraception as preventative aids to bringing life into the world. Conservative Evangelical Christians are also outraged because their social principles include opposition to abortion and abstinence teaching prior to marriage.

To require religion based employers in schools, hospitals and agencies to provide something that they are opposed to by conscience goes directly against the establishment clause in the first amendment. Forcing religious based employers to provide these services is a clear attempt to establish rules preventing Christians from practicing their faith as theey see fit. The Catholic Bishops in the United States say they were not consulted about these requirements and are calling on Roman Catholics to take action to change this law. But the Obama administration has refused to relent, creating a showdown. Former Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, said this: "We'll fight to the death for our freedom of religion and the rights that are protected under the U.S. Constitution."

This shows an attitude of antipathy for Christians made famous over the years by secular progressives like President Obama. While campaigning for his first term, then candidate Obama referred to Christians as bitter people who cling to guns and religion. Supporters of this new law include other organizations hostile to people of faith such as Planned Parenthood, American Atheists and the American Civil Liberties Union.

There is an anti-Christian sentiment at work in the world of progressive liberalism. Liberal Democrat Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, made it clear that those who stand against the contraception requirements in Obamacare are the same people she says that ignore what is the essence of all religion: "Love and charity."

But none of this is about love or charity. Charity is a gift given willingly without coercion or consequence. Charity is about an individual's choice to bless others in a way that suits their spirit. We choose the charities that we think are important. But government now wants to tell us where our charitable giving should go. We must be compelled by law to provide something the government wants us to provide. That is not charity, that is taxation.

This is direct result of how the social gospel proclaimed by the religious left is not a gospel at all. It is a call for all people to let government decide what is true, right, just and fair. They would argue that this is what Jesus would want us to do. But God loves freedom more than anything. He does not want mindless drones who fail to think act and who would let government legislate their morals and values. Jesus wants followers who freely choose Him and respond to His love with a choice to love and serve others.

The truth is this: Those in the secular left want us to worship government. They want us to look to them for worldly salvation. They want us to depend on them for sustenance. They see people as human sheep who lack the capacity to be responsible and make good choices for how they live their lives. They see us as helpless sheep who cannot find our way without the guiding hand of government pointing the way. Only they can liberate people from the difficulties of life. They will decide who gets the blessings and who gets cursed.

They claim this approach to living is in harmony with the essence of all religions. Let's be clear...The essence of Christianity is Jesus Christ, who is the only source for salvation in this world and in the next. When we look away from Jesus, we are engaging in idolatry. We are allowing worldly institutions to do the work of God.

The only reason the Puritans came to America aboard the Mayflower was to have religious freedom. In England, they were beholden to a state run church that oppressed dissent and dictated what constituted belief. Our founders affirmed this in our constitution. They saw what happened when government tried to do the work of the church. Tyranny was the result.

Christianity has been persecuted and mocked in the public square ever since prayer was removed from public schools. We have allowed it to be replaced by values education that promotes mandatory tolerance and that offers a flexible approach to morality. Our kids are told that sexual promiscuity and homosexuality are no better or worse than abstinence or heterosexuality. They are taught how to use condoms and are taught about women's reproductive rights. They are taught that religious values are relative and that any belief is as true as another.

But our founders did not desire that government keep us free "from" religion. What they wanted was us to be free "for" religion. They wanted government to have no role or effect in the values and practice of religion. The government could not promote any particular belief, and they certainly weren't given the authority to invalidate beliefs they felt were archaic or outdated.

This is what is happening today. Government is not neutral when it comes to religion. They are in fact attempting to re-define what religion should be about. They are, in effect, editing our Bible and trying to tell us what is truth, charity and justice. They believe that God has died and left them in charge. But God is alive and well and He will not be mocked. I believe that a revival of Christianity and traditional values is coming in our country. God is raising up people who will not bend their knee or compromise at the altar of secular government.

It starts with Christians knowing what they believe and why they believe it. It means declaring again that the Bible is the clear and infallible Word Of God. It means showing that traditional values and morality will strengthen society. It means insisting that the family should instill values in children, not the schools.

Freedom is what our founders established. That freedom stems from the Freedom God has given us. What we need is not a freedom "from" religion, but a freedom "for" religion.