OPINION:
Across our world today there are many nations who tout their foundation in democracy. Though the details of their governments may differ, they, at least on paper, seek to protect individuals from the tyranny of government intrusion into their personal lives. In fact, many of these countries can trace their heritage all the way back to the United States Constitution, which arose out of our fight for independence with Great Britain.
It is that struggle for freedom that we now celebrate in America after the passing of 250 years of our glorious history as a nation. The freedoms birthed in the hearts of the English serfs have come to full fruition in the annals of our own American struggle for that illusive idea of freedom.
Unfortunately, we have recently seen individual rights of conscience curtailed around the globe and even in our sister countries of the United Kingdom and Canada, particularly in the arena of religious liberties. Nevertheless, there is a uniquely American protective phenomenon that deserves recognition particularly in the limelight of our grand celebration.
You see, it is the United States Constitution that provides its citizens specific rights that cannot be taken away by the government because they do not emanate from the government. We know these enlightened defenses of basic freedoms as the Bill of Rights, which composes the first 10 Amendments to our founding document.
Mind you, we would never even have had our Constitution without the addition of the Bill of Rights. As a matter of fact, it would be several years before the last two states would ratify our Constitution because it did not include enough individual protections against an overreaching government. Now all this time later, these most important and crucial modifications are making all the difference in the quest for freedom of conscience for the American people.
Interestingly enough, the most important freedom that rose to the top of the concerns of a vast number of the early citizenry was the concept of religious freedom. It is the very First Amendment to the United States Constitution that explicitly begins with this language: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
Perhaps it was the strong influence of conservative protestant beliefs that permeated the last two colonies that ultimately has proven to be the safeguard of our most precious freedom. Nevertheless, this was never an attempt to protect our government from religious interference, but solely to protect the rights of our people to worship God and to serve God in any way they see fit.
Ironically, this protection actually facilitated the early creation of social safety nets created by Christian and Jewish charities, including child welfare, feeding the hungry, hospitals and education, which included several Ivy League Schools. To be sure, a good number of these originally faith-based entities have long since demurred from their respective faith origins, and many of the safeguards they once championed have been taken over by the welfare state of overreaching government. Regrettably, in most cases, the needs have not been met by bureaucratic governmental control to the degree that they were met under the care and guidance of religious leadership.
Unfortunately, it is this perennial promise of freedom of faith that is now under great threat even by the U.S. government whose founding documents originally offered complete protection.
The juggernaut of the LGBTQ+ mindset is directly aimed at people of faith who oppose actions and teachings that are contrary to the tenets of their faith. To explain it in a way that even a Supreme Court justice, U.S. senator, congressperson, or even a president and vice president can understand, this includes deviant forms of sexual immorality outside of the marriage between an “individual capable of creating sperm and an individual capable of creating eggs,” sometimes more commonly referred to as a “man and a woman.”
Not only that, but the historic Christian belief that life begins at conception and that the act of abortion terminates the life of an individual worthy of the protection of our Constitution is now one that is looked upon with equal disdain as the composite biblical worldview that shaped and guided our Founding Fathers.
With all this in mind, as we celebrate the 250th year of our birth as a nation, perhaps we should be extraordinarily thankful that our forebears so wisely included protections for people of faith in the very first amendment to the most significant founding document of any nation in the history of the world.
May God protect America from the onslaught of attacks on this most important freedom. Make no mistake, it is the very lives of our children that will be the price to be paid if we fail as a nation to be steadfast in our resolve.
• Judge Charles Philip “Phil” Ginn, J.D., D.Min., assumed the role as president of Southern Evangelical Seminary as of April 1, 2021. Judge Ginn is a retired Superior Court Judge, attorney, and businessman. He has been married to his wife, Lynn, since 1979. Together they have four daughters, three sons-in-law and five wonderful grandchildren.
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