The U.S. Supreme Court issued a much-anticipated ruling in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia on Thursday. In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Catholic Social Services could not be forced to violate their religious beliefs by placing children with same-sex foster parents as Philadelphia had tried to do in 2018.
Tomorrow, however, offers us an opportunity to come out of our ideological and political corners and agree to commemorate a significant day in American history. Every American, regardless of politics or background, should reflect on a day marked in many African American communities for over 150 years. Tomorrow, June 19th, is Juneteenth, the anniversary of the day in 1865 in which the particularly vicious evil of chattel slavery effectively came to an end in this country.
The very concept of “bodily autonomy” was originally a Christian contribution to an often cruel and barbaric world. Far from suggesting that our bodies are mere heaps of matter for us to do with what we will, the Christian view was that to defile the body, either our own or another’s, is to violate the image of God. Regardless of how old, how young, how healthy, or how sick, a Christian view is that our bodies are not our own. “You were bought with a price,” Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “therefore glorify God in your body.”
There are certain moments in history when it’s obvious how much the cultural ground has shifted. Cultural norms that worked before to foster social cohesion no longer suffice. Certain ideas and shared ways of thinking can no longer be taken for granted. At these “hinge points,” Christians are forced to remember who we are and to rethink our place in the overarching story of redemption. This is one of those hinge points.
The root problem with critical theory is not how the American story is told, but in pre-empting any critique or debate. That sort of thinking cannot be successfully countered by emulating it. The only way to fight bad ideas is with better ones.
Our politics today is merely a show, a reality show that doesn’t give us the reality about us, or about the world. And let’s be honest, the show is getting embarrassing. On the other hand, the way of Jesus is abundant life, and it’s not single-pixel, one-dimensional, or fake.
In a somewhat recent innovation, many have embraced "deconstruction", or deconversion. In and of itself, to self-examine faith is a good thing. The eleventh-century Christian philosopher Anselm of Canterbury spoke of "faith seeking understanding," which is "an active love of God seeking a deeper knowledge of God." Unfortunately, this is not the kind of faith seeking understanding that's going on in much of the deconstruction stories today.
One of the most important effects of embracing a deliberate, self-conscious Christian worldview, and losing the sacred-secular distinction so many Christians have absorbed from the world around us, is seeing the depth, the breadth, and the width of the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every sphere of life. Once we see life this way, our understanding of serving Jesus is radically re-shaped in light of the unassailable, undefeatable, and advancing Kingdom of God.
Several sources are reporting that yet again, Beijing has increased pressure on religious groups. Beginning this year, all “approved” religions must conform to its new Administrative Measures for Religious Institutions.
