Welcome to the Chaos Court, brought to you by the Chaos King. Many Christians will remember that conservative Christians often called Donald Trump their “Chaos King”. And boy were they cheering as he tore down all institutional controls, threw the government into a tailspin and stacked the court with “conservatives”.
If Biden supporters were hopeful the chaos would end after Trump’s defeat, they were naïve. The next phase of the conservative take-over has arrived. Countless cases handled on a shadow docket – way more than any prior court.
Remember last September when SCOTUS refused to stay Texas’ controversial abortion law that was blatantly unconstitutional and coopted Federal abortion law? We now know why. It had nothing to do with the constitutional complexities. The conservatives on the court had already decided the fate of abortion, which we later learned in June when Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Then the ruling against New York concealed carry law, handcuffing the city by ruling against a law on the books for decades. Next claiming that an agency founded to protect the environment can’t limit dangerous greenhouse gases. And they’re just getting started.
Conservative Christians are Cheering But Why?
These are rulings that have conservative Christians cheering. The apocalyptic views of evangelicals translate to no worries over the destruction of the environment. God will fix it when Christ returns. He’d better! We won’t. And let’s be honest. We really don’t care how many die in the third world.
Conservative Christians worship at the altar of the Second Amendment. Guns are necessary for all Christians who refuse to trust God for their protection. And No, we’re not safer. More mass murders than ever – now even on our Independence Day. It’s shameful.
It’s also disingenuous and hypocritical. By far the strangest however, is the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Christians leaders have cheered it, spinning it as a great victory the church prayed for, and for over half a century. But it hasn’t ended abortions. It’s simply moved the decision to the states.
The front in the war has simply shifted. Now we’ll have people crossing state lines, arguments about who can help and whether employers can. Soon we’ll have blue states seeking to enshrine abortion as amendments in their state constitutions. Then what? That’s when Christians will learn the limitations of law.
Christians have yet to learn that none of this brings people to Christ. No one who gives their personal testimony says “I became a Christian because the church opposed global warming”. No one says “I became a Christian because Christians support the Second Amendment”. Likewise, no one’s saying “I became a Christian because the church opposed Roe v. Wade“. Anyone who lives in the real world knows that these divisive, political positions are driving away many who need Christ. So why are we cheering?
SCOTUS is a “Christian Court” Masquerading as a Conservative Court
One of the surprising things about this conservative majority is that all the justices are Catholic – except perhaps Gorsuch who attends an Episcopal Church though raised Catholic. But it makes all six conservatives nominally Christian. Sotomayor is also Catholic, making a total of seven justices.
It begs the question, are the rulings of the conservative justices determined by their conservative beliefs or by their Christian convictions? For conservative Christians, the answer may not matter. But more to the point, what happens when non-Christians conclude that the conservative justices are really advancing a Christian agenda? What happens when they blame the church for all the SCOTUS rulings they strongly disagree with?
Remember the recent ruling that Maine must subsidize religious schools that just happen to be Christian? Does that seem conservative or Christian? We’ll find out when a Madrassa seeks government subsidies.
The Truth is Already Coming Out
People aren’t stupid. They see what’s happening. Consider a recent article about an activist from Liberty Counsel caught on a hot mic bragging she prayed with Supreme Court Justices and that no one else does that. This claim is shocking.
Liberty Counsel submitted an amicus brief quoted by SCOTUS in the Dobbs ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. Given that Liberty Counsel has been quite active in submitting suits to the Supreme Court, it points to a strong conflict of interest.
The other article revealed how the head of Faith and Action group, a Christian Right political group spent years lining up dinners and entertainment with Alito, Scalia and Thomas in which couples were coached on how to best influence the justices on issues important to the Christian Right. This is also stunning, if true!
To Christians who might say they’ve got no problem with this, consider your response if Planned Parenthood were doing the same, trying to influence key justices to allow abortion. Christians would be outraged.
It’s becoming more and more obvious that Christians will use any ends to get what they want, even if it’s devious, deceptive, immoral or contrary to Scripture. We saw it in the lame excuses for Christian support of Trump and we’re seeing it in our manipulation of the high court, stacking it with justices compliant to our demands.
It points to a failure of love within the Christian community. Insiders peddling influence, stacking the deck in their favor. It’s selfish and self-centered. It doesn’t take into account the desires of others but deliberately works covertly to strip them of representation. But this is the war we’ve long fought.
It is a war that long ago determined the unborn were more important than the born, where my right to carry a gun trumps others’ right to life or safety, where our reckless abandonment of the environment trumps everyone else’s health and where our perverse “religious” beliefs trump science. And none of this is done out of love for the lost.
This “War” Will End Badly
In a recent article, the head of a Christian Campus Pro-Life organization hoped that with Dobbs, healing would finally flow. It showed how out of touch she was. Does she really think Pro-Choicers are going to realize the church is right and embrace our position?
Now that we have taken away what they consider a human right, do we really think healing will flow? Did we accept Roe v. Wade or double down and fight? Does anyone believe that both sides won’t continue to fight, both at the State and Federal level?
What happens when Pro-Choicers conclude we’re manipulating our political system, stripping them of representation, overruling their desires using “Christian” judges we’ve covertly groomed for our purposes?
Some Biblical Warnings Against War
The Bible offers some important warnings. Sarah tried to manipulate her slave Hagar, using her as a surrogate to raise a son for her. Hagar sought her own manipulations, seeking to displace Sarah as Abraham’s wife. Sarah was furious and subjected Hagar to terrible, unending abuse. Abraham, as head of the household refused to step in.
Since they refused to end the fight of their unwise manipulations, God brought a judgment of unending fighting in Hagar’s son. There would be no peace in Abraham’s household till Hagar was expelled, bringing great pain to Abraham. In the end, their manipulations only brought strife and infighting.
Jacob was also a manipulator. It cost him fourteen years of exile from his family because his brother sought to kill him. His relationship with Laban went sour and he had to secretly flee his household. Much of his fortune he’d worked so hard for was given to his brother to mollify his anger. Both these manipulations simply destroyed relationships .and brought years of infighting.
Rehoboam also provides salient warning. He decided against repeal of an oppressive tax and it brought about a rebellion that split his kingdom. He was uncompromising and mean-spirited in his judgments. When he decided to be hard-nosed, I’ll bet he never anticipated it would split his kingdom. That’s the warning: Be careful what you push for. Most can not perceive the consequences that will result.
Taking Stock: Be Careful What You Ask For
A number of pastors and Christian leaders have been fomenting civil war in their churches. Be careful what you ask for. Remember Lot? He got exactly what he asked for – and it cost him dearly.
He strove with Abraham and they ended up splitting company, isolating him from his only family. Despite Abraham twice saving his life, they never reconciled. It’s easy to miss that Lot’s two sons – born of his incestuous relations with his daughters, later strove with Israel (Numbers 22; Judges 3:13). The fight continued for generations.
If we truly want healing to flow in our nation, it’s time to lay down the fight and reach out in love. It means ending the manipulation, the controlling behaviors, the insistence others behave as we insist. Christians and Christian leaders are too quick to forget that God never forced anyone to do what He wanted. He always allowed others their free will, regardless of the consequences.
It’s time the church behaved like God, allowing others to freely make their own choices. Love can then be exercised when we later help others pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and poor decisions. But if we continue to carry this fight, insistent others do things our way, we may get the civil war some pastors seem intent on having.
But be careful what you ask for. If others presume we – not conservatives, are the problem, they may bring the war to our churches with mass shootings to follow. Or worse, our children’s churches and nursery rooms could become targets. If our schools and public places are not safe, our churches won’t be either.