A Federal Judge's Order Against The The Erosion Of Personal & Religious Liberty

In the process to mitigate the alleged "pandemic" of covid 19, it seems that the Constitution of the United States has been tabled by many Governors all over over the country, initially, so we were told, to curtail death, but more recently, so we are told, to keep the healthcare system from being overwhelmed. 

Shelter In Place

According to the New Your Times (a news organization I certainly DON'T recommend) "Stay at Home" orders have been issued to an estimated 316 million American citizens in 42 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 3 counties and 9 cities.

Having begun in California, the executive orders, which are allegedly rooted in CDC and Washington DC guidance,  are issued by the Governors in most cases and vary widely. For example, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, in a State hard hit by covid 19, recently issued an order prohibiting citizens from traveling to second homes, standing outside too long, and even purchasing specific items, such as paint from hardware stores, contending that the items were "non-essential". In other States such as Mississippi, Kentucky, and even Illinois  in which Governor Pritzker and his colleagues contended that orders to stay home meant prohibitions on attending church or places of religious worship no matter if social distancing guidelines were followed or not. In the case of Illinois and Kentucky, the Governors were so brazen as to suggest that the churches were "non essential" institutions, while, in all cases simultaneously contending that liquor retail establishments were/are"essential". (Even though the same CDC from which they take their guidance states that over 88,000 people die annually of alcohol related illness or excessive use of alcohol.)

Even During A Pandemic, The Free Exercise Of Religion Is Upheld

As I began to speak and write on this issue, I was surprised by the number of practicing Christians who do not know the difference between religious freedom and freedom of worship and why each is vitally important but not necessarily one in the same. This has been quite a controversy, between so called "enlightened" people, both secular and religious, who believe that religious practice is flexible and can be done in any setting.

The fact is that one can actually worship anywhere. That is not a question that needs to be addressed.  What is at question however is the fact that our Constitution guarantees the right of the religious to freely exercise religion no matter the circumstance. That is, We The People are guaranteed the ability to freely carry out the practice of religious belief without restriction. What's more is that the practice or free exercise of religion and tenets of faith, need not meet an intellectual standard or criteria suitable to anyone looking on. Further, it seems that the State does not have a right to regulate how our belief is carried out or to tell the church how to conduct its beliefs.

This is the problem. The Governors, in their zeal to thwart and stop the covid 19 alleged pandemic, from overwhelming our medical systems, went further than their lawful boundaries and, in many cases, usurped their control and authority over religious practice and the free exercise thereof, telling the church not only how to worship, but restricting access as to how and where the free and valid exercise of religion would be carried out while simultaneously not holding secular businesses and industries to the same or similar standard. 

Now, many of our churches sat back and allowed this to happen without a word to the contrary. Truthfully many people from church leaders to lay persons, suffered and died as a result of this dreaded disease, and there is nobody that is favor of that, however, as I have written, what is the price that we have paid as a result of allowing secular leaders to take control of and usurp authority over the church at any time, yet alone times of distress? In the future, what will limit the states power over the church in the event of the "next" crisis?

I'll say more on this in my next article, but the church was only to be subject to "just" law, and law that does not impede liberties given by God and not simply any law. 

A Judge's Eyeopening Decision

A recent Facebook posting by a news group , Unbiased America, caught my attention. Their post outlined the actions of a Federal Judge Justin Walker of Kentucky. Judge Walker ruled, just prior to Easter, in favor of the On Fire Church and against a Kentucky Mayoral directive allegedly enforcing the Governor's stay at home order, which had been constructed to prohibit church worship on the Churches most Holy Day, Easter. In his ruling Judge Walker stated:

"On Holy Thursday, an American mayor criminalized the communal celebration of Easter. That sentence is one that this Court never expected to see outside the pages of a dystopian novel, or perhaps the pages of 'The Onion" 

The Judge went on to say:

"But two days ago, citing the need for social distancing during the current pandemic, Louisville’s Mayor Greg Fischer ordered Christians not to attend Sunday services, even if they remained in their cars to worship – and even though it’s Easter. The Mayor’s decision is stunning. And it is, “beyond all reason, unconstitutional."

Judge Walker concluded by saying:

"But for the men and women of On Fire, Christ’s sacrifice isn’t about the logic of this world. Nor is their Easter Sunday celebration. The reason they will be there for each other and their Lord is the reason they believe He was and is there for us. For them, for all believers, “it isn’t a matter of reason; finally, it’s a matter of love.”

Groups such as First Liberty have been inundated with requests for help during this pandemic from churches seeking to merely continue to freely exercise their religious beliefs against the backdrop of over the top stay at home and anti-religious subversion efforts of State officials.

Conclusion

It seems that, although many have been born and raised within America, that they don't know exactly how the interface of human rights work in conjunction with or in accord with State law, and the desire to keep and maintain a peaceful and safe society. Although covid 19, has presented issues and problems that have never been dealt with before in American society, it seems that  too many people in authority believe that rights can be suspended by the State at any time and without notice, and that religious rights or the essential nature of religious belief is only an illusion.

While the latter sentiments are right in line with the anti-religious extremists, who have not taken the time to consider that human rights only exists as a result of religion, and the Christian religion in particularly, it is saddening to know that the people must continually check, recheck and call into question the actions and directives of their elected secular officials. 

To be clear, noone wants to upbraid the State or anything done to keep us and make us safe in this hour of pandemics, however, we want the State to work within the confines of human rights to address the issues. Not break the law in order to make the law. That is unreasonable.

In my next post, I will present the letter and email that I sent to the Governor of Illinois regarding these things and others. 

Judge Justin Walker's Complete Decision

TRO Granted In covid 19 Kentucky Church Case from Pastor Harvey Burnett