Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hi. I'm Matt Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. We must obey God rather
than men (Acts 5:29). That's what Peter said in the name of the apostles when the authorities
the governing authorities told them to be quiet and not preach the Gospel. We have a
situation today where the government is also infringing upon our rights as Christians.
The Missouri Synod was founded in large measure because individuals came from Germany because
they were not allowed the free exercise of their faith. They came to a country with a
Bill of Rights, approved in 1791 by all the states, and that Bill of Rights has a First
Amendment, which says the “government shall make no law respecting the establishment of
religion nor protecting the free exercise thereof.
Today we face a very grave situation, which many of you are well aware of. The Healthcare
Reform Act passed last year requires religious employers to cover the cost of contraceptives,
including those drugs which can cause death in the womb: abortifactients.
I want to be clear: The Missouri Synod is not opposed we have no official position on
the healthcare law in and of itself. We do not take positions on many, in fact most,
political issues: farm policy, foreign policy, economic policy, et cetera. That ’s not
our forte. That ’s a matter for you as an informed Christian citizen to decide.
But we have, in this case, a clear infringement upon our religious freedom and religious rights.
The mandates which come from the healthcare legislation presuppose that the free exercise
of religion is more a matter of freedom to associate and assemble in churches. We say
the free exercise of religion, as the Bill of Rights states, is something expansive,
that is, we are free to act out our religion in society, in the public square as we care
for people in need and to do so, not violating our own religious principles and consciences.
That is why we have joined forces with many other religious entities to stand up for the
free exercise of religion. This is a vital moment for us. We know there are Democrats
and Republicans at our altars. There are independents. There are people who don't vote all in this
Missouri Synod. We're not telling you how to vote. We are telling you, however, that
Christians need to be informed about the religious freedom challenges that are upon us. And it’s
not going to get easier into the future no matter who's elected. We're offering an opportunity
for our pastors, our church workers and our lay members to become educated so they can
be informed about their own legislators. They can ask questions of people who are seeking
election to public office on this vital issue of religious freedom.
We have a campaign, which is now coming out, called Free to Be Faithful, and there'll be
many resources for you, to inform you, to share with your friends, to talk about at
church. Go to lcms dot org slash free to be faithful. That's lcms dot org slash free to
be faithful. You’ll find Bible studies there, articles and a sample letter you can use when
you write your elected representatives. God bless you, and remember: We must obey
God rather than men, and by His grace, we will.