With a new year comes new hopes, new
goals, and new challenges. For
Christians, despite what “new” may come our way, we can be confident that we
have the exact same God sitting on the throne of the universe, in control of
all things. And included in “all things”
are political things — elections, Supreme Court cases, cultural battles … you
name it. So along with settling on a
Bible reading plan, making it back to the gym, and finally getting organized, this
week I’ll devote my blog postings to three major political issues to put on
your “to track” list for 2023:
1.
Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision in 303 Creative v Elenis
2.
Pro-life efforts at the state level after SCOTUS Dobbs 2022 overturned Roe
v Wade
3.
The fight against transgender ideology and the war on children
1. SCOTUS decision in 303 Creative v Elenis
If you are a regular reader of the Freedom Center, you will be well acquainted with this case. Christians should be tracking this because it is primarily about freedom of speech and religious liberty — two fundamental pillars of our faith and practice of Christianity here in the United States. 303 Creative v Elenis is a case about the freedom of speech of a website designer, Lorie Smith, but it is also one of the most critical cases related to religious liberty that the SCOTUS has considered for years.
As the Freedom Center has explained, Smith, a devout Christian and the owner of 303 Creative, sued the state of Colorado over its Anti-Discrimination Act and whether or not she would be forced to create websites celebrating same-sex marriage against her religious beliefs. She lost at both the federal district and appellate levels before the SCOTUS agreed to take up her case. While it hasn’t been quite as high profile, 303 Creative v Elenis nearly mirrors Masterpiece Cakeshop v Colorado, in which a Christian baker refused to custom-design products that violated his religious convictions.
Alliance Defending Freedom, a non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life, is arguing the case for 303 Creative and Lorie and, by extension, for people like you and me. They write, “After realizing that Colorado was censoring her and after seeing Colorado use this same law to punish Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips, she challenged the law to protect her freedom and her art studio." The SCOTUS heard oral arguments for 303 Creative in early December 2022. By all accounts, it appears to have gone well for Smith. The decision will most likely come down in June 2023.
Christians should track this issue because a right ruling in 303 Creative will go a long way toward protecting and preserving our First Amendment freedoms to live as Christians in America. It would ensure that Christian business owners and other Christians in the public square aren’t coerced to participate in speech, content creation, or ceremonies, etc., that go against our biblical beliefs that marriage is between a man and a woman (for just one example). This is, currently, the biggest SCOTUS case of 2023. If Lorie Smith and 303 Creative prevail, Christians will have great cause for rejoicing this summer.
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