They’re Coming After Your God!
The past few months we’ve heard some alarming statements from Democratic Presidential candidates that pose significant threats to our constitutionally-protected religious liberty. Here are just a few that were made during CNN's recent LGBTQ townhall.
“Religious liberty is an important principle in this country and we honor that. But it’s also the case that any freedom we honor in this country has limits when it comes to harming other people.” - Mayor Steve Buttigieg (D-South Bend, IN).
When asked how she would respond to the statement that “my faith teaches me that marriage is between one man and one woman,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said “Well, I’m going to assume it’s a guy who said that, and I’m going to say, ‘Then just marry one woman. I’m cool with that.’” She then followed that with the snarky comment: “Assuming you can find one.”
“There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break for any institution or organization in America that denies the full human rights and full civil rights of every single one of us.” -Beto O’Rourke (who this weekend suspended his campaign).
“I cannot allow, as a leader, that people are going to use religion as a justification of discrimination.” - Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).
So, according to the Beto O’Rourke’s and Cory Booker’s of the world, anyone (but most obviously, many Christians) who still holds to the Biblical view of marriage and sexuality will no longer be allowed to ‘coexist’ among other more favored groups in America. Their statements emanate from a militant secularism, which seeks not just to remove even the slightest hint of religious expression in the public square, but to actually redefine Judeo-Christian doctrines established for millennia. Ultimately, they recognize that in order to make homosexuality and transgenderism truly commonplace in in our society, Bible-believing Christians and other faiths that affirm God’s design for male and female must be silenced, if not destroyed.
What’s happening among the Democratic presidential candidates is part of a larger, coordinated effort to diminish orthodox faith in America while promoting non-religion. In September, the Democratic National Committee issued a resolution recognizing “the value, ethical soundness, and importance” of the “religiously unaffiliated,” which they contend, ironically, is the “largest religious group within the Democratic Party.”
While some may think these politicians’ statements are just empty rhetoric, there are actual legislative efforts underway to help the ideological Left achieve their goal of dismantling religious liberty as we know it. The most glaring example is the so-called Equality Act, which would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act by adding “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected classes all throughout the federal code. This legislation, which has already passed the House of Representatives, would force many people to compromise their fundamental beliefs in order to affirm a person’s sexual behavior or self-declared (but biologically opposite) gender status. Even more egregious is that the legislation specifically states that The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 CANNOT be used as someone’s defense!
Another way, and one that actually places Virginia at the epicenter of this struggle, is the passage of the so-called Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Recall our recent warnings that if Virginia passes the ERA, and it’s added to the U.S. Constitution, churches would be at risk of losing their tax-exempt status. Courts would be forced to treat "sex" the same as skin color, and thus prohibit churches from having any policy or conservative doctrinal position on male clergy. In other words, ratification of the ERA could force churches to either change their doctrines, policies, and practices regarding male-only clergy or lose their tax-exempt status.
The ideological Left and militant secularists are relentless, and seem willing to use any means available to champion their anti-religion objectives in Virginia and elsewhere.
That's why this year’s November 5th election in Virginia is so crucial, with all 100 House of Delegate and 40 Senate seats up for grabs. If the majority in the House flips, we should all be prepared to see Virginia become the 38th state to ratify the ERA. Should this happen, it would inevitably pave the way for the anti-religious freedom crowd to pursue their goal of tearing down all vestiges of religious liberty in America.
Terry McAuliffe recently made the comment that “we [Democrats] are so close to creating a ‘New Virginia.’” What he really means is that if the ideological left gains control of Virginia’s legislature, the state that was home to champions of religious liberty, like Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Henry, will be a sanctuary to all sorts of radical groups and become totally unrecognizable.
