Written by Jorge Gomez

The greatest threat to America is not the COVID-19 virus.

We don’t dismiss the deadliness of a rapidly spreading illness. However, the virus itself isn’t the most pressing threat to the fabric or the foundations of our country.

The most imminent danger to our republic is the overreach of government power, especially during a crisis. Our nation faces a fatal risk when government takes actions that violate our fundamental freedoms, leading us down the road of tyranny, to the erosion of our constitutional system.

When we survey the landscape of stay-at-home orders and restrictions imposed during the last several weeks, we see officials in numerous states abusing their authority to severely cut back freedoms, as they don’t want to let “a good crisis go to waste.”

Nowhere has this been more apparent than in the burdensome policies, bigotry and discrimination directed against America’s houses of worship and religious communities.

Churches and people of faith nationwide have largely shown love for their neighbor, complied with health guidelines, gone the extra mile to adapt their religious services and continued serving communities as their faith teaches. Even still, relentless and outrageous violations of their religious freedom are constantly launched against them.

What does this say about the state of our nation?

One thing is increasingly clear. The attacks on our First Freedom during the health crisis are a warning sign that America is facing a constitutional crisis.

Downgrading America’s First Freedom to Second Class Status

The first indication that the U.S. Constitution is in deep trouble comes from data showing that most Americans think it’s okay to maintain ongoing limitations on religious liberty.

A recent University of Chicago Divinity School / Associated Press poll reported that 42 percent of Americans think in-person religious services should be allowed with restrictions, and 48 percent think they should not be allowed at all.

That’s half of Americans who believe churches should be banned from meeting, even if they follow the same restrictions and all safety protocols as businesses, retail, liquor and other stores which are allowed to be open. That’s pure discrimination.

Let’s ask ourselves a difficult question: Have we elevated commercial activity so high on our list of “essential services” and downgraded religious freedom to second tier, or even further down the list?

Are we at a point now when we’re categorizing this First Freedom as “non-essential?”

This reveals something deeply concerning about our understanding of basic constitutional freedoms.

It’s almost as if religious freedom—including the inalienable right to exercise one’s beliefs by attending church—has become just like any other casual lifestyle choice. By the looks of it, many in positions of authority and a majority of Americans think this right is just a hobby we can push down the list, like going to a baseball game, or to a concert with friends.

There’s a reason why our Founders fought to ensure that religious freedom held a special (and first) place in the U.S. Constitution. They understood that people of faith and churches were essential to the fabric of our society, and therefore it was necessary to restrain government power, so that religious communities could freely live out their faith as well as contribute to the flourishing of our country.

Today, even if many state governors or local officials say otherwise, religious services and religious freedom are still indeed “life-sustaining” and essential. They are a lifeblood for millions in times of national crisis or distress.

It’s worth reminding those officials who relegate religious freedom and the religious community to second tier of a blunt truth: Religious freedom has been essential since the U.S. Constitution was drafted, and today it still is the primary and most essential of our liberties.

Here’s the bottom line: If “We the People” forget, willfully ignore or downgrade religious liberty from being first on the list of freedoms listed in the U.S. Constitution, then it’s a sign we’re in a constitutional crisis.

State Officials Who Think Themselves Above the Supreme Law of the Land

Another clear and present threat to our constitutional system is seen when governors and local officials across several states think they can override or run roughshod over the religious freedoms of Americans.

Consider that in the state of Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee imposed a ban on religious gatherings of any size during the COVID-19 pandemic, even prohibiting two people from meeting together to pray and read scripture and criminalizing all religious gatherings outside of family members.

First Liberty intervened against this attack on religious freedom, seeking a temporary restraining order on behalf of our client, Joshua Freed, who wanted to hold a one-on-one Bible study in his home while adhering to CDC guidelines. Thanks to our involvement, Gov. Inslee backed down and Mr. Freed can have a one-on-one Bible study, and the Governor will not enforce the rules against home Bible studies on a one-on-one basis.

In Kentucky, First Liberty had to fight on behalf of churches prevented by Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order from holding CDC-compliant religious services, a policy that even threatened them with criminal penalties. In that state, First Liberty won two seminal victories reclaiming the rights of churches to hold both drive-in and safe, in-person services.

Or take a look at the fact that in Chicago, Illinois police recently fined several churches for hosting in-person services. The situation in that state was so bad that Gov. J.B. Pritzker at one point announced he would demand places of worship keep their doors closed until a vaccine is developed (whenever that is!), despite their “over-compliance” with health regulations.

Over the course of the pandemic, there’s been no shortage of government leaders abusing their power and trampling on the U.S. Constitution by singling out and discriminating against people of faith and churches.

