State Orthodoxy and the Conscience in the USA
Law Professor John Inazu writes in the USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-08-20/HHS-mandate-contraception-evangelicals/57168668/1) that when it comes to the Obama contraception mandate, “The legal challenges implicate an interest that all of us – Catholics and evangelicals, religious and non-religious – should value and safeguard: the right of private groups to dissent from the prevailing state orthodoxy.”
His wonderfully descriptive phrase – “prevailing state orthodoxy” – Is saddening. In a republic where personal virtue is the foundation of our political order and which rests, in Michael Novak’s wonderful phrase, “on two wings” – biblical revelation and natural law, law that is self-evident and accessible to everyone – the idea of there being a “state orthodoxy” is jarring. Yet such orthodoxy exists, which is why the Obama Administration is insisting that Evangelicals and Catholics cast away their consciences (we won’t, by the way).
When the federal government steps in to mandate that persons with reasonable, historic, and deeply held moral convictions must violate them in order to comply with a state dictate, Christians must echo the words of Peter in Acts 5:29: “We must obey God rather than men.”
Prof. Inazu concludes, “the right to differ protects moral choices that lack government approval.” Amen. But, as he would agree, that right is not just one that exists within the mind. For it to be a fully realized right, it must be allowed to affect the choices we make in civic and political life. In other words, adherence to a belief while complying with a legal limitation on the capacity to act on it is the moral equivalent of junk food: it brings us temporary respite from hunger, but no enduring benefit.
It is not enough that, in its great wisdom and compassion, the federal state does not interfere with the function of our minds as long as this function remains limited to the space between our ears. True conviction – what one believes is of value in time and eternity – means concrete and visible action in the public square. It’s government’s job to protect this right, not diminish or squelch it. As Prof. Inazu notes, “Evangelicals and Catholics need not shudder at the prospect of being politically marginalized. After all, Jesus did not. But political marginalization does not require political passivity. And one means of resistance is asking courts to protect the ability of private groups to dissent from state orthodoxy.”
So, we will ask, fight, and stand. But, by God’s grace, we will not give in.
FRCBLOG.com (Family Research Council)
Another good resource for Praying for the USA and its leadership: http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com
Nigeria: Free medical care and gospels
Violence between Christians and Muslims in Jos has scarred and segregated the two groups that Doctor Chris Isichei and his surgeon wife Mercy minister to at his Hospital and ‘Faith Alive Clinic; offering free medical services from 300 to 400 patients every day. 60% of the patients are Christians and 40% Muslims. Almost the entire medical staff are volunteers. 90% of the patients are HIV positive. Patients are offered training in sewing, knitting, computers, driving, and kitchen services. A Christian discipleship program is woven into the skills training and 100 graduate each quarter. Faith Alive also has a free school with a Christian curriculum. Those who can't afford school elsewhere go to their school.’ Every morning and evening Doctor Chris, his medical staff and patients take part in a devotional at the hospital. The Gospel message is presented at each gathering with an opportunity to respond. When patients are released but have no place to go, they stay in transitional housing.
Praise: God for the social and spiritual aspect to the hospital, may they continue to know His protection, provision and leading. (Ph.1:19)
More: http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art.html?ID=10507
Nigeria: Free medical care and gospels
Violence between Christians and Muslims in Jos has scarred and segregated the two groups that Doctor Chris Isichei and his surgeon wife Mercy minister to at his Hospital and ‘Faith Alive Clinic; offering free medical services from 300 to 400 patients every day. 60% of the patients are Christians and 40% Muslims. Almost the entire medical staff are volunteers. 90% of the patients are HIV positive. Patients are offered training in sewing, knitting, computers, driving, and kitchen services. A Christian discipleship program is woven into the skills training and 100 graduate each quarter. Faith Alive also has a free school with a Christian curriculum. Those who can't afford school elsewhere go to their school.’ Every morning and evening Doctor Chris, his medical staff and patients take part in a devotional at the hospital. The Gospel message is presented at each gathering with an opportunity to respond. When patients are released but have no place to go, they stay in transitional housing.
Praise: God for the social and spiritual aspect to the hospital, may they continue to know His protection, provision and leading. (Ph.1:19)
More: http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art.html?ID=10507
Renegade biker rode up mountain an atheist, came down a Christian
He was a hard-living, death-defying biker from Wales on a road trip across America. When his brakes failed on a steep mountain curve, God’s miraculous intervention changed his life forever. As he descended from the mountains on a steep, windy road, an oil leak caused Reg’s brakes to fail. ‘Every 200 yards there’s a hairpin turn,’ he recalls. But then something very unusual happened. He couldn’t let go of his handlebars. Suddenly, defying speed and gravity, the bike mysteriously stood upright on its own, slowed down, and pulled into the only run-off on the mountain. His friend Paul, pulled in behind him. ‘How did you stop it?’ he shouted. ‘I didn’t,’ Reg replied. He knew he didn’t stop the bike. Several witnesses said the impossible just happened. ‘On that mountain God showed me I had lost control,’ Reg says. He suddenly recognized that God answered his prayers in a dramatic, miraculous fashion. ‘I should have died on that mountain.’
Praise: God for His miraculous ways and how He can do the impossible. (Mt.19:26)
More: http://www.christianpost.com/news/youcef-nadarkhanis-imprisonment-ignored-at-irans-nam-summit-80740/
