By Dr. Michael A. Milton

We were told this would not happen. We were told to just let the bill pass and read it later. Well, we are reading it now. And the fine print doesn’t look good for religious freedom.

Perhaps you have heard about last Sunday’s “pulpit protest” by Roman Catholic priests around the nation over the administration’s mandated health care program which will require Catholic institutions — universities, hospitals and seminaries to “tow the line” regarding national health care mandates; notably, the requirement to provide insurance that will promote contraception and ultimately abortion.

The protest is unprecedented by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. But make no mistake. This is not a Catholic issue only. It is not a contraception issue. It is a religious liberty issue. It is an American issue.

Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted was spot-on when he preached, “we cannot, we will not, comply with this unjust law. Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build (America) … Or to have the posterity stripped of their God given rights…” This Presbyterian says, “Amen,” to that Catholic bishop.

As the next chancellor and CEO of one of America’s largest protestant seminaries, I can tell you that the Obama health care mandate is already having an enormous impact on our ministry. Yet until this latest revelation, the impact has mostly been financial. In a word, this thing is going to be extraordinarily expensive.

Now, unless there is a wholesale repeal of this Act or unless there is dramatic and immediate steps taken to curb the government’s prying into the consciences of religious institutions like our seminary, or other similar religious organizations that appeal to a Higher Law than Man’s, we will have a constitutional crisis on our hands. I realize that those are heavy words. But we must all realize that this is a weighty matter.

It is interesting that Ronald Reagan’s 101st birthday (February 6th, 1911) is going to be celebrated as this crisis unfolds before us. He had something to say about how government mandated medicine steals liberty. Back in 1961 then actor and General Electric spokesman, Ronald Reagan, warned America:

“One of the traditional ways of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine…”

Reagan went on to describe how a secularist government would use national health care to advance other leftist agendas. He also went on to quote a founder who warned against the loss of liberty through gradual intrusion of a meddling government:

James Madison warned, “Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” (James Madison, speech in the Virginia ratifying convention on control of the military, June 16, 1788 in: History of the Virginia Federal Convention of 1788, Vol. 1, p. 130 [H.B. Grigsby, ed. 1890]).

If liberty and freedom were a government-issued right then it would have the prerogative to take it back. But liberty and freedom, as our founders declared, come from God. To meddle with those rights of conscience is to return to the crisis of human rights that gave rise to this nation. Unless these violations of religious rights are expelled, now, they will bring ruin to this nation.

It is time for Americans to speak up for religious freedom while there is still time. Thank God for the Catholic Bishops and priests who did. We all must. For you can’t lose just a little liberty. You lose — we lose — all of it when we lose any of it.

(Ph.D., University of Wales) serves as the chancellor/CEO elect of Reformed Theological Seminary (one of the largest accredited seminaries in the country), a U.S. Army chaplain (instructing at the Armed Forces Chaplain School) and the James M. Baird Jr. chair of pastoral theology at RTS/Charlotte. He is an author, songwriter, singer, ordained minister, former pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, Tenn., and he previously served as the president of RTS/Charlotte. Dr. Milton also hosts a national Bible teaching television program, Faith For Living, broadcast on the NRB Television Network, and a radio program broadcast on several stations in the southeast. For 16 years he served in the business world and has also served as a top-secret Navy linguist.

Christian Newswire

By Cliff Kincaid

My Catholic priest, Father Larry Swink, delivered a homily on Sunday that I told him would make headlines. In the toughest sermon I have ever heard from a pulpit, he attacked the Obama Administration as evil, even demonic, and warned of religious persecution ahead. What was also newsworthy about the sermon was that he cited The Washington Post in agreement—not on the subject of the Obama Administration being evil, but on the matter of its abridgment of the constitutional right to freedom of religion.

What is happening is extraordinary and unprecedented. The Catholic Church is in open revolt against the Obama Administration, with Fr. Swink noting from the pulpit that priests across the archdiocese were joining the call on Sunday to rally Catholics to resistance against the U.S. Government. He said we are entering a time of religious persecution and that Catholics and others will have to make a final decision about which side they are on.

The issue is what the Catholic Bishops have called a “literally unconscionable” edict by the Obama Administration demanding that sterilization, abortifacients and contraception be included in virtually all health plans.

