R. Albert Mohler Jr.'s Blog, page 391

Render unto Caesar or unto God? Government Funding and the Crisis of Conscience

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world (James 1:27).

Back in 1869, Baptists in Kentucky established a “Home for the Helpless,” seeking to serve orphans and other homeless children. Like so many other Christian churches and denominations of the era, Louisville’s Baptists saw the need for an orphanage to provide care for parentless and abandoned children, who before the establishment of orphanages were housed with adults in almshouses. The Home for the Helpless became the Louisville Baptist Orphans Home, and its charter established its mission to serve “orphan and destitute children.”

Those Baptists saw the orphanage as a Christian duty in response to a biblical mandate. The orphanage was a direct extension of Christian conviction, and it was operated under a board of Baptist control. In 1953, the Louisville ministry merged with the nearby Kentucky Baptist Children’s Home, and the two became the Kentucky Baptist Board of Child Care. A 1986 “Covenant Agreement” between the child care ministry and the Kentucky Baptist Convention called for the ministry to operate “in keeping with Christian principles and the dream of the founders of child care in Kentucky.”

That pledge is now very much in question as reports indicate that the ministry, now renamed Sunrise Children’s Services, is poised to change its hiring policies to remove any barrier to homosexuals and lesbians working as employees of the ministry.

The proposal came to light as the Western Recorder, the Kentucky Baptist newspaper, reported that the Sunrise board had discussed the matter in a specially called meeting held in August. That news, which stunned Kentucky Baptists, came after years of assurances from the ministry and its president, Bill Smithwick, that current hiring policies would remain in place. As the paper reported, “Up to now, Smithwick has consistently told the KBC mission board and convention messengers that Sunrise would continue defending its right to discriminate based on sexual orientation in on-going lawsuits.” Those lawsuits include an action filed by a lesbian worker who was terminated in 1998. That lawsuit was dismissed by the courts, but the terminated employee later filed a legal challenge to state funding of any institution that teaches religious beliefs. The State of Kentucky agreed to a settlement in the case, but Sunrise refused to accept the settlement, according to the Western Recorder.

When contacted by the paper, Smithwick refused to talk about the proposal and offered a rather belligerent response: “I don’t think Kentucky Baptists need to know something until there is something to know. Right now, my comment is, there’s nothing that Kentucky Baptists need to know, and all this [publicity] will do is hurt us.”

Subsequently, Kentucky Baptist leaders learned that  Smithwick’s August presentation to the Sunrise board had explicitly called for the employment policy to be changed. Smithwick set out several options for the board, making clear that retaining the policy would require the termination of additional employees. In turn, he warned that Sunrise would likely lose major secular funding sources in the business community, suffer further adverse publicity, “and close our doors.” He also told the board that he expects the federal government to mandate the employment of homosexuals in the future, and probably the near future. This is premised on the fact that Sunrise receives millions of dollars each year in government funding.

Smithwick then set out a second option whereby Sunrise would “tough it out until the Federal Government mandates employment of homosexuals” and “then change our employment practices after losing years of time and money spent to build our brand.”

Lastly, Smithwick proposed a third option: “Change our employment practice.” He declared that Sunrise “is not a church, or a religious institution” and argued that the organization cannot operate at current levels without government funds. Then, after arguing that Sunrise is not a religious institution, he assured the board that, even if the policies are changed, Sunrise would “continue to share the Gospel through Bible studies, worship attendance, etc. to residents and staff.”

Included in Smithwick’s argument was his personal statement that he would “rather homosexuals see the love of God through us than be denied employment by us.” He closed by offering the strange analogy of a missionary serving in Iran who wore a head covering out of respect for Muslims, apparently missing the point that no biblical command or biblical teaching is violated by wearing a head covering.

Kentucky Baptists were not alone in their shock over the Sunrise proposal. An attorney who had represented the terminated lesbian employee told The Courier-Journal (Louisville), “This is very surprising. They were very adamant that they wouldn’t hire gays and lesbians.” He is right, they were adamant about the matter and, at least until the board votes later this week on Smithwick’s proposal, they still are—at least officially.

All that can change in short order. Bill Smithwick is absolutely right about one aspect of this matter: there is every likelihood that governmental coercion on these issues is coming. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is expected to pass in the U.S. Senate in coming days, and the Obama Administration has threatened to accomplish much the same by executive order. It is hard to imagine how an entity that describes itself as “not a church or a religious institution” can claim an exemption under such a legal mandate.

