Is it the Courts or God to the Rescue?

So, shall they fear
The name of the Lord from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him (Isaiah 59:19).

In the 1970s, the federal courts were the enemy of Christianity and traditional morality. Even recently, monumental court decisions have turned the accepted culture of this nation away from its biblically-based moorings. The Obergefell v Hodges decision of June 2015 forced all states to recognize same-sex marriages. I doubt that decision would have gone the same way if it had come before the present Supreme Court.

Now the courts have become friendly.

It is a monumental twist of circumstances that suddenly, like cavalry soldiers in a John Wayne movie, it is the federal court system that is coming to rescue believers and religious institutions.

A major court case this week is another case in point.

For the second time this year, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against the University of Iowa for discriminating against a Christian student club. (here).

To summarize, the essence of the court decision is that university officials can be held personally liable for discrimination against student religious clubs. The university had derecognized some student groups for requiring that their leaders adhere to their religious convictions—most notably on sexuality. One of those was InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. The university took no action against a pro-gay student group that required its leaders to adopt a pro-gay ideology.

The courts not only considered this targeting the religious student organization but also allowed that the individual university officials that did the targeting can be held personally liable (they can be sued) for their actions. Officials said that they were just trying to enforce anti-discrimination principles and while they got it wrong, their decisions were in good faith and they should not be held individually liable. In disagreement with that argument, the judge who wrote the decision cited Judge Clarence Thomas from an earlier case.

The longest-serving current justice asked why “university officers, who have time to make calculated choices about enacting or enforcing unconstitutional policies, [should] receive the same protection as a police officer who makes a split-second decision to use force in a dangerous setting? (Same article as above).

Negotiations are now underway to settle the case out of court.

This decision is groundbreaking in that those who have willy-nilly decided to deprive Christians and Christian organizations of their First Amendment rights now might feel the consequences of their decisions in their own bank accounts. Insurance companies and school administrators are not going to be very enthusiastic about financially bailing out their crusading employees. There is nothing like cold-hard cash to make an American think twice about his actions. When they eventually find their way to the courts, the racist and discriminatory decisions of CRT proponents will likely meet the same results.

Yes, the Donald Trump presidency was the cringiest in recent memory based on the sheer volume of presidential tweets (however the details still pale in comparison to what Bill Clinton did while in office, impeachment trials, and Monica’s blue dress). Regardless of all of that drama, in four short years, President Trump reconstituted the entire federal court system like no other president in American history.

There is more to it than just the courts. 

So far, these courts are a godsend—literally.

Conservatives might be frustrated with recent court decisions on such things as Obamacare. For believers, healthcare law is primarily a wisdom issue. Other issues are much more important and religious freedom tops the list. In a time of great danger, the courts—for the most part—have become our friends and the more than 2000 judges appointed during the previous administration are the reason.

This is the purely human perspective. There is more to what happened than the machinations of political operatives. God’s providence is clearly at work. God has sent deliverance by unlikely means before. God used a dream and Joseph’s Pharaoh to preserve Jacob’s family in a time of famine. He used Nebuchadnezzar (and a dream) during the time of Daniel. He used Cyrus during the time of Nehemiah and placed Esther in the palace in order to preserve His people. He even used a talking donkey! God has not done this a few times in the flow of human history, He is ALWAYS at work.

We ought to recognize the significance of the moment and thank God for it.

Photo by US Army