Sunday, July 27, 2014

Modest Success. . .

Some years ago when this began, it seemed an uphill battle.  How could the behemoth combination of Obamacare the law and the seemingly unstoppable move to limit religious freedom to only the right to worship finally be slowed or even halted.  It has been three weeks or so and the ruling by the Supreme Court went in favor of closely held corporations and represented a modest success in re-establishing a beachhead for religious rights.

On the day it was announced, President Harrison wrote

Thankfully, the wait is over. The Supreme Court has ruled, and the verdict is in: In a landmark case, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of religious liberty, specifically in regard to closely held corporations (those with a small number of shareholders and offering no public stock, such as corporations that are family-owned, not operated by boards).

While we rejoice in this strong upholding of religious freedom, this decision does not signal an end to this discussion. It simply emboldens us carry on, doing what we do best as Christians: praying, confessing the faith and living it out in our daily callings.


He is absolutely correct.  This is not an end to anything.  At worst it represents only one victory but at best it signals that the cause we have been fighting for is not lost.  We live in a culture awash with contraception and abortion.  We may never fully prevail in the public square but we cannot and we must not allow this challenge to the faith to remain unchecked.  We truly ought to be emboldened by what has happened at the Supreme Court but we dare never to become complacent by such victories.  The cause of life and the rule of morality will remain in the cross hairs of those who speak a different language and who worship a different god.  This is what we should never forget.  So we can celebrate a modest victory even while acknowledging that the road is long and there is much to travel before the cause of life will be secure for all people, especially the unborn.

A word of warning. . . it was by the slimmest possible majority this decision was rendered.  It can just as easily be undone.  What should have been 9-0 was merely 5-4....  Be encouraged but do not give up the fight!

1 comment:

John Joseph Flanagan said...

I agree. Winning one battle does not mean the war has ended.