At a time when the media are full of reports about who is ahead and behind in the polls, and who will win the next Republican presidential primary, this incredible uprising in the Catholic Church is something that could not only overshadow the political campaign season, but also may have a major impact on the ultimate outcome—if Republicans know how to handle it. This matter goes beyond partisan politics to the growing perception of an unconstitutional Obama Administration assault on religious freedom. To hear the Catholic Bishops and Priests describe it, our constitutional republic and our freedoms hang in the balance.

The administration claims there is a religious exemption in the mandate, but the bishops say it is so narrow that it fails to cover the vast majority of faith-based organizations, including Catholic hospitals, universities and service organizations that help millions every year. “Ironically,” they say, “not even Jesus & his disciples would have qualified.”

The bishops go on, “Now that the Administration has refused to recognize the Constitutional conscience rights of organizations and individuals who oppose the mandate, the bishops are now urging Catholics and others of good will to fight this unprecedented attack on conscience rights and religious liberty.”

Interestingly, The Washington Post, as Father Swink indicated, agrees with the bishops. The paper said, “In this circumstance, requiring a religiously affiliated employer to spend its own money in a way that violates its religious principles does not make an adequate accommodation for those deeply held views. Having recognized the principle of a religious exemption, the administration should have expanded it.”

So why would the administration pick a major fight with the Catholic Church? There are two main reasons. (1) The administration wants to please its progressive and feminist, secular pro-abortion base. (2) The administration believes Catholics are divided on the issue and will ignore their leaders and follow Obama.

Support for the latter explanation comes in the form of the Obama Administration’s efforts to co-opt the Catholic Church, primarily through appointing nominal Catholics to high-level positions in government and keeping funding going to the church for “social justice” causes. Another player in this effort is the hedge-fund billionaire George Soros, an atheist who nevertheless has found groups that are “Catholic in name only” to accept his financial largesse. These groups, including Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, are designed to give the impression that Catholics are less concerned about issues like stopping abortion and protecting the sanctity of traditional marriage than passing government health care. The Obama/Soros gamble may be backfiring.

It’s true that the bishops went along with Obama’s health care scheme, even lobbying on its behalf. But now they seem to be realizing that the plan was a Trojan Horse designed to force population control measures on the people of the United States. It will be difficult for the bishops to continue working with the administration on other issues, like immigration. They have drawn a line in the sand. They cannot back down.

Father Larry Swink of Jesus The Divine Word Catholic Church in Huntingtown, Maryland, is not alone in his tough language. Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik posted a letter on the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh’s website that said, “It is really hard to believe that it happened. It comes like a slap in the face. The Obama administration has just told the Catholics of the United States, ‘To Hell with you!’ There is no other way to put it.” He added, “This whole process of mandating these guidelines undermines the democratic process itself. In this instance, the mandate declares pregnancy a disease, forces a culture of contraception and abortion on society, all while completely bypassing the legislative process.”

You know it’s serious when the bishops are talking about heaven and hell.

Indeed, Fr. Swink opened his discussion of what he described as the evil nature of the Obama Administration by reading from scripture about Jesus casting out demons. He saw the order on health care coverage as the start of religious persecution. The congregation joined him in calls of “Amen” when he challenged them to stand tall with the church.

You cannot expect the secular Washington Post to go along with such rhetoric. But even its liberal editorial writer saw the ramifications of the health care order, perhaps anticipating the confrontation that we now see developing. From the point of view of this liberal paper, the Obama Administration is not only undermining religious freedom but risking a major backlash to its overall “progressive” agenda and even a second term in office.

Some may see this battle as just another church-state dust-up that will be resolved through litigation. But when apocalyptic imagery is used, such as what I heard at my church on Sunday, one must wonder if there is an awakening on the part of the Catholic community and if there is something else going on here besides politics as usual. In short, is the Catholic Church beginning to finally recognize the real nature of the Obama Administration?

            Cliff Kincaid is the Director of the AIM Center for Investigative Journalism, and can be contacted at cliff.kincaid@aim.org.

Hands Off the Church

A look at Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC

By Mario Diaz, Esq.  January 2012

Cheryl Perich was terminated as a teacher at Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School when the congregation voted to rescind her “call.” The school has two categories for its teachers: “called” and “lay.” Called teachers receive the formal title of “Minister of Religion, Commissioned.”

