SUPREME COURT WILL HEAR TEN
COMMANDMENTS MONUMENT CASES
On Tuesday, the United States
Supreme Court announced that it will consider the
constitutionality of public displays of The Ten Commandments.
The cases (from Texas and Kentucky) involve a stone monument
on the grounds of a state capitol and framed copies of the
Commandments posted in courthouses. A ruling is expected next
spring.
Unfortunately, four of the nine
justices reflect liberalism’s longstanding bias against
religious expression in public places. A fifth, Associate
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, usually sides with the
anti-religion bloc.
Significantly, the Court chose to
ignore Judge Roy Moore’s case – which was specifically framed
on the constitutionality of Americans’ right to publicly
acknowledge God.
While it’s encouraging that the
Supreme Court will finally hear Ten Commandments cases
(currently, federal appeals courts in different jurisdictions
have issued conflicting rulings), it’s important to note that
the Constitution exists independent of the whims of judges.
Whatever the Supreme Court
ultimately decides, the First Amendment prohibits a national
church, and nothing else. The federal judiciary has distorted
the Amendment to arrive at the position that there can be no
“co-mingling” of government and religion – a view that would
have astounded and appalled the Founding Fathers.
The Ten Commandments is the
foundation of the Western legal tradition. It is as much a
part of America’s heritage as The Declaration of Independence
or the Constitution itself. Whatever the justices decide next
spring, they can’t re-write history.
FAITH COULD SWING ELECTION
The secular media is finally
getting the message: Christians will have a huge impact on
this year’s election. In the past few days, both ABC News and
USA Today have done features on the role faith will play in
this year’s elections.
The USA Today piece notes that in
the 2000 election there was a disappointing turnout among
“conservative evangelicals.” (“The percentage of the
electorate identified as ‘religious right’ declined from 17%
in 1996 to 14% in 2000.”) Had that not occurred, the
presidential election wouldn’t have even been close, let alone
the squeaker it turned out to be.
Vision America has been working
diligently to assure a different outcome this year. We’ve
taken our message across this great country: For Christians,
voting isn’t optional, but an obligation to God. We’ve also
shown pastors how to conduct voter-registration drives and
we’ve educated Christians on the issues that will shape our
future.
The media is finally catching on.
PEOPLE MAGAZINE HIGHLIGHTS
VISION AMERICA
Speaking of which, the October 18th
issue of People Magazine has an extensive article on voter
registration efforts, which includes a half-page feature on
Vision America.
It reports that our networking
with Patriot Pastors began in 1998, and that over 3,000 have
been enlisted to date. It quotes Patriot Pastor David Nelson
of the Smith Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Tatum, Texas.
Pastor Nelson, an African-American, is described as “a
life-long Democrat,” who says he came to a Vision America
rally expecting to find “a bunch of Republicans sitting around
talking about their money.”
Instead, he was informed,
motivated and activated. (“I was inspired: It was like being
on a football field, dressed out, and at kickoff time. I
wanted in the game.”
I am humbled by such responses –
and encouraged to redouble our efforts to bring America back
to its spiritual roots.
AFL-CIO LABORS FOR GAY MARRIAGE
The largest labor federation in
America (600,000-strong) has come out against the Marriage
amendment on the Michigan ballot. AFL-CIO President Mark
Gaffney claims the amendment would take away rights negotiated
in union contracts and is unnecessary, as same-sex marriage is
currently illegal in Michigan.
Both arguments are disingenuous.
Gay marriage used to be illegal in Massachusetts too, until
the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court, by a one-vote margin, in
effect rewrote the state’s constitution. If enacted, the
amendment would have no effect on private contracts, but would
only apply to the legal definition of marriage.
Like so many institutions, most
labor unions have been taken over by anti-family radicals who
will use any excuse to advance their agenda, in complete
disregard of the sentiments of the rank and file. (How many
Teamsters support gay marriage, do you suppose?)
For decades, brave men and women
struggled to secure the rights of workers.
They believed in their country, their families and
their God. The AFL-CIO has betrayed them.