Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
-- First Amendement to the Constitution of the United States of
AmericaThe recent mess in Texas should make people with minority
religious beliefs nervous.Based on an anonymous phone tip that now
appears to have been a hoax, 416 children have been taken into state
custody from a polygamous sect known as the Fundamentalist Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). While investigating the tip,
the law enforcement officers observed pregnant minors in the LDS
facility. Based on the apparently pervasive marital practices of this
religous group, a decision was made to remove all these children from
their homes. At issue are the practice of polygamy, arranged marriages
of minor girls, and pregnancy of minors. And yet...Dr. Bruce Perry, a
psychiatrist who has studied children in cults....acknowledged that
many adults at the ranch are loving parents and that the boys seemed
emotionally healthy. When asked whether the belief system really
endangered the older boys or young children, Perry said, "I have lost
sleep over that question."You wont' find me defending the practices
that are under government scrutiny in this group. But the
indiscriminant removal of such a large number of children from their
homes (both boys and girls,) without specific evidence of danger in
each child's case, raises serious questions. Just how far can
government go to eradicate unpopular religious practices? Did they
really think the boys were in danger? If so, on what evidence, and on
what legal grounds?How many of us could go back two or three
generations in our own ancestry, and not find that we are descended
from a 15 year old mother? Or that we are descended from an arranged
marriage? Is that somehow unethical, or un-American? Of broader concern
to me is the ethical issue of government interfering with the practice
of religion. Where will this kind of government action take us? Will a
church continue to have the right to exclude homosexuals from the
ordained ministry? Or, to exclude women? Will parents have the right to
teach their religion to their children? Or to home school their
children? Will the American people consent to their government
regulating religious beliefs and practices?The polygamy issue is
complex. Utah has quite a bit more experience in this area than does
Texas. These Texas officials are in uncharted territory. They've opened
Pandora's box, and they have no idea what is inside. They may find that
their cure is worse than the disease.Today, the issues are religious
practices that many (including myself) find bizzarre and repugnant. I
wonder whether that will still be true about the issues tomorrow.I'll
close with a quote I've lifted from my daughter's blog:In Germany, they
came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a
Communist;And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t
speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;And then they came for the
Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;And then . . . they
came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak
up.(Pastor Martin Niemöller)

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Posted By Alan to Christian Unity at 4/21/2008 07:55:00 AM