The church’s letter cited “insubordination and disruptive behavior,” among other things, as grounds for termination, in part because of her threats to sue the school if she was terminated. Perich claimed she was fired because of a disability with which she suffered, and therefore, her firing was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Perich filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which in turn brought suit against the school for firing Perch in violation of the ADA. The District Court dismissed the suit, as it was barred by the First Amendment, under what is known as the “ministerial exception.”

Under the First Amendment, the “ministerial exception” bars claims between the employment relationship of a religious institution and its ministers.

But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit concluded that Perich was not a “minister” under the meaning of the exception, and therefore, they vacated and remanded the district court’s decision.

The implications of such a ruling would have been devastating to our religious freedom. Think about it; the bottom line in this case is that a church congregation made a determination on one of its ministers and you have the government, through the EEOC, second guessing that determination.

Could anything violate the “free exercise” of religion more than the government telling the church how to determine its ministers? Not only that, but such a ruling would also violate the “Establishment Clause” by virtue of the government’s involvement in, at least, “guiding” the business of the church.

You would think that organizations like the Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) would be all over this case to protect religious liberty. But once again, they showed their true colors and came out squarely on the wrong side of this issue.

They actually argued that the government should be able to second guess a congregation in the hiring and firing of their ministers. They argue that there should be no “ministerial exception,” because it “thwarts society’s interest in ending discrimination.”

Thankfully, a unanimous Supreme Court rebuked their flawed arguments.

Justice Roberts, writing for the unanimous Court, said that their position “is hard to square with the text of the First Amendment itself.” The First Amendment provides that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

And the Court was clear:

The Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment bar suits brought on behalf of ministers against their churches, claiming termination in violation of employment discrimination laws … 

This Court’s decisions in this area confirm that it is impermissible for the government to contradict a church’s determination of who can act as its ministers.

The Court explained the “ministerial exception” has been “uniformly recognized” since the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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.

Perhaps most important of all, the Court made clear that the ministerial exception covers more than just the pastors or heads of religious institutions. In making that determination, the Court considered that the minister – in this case, the teacher – received significant training, conveyed the Church’s message, helped carry out its mission, and accepted a formal call to religious service.

The Court explained that the Sixth Circuit erred in concluding Perich was not a minister because it saw as irrelevant that she was a “commissioned minister,” put too much emphasis on the fact that “lay” teachers performed the same duties, and also gave too much weight to the fact that she performed secular duties.

Finally, the Court said it is erroneous to try to prove that the church’s religious reasons were pretextual.

The purpose of the exception is not to safeguard a church’s decision to fire a minister only when it is made for a religious reason. The exception instead ensures that the authority to select and control who will minister to the faithful is the church’s alone.

The full impact of this decision will be felt far into the future, as we continue to see an increase in attacks on our religious liberties. The rise in support of homosexual “rights,” for example, provides fertile ground for more litigation in this area in the years to come.

Concerned Women for America
1015 Fifteenth St. N.W., Suite 1100
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 488-7000
Fax: (202) 488-0806

By Kelly OConnell at Canada Free Press

EXCERPTS:

America is in full-blown crisis. The continuous dysfunction in our government and culture at large reflect this. The American family has imploded and hundreds of millions are hooked on psychotropic drugs. Our national debt is a giant $15 trillion tumor on our economy while the welfare state explodes. Pornography is omnipresent, 80% of new diseases are STDs, while 50 million babies have been aborted. Our Arts have fallen into mindless depravity and utter darkness and cannot uplift their audience. Our ability to reason and debate have evaporated, leaving mindless emotions behind.

Despite the fact that nearly 80% of Americans claim to be Christians, as a society, we allow doubters to set the rules for daily life. Is Jesus dying in America? Perhaps Nietzsche was correct when he wrote: ” Whither is God?…We have killed him—you and I. All of us are his murderers.” In other words, we need revival.

A “revival” is defined as the bringing of new life to dead churches, institutions, persons and societies via the Holy Spirit. Great revivals in history have inordinately affected the West. For example, colonial historians claim the revival immediately preceding the American Revolution gave the Founders the logic, faith and bravery to defy England. The question asked in this essay is whether the exploits, character and religious affections of Timothy Richard Tebow might spark a return to our spiritual roots, and possibly save America from its current precipitous decline?

