In a display of judicial tyranny, U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco ruled on August 4 that Proposition 8, California’s constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman, was unconstitutional, even though it was passed by 7 million voters. If allowed to stand, this will be an historic change in the way the judiciary wields its power, and to the concept of marriage that has been central to all stable societies throughout history. It will lead to direct assaults on religious organizations that adhere to their beliefs about marriage.
The founding Americans rejected the concept of the divine right of kings – and judges—rebelled against excessive governmental authority and affirmed the dignity and moral worth of the individual. Liberty and religious tolerance were fundamental to their view, which was rooted in Judeo-Christian tenets. Their perspective went well beyond the understandings of the past. Rights, they declared, were not granted to the individual by a benevolent state, but were unalienable and given by a Creator God. It was a free people, exercising those rights that established the government and determined its powers. The result was an unleashing of energy, imagination, invention and economic growth that no system of restraint could match.
With the passage of time, however, government began to provide greater economic security and benefits, which led to increased taxation and a greater governmental role in the economic system. People became less inclined to assume the risks or exercise the initiative that accompanied their freedom, and began to look to the state rather than their Creator for their welfare. As government expanded, both in size and political power, it became more paternalistic. Liberty was restricted and society became, if not atheistic, at least agnostic. Belief in God was viewed as a strictly private concern with no role in public life. The state assumed primacy over God in defining individual rights and who is and who is not entitled to them.
Today, society is barely guided by the morality and virtues that religion provides. Hostility toward religion, especially Christianity, has become acceptable and commonplace. There are continual attacks on Christianity under the guise of freedom of expression, artistic license, non-discrimination and separation of church and state. Nativity scenes are banned from public grounds. Public school children are not permitted to sing traditional Christmas carols or coaches offer a general prayer with their teams. A crucifix placed in a jar of urine is extolled as art. Military chaplains are directed to offer only non-denominational prayers. Repeated attempts are made to remove “Under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance and “In God We Trust” from the nation’s coinage. And the list goes on and on.
Christians are too submissive under these attacks. The alluring materialism of the age, coupled with weak formation in the faith, have made them apathetic toward religion and detached from their faith traditions. Their attitudes, values, tastes and behaviors have become highly secular. They no longer have the knowledge or conviction to stand up for their professed beliefs and challenge societal trends.
Large numbers of Christians lead dual lives. They may adhere to church teachings to fulfill their Sunday obligations, but for the rest of the week they adapt to the irreligious ways of the material world. They have no desire to defend their faith, and willingly accept, and in some cases even support, the practices of abortion, divorce, contraception, gay marriage and co-habitation. God rarely enters their thoughts.
Christianity is not only a dogma to be believed, but a way of life in which we are called to stand before an unrelenting, religiously-hostile world and bear witness to the truth. We are called to be modern-day evangelists, bringing the teachings of the Gospel into the world through the way we live our lives. We are called to confront the evils of the world, to involve ourselves in the public square, and to bring the tenets of our faith to bear on issues that impact on marriage, the family and the dignity of the human person.
Many people may agree that this is the way they should act, but hesitate to do so because they feel alone, without confidence, and have no idea of what they can achieve. In order to change the values and behaviors of the populace-at-large, to alter the culture of the nation, we need leaders, role models, people of exceptional accomplishment to show the way. We need the example of people who have set themselves apart through selfless action and extraordinary achievement in pursuit of an end that is valued by all. Such individuals stimulate our imaginations and rouse our common, but dormant, convictions. They cause us to examine our values and goals and realize that through service to others, even at a sacrifice to ourselves, we can strive toward a higher purpose in life. In short, we need heroes.
A culture that is strong in religious values has less need for heroes than one that is weak. The general ethos of the people, their beliefs and behavior, provides a social framework for others, particularly the young, guiding how they should act, illustrating what is appropriate and what is not acceptable. But in a culture in which God is absent, when morals are relative, when virtually any behavior is tolerated, heroes are needed to serve as role models of what it means to be Christian in society.
Through the examples of heroes, we can all be inspired to be heroic at least in small ways. Catholic Archbishop of Denver Charles Chaput, in an article earlier this year in First Things, gives us a prescription for how we can prepare ourselves for this role: “By talking to God, humbly and honestly, in prayer. By getting to know Christ better through reading and praying over the gospels. By opening yourself up to the graces he gives us in the sacraments. It’s not about choosing what you want to do with your life. It’s about discovering how God wants you to use your life to spread the good news of his love and his kingdom.”
We can all be heroes by obeying God in small ways as well as large, keeping his commandments, sacrificing for our families, assuming responsibility for our actions, and making our way through life without complaint. We can be examples of what it means to be Christian by what we say, what we do, and what we do not do. We can show that God does indeed matter. May we be inspired to stand before our secular world and live our lives in the heroic manner of authentic and committed Christians.
-Lawrence P. Grayson is a visiting scholar in the School of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America
