“Government is not free to disregard the First Amendment in times of crisis.”—Justice Neil Gorsuch, concurrence ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK v. ANDREW M. CUOMO, GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK, November 25, 2020.
Christians (and Jews and Muslims) your right to worship hangs by the slenderest of threads in America. The thread is the 5-4 conservative majority on the Supreme Court—a majority that came about only because of Donald Trump’s three appointments because, once again, Chief Justice John Roberts abandoned the Constitution and sided with the three liberals.
Democrats are not even hiding their contempt for Christians. In this New York example, Gov. Cuomo treats religious people much worse than any other group. According to the court’s majority decision, “In a red zone, while a synagogue or church may not admit more than 10 persons, businesses categorized as ‘essential’ may admit as many people as they wish. And the list of ‘essential’ businesses includes things such as acupuncture facilities, camp grounds, garages, as well as many whose services are not limited to those that can be regarded as essential, such as all plants manufacturing chemicals and microelectronics and all transportation facilities.”
In other words, Democrats believe church services should not happen for an indefinite period of time. However, make sure the blue collar workers and service workers are at their posts lest the elites suffer.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh points out this too in his concurrence. He writes, “Moreover, New York’s restrictions on houses of worship not only are severe, but also are discriminatory. In red and orange zones, houses of worship must adhere to numerical caps of 10 and 25 people, respectively, but those caps do not apply to some secular buildings in the same neighborhoods.”
The court majority made a clear statement—the Constitution still matters. According to the opinion, “Members of this Court are not public health experts, and we should respect the judgment of those with special expertise and responsibility in this area. But even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten. The restrictions at issue here, by effectively barring many from attending religious services, strike at the very heart of the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty.”
Oddly, Chief Justice Roberts admits the New York Democratic governor’s limits do seem “unduly restrictive and might violate the First Amendment. He writes, “Numerical capacity limits of 10 and 25 people, depending on the applicable zone, do seem unduly restrictive. And it may well be that such restrictions violate the Free Exercise Clause. It is not necessary, however, for us to rule on that serious and difficult question at this time.”
What motivates Roberts? Something much worse than you might imagine—the desire for respectability.
This is a real problem.
It is the same problem afflicting too many in Evangelicalism too. The desire for the praise of the secular elite—and often the money that goes with it.
Is it craven desire for respectability that pollutes so many Big Eva political leaders like Russell Moore and David French? These men surrendered the Culture War faster than the cheese eating surrender monkeys of France. They worked against the election of Donald Trump.
And, if they had succeeded, our constitutional rights would be in total meltdown. We would not have that slender 5-4 majority in defense of religious liberty.
No, we’d have a much larger liberal majority on the Supreme Court.
And we have that no thanks to turncoats like Russell Moore—who are lifelong Democrats and acting like it from within and while drawing a fat salary from conservative, Christian Southern Baptists.
Why isn’t that salary information public?
Why isn’t a conservative leading the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC)?
As this case shows, Russell Moore’s political goals are incompatible with those of the Christians in America. His political incompetence and theological malpractice in opposing Donald Trump should get him fired.
Our freedom to worship in America hangs by a slender thread.
Christians must prepare for dire times ahead. It is time to take action.
First, stand with President Donald Trump in finding out what truly happened in this year’s election. Was it corrupt? Ignore mainstream outlets and Big Eva liars and look for the information from reliable conservative voices.
Second, rally to defend the GOP majority in the Senate. Much depends on what happens in Georgia. We must not allow Democrats to take the Senate—or not only will our financial future be destroyed but also the rule of law and our constitutional rights.
Third, demand change in the Southern Baptist Convention. Tell your pastor you are sick and tired of tithes and offerings going to support Progressive political aims and the spread of Racial Identity Politics. There is only one language the SBC Elites understand–$$$$. It is time to speak that language.