FULL ARTICLE

By Peter Johnson Jr.  January 11, 2012 FoxNews.com

EXCERPTS:

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for a unanimous court swatted away the government’s claim that the Lutheran Church did not have the right to fire a “minister of religion”

For a long time American courts have recognized the existence of a “ministerial exemption” which keeps government’s hands off the employment relationship between a religious institution and its ministers or clergy.

Here, in this case, the Department of Justice had the nerve to not only challenge the exemption’s application but also its very existence.

But, Chief Justice Roberts pushed back hard, telling the government essentially to butt out:

“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.”

 

Americans face even greater issues in their desire to retain their religious freedom. The mandates of ObamaCare — with its narrowly tailored if not measly conscience exemptions protecting some religious orders from compliance — will mandate thousands of other religious organizations ranging from educational institutions to insurance companies to insure and/or provide procedures like free sterilization and abortifacients like Plan B known to be violative of many Christians and Jewish faiths.

FULL ARTICLE

Obama blows billions on failed “green” energy companies to funnel money to his campaign supporters. He even forced the military to pay four times what it costs for normal fuel to buy “biofuel” fro one of his supporters so the Navy could be “green” while it gets blasted out of the water.

He gave away a billion to his constituents in a bogus discrimination scam know as Pigford to buy votes. He raised the EPA budget 30% so it could give money away to leftist community organizer groups.

Obama’s failure in the Middle East and especially with Iran endanger the world for decades to come. With china expressing support for Iran and a fifth of the world’s oil having to come through the straights of Hormuz which abuts Iran, a Middle East conflagration is almost inevitable. Obama’s appeasement and position of weakness only increase the possibility of a disastrous conflict.

A pro-death blogger on the Abortion Gang has tried to use Tebow to raise funds for more baby killing:

A few years back, the-best-person-and-football-player-on-the-planet, Tim
Tebow, the savior from The University of Florida, Heisman Trophy winner,
2010 number 25 draft pick, and now savior quarterback for the Denver
Broncos, made a commercial….he was selling anti-choice propaganda. In his commercial (funded by Focus on the Family) he reminded everyone that his mother was a missionary whose life was threatened by her pregnancy – or more specifically, the pregnancy that would turn into the child who would become the man who would become Tim Tebow. Sophia Brugato, The Abortion Gang, December 13, 2011

This about Tebow from Amy Lutz at TheGOPNet:

Tim Tebow’s endearing nature transfers into life off the field as well. He doesn’t criticize his teammates; he encourages them when they make mistakes. Lost games (or, rather, game) and play failures are taken in stride. Additionally, the young quarterback is perhaps the most unabashed, passionate Christian in the public sphere today. When the Broncos appear to be on the edge of defeat, Tebow calmly sings hymns to fuel his spirit. At post-game press conferences, he always remembers to thank “Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior” and takes a knee and prays after touchdowns and before games in a practice that’s now mockingly known as “Tebowing.”

For some, Tim Tebow has become a symbol of inspiration; yet, for others, he’s no more than a target of mockery. Various football players, like Detroit’s Stephen Tulloch, have started “Tebowing,” not as a sign of worship, but as an insult. After Tulloch sacked Tebow in Denver’s only loss since the boy wonder has taken charge, the linebacker knelt down and “Tebowed,” “thanking God” that he had knocked his adversary to the ground. Many people outside the football world have taken part in the Tebow-bashing as well. The often-insufferable and former CNN host Bill Press claimed that Tebow is a “disgrace” and “embarrassment” and proclaimed that he should STFU about Jesus (for those of you who don’t know, I’ll leave it up to you to figure out what that stands for).

Tebow is perpetually at odds with the nasty, below-the-belt criticism of his unwavering faith and unshakable spirit. However, this has yet to faze him.

And from the Denver Post:

The sellout crowd of 75,970 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High erupted in celebration. Witnesses said that in Denver neighborhoods, delirious people were screaming from their balconies. Patrons at Denver-area bars were heard chanting, “Te-bow! Te-bow!”

Tebowmania is once again inflated. It was the Broncos’ first playoff victory in six years.

Tebow had just come off back-to-back rough performances against the lowly Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs to close out the regular season. He spent the week covering his ears from a deluge of insults from local and national media outlets.

And for an example of Tim Tebow’s faith in action watch this video of him acknowledging a faithful fan who has had severe problems: http://denver.cbslocal.com/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6623840