Christians Must Steer America Back to Founding Principles, Author Says
by Carolyn Kimmel
November 16, 2006
(AgapePress) - - How many times have you heard about another assault on Christianity by the ACLU and thrown up your hands with a resigned "What can you do?"
Well, there's a lot you can do -- and it doesn't take lots of time or money. What it takes is boldness, according to Sam Kastensmidt, author of a new book titled, Indefensible: Ten Ways the ACLU is Destroying America.
"It takes a movement that says, 'Enough is enough.' We've been led down avenues we don't want to go down anymore. God and religion have been removed from the public arena, life has been devalued and marriage is being assaulted," says Kastensmidt, a news analyst with Coral Ridge Ministries' Center for Reclaiming America in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "We now see a country that our founders wouldn't recognize, and it's all because people have chosen not to speak the truth, but to sit back, hide and stay comfortable."
As a result, Kastensmidt says, the American Civil Liberties Union has been extremely successful in bending the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. He offers a sample from the grocery list of what the ACLU has accomplished through its lawsuits directed at schools, towns, and individuals: taking "Christ" out of Christmas at schools, forcing towns to take down their Nativity displays, silencing prayer at graduations, working against public Christian messages such as "Choose Life" license plates, lobbying for laws that strike down parental involvement in teen abortion.
And what the ACLU is working for, he adds, is just as troubling as what it has worked against: assisted suicide, same-sex "marriage," gay adoption, a lower age of sexual consent for youths.
"The name 'American Civil Liberties Union' would lead most Americans to believe that the organization is a noble defender of liberty in the finest tradition of our nation's founders .... [Yet] it parades under a false banner of liberty while attacking the very foundations of America," says Kastensmidt, who calls the group "a tremendous threat to America's future stability."
The majority of Americans, he says, do not agree with the views put forth by the ACLU, but they feel powerless to stop it. He suggests there are concrete things anyone in their community can do make a difference, however --
- People can call their legislators and let them know how they stand on issues. This may sound intimidating and time-consuming, but it isn't at all, Kastensmidt shares. "You'll be talking to a college-aged staffer who will mark down your opinion on a tally sheet. When Christians are silent and the other side is vocal, it's like we're approving of the status quo," he says.
- People can sign on-line petitions at ReclaimAmerica.org that are delivered to Washington. Recently, the Center collected and delivered to the U.S. House almost 200,000 signatures in support of legislation that would prevent the ACLU from profiting from arguing religious cases. And on the day after Election Day earlier this month, the Center delivered nearly 170,000 petitions to the U.S. Supreme Court asking the high court to uphold the federal ban on partial-birth abortion.
- Churches could hold short, issues-awareness meetings for their congregations, letting them know how the Bible speaks to the issues that are going on in the world, and how they can act. Kastensmidt says "when there is a decision on an issue drawn on biblical lines, such as an amendment to the state constitution to protect marriage, the churches could inform their congregations of which stands support traditional values."
- Community forums could be convened to educate people on their religious rights. The Center for Reclaiming America and other organizations are willing to send speakers to these forums and have materials available that speak to these issues. "We live in an age where everything must be politically correct," Kastensmidt notes. "People are scared to be offensive. Christians are always to have grace and truth on their lips, but with genuine concern, they must speak up on these issues."
A case in point is the Establishment Clause -- often cited in cases involving "separation of church and state" -- which was written to protect religious groups from having a state religion imposed on them. But because of ACLU threats and lawsuits, the original meaning has been so twisted that now people don't know what their rights are anymore, says Kastensmidt. He suggests that educational forums in communities across America could go a long way toward emboldening people.
For example, it's okay for school boards and city councils to open meetings with prayer. And schools and government entities must provide equal access to groups of faith. It's okay for a school chorus program to include a song with the word "Christmas" in it. It's okay for students to bring their Bibles to school. It's okay for your child to wear a T-shirt to school that bears the word "God." It's okay for Christian clubs to meet on school grounds (during non-curriculum time), and it's okay for students to share their faith during non-instructional time at school.
Do any of those things surprise you? The ACLU wants you to think it's not okay, Kastensmidt says.
"What's really exciting is to see the development of different legal ministries -- such as the Liberty Council, the Alliance Defense Fund, the Rutherford Institute -- that are specializing in defending communities from attacks from the ACLU," he says. "And the courts are actually coming around."
There are also encouraging signs in Congress, he adds. Recently, the House passed the Public Expressions of Religion Act, preventing parties such as the ACLU from collecting attorney's fees or monetary damages from court cases that are based on "separation of church and state." Supporters of the legislation, which now goes before the Senate for a vote, say the legislation helps in two ways: it will free communities from the fear of incurring expensive attorney's fees if they fight to keep their religious displays, and it may make the ACLU less eager to go after such cases if they have to foot their own legal bills.
Kastensmidt, a former financial consultant who became a Christian five years ago and then took a job at the Center for Reclaiming America, says his book is the result of Dr. D. James Kennedy's commissioning of the Center to be a watchdog over the ACLU. "When you present the ACLU's agenda, even the most liberal people are outraged by what they want," the author says.
Kastensmidt refutes the popular idea that a piece of legislation or court decision will save American society and turn the nation back toward traditional values. He says that's just not going to happen. "It will come from a movement of God in the hearts of individual people," he shares. "We, as Christians, must take seriously our roles, set forth by Christ, to be salt and light in this world."
Carolyn Kimmel is a staff writer for Good News Daily, a daily online Christian newspaper based in Wellsville, Pennsylvania.