The U.S. Constitution is designed to protect religious institutions, so that no governor, state or local official arbitrarily singles out religious activities for restrictions that do not apply to other areas of life. But as we see from the examples above (as well as many more not mentioned here), some in positions of authority don’t really grasp the U.S. Constitution’s protection of religious freedom.

Terrible mismanagement of religious liberty at the state and local level is alarming because it poses a threat to our constitutional system, indeed to the political health of our republic.

Think of it this way. We have a constitutional crisis when governors or municipal leaders put themselves above the Supreme Law of the Land (U.S. Constitution)—like when they make policies that directly violate the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom.

There’s a big lesson to learn here: The health crisis has brought to the forefront the reality of a constitutional crisis, a crisis caused by an impending threat of government interfering with our God-given liberties.

Right now, First Liberty is fighting for and reclaiming the First Amendment freedoms of religious communities nationwide. Protecting religious liberty is essential in this critical time, and it’s the first step in making sure we preserve America’s precious and unique constitutional system.

This article was originally published at FirstLiberty.org.

Churches Can Open Their Doors Again!

Just hours after sending out an email to the IFI Prayer Team, we received word that Gov. J.B. Pritzker had lifted all restrictions on churches in the state. (We have amazing prayer warriors!!) Peoria area attorney Brian Heller put the development more succinctly:

We won, or more accurately, the Gov. retreated from the field of battle facing likely humiliation.

Rockford area attorney Austin Scott Davies reports that this announcement came “shortly before the 8:00 PM deadline given to Pritzker by the U.S. Supreme Court to respond to Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church and Logos Baptist Ministries emergency temporary restraining orders, filed on their behalf by Liberty Counsel.”

“Suddenly,” Mr. Davies pointed out, “the Governor’s threats and intimidation have turned into ‘recommendations,’ that churches are not obligated to follow.”

Late last month we sent email alerts to churches and pastors to let them know that we were organizing lawsuits to challenge Gov. J.B. Pritzker‘s illegal “shelter-at home” Executive Orders, and invite them to join us in making a case against his abuse of authority.

Big box stores, Planned Parenthood clinics, “medical” marijuana dispensaries and liquor stores are considered “essential” by the governor, while church services have been banned. This sets a dangerous precedent. The First Amendment specifically protects our religious liberties from tyrannical government forces. It doesn’t take much foresight to realize how similar future orders could be mandated and extended in the name of “safety.”

In response to our email, we received replies from 24 interested churches across the state. We’ve been able to match up 7 churches with local Christian attorneys who will file their complaints, hopefully this week, in circuit courts in Lake County, Grundy County, Montgomery County, Winnebago County and Madison County.

We are still looking for other attorneys to help represent churches in 9 other counties. Therefore, we covet your prayers for these items and more at this time.

Please Pray:

• That the cases that have been or will be filed would find the presiding judge to be sympathetic and responsive to the complaints presented on behalf of pastors/churches.

• That the attorneys would be winsome and persuasive in presenting the cases and answering questions.

• That the judges hearing the cases would clearly see how Gov. Pritzker’s orders violated state law and Illinois Christian citizens’ constitutionally protected civil rights.

• That additional attorneys would come forward to offer their legal assistance to churches not yet represented.

Pray for the Trump Administration:

• That God would bless President Donald Trump, Mike Pence, the president’s Cabinet and his close advisors with wisdom and discernment in every situation.

• That they will recognize how dependent they are on almighty God in administering their duties for the American people.

• That God would show President Trump’s medical team how to wind down COVID-19 restrictions and Trump’s economic team how to reboot the American job market.

• That God would use President Trump to safeguard and even advance religious liberty in the United States and around the world.

• That God would show President Trump how to deal with our adversaries: China, North Korea, Russia and Iran.

Pray for the Church:

• That as God shakes the world with this COVID-19 pandemic, families would run to God as their fortress and high tower. Pray that our friends, neighbors and relatives would cling to Him instead of inadequate worldly solutions.

• That God would convict the church of areas were we have failed or fallen short. Pray that the church would recognize and become resolved to heed God’s call to repent and reform.

• That God would bring a third great awakening in America, which can only come after true repentance. May God use His remnant of faithful servant leaders and followers to advance His Kingdom. May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

• That God would raise up rigorous gospel-minded leaders who will boldly proclaim the truth and seek to advance God’s will on earth.

Pray for Families:

• That God would instill in us a desire to serve and bless others within our own local church and in our communities. Pray that families would work together to be the hands and feet of Jesus to meet physical and spiritual needs of their neighbors.

