Observers of the religious and political scenes in America should have taken notice when President Obama deemed Christian religious symbols too offensive to be seen during his economics speech at Catholic Georgetown University in April of 2009. The offending symbols, including the ancient monogram IHS representing Christ's name, were covered with a dark cloth.
Looking back, the funereal covering was a pivotal sign that the Obama administration was openly hostile to Catholics and would attempt to diminish the Church's influence in America while asserting the supremacy of the president and the leftist secular state.
One of the most egregious examples of persecutory behavior toward faith-based institutions on the part of our left-leaning administration has been the attempt to jettison constitutionally guaranteed protection of religious freedom by insisting that church-run institutions, Catholic and Protestant alike, provide access to abortifacients and sterilization in health insurance plans for their employees. If the order is observed, the funeral of the Church is assured, as the Church would be completely absorbed by the State, totally subject to the State's mores.
To their credit, since the egregious assault by the current administration on the Church's first amendment rights, Catholic leaders have reacted vigorously, sowing distinct signs of life
As of the writing of this article, some 43 Catholic institutions have filed lawsuits against the government. Catholic bishops have united in opposition to the intrusion of the state into religious affairs. They realize that for the first time in American history, an administration has egregiously violated the line between church and state by advancing what is essentially a government takeover of private religious institutions. They now see that the Obama administration is intransigently pro-abortion, as well as firmly against traditional marriage.
Unfortunately, the response of the conservative Protestant community of faith to the multiple attacks by the left on religious institutions and mores often has been weak, characterized by retreat and subsequent marginalization.
For a long time, evangelicals and fundamentalists, along with adherents to the Reformed faith, have gone underground. While admirably seeking to establish institutions of their own, including charities, hospitals, and institutions of learning, religious conservatives committed themselves to mostly defensive maneuvers and retreat, rather than employing more aggressive, militant tactics against the assaults of the left.
Why are so many people of faith allowing their guaranteed constitutional freedom to exercise their faith in the public square to be jeopardized? Why is there so little genuine outrage? Why are religious conservatives so meek and mild when assaulted by the left -- so meek and mild that millions don't even vote?
Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/06/wake_up_religious_conservatives_a_summons_to_outrage.html#ixzz253DUi0Ib
**********************************************************************************
A frequent contributor to American Thinker, Fay Voshell holds a M. Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, which awarded her the Charles Hodge Prize for excellence in systematic theology. Selected as one of the Delaware GOP's "Winning women" of 2008, she seeks to apply theological principles to politics and culture. She may be reached at fvoshell@yahoo.com.
Looking back, the funereal covering was a pivotal sign that the Obama administration was openly hostile to Catholics and would attempt to diminish the Church's influence in America while asserting the supremacy of the president and the leftist secular state.
One of the most egregious examples of persecutory behavior toward faith-based institutions on the part of our left-leaning administration has been the attempt to jettison constitutionally guaranteed protection of religious freedom by insisting that church-run institutions, Catholic and Protestant alike, provide access to abortifacients and sterilization in health insurance plans for their employees. If the order is observed, the funeral of the Church is assured, as the Church would be completely absorbed by the State, totally subject to the State's mores.
To their credit, since the egregious assault by the current administration on the Church's first amendment rights, Catholic leaders have reacted vigorously, sowing distinct signs of life
As of the writing of this article, some 43 Catholic institutions have filed lawsuits against the government. Catholic bishops have united in opposition to the intrusion of the state into religious affairs. They realize that for the first time in American history, an administration has egregiously violated the line between church and state by advancing what is essentially a government takeover of private religious institutions. They now see that the Obama administration is intransigently pro-abortion, as well as firmly against traditional marriage.
Unfortunately, the response of the conservative Protestant community of faith to the multiple attacks by the left on religious institutions and mores often has been weak, characterized by retreat and subsequent marginalization.
For a long time, evangelicals and fundamentalists, along with adherents to the Reformed faith, have gone underground. While admirably seeking to establish institutions of their own, including charities, hospitals, and institutions of learning, religious conservatives committed themselves to mostly defensive maneuvers and retreat, rather than employing more aggressive, militant tactics against the assaults of the left.
Why are so many people of faith allowing their guaranteed constitutional freedom to exercise their faith in the public square to be jeopardized? Why is there so little genuine outrage? Why are religious conservatives so meek and mild when assaulted by the left -- so meek and mild that millions don't even vote?
Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/06/wake_up_religious_conservatives_a_summons_to_outrage.html#ixzz253DUi0Ib
**********************************************************************************
A frequent contributor to American Thinker, Fay Voshell holds a M. Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, which awarded her the Charles Hodge Prize for excellence in systematic theology. Selected as one of the Delaware GOP's "Winning women" of 2008, she seeks to apply theological principles to politics and culture. She may be reached at fvoshell@yahoo.com.
