The article focuses on the issue before the Supreme Court regarding the "contraception clause" of Obamacare. But the article presents a view of this legislation, and pending litigation, in the context of a broader view; indeed, in the context of a progressive, post-Christian Worldview.
Ms. Greenhouse contends that the issue at stake is not contraception, or even health care. Rather, the battle is over a Worldview - In fact, Ms. Greenhouse admits that this is a culture war - "this is the culture war redux – a war not on religion or on women but on modernity."
According to Ms. Greenhouse, the trend in society toward children born out of wedlock, falling marriage rates, and the dismantling of the historical family unit as a building block of society, are not "bad" changes; rather, they should be viewed as marks of progress. Greenhouse postulates that the position of the "religious right" on these matters is more vapid obstructionism, rather than a principled stand.
Of course, the "spokespersons" for the conservative view that are cited by Ms. Greenhouse are the typical pundits, such as a lawyer for the American Conference of Catholic Bishops - a group that rarely seems to understand the foundations of the faith they claim to represent, and who often play right into the hands of their enemies.
The fact of the matter is, protection of the family unit, rather than the destruction of it, should be one of the highest priorities of the government. Greenhouse's contention that the battle is ultimately about slowing, or even reversing, the degeneration of the family unit is true, and it is a place where a government with right priorities would focus. Greenhouse is correct, however, in observing that Obamacare moves in the opposite direction - supporting the destruction of the family and the "modern" approach of free and open relationships, where sex is devalued, the structure of family becomes unnecessary, and ultimately those who favor hedonism and licentiousness can have their chosen lifestyle without the inevitable consequences.
The Church and the conservative movement both fail to articulate this well because, quite frankly, it is not a popular position, and it is not always fun. Marriage is a life long commitment that requires hard work and sacrifice; maintaining a family requires that we put the needs of others before our own. As such it becomes a visual, physical representation of Christ's love for the Church, which is exactly what it was meant to be from creation.
Understanding this helps us put the "culture war" in clearer perspective. Ultimately, it really is a spiritual battle, but there are more than two teams on the field. Those of us with even a little spiritual insight can understand that the ultimate goal of the political and spiritual left is a culture where Judeo-Christian spiritual laws are rendered null and void. The cultural left could just as rightfully argue that the "religious right" we currently see in politics is most often a parody of true virtue and wisdom; rather, many at the political spiritual right really do fight for the "status quo" more as a means to maintain current power structures than for the truer goal of protecting the God-ordained model of family and society.
And therein lies the rub; the Church has failed miserably at articulating a true, cohesive Christian Worldview in the public arena these last 200 years. So it is no wonder that our voice is barely audible today above the shrill cries of the political left and the political right. We have allowed ourselves to be marginalized, even as the medical and scientific communities have become more convinced than ever of the importance of the spiritual life of mankind. Recent findings regarding spirituality are framed in "spiritually neutral" terms, but of course there is no such thing. Any spiritual "path" either leads toward the Truth of Jesus Christ and the One True God, or it leads away from Truth into deception.
This is not a new issue of course; the nation of Israel suffered from just the same failure to satisfy their commission - the Great Commission to represent the Truth of God to a lost world.
As is always the case, the "visible" battle tends to hide the "invisible" battle; and while it may appear that the powers of darkness are winning the culture war in the west, there is a much bigger picture that is often missed.
I believe we should be engaged in the public arena, strenuously and vocally representing a true Christian Worldview and correcting both our enemies and our sometimes misguided allies on important points. But ultimately we must know that the battle belongs to the Lord.
Additional Reading:
Science and Spirituality by Axel Randrup
Is Spirituality really the Opposite of Science? by
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