• That God would continue to turn the hearts of fathers to their children. Pray that every father realizes they are the pastors of their own households, and it is their responsibility to point their children to God and His Word as often as possible, to impress upon them God’s perfect precepts and commandments, and to testify to His amazing work in our lives.

• That God would help mothers realize the sway they have in their children’s lives and use it to edify and equip their children to be godly and productive citizens who love and follow the God of the Holy Bible. We know how much influence mothers have in the lives of their children. The old adage tells us that the hand that rocks the cradle rocks the world.

• That God would inspire and encourage grandparents to be the mortar in the bricks of their children’s families, filling in gaps and helping to cement bricks together. Pray that God would give them a vision for their role in the training of their children and wisdom on how to instill a Biblical worldview.

• That God would have mercy on those who are considering abortion. Pray that He would convict the hearts of mothers to choose life for their babies. Pray that God would provide a strong and visible support system for these women.

Miscellaneous Prayer Requests:

• Pray for the Illinois Christian Home Educator’s free online conference that starts today. Pray that Christian families abandon government schools and explore home education as a much better way to instruct, equip and train their children to thrive as independent and productive adults.

• Pray for the General Election and for godly candidates who must find ways to get their campaign messages out during this time of social distancing. Pray that a large wave of pro-life/pro-family candidates would be triumphant in November at the state level as well as on the federal level.

• Pray that the federal government’s investigation into political corruption in Illinois would root out self-serving wicked incumbents and government employees.

• Pray for the financial demise of Planned Parenthood International. Pray specifically against their new abortion mills in Flossmoor, Fairview Heights and now Waukegan. Pray that more and more abortion employees would see abortion for what it truly is and quit. Pray that they cannot fill these positions and are forced to shut down.

• Finally, pray that God will draw more and more people to Himself during this time of uncertainty. Pray that He would use our families to spread the light of the Gospel.

The works of His hands are truth and justice;
All His precepts are sure.
They are upheld forever and ever;
They are performed in truth and uprightness.
He has sent redemption to His people;
He has ordained His covenant forever;
Holy and awesome is His name.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;
His praise endures forever.
(Psalm 111:7-10)

We take very seriously the trust you place in Illinois Family Institute when you send a gift.
We understand that we are accountable before you and God to honor your trust. 

IFI is supported by voluntary donations from good people like you.

As you may have heard by now, during yesterday’s White House press conference, President Donald J. Trump officially designated churches as “essential places that provide essential services.” President Trump’s remarks came the same day that Fox News reported that U.S. Department of Justice is intervening “in an Illinois case that has the potential to invalidate the state’s stay-at-home order implemented by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.”

Shortly after Trump’s statement, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a new document titled “Interim Guidance for Communities of Faith” with detailed recommendations for religious believers and institutions.

“Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential but have left out churches and houses of worship. It is not right,” Trump said. “I’m correcting this injustice and calling house of worship essential.”

Watch his brief announcement followed by a Q & A session, which is moderated by Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany:

“The governors need to do the right thing and allow these very important essential places of faith to open right now,” Trump said. “For this weekend. If they don’t do it, I will override the governors. In America, we need more prayer, not less.”

We take very seriously the trust you place in Illinois Family Institute when you send a gift.
We understand that we are accountable before you and God to honor your trust. 

IFI is supported by voluntary donations from good people like you.

Written by Jerry Newcombe

Dr. Richard Land once called our country, “the divided states of America.” How apt — especially when we survey the various responses to the coronavirus. They are lessons in liberty and lessons in tyranny.

To paraphrase what a friend of mine wrote me recently, “We have 50 real-world government examples of liberty or tyranny — 50 real-time experiments in whether state governments moved towards liberty (as in Texas and South Dakota) or absolute control (as in California, Michigan and New York).” As a resident, I would add: Florida’s leadership is doing a great job.

Churches Closed, Planned Parenthood Open

Nowhere can this contrast be better seen than in how the state authorities deal with churches versus how they deal with abortion, ordering churches closed while deeming Planned Parenthood and other abortionists “essential services.”

How fitting. In her classic book, Godless, Ann Coulter postulates that abortion is the left’s “sacrament.” The sacraments of the church are out. The left’s new sacrament is in. The most pro-abortion leaders are the ones who are most cracking down on real constitutional freedoms in their states. If a politician gets abortion wrong, they tend to get everything else wrong too.

This anti-religious spirit at work is exceedingly ironic because America was born as a religious nation. In the Mayflower Compact, the Pilgrims explained their reason for coming: “For the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.”

