Security and Religious Freedom

Since 9/11/2001 the nation speaks often of a desire for security. The attacks on the World Trade Center and the gunning down of innocent children in New England, movie-goers in Colorado, Gaby Gifford in Arizona, and unarmed soldiers at Fort Hood created lots of fear. With each horror comes cries for additional security and protection.

In efforts to make the nation secure the government has initiated programs that circumvent the guarantees of the Constitution's Fourth Amendment. In addition, there are far more invasions of privacy through bureaucratic regulation. In an effort to tout the success of these programs, the president and others point us to the fact that there has not been a repeat of the terror we felt as the Twin Towers fell taking more than 3,000 lives in the rubble.

What isn't recognized is the fact that every effort to provide security reduces your liberty and takes personal responsibility away from you. During the years I lived in Sun City, Arizona I noted how fear and a desire for security caused them to place bars on their windows, heavy external security doors, and kept the volunteer deputies busy watching their homes 24/7. These fearful people created for themselves a virtual prison. The fact is, for those whom security is essential they should ask to be imprisoned in solitary confinement in a maximum security prison. In our culture that is undoubtedly the most secure place on earth. I refuse to live like that!

Mark my words, the government's efforts to collect data, snoop through your emails, text messages, and listen to your phone calls is more threatening to your personal liberty than you can imagine. Furthermore, it may well have deleterious effects on the freedom of expression and religion.

In a brief interview with Mark Taylor, editor of the Christian Standard.  Eric Metaxas makes that point.

Metaxas pointed out that the effort to force companies Christian owned and operated to provide birth control and medications such as "the morning after pill" violates the religious beliefs of the owners. As an increasing number of states redefine marriage, any refusal to provide marriage services to gays can be the basis for charges of prejudice or hate speech. Couldn't happen, you say. It is already happening in Europe and Canada. Biblically sound ministers in those countries are already subject to such charges. Now realize that the government can "listen in" to every telephone conversation or read every text message or email in which you expresss an opinion about such things and you are potentially liable for legal action against you.

Requiring politically correct speech in spite of one's Christian convictions is a loss of liberty and far more than a violation of one's religious freedom. It is just one more step toward a totalitarian state -- a totalitarian state where secular progressive ideology is king. What ever happened to the old statement, "I may not agree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it?"