From RedState: “Conscience is the most sacred of all property.” (James Madison)
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 peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Are we Christians next to be tossed into Obama’s secular version of the Fiery Furnace simply for holding to religiously based beliefs other than what he is trying to establish with his latest Obamacare ruling? Certainly the Roman Catholic Church is square in his gunsights of the new Obamacare regulations set by Health and Human Services Sebelius. Yet, does not Obama understand that religious freedom was a prime impetus for the establishment of our country? Or just ignoring it to consolidate his power as he did in direct opposition to the Constitution when he has appointed unaccountable czars, has made “recess” appointments by unilaterally declaring the Senate in recess (even as it was not), and unilaterally changed large swaths of how Americans have to behave (shades of tin-plated despots everywhere). And all he has to do is use his Executive levers of powers of an overlarge Federal Government that has grown from the laziness of a Congress that refuses to take up its own responsibilities under and to the Constitution?
In the Old Testament version (Daniel 3) we have:
1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide,[a] and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.
4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
And the telling continues on to say that the Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar for their steadfast belief in the Almighty God to throw the three into the fire died from the intense heat. However, the three survived, protected by God for their refusal go against their conscience and bow their knee to a false god.
In ObamaHHS Chapter XX, we see King Obamessiah narcissistic decree concerning his “golden god”, Obamacare, to whom we all now need to bow down (issued in August):
Today the department is announcing that the final rule on preventive health services will ensure that women with health insurance coverage will have access to the full range of the Institute of Medicine’s recommended preventive services, including all FDA -approved forms of contraception. Women will not have to forego these services because of expensive co-pays or deductibles, or because an insurance plan doesn’t include contraceptive services.
Freedom can be measured by the number of choices we can make – and now we are seeing how Obama is taking away those choices (the Land of the Free is being turned into Obama’s Progressive Administrative State that makes the choices for us). This is now especially true in the most intimate of freedoms – the Right as enumerated by the First Amendment to believe what we choose to and to practice our religious beliefs openly and without coercion from the Federal Government. Yet, what Obama is now trying to do is to establish a State religion to override all others simply because the Progressive utopian goal is set for their vision of “the common good”. Our Liberty, our Freedom and religious choices are to be put aside – and Obama has made that clear with this rule. Have a religious stance that contraception is anathema (and that some of those forms can lead to an abortion like the morning after pill)? Your theology has just been revoked as you are not serving “the greater good” defined by Obama even if you are the Roman Catholic Church.
Obama and his secular minions have decided to contravene one of the most important philosophical pillars of the United States: the right to practice religion and the right to have a conscience in practicing such. Many of the original colonies were founded so as to be able to practice their religious beliefs freely – how would Obama treat the Pilgrims today?
Well, after contemplating the political blowback after first issuing the above rule, Obama and Sebelius have now doubled down:
After evaluating comments, we have decided to add an additional element to the final rule. Nonprofit employers who, based on religious beliefs, do not currently provide contraceptive coverage in their insurance plan, will be provided an additional year, until August 1, 2013, to comply with the new law.
Translation: “you have religious….what? We can’t HEAR you!”. What we see is the next version of “putting Christians into the box”. More and more, we see rulings like the above that allow the actual religious institutions exceptions (like the staff of a church) but not for a religious non-profit or ministry. Don’t serve in a church? You are cast out like a heathen. Certainly there are other religious organizations that are being targeted but the Roman Catholic Church is the largest.
Look at many of the civil unions / gay marriage laws. Again, it’s “put the Christian in the closet”. Yes, there are exemptions. but only if you are part of the Pastoral staff can you refuse to participate in a gay marriage ceremony. Simply being a Christian, to whom gay marriage is sinful and run up against a militant gay couple who demands to be serviced (e.g., flowers, music, limo service, photography)? Lawsuits have been brought.
Look at Christmas when secularists demand that no religious expression be allowed on public grounds. How about that 15 year old student that quoted Leviticus in the student newspaper – a gay parent called it “hate speech” and now the student’s his religious freedom has to be defended in court. How about the Michigan psychology student expelled from her graduate program simply because she refused to counsel a gay person. The atheists that wish to have the Mojave Desert Cross removed? Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association sued for not allowing a lesbian couple use their facilities? The wedding photographer sued? NYC Mayor Bloomberg not allowing churches to rent schools for Sunday services (as they have for years)?
The message is: your faith does not matter. And we will, in the Chicago way, make sure you hearthat message and understand it.
And oh, that “extra year”? Yeah, change your theology to match Obama’s. You know, President of the United States who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution? America should have known better back in 2008 when his disdain for the Constitution, like Woodrow Wilson and FDR before him, became known. Problem is, he railed against the fact that the Constitution said what Government could NOTdo to citizens, as he wanted it to state what could be done FOR citizens- but he has gone past that to see what he can DO to us (and not a positive development).
Note: Michelle Malkin has probably the best headline concerning this: First, they came for the Catholics. If Obama and crew and make one of the largest Christian organizations to give, what do you think is their next step? What will be the next religious group they will come after – after all, there can not be any dissension in the Progressive Utopia. Just look at other countries and how differing points of view from Leadership are dealt with (and they are not debatable).
And what will you do? For us, knowing that one of our Senators, Jeanne Shaheen, is all in on this (having used the power of the Federal Government to override the State of NH elected officials and directly fund Planned Parenthood here in NH), we will do all we can to get her into Obama’s unemployment line.
