America the Beautiful, America the Broken

As I write on this beautiful Independence Day in America my heart is heavy with what I see happening in our Country. The blatant anti-Christian, godless sentiment rising in the country is frightening, but should not be surprising. In Jesus' day John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded by scoundrels hostile to the truth. Others in that day increased their opposition to the one John announced and crucified an innocent Christ. So news in America of Military training that lists "Evangelical Christians" in the same terror watch list as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Taliban should not be upsetting or surprising, but I confess that it has been unnerving. Health care mandates by the HHS Secretary requiring even Christian based organizations, and institutions as well as family run businesses run by devout Christians (i.e. Hobby Lobby; Chick-filet) to provide health care coverage for their employees that covers contraception and abortion inducing drugs is shocking in the "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave" where religious expression has been a hallmark freedom. Now under penalty of law Hospitals, Colleges, and businesses with religious convictions to the contrary are being forced provide for employees what directly violates their faith or else face exorbitant fines. Then there are two recent Supreme Court rulings that serve to overturn the centuries old definition of marriage, and fly in the face of the will of the majority of people in this country. The SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) rulings on DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) and California Proposition 8 overturn the will of the majority of people. DOMA was passed overwhelmingly by both houses of Congress and signed by President Clinton. It was the law of the land for over a decade reflecting the will of the people consistent with the constitution. Ironically and disappointingly, the "conservative" Chief Justice was more than willing to do in the case of DOMA what he fought so hard to avoid doing in the case of Obama Care. In Obama care Chief Justice Roberts used "creative" interpretations and understandings to avoid at all costs overturning the unpopular health care law. He "didn't want to legislate from the bench." But in the case of DOMA and Prop 8 where laws were supremely popular and supported by the majority of people He took exactly the opposite stance (I think he was the swing dissenting vote). He was more than willing to "legislate from the bench." These,my friends, are a few of the direct assaults on religious liberty we have seen in this country. But the erosion of liberty is taking place on many fronts. Corruption, deception, fraud, and discrimination is rampant. Fast and Furious, Benghazi, NSA, IRS, all bring to mind horrific scandals where trust in the government and the administration has been seriously compromised. We have been boldly lied to, the facts have been hidden and deceptions perpetrated. Corruption and invasion of privacy and discrimination on grand scales. And the perpetrators of these injustices smugly and insolently look down their noses at those seeking to hold them accountable in what we were promised would be "the most open and transparent administration ever." We are experiencing the exact opposite of what we were promised. Instead of transparency we are experiencing increased tyranny. Talk to small business owners, farmers, coal miners, who suffer under the weight of increasing government regulations which all add costs to the goods and services. Every time we turn around a new law, regulation, or policy expands the intrusion of the government into our private affairs,and/or invades our privacy, and or encourages the misuse of our money, and costs us financially. Never in my life time has the size of government increased so rapidly nor the intrusion into life been so offensive. I never dreamed that I might live to see the demise of America, but now I'm not so sure. We have an administration that chooses to disregard the laws of the land it dislikes (i.e. DOMA, Immigration enforcement) and uses executive orders and policy decisions to by-pass congress to gain increased control over the people. They are trying to strip away 2nd ammendment rights, "mine" for our personal data through phone and email surveilance, and sending out drones in America. I haven't even begun to discuss the mess which is America's foreign policy. I would say that it appears for all practical purposes that we do NOT have a foreign policy, we do NOT support our long-standing allies in the world (especially Israel), and we do NOT take seriously the threat of terrorism. So what is my summary assessment? On this 4th of July... I am Grateful for the Freedoms We Enjoy, Fearful for the Freedoms we are Losing, and Prayerful for a Revival in America. "Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter For you to forsake the Lord your God..." (Jeremiah 2:19b).