Walking away from godlessness

Along with friends straight and gay I rejoice over this summer’s ruling legalizing gay and lesbian marriage in all 50 states; it has been a long time coming. Equally faithful people are grieving, however, which is to be expected with this nation’s rich diverse religious population.

One’s celebration or grief is tempered by friends who feel the opposite, requiring friendship to go beyond the personal understanding of sacred scripture.

Even so, I find myself flummoxed by some government employees who, having sworn to execute their legal duties, are suing the government to weasel out of their oath of office. I refer to the government clerk in Kentucky who refuses to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, insisting that her freedom of religion trumps her oath of office.

Let’s postpone the equally silly refusal to bake wedding cakes for another day. I only have so many words in this column. Ponder the hypocrisy of agreeing under oath to work for a secular government, expecting a government paycheck, recognizing the government is religion neutral, and then suing the same government when one doesn’t get his or her way.

Let’s assume that this clerk believes gay marriage is sinful, maybe even the work of the devil. That’s a viewpoint that she has every legal right to hold.

If her faith leads her to believe that a secular, godless government is legalizing what is immoral or evil, she should shake the dust off her feet and turn in her keys. To paraphrase a contemporary Paul, there must be 50 ways to leave your government job.

One of the strongest testimonies I ever heard was at a church father-son banquet more than 50 years ago. (Do churches still hold such dinners?) The speaker that evening had been a disc jockey for an Indianapolis radio station until they demanded he violate his Christian conscience by playing tobacco advertising.

He didn’t seek out some narrow minded Christian law firm and sue his employers. He didn’t play the Mr. Pitiful Card and ask for a special exemption. He quit. He would no longer be yoked to a corporation that asked him to do something he couldn’t do in clear Christian conscience.

I’ve known others over the years who walked away from what they called sin, some to their own financial harm. I didn’t see each decision the same way as they, but they are giants of the faith to me -- people who would have no truck with evil as they understood it.

Suing the government for the right to do only part of my job makes a farce out of freedom of religion. Gay marriage is the law of the land in all 50 states, upheld 6-3 by the highest court in this nation. A government employee sworn to execute the laws of this land has two choices: issue the license or quit the job.

Can a public school teacher who believes the earth is 6,000 years old refuse to mention the dreaded E-word on religious grounds, demanding a substitute teacher be employed for that lesson?

Can a county health nurse who believes exclusively in faith healing refuse to immunize children in order to salve a Christian conscience? Can an immigration officer on grounds of Christian conscience allow destitute widows and children to slip across the border?

A devout Christian suing a godless government in order to continue working for that godless government is a real stretch. In no way do I believe that the marriage of gay and lesbian persons is evil. But the Kentucky clerk who sees evil here could make the noblest witness by quitting rather than litigating.

Creede Hinshaw, a retired United Methodist pastor of 36 years, can be contacted at hinnie@cox.net.

This story was originally published August 28, 2015 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Walking away from godlessness ."