There is truth in the claim that Sunrise Children’s Services, along with thousands of similar organizations and institutions, will have to face a hard choice: serve Caesar or serve God. This becomes inevitable once an entity becomes dependent on financial support from the government. That is why Baptists have historically—and rightly—insisted on nonparticipation with government funding. Participation means dependency, as the financial situation of Sunrise Children’s Services makes clear. Smithwick told The Courier-Journal, “The Baptist support, totaling $1 million each year on a $27 million budget, is very much needed, but Sunrise cannot sustain itself without the partnership of state and federal and fundraising dollars.”

The choice faced by Sunrise, soon likely to be faced by a host of similar organizations, is to get smaller or get secular. The instant an organization takes government money it is transformed into an instrument of the state. What Caesar funds, Caesar controls. This is a hard lesson, and one likely soon to be learned by Christian institutions that have been taking government money and have grown dependent on those funds.

This will not end with children’s homes. A good many Christian colleges and universities have grown dependent on funds flowing through federal student aid programs and similar forms of government funding. What happens when they face a similar choice? The math will not work in their favor. A hard choice will have to be made, and we will soon see who will stand on conviction and who will act to save their funding.

The question does not stop with funding. Soon after Britain passed antidiscrimination legislation like ENDA, Christian adoption agencies were basically put out of business. They were given a choice to sever ties with their churches or go out of business. In Massachusetts, the legalization of same-sex marriage meant the end of the adoption work done by Catholic Charities, since they could not and would not violate their convictions. In Illinois, the work of Catholic Charities in foster care and adoption came to an end in 2011, and the admired organization gave up millions in government funding because they would not violate their convictions.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, himself a Catholic,  made the coercive power and intention of the state clear when he declared that a refusal to recognize same-sex civil unions as equivalent to heterosexual marriage for adoption and foster care: “They have a law in Illinois. It’s the civil unions law. I signed it into law. We’re not going back. Any organization that decides that because of the civil unions law that they won’t participate voluntarily in a program, that’s their choice.”

Some choice. In October of 2011 the state transferred more than 1,000 children from the care of Catholic Charities to secular agencies.

According to Baptist Press, only four or five of the 23 Baptist children’s homes associated with state Baptist conventions do not receive government funds. Bryant Millsaps, president of Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes, told the news service that his agency had not accepted government monies in its 122 year history. And he explained why: Receiving government money is “almost like being dependent on a drug. You get hooked on it, and getting unhooked is very, very difficult. And in some cases it’s impossible.”

The board of directors of Sunrise Children’s Services faces a hard choice, but the choice is not just between several policy alternatives. They will decide to serve God or to serve Caesar. Paul Chitwood, executive director of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, urged Sunrise to step out in faith, even if it means losing massive funding. He urged the agency “to dramatically scale back its work in order to be faithful to Scripture and to model biblical values in front of hurting children.” As for Kentucky Baptists, they will find a way to serve children and keep their convictions, assures Chitwood: “Either way, I am confident Kentucky Baptists will always minister to hurting children and will do so through a ministry with biblical values.”

When asked about the payment of taxes, Jesus famously responded, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17). We dare not render to Caesar what belongs rightly and only to God.

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/albertmohler.

Todd Deaton, “Could Sunrise Be Considering Reversing its Hiring Policy?,” Western Recorder, October 22, 2013, pp. 1-2.

David Roach, “Hiring of Homosexual Employee Being Considered by Kentucky Baptist Child Care Agency,” Baptist Press, November 1, 2013.

 

The Briefing 11-07-13

1) Political shifts indicate moral shifts – New York elects decidedly liberal mayor

De Blasio is Elected New York City Mayor in Landslide, The New York Times (Michael Barbaro and David W. Chen)

New York City Takes Left Turn, Wall Street Journal (Sophia Hollander)

2) Christie wins in a commanding way as McAuliffe wins by surprisingly narrow margin

Chris Christie Coasts to 2nd Term as Governor of New Jersey, New York Times (Kate Zernike and Jonathan Martin)

Terry McAuliffe, Democrat, Is Elected Governor of Virginia in Tight Race, New York Times (Trip Gabriel)

Now Comes the Hard Part for Virginia Governor-Elect Terry McAuliffe, Washington Post (Laura Vozella and Ben Pershing)

3) Casinos instead of taxes and marijuana revenue for education? Don’t be fooled. 

