Editor’s Note: Please welcome CWG member and guest blogger Dennis P. McGeehan as he kicks off our Fortnight of Freedom series.

In the Gospel, Jesus says that it would be better for a person to have a millstone tied to his neck and be thrown into the sea than to cause any of the little ones to sin. Jesus had a way with words when he wanted to make a point. Today, others are doing their best to score points in their arguments for the H.H.S Mandate. Without it, women will be dying in the street. Really?

The Obama Administration insists that all religious institutions must provide contraceptive services. They don’t care who pays for it, the church or the insurer, but they demand that these services be available for free to the women in their organizations.

The Obama administration has graciously granted a period of time for all churches to get in line — that is, to reconcile their dogmatic teachings with the New Law that has come down from the White House.

So, let’s pause and think about this. Let’s say the churches agree and they do provide contraceptive and abortifacient procedures. They’re now in the clear with Law Giver Obama. But what about the original Law? You remember that pesky “Thou Shalt Not Kill”? Or how about, “Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery”? Or: No Fornicator Shall Enter Heaven.

The purpose of religion is to help individuals in their walk with God. Religions tell the person, Do This, Don’t Do That, because that is how you will grow closer to God. Obey, and your eternal life is looking good, disobey, and not so much!

So, churches that fall on the side of believing that Contraception and Abortion are Intrinsically Evil would be sending their adherents to Hell if they agreed that all should heed the H(elping) H(ell) S(hine)Mandate. This sort of defeats the purpose of being a good believer.

It is then obvious that the churches cannot cooperate in this power grab, which will not only control our mortal lives, but impact our immortal souls. In addition, due to the requirements of Christian Charity, it is incumbent on the churches to Teach the Ignorant (pro-mandate persons) so that their souls may be saved.

A definition for freedom is having the right to do what you should do. License is doing whatever you want to do. The two definitions exist because human nature tends to urge all individuals to do what they should not do. It is a problem as old as humanity. Now we have a government saying it will force individuals to do what they know they should not and cannot do. It has happened before. Daniel refused to stop praying, and was thrown to the lions.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the furnace because they refused to obey the king and eat what was forbidden. They were rescued by heavenly assistance.

Heavenly assistance is needed in this battle and all believers should pray for it. This is a battle in which all are combatants and all souls will be weighed. How heavy is a mill stone?

Dennis P. McGeehan is a freelance writer and author of Selecting the Best Martial Arts Class for Your Child.

By Inspirational, Religious Liberty3 Comments on It Would Be Better . . .

3 Replies to “It Would Be Better . . .”

  1. And yet reasonable questions go unanswered.
    When does a religious institution become a secular business?
    Should the laws of the US apply to all equally?
    Since the mandate does not force an individual to act against their religious beliefs – in what way is the mandate a threat to religious freedom?

    As for “…women dying in the street. Really?”
    Contraceptives are often prescribed for serious medical issues and the cost of the those medications can be prohibitive. These are facts – hyperbole does not facilitate discussion.

    The mandate does not require abortifacient procedures.

    1. “When does a religious institution become a secular business?”
      When it is not run by the Church. Most hospitals answer to a bishop. It is with their discretion that a hospital or other institution remain Catholic. With universities, it depends upon the order that runs them and how those orders answer to the bishops. If these institutions fail to follow the leadership of the Church, then the Church should cut them off.

      Should the laws of the US apply to all equally?
      I would agree they should. However, as St. Augustine himself said (and Martin Luther King quoted it often) “An unjust law is no law at all.” We have the right to protest a law that is unjust, and this law is.

      “Since the mandate does not force an individual to act against their religious beliefs – in what way is the mandate a threat to religious freedom?”
      It does force individuals to act against their conscience. It will force individuals who own private business to provide birth control and abortifacient drugs at their expense. It forces individuals without insurance to pay into a government plan that provides them, or it forces individuals to buy insurance that provides them. It forces hospitals, who answer to bishops, to cover these same drugs with their own self-insured plans. The Church will be paying one way or another.

      “Contraceptives are often prescribed for serious medical issues and the cost of the those medications can be prohibitive. These are facts – hyperbole does not facilitate discussion.”

      As a woman who was proscribed such medicines for PCOS (which they don’t help, really, but that is beside the point) no one is going to DIE if they don’t get them. Regardless, most plans, even now, will cover these medicines for strictly medical purposes. I know, because that’s how mine were paid for. Even a Catholic plan will cover them for medical purposes. However – pregnancy is not a disease. It is the normal, healthy function of a normal, healthy female body. Therefore, birth control for birth control sake is NOT a medical necessity and should not be covered.

      “The mandate does not require abortifacient procedures.” On the contrary, it provides for abortifacient drugs.

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