Chilling Reasoning
from
Washington
The Christian-owned company Hobby
Lobby has been in a protracted battle with the government over the HHS
mandate. Specifically, Hobby Lobby does
not want to provide abortion-inducing drugs through its health insurance. The federal government, of course, is trying
to force everyone to do just that. The
matter continues to be dealt with in court.
Hobby Lobby suffered a major setback
last week when Supreme court Justice Sonia Sotomayor refused to grant an
injunction that would have allowed Hobby Lobby to delay implementing the
mandate while the matter was being decided in court. The courageous owners of the craft store have
promised to defy the government order, risking crippling fines of $1.3 million
a day.
A look at the two reasons the Obama Administration gave in
defending the mandate (as I understand them) is bone-chilling.
Before I get into that, though, I want to say that I know it is
important to assume the best motives for others, but it is not a virtue to be
naïve about our public officials. So I
will say that I am sure Mr. Obama believes in what he is doing, and truly
thinks his agenda is more important than religious liberty. When trying to see what else will be coming, though,
it should be noted that Mr. Obama is clearly not stupid enough to really
believe that access to birth control is difficult or financially burdensome on people. (If he is, we have a whole other
set of problems.)
With those assumptions truly accepted,
let’s look at the administration’s arguments.
The first argument states that since
the Christian owners and founders of Hobby Lobby are acting through their
corporation by giving health benefits, they forfeit their First Amendment
freedoms. A corporation, the argument
goes, does not have the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment, and is not protected
by it.
This sleight of hand is diabolically
ingenious. It was noted years ago that
the Obama Administration refrained from using the term “Freedom of Religion,”
and replaced it with “Freedom of Worship.”
Many worried that this signaled a policy whereby Americans would be
allowed to act according to their faith when they are worshiping, in places of
worship, but would be required to leave their faith at the church door, able to
visit it on Sundays. This argument
confirms that.
When we are acting in business, or
commerce, or in any public activity, it seems, we are being told by the federal
government that we must not allow our religious faith to guide our
actions. It is the people who run Hobby
Lobby, of course, that have to make all the decisions and do all the things we
casually say that “the company does.”
According to Mr. Obama, these people can be compelled, by a hostile
government, to violate their consciences.
For years we as Catholics have
lamented the fact that so many people compartmentalize their faith, that
Christians give so little of themselves to Christ. And now we are being told by our government
that that is the only type of religious faith allowed in the United States.
Believe it or not, the second argument
is even scarier. With this argument, the
government claims that the HHS mandate is not religious persecution because it
applies equally to everyone, and does not specifically target Christians.
By this logic, any law can be
considered acceptable under the First Amendment as long as it applies to
everyone. No aspect of the Calles Law in
Mexico would have been a violation.
Imagine if the government passed a law making it illegal to attend
Sunday Mass. By the administration’s
reasoning, this law would be perfectly legitimate because it does not apply
only to Catholics; no one is allowed to attend Mass. Nevermind that Buddhists, Muslims and
atheists would have no desire to do so, while for Catholics the Mass is the
fundamental action of our Faith. The
prohibition applies equally to all, so it is not religious persecution. One can only wonder what’s in store once this
precedent is set.
We can not tolerate this. Period.
But we will not win this battle in elections, and we give up our
identity as Christians if we respond with violence or threats.
What, then, should we do?
I suggest we follow the example of Hobby Lobby. They are pursuing the matter in court, where
occasionally justice still prevails. And
they are simply refusing to comply. They
are telling Mr. Obama where he can stick his sickening mandate. And I am sure they are being supported by
much prayer.
But let us be ready for the persecution that is coming our
way. We must be willing to take a
stand. If every Christian in this
country refused to be pushed around, the government would have to cave. We have the numbers to cripple the agenda of
this administration by simply refusing to comply with it. Mr. Obama is willing to let Hobby Lobby go
under, with the thousands of people it employs, but I doubt he would be willing
to bring about another Depression by watching every Christian business go
under. I doubt he would ignore rallies
and protests without end. And I doubt he
would sit back as we enter Christian health share plans and weaken Obamacare.
Now it may be true that getting practicing Christians out of
positions of influence in business and society may be the grand plan here, but
it can only be successful because so few Christians are truly practicing.
I’m not interested in the numbers of people who attend church
on Sunday or identify themselves with a certain denomination. What we need are people of the
Beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in
spirit; blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; blessed are
the pure of heart; blessed are those persecuted for the sake of the Gospel. And in taking our stand we must not forget
that those who are meek, and peacemakers, and merciful, and who mourn are also
blessed. Charity maintains supreme
importance. Only if we become a people
of the Beatitudes will we turn back the tide of evil that is sweeping over our
nation, and win back our culture.