Colorado Voters Approve New Taxes on Recreational Marijuana, Denver Post (John Ingold)

Expansion of Gambling in New York is Approved, The New York Times (Thomas Kaplan)

New York Casinos Approved as Voters Back Colorado Pot Taxes, Bloomberg (William Selway, Amanda J. Crawford and Freeman Klopott)

4) Illinois set to legalize gay marriage while legalization becomes much harder in other states

From here on out, legalizing same-sex marriage becomes harder, Washington Post (Juliet Eilperin)

Gay Marriage Supporters Rejoice in Chicago, Chicago Tribune (Rex W. Huppke, Kim Geiger, and Manya Branchear Pashman)

Lawmakers approve gay marriage in Illinois, Chicago Tribune (Monique Garcia and Ray Long)

Ill. Set To Be 15th State To Allow Gay Marriage, Associated Press (Sophia Tareen and Kerry Lester)

Obama is proud of Illinois after same-sex marriage vote, USA Today (Aamer Madhani)

5) Colorado secession vote illustrative of political divide in entire country as 16 year olds vote in Maryland

Colorado Secession Vote Fizzles: Rural Counties Split On 51st State Initiative, Huffington Post (Matt Ferner)

16-year-olds voting? Secession? 5 Election Day oddities, USA Today (Natalie DiBlasio)

 

The Briefing 11-06-13

1) After 30 years, legislative prayer will return to the Supreme Court

Founders’ view of prayer should prevail at Supreme Court, Washington Post (Alan Sears and Joseph Infranco)

Issue of Prayer Returns to the Court, New York Times (Adam Liptak)

U.S. to argue in N.Y. town’s prayer at meetings case, USA Today (Meaghan M. McDermott)

2) Measure to outlaw discrimination based on gender orientation passes Senate

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is seriously flawed, Guardian (Nancy Goldstein)

Bill Advances to Outlaw Discrimination Against Gays, New York Times (Jeremy W. Peters)

Congress Needs to Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, Huffington Post (Barack Obama)

3) Gay-rights advocates celebrate  2013 as the “gayest year in gay history” 

Maine congressman declares he’s gay: ‘But why should it matter?’, Los Angeles Times (Morgan Little)

Rep. Michaud’s op-ed column: Yes, I’m gay. Now let’s get our state back on track, Portland Press Herald (Mike Michaud)

4) Scientists “tingly” over estimated 20 billion planets like earth

Possibility of 20bn Earth-like planets in our galaxy, study finds, Financial Times (Clive Cookson)

The Briefing 11-05-13

1) As America goes to the polls, we are reminded that elections matter

Voters to Decide Elections Coast to Coast Tuesday, Associated Press (Steve Peoples)

Election Day on Tuesday, New York Times (Editorial)

In New York Casino Vote, a Dance With Temptation, New York Times (Robert H. Frank)

2) Christian author Jerry Jenkins featured in World Magazine…for gambling

No Bluffing, World Magazine (Daniel James Devine)

Pot and Jackpots, New York Times (Ross Douthat)

Casinos, Pot and the Quest for Consistency, New York Times (Ross Douthat)

3) Tabloid editors caught doing the very things they reported on

Coulson and Brooks both authorised corrupt payments, court hears, Financial Times (Jane Croft and Robert Cookson)

From Love Nests to Desire Surveillance, New York Times (Maureen Dowd)

4) Gestapo chief and senior Nazi buried in Jewish cemetery

Müller, an Architect of the Holocaust, Is Said to Be Buried in a Jewish Cemetery in Berlin, New York Times (Alison Smale)

 

 

The Briefing 11-04-13

1) After $1.6 billion spent on security, LAX still not safe. Is safety possible? 

Suspect shot, in custody at Los Angeles airport after TSA officer killed, CNN (Michael Martinez and Greg Botelho)

2) In Kentucky, first gay divorce attempted in state where same-sex marriage is illegal

First ‘gay divorce’ attempted in Kentucky, Courier-Journal (Andrew Wolfson)

3) Three important federal court actions reveal massive influence of federal courts

Federal court reinstates key part of Texas abortion law, CNN (Dana Ford)

Court Rules Contraception Mandate Infringes on Religious Freedom, New York Times (Sarah Wheaton)

Most of Law on Abortion Is Reinstated in Texas, New York Times (Associated Press)

Court Blocks Stop-and-Frisk Changes for New York Police, New York Times (Joseph Goldstein)

Court Order Lets NYPD Continue ‘Stop-and-Frisk’, Wall Street Journal (Christopher M. Matthews)

4) What is the “single most important legacy” of presidents? Federal judge appointments.

