The Battle is Real and We are the Enemy
by Carol Allen Anfinsen(12)AnfinsenArt
We all hate bad news; other people’s misfortunes make us fear for our own safety and security. So we “duck and cover” just like they did in the sixties when people were bombarded with bad news and they feared for their lives.
It is no different today; but instead of ducking, we turn the dial or change the channel when upsetting news comes our way. It’s sometimes easier to pretend bad things aren’t happening than to face the challenges head on and do something about them. Americans have become complacent. Christians have become complacent, and today we are at risk of losing all.
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that a public university is not required to subsidize campus groups it considers discriminatory. The Supreme Court--our last legal recourse! The court ruled that the “Christian Legal Society” excludes homosexuals and non-Christians; therefore, they should not receive public funds, such as student activity fees.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg said the schools policy: “ensures that no Hastings student is forced to fund a group that would reject her as a member.” That can only mean that in order to receive funds or be allowed to meet on campus; the Christian group could not exclude anyone from attending their meetings nor from holding a position of leadership.
Dissenting justice Samuel Alito argued that “the ruling means no freedom for expression that offends prevailing standards of political correctness in our country’s institutions of higher learning.”
“It is so weird to require the campus Republican Club to admit Democrats, not just to membership, but to officership,” Justice Antonin Scallia said; “to require this Christian Society to allow atheists not just to join, but to conduct Bible classes, right? That’s crazy.”
Unfortunately, rulings of this type have become far too common over the last fifty years, and we have done little to stop the avalanche. The thinking expressed by the university and supported by the Supreme Court has been growing like a cancer infecting our schools, our society, our homes and our children.
A recent contributor of “Letters to the Editor” in a local newspaper had this to say (the italics are mine):
“The men who wrote our Constitution did a magnificent job that is still relevant to this day. However, they were thinking of a country of 13 colonies and not the vast and diverse nation we have become. So naturally some things have to change to continue to be relevant . That is why we can’t go back to the Constitution as it was written, and why we have had amendments. The world has changed, so saying we want to go back to the way it was is naïve, at best.”
That’s like saying the Bible is not relevant because it was written so long ago, and therefore, irrelevant today. Sound familiar?
Thomas Jefferson once said “all tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” It’s time for Christians to stand up and be counted. No longer can we stand on the sidelines or look the other way. Our Constitutional rights are slowing being eroded. Our right to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom to assemble is being threatened and may get shoved into a lock box with the government holding the key.
It is one thing to be tolerant of others and understanding of their needs; it’s quite another to embrace and endorse their causes or lifestyle. We need to stand up, but not with billy clubs, violence or hatred. We must use a different kind of warfare.
We must battle with our opinions and our power at the polls. We are literally at war, but not the kind of war most people think of with deadly weapons and hand-to-fist combat. Paul in his letters to the Thessalonians (5:1-22) explained it this way: “let us who are of the light, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet , the hope of salvation.”
Rather than arming ourselves with weapons, Paul urges Christians to arm themselves with the word of God (truth). Instead of covering our bodies with armor, we should arm ourselves with faith and love. Instead of defending ourselves with shields of metal and helmets of steel, we should shield our bodies with faith, and cover our heads with the hope of salvation.
Paul also warned the people not to become unruly…”See that none render evil for evil unto any person; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all people.”
A new kind of warfare demands a different strategy. In Ephesians 6 Paul advises the church to put on the whole armor of God, “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” We must understand our enemies. In many cases, they are more learned than we are.
We cannot receive the knowledge Paul wrote about through osmosis. We must study the word of God and pray without ceasing. And while we’re at it, we must know and understand how the government works and how proposed laws and legislation will affect us. We must know all of our rights and privileges under the Constitution or forfeit them through ignorance and abuse.
We can also support organizations and groups who not only stand up for the truths we believe in, but who defend them. One of my personal favorites is the “Alliance Defense Fund (ADF).” If you’re not familiar with this organization, I urge you to go to these web sites: www.TellADF.org or www.TruthandTriiumph.org .
ADF has battled the ACLU, defended the Boy Scouts and countless Christian students and leaders in courts of law to protect their Constitutional rights. Funding received educates new Christian law students through the Blackstone Legal Fellowship program; students who will later donate their time in legal defense.
“There are times when the battle must be fought out in the courtroom,” said Aaron Martin, Blackstone Fellow. “As Christian lawyers, we have a debt to pay—a responsibility to use our gifts and talents to do good through the law.” ADF has won some spectacular battles as described in their newsletter: “Truth and Triumph.”
As Christians, we need to be part of that army of believers who are willing to defend truth and liberty at all costs. We must stand up and be counted before it is too late!
Article submitted Tuesday, July 06, 2010 & read 504 times.
Leave Your Comments:
» left by Mark Parsec(350)(59 days 7 hours ago.)
Hi Carol,I'm with you 100% on this one! I too followed this case and was sorely disturbed at the ruling. I wrote an article for this at another site and it was vehemently attacked by certain individuals who have an agenda...God bless you for posting this article here at Blogz!MarkRespond to this comment
» left by Carol Allen Anfinsen(12) (58 days 19 hours ago.)
I'm about to post another controversial article, and I'm almost afraid of the repercussions! Thanks, for your support Mark!
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» left by Mike Butler from North Carolina (58 days 16 hours ago.)
Carol, thanks for the great article. Silence will definitely be the killer of our rights. The question is how do you motivate people who don't want to be a part of conflict? Even if it us just verbal. keep writing and keep encouraging!
Mike
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» left by Carol Allen Anfinsen from Fort Myers, FL (58 days 11 hours ago.)
So good to hear from you, Mike! Nice to know my articles are getting read. Thanks for your comments!
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