Our First Amendment declares our first freedom — freedom of religion. The founders stipulated there would be no national denomination and there would be no prohibition on the “free exercise” of religion. They didn’t add, “except in times of pestilence.”

“No Pandemic Exception to the Bill of Rights”

Indeed, Attorney General William Barr sides with the churches (following social distancing guidelines, etc.) in this conflict. He said, “There is no pandemic exception to the Constitution and its Bill of Rights.”

But many of the left today have used the pandemic crisis to try and shut down a lot of religious services:

• The mayor of Kansas City, Missouri was demanding that churches hand over a list of anyone who attended any of their services. When Mat Staver and Liberty Counsel threatened to sue, the city backed down.

• The governor of Illinois postulated that church services may need to be banned for a year. This is the same governor who prohibited residents in his state from traveling — while apparently his wife vacationed in Florida.

• Overzealous administrators have sought to ban churches even from holding “drive-in” church services, which follow the mandates to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

If your church parking lot permits, holding a drive-in service is a clever way to worship the Lord together. Usually, the pastor would preach to the congregation in their cars though a low frequency on the FM dial in such services.

“A Lesson to Governors”

But even in the Bible belt, such as in Kentucky and Mississippi, some overzealous administrators have tried to shut such services down. First Liberty Institute has threatened lawsuits, and the cities have relented.

The Wall Street Journal had an editorial entitled, “Caesar, God and the Lockdowns,” in which they note, “A federal court ruling on religious liberty is a lesson to governors.”

The editorial talks about Maryville Baptist Church in Louisville, which held a modest Easter service — with some worshipers inside and others in the parking lot, hearing the service through a loudspeaker.

To harass the worshipers, notes the WSJ, “The police took down license-plate numbers. The church sued.”

A panel on the Sixth Circuit ruled in favor of the church: “It’s not always easy to decide what is Caesar’s and what is God’s — and that’s assuredly true in the context of a pandemic. … Why is it safe to wait in a car for a liquor store to open but dangerous to wait in a car to hear morning prayers?”

The Left-Right Divide in Leadership

A new report out of Chicago over the weekend shows the lengths to which the anti-God forces will go. Wirepoints observes that the mayor sought to punish a church, Philadelphia Romanian Church, to prevent it from holding services. They stated, “On Sunday morning the tow trucks descended — not just on churchgoers, but on residents and everybody else, and on a private lot used by parishioners.”

The pastor of the church said, “The mayor is inciting hate against the church which is very sad. A lot of our members risked their lives to escape Communism, only to find it germinating in 2020 under Mayor Lightfoot in Chicago.” Lori Lightfoot is so committed to abortion rights, she helped drive out of office one of the last Democrat, pro-life U. S. Congressmen.

Wirepoints adds, “It should also be a clarion call to the churches across the city as to how far the left will go to crush the faithful of all denominations.”

Freedom-loving Americans can look at a map of the country and see how those on the left versus those on the right are delicately handling the crisis. The abortion-loving, church-hating politicians stand in great contrast with their freedom-loving counterparts in the red states.

Jerry Newcombe, D.Min., is a senior producer and an on-air host for D. James Kennedy Ministries. He has written or co-written 32 books, such as The Unstoppable Jesus Christ, American Amnesia: Is American Paying the Price for Forgetting God?, What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (with D. James Kennedy) and the bestseller, George Washington’s Sacred Fire (with Peter Lillback). Learn more at jerrynewcombe.com and follow him on Twitter @newcombejerry.

Obama judicial appointee Judge John Z. Lee of the Northern District of Illinois ruled against The Beloved Church last week as they filed a federal complaint challenging Governor J.B. Pritzker‘s emergency Executive Orders. The pastor and church, located in Lena, Illinois, are seeking to have their First Amendment rights restored to them in order to host regular services of up to 80 people each week.

Judge Lee’s reasoning in his decision denying the church’s complaint was shocking:

It is difficult to see why the legislature would recognize these long-running problems as disasters, yet divest the Governor of the tools he needs to address them.

Judge Lee continues:

Written by Dave Olsson

The coronavirus crisis of 2020 has exposed the dark underbelly of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the dangers of U.S. dependency on China. Not only was the CCP irresponsible in concealing the outbreak while allowing it to spread across the globe, but they also threatened to withhold pharmaceuticals so that America would be “plunged into the mighty sea of coronavirus.”

While that international confrontation is serious, the coronavirus has also exposed something else much closer to home and potentially as sinister. As our federal and state governments have reacted to the crisis with “stay-at-home” and “social distancing” directives, it’s revealed a disturbing willingness by some of our state and local authorities to impose orders on local churches that appear to violate their constitutional rights.