Obama tilts federal judiciary back toward Democrats, USA Today (Richard Wolf)

Court Fight, New York Times (Charles M. Blow)

 

Genesis 6:9-10

The Briefing 11-01-13

1. Indiana Court to decide: “What exactly constitutes a parent?”

In same-sex couple dispute, Indiana Court of Appeals calls for lawmakers to refine definition of ‘parent’, Indianapolis Star (Tim Evans)

2. Belgium considers extending euthanasia to children and Alzheimers patients

Belgium considering unprecedented law to grant euthanasia for children, dementia patients, Washington Post (Associated Press)

3. Most catastrophic loss of wealth in history? Billionaire loses it all and files for bankruptcy

Eike Batista’s Empire Soared, Then Melted Into Bankruptcy, Wall Street Journal (John Lyons, Luciana Magalhaes, and Loretta Chao)

The Briefing 10-31-13

1) Christians must consider moral, ethical, and religious implications of Halloween

Christianity and the Dark Side—What about Halloween?, AlbertMohler.com

Is Halloween a Witches’ Brew?, Christianity Today (Harold L. Myra)

2) Public schools refuse to celebrate Halloween. It’s too religious. 

From the Department of Petty Controversies: Schools Cancel Halloween, Time (Nick Gillespie)

3) Battling Halloween candy by handing out letters to the “moderately obese”

Woman to Give ‘Obese’ Children Letters, No Candy, USA Today (Natalie DiBlasio)

4) Are we “addicted to the apocalypse” or is something deeper imbedded in the human conscience?

Addicted to the Apocalypse, New York Times (Paul Krugman)

5) Sorry, if you are “hung up” about degrading women, there is no room for you in Hollywood

Seeing You Seeing Me, New York Times (Manohla Dargis)

 

The Briefing 10-30-13

1) Texas abortion law blocked and likely headed to Supreme Court

The Texas abortion law is a trial run for the right wing’s strategy across America, Guardian (Amanda Marcotte)

Wendy Davis couldn’t stop a Texas abortion law. But a federal court just did, Washington Post (Sarah Kliff)

2) Wisconsin law debate puts rights rights of mother over rights of unborn baby

Case Explores Rights of Fetus Versus Mother, New York Times (Erik Eckholm)

3) “Opportunity Index” fails to consider most important indicator of economic opportunity: the family

Marriage Makes Our Children Richer—Here’s Why, The Atlantic (W. Bradford Wilcox)

4) Academy of Pediatrics sounds alarm on too much screen time for kids

Doctors’ Rx: Make a plan to manage kids’ media use, USA Today (Michelle Healy)

5) Fight against HIV hits roadblock

Fight Against HIV Hits a Roadblock, New Study Shows, Wall Street Journal (Ron Winslow and Betsy Mckay)

 

 

 

Christianity and the Dark Side—What about Halloween?

Over a hundred years ago, the great Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck predicted that the 20th century would “witness a gigantic conflict of spirits.” His prediction turned out to be an understatement, and this great conflict continues into the 21st century.

The issue of Halloween presses itself annually upon the Christian conscience. Acutely aware of dangers new and old, many Christian parents choose to withdraw their children from the holiday altogether. Others choose to follow a strategic battle plan for engagement with the holiday. Still others have gone further, seeking to convert Halloween into an evangelistic opportunity. Is Halloween really that significant?

Well, Halloween is a big deal in the marketplace. Halloween is surpassed only by Christmas in terms of economic activity. Reporting in 2007, David J. Skal estimated: “Precise figures are difficult to determine, but the annual economic impact of Halloween is now somewhere between 4 billion and 6 billion dollars depending on the number and kinds of industries one includes in the calculations.” As of 2012, that total exceeded $8 billion.

Furthermore, historian Nicholas Rogers claims:

Halloween is currently the second most important party night in North America. In terms of its retail potential, it is second only to Christmas. This commercialism fortifies its significance as a time of public license, a custom-designed opportunity to have a blast. Regardless of its spiritual complications, Halloween is big business.

Rogers and Skal have each produced books dealing with the origin and significance of Halloween. Nicholas Rogers is author of Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. Professor of History at York University in Canada, Rogers has written a celebration of Halloween as a transgressive holiday that allows the bizarre and elements from the dark side to enter the mainstream. Skal, a specialist on the culture of Hollywood, has written Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween. Skal’s approach is more dispassionate and focused on entertainment, looking at the cultural impact of Halloween in the rise of horror movies and the nation’s fascination with violence.

The pagan roots of Halloween are well documented. The holiday is rooted in the Celtic festival of Samhain, which came at summer’s end. As Rogers explains, “Paired with the feast of Beltane, which celebrated the life-generating powers of the sun, Samhain beckoned to winter and the dark nights ahead.” Scholars dispute whether Samhain was celebrated as a festival of the dead, but the pagan roots of the festival are indisputable. Questions of human and animal sacrifices and various occultic sexual practices continue as issues of debate, but the reality of the celebration as an occultic festival focused on the changing of seasons undoubtedly involved practices pointing to winter as a season of death.