In Florida, a pastor was arrested and “charged with unlawful assembly and violation of a public health emergency order” after holding two Sunday services in violation of a safer-at-home order.

In Greenville, Mississippi, congregants were fined $500 each for attending drive-in services in the church parking lot where they kept their windows up and listened as the service was broadcast over the radio.

In Chincoteague Island, VA, a pastor was criminally charged “for violating Governor Northam’s COVID-19 Order 55” after holding a service with 16 people. Northam’s order limited gatherings to 10 people.

In Kansas City, MO, the plan for reopening the city included a requirement to record “names and contact information of attendees” during church services for possible “contact tracing” before it was walked back and made voluntary.

Here in Illinois, Governor J.B. Pritzker introduced a five-phase reopening plan that “gives guidance to schools, businesses, churches, and other religious centers.” Part of that guidance is that churches “will not be allowed to hold in-person services of more than 50 people until phase five, even if it takes more than a year to get to that position.”

Those are jarring examples of the government interfering in the life of the church. But none caught my attention like the one in Knox County, TN where local authorities took the dangerous step of decreeing what a church service could—and could not—include:

[T]he health department just announced that while churches may reopen on May 1, the Lord’s Supper is forbidden. The order was announced by Knox County Health Department Regional Hospital Coordinator Charity Menefee, who announced that Communion is not part of “core worship.”

The immediate question is, “Who is Charity Menefee and who gave her permission to determine what is or isn’t part of ‘core worship’ in the church?” It gets worse:

Not only that, but church attendees are also banned from physically embracing or shaking hands with one another. And singing, while not banned, “is discouraged as it is thought to be an activity that expels significantly more virus than talking.”

Got that? You may meet, but you may not sing, hug, shake hands or take communion. The order goes on to proscribe the use of hymnals, Bibles and offering plates and prohibits other activities that bring congregants together.

The civil authorities in Knox County are clearly operating outside their jurisdiction. Back in March, Douglas Wilson wrote about the nature and extension of civil government when it comes to the things of God:

In historic Presbyterian polity (all rise!), the civil magistrate had no authority in sacred things (in sacris), but he had definite authority surrounding sacred things (circa sacra). Put simply, the magistrate has no right to tell the church what to preach, how to pray, how to administer the sacraments, who to discipline, etc. That is not their assigned task. They need to stay in their lane.

But when it comes to questions of public safety (which is exactly what this is), preachers need to stay in their lane. It would be different if we were talking about a monastery with a bunch of recluse hermit monks, and the magistrate told them they couldn’t gather in their own chapel for prayers. That would be none of the magistrate’s business. But if great herds of Baptists head out to the Golden Corral after services, and they do this during the time of an epidemic, the magistrate has full authority and obligation to tell all of them “not so fast.” This is circa sacra.

There are so many areas where the church should be resisting statism, it would be shame to waste our powder on any issue where the state is acting well within its rights.

In Knox County, the state is most assuredly not “acting well within its rights.” While Charity Menefee rightly permits churches to reopen based on her authority “surrounding sacred things (circa sacra),” she violates the boundary separating church and state by assuming authority “in sacred things (in sacris).”

Menefee may not have done so with malice; in fact, she may have considered her directive magnanimous. But such a violation is still a violation—and a dangerous one at that because it is done in the name of “safety.”

The question, “You want others to be safe, don’t you?” acts like a sedative on us in which we drop our defenses as the natural impulse to care for others takes over. Of course we want others to be safe.

But that’s not the right question. The question is, “Whose domain?” The practice of communion is not based on whether it is considered “safe” to do so by civil authorities. Follow the progression of that thinking and in ten years communion will be declared “unsafe” because it reinforces religious dogma that increases the risk of perceived threats to some minority group.

No, communion is first and foremost based on the authority of Jesus Himself.

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Cor. 11:23-26)

More important for this discussion, the freedom to practice communion without government interference is grounded in the First Amendment, which protects religious belief and expression. With emphasis added, it reads:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

And in 1940, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Cantwell v. Connecticut that the Free Exercise Clause is enforceable against state and local governments. Menefee, then, is abusing her authority and violating her Christian citizens’ constitutional and God-ordained rights.

When it comes to the act of taking communion, the authority of the U.S. Constitution supersedes the authority of the Knox County Health Department Regional Hospital Coordinator. And the authority of Jesus Christ supersedes the authority of the U.S. Constitution, which protects our God-given right to worship as we see fit.

Fortunately, the Knox County Health Department removed the communion ban and other restrictions, instructing places of worship to “See State Guidance.” If such draconian restrictions return, the churches of