As Rogers comments: “In fact, the pagan origins of Halloween generally flow not from this sacrificial evidence, but from a different set of symbolic practices. These revolve around the notion of Samhain as a festival of the dead and as a time of supernatural intensity heralding the onset of winter.

How should Christians respond to this pagan background? Harold L. Myra of Christianity Today argues that these pagan roots were well known to Christians of the past:

More than a thousand years ago Christians confronted pagan rites appeasing the lord of death and evil spirits. Halloween’s unsavory beginnings preceded Christ’s birth when the druids, in what is now Britain and France, observed the end of summer with sacrifices to the gods. It was the beginning of the Celtic year and they believed Samhain, the lord of death, sent evil spirits abroad to attack humans, who could escape only by assuming disguises and looking like evil spirits themselves.

Thus, the custom of wearing costumes, especially costumes imitating evil spirits, is rooted in the Celtic pagan culture. As Myra summarizes, “Most of our Halloween practices can be traced back to the old pagan rites and superstitions.”

The complications of Halloween go far beyond its pagan roots, however. In modern culture, Halloween has become not only a commercial holiday, but a season of cultural fascination with evil and the demonic. Even as the society has pressed the limits on issues such as sexuality, the culture’s confrontation with the “dark side” has also pushed far beyond boundaries honored in the past.

As David J. Skal makes clear, the modern concept of Halloween is inseparable from the portrayal of the holiday presented by Hollywood. As Skal comments, “The Halloween machine turns the world upside down. One’s identity can be discarded with impunity. Men dress as women, and vice versa. Authority can be mocked and circumvented, and, most important, graves open and the departed return.”

This is the kind of material that keeps Hollywood in business. “Few holidays have a cinematic potential that equals Halloween’s,” comments Skal. “Visually, the subject is unparalleled, if only considered in terms of costume design and art direction. Dramatically, Halloween’s ancient roots evoke dark and melodramatic themes, ripe for transformation into film’s language of shadow and light.”

But television’s “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” (which debuted in 1966) has given way to Hollywood’s “Halloween” series and the rise of violent “slasher” films. Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff have been replaced by Michael Myers and Freddy Kruger.

This fascination with the occult comes as America has been sliding into post-Christian secularism. While the courts remove all theistic references from America’s public square, the void is being filled with a pervasive fascination with evil, paganism, and new forms of occultism.

In addition to all this, Halloween has become downright dangerous in many neighborhoods. Scares about razor blades hidden in apples and poisoned candy have spread across the nation in recurring cycles. For most parents, the greater fear is the encounter with occultic symbols and the society’s fascination with moral darkness.

For this reason, many families withdraw from the holiday completely. Their children do not go trick-or-treating, they wear no costumes, and they attend no parties related to the holiday. Some churches have organized alternative festivals, capitalizing on the holiday opportunity, but turning the event away from pagan roots and the fascination with evil spirits. For others, the holiday presents no special challenges at all.

These Christians argue that the pagan roots of Halloween are no more significant than the pagan origins of Christmas and other church festivals. Without doubt, the church has progressively Christianized the calendar, seizing secular and pagan holidays as opportunities for Christian witness and celebration. Anderson M. Rearick, III argues that Christians should not surrender the holiday. As he relates, “I am reluctant to give up what was one of the highlights of my childhood calendar to the Great Imposter and Chief of Liars for no reason except that some of his servants claim it as his.”

Nevertheless, the issue is a bit more complicated than that. While affirming that make-believe and imagination are part and parcel of God’s gift of imagination, Christians should still be very concerned about the focus of that imagination and creativity. Arguing against Halloween is not equivalent to arguing against Christmas. The old church festival of “All Hallow’s Eve” is by no means as universally understood among Christians as the celebration of the incarnation at Christmas.

Christian parents should make careful decisions based on a biblically-informed Christian conscience. Some Halloween practices are clearly out of bounds. Others may be strategically transformed, but this takes hard work and may meet with mixed success.

The coming of Halloween is a good time for Christians to remember that evil spirits are real and that the Devil will seize every opportunity to trumpet his own celebrity. Perhaps the best response to the Devil at Halloween is that offered by Martin Luther, the great Reformer: “The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him for he cannot bear scorn.”

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther began the Reformation with a declaration that the church must be recalled to the authority of God’s Word and the purity of biblical doctrine. With this in mind, the best Christian response to Halloween might be to scorn the Devil and then pray for the Reformation of Christ’s church on earth. Let’s put the dark side on the defensive.

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/albertmohler

Originally published Wednesday, October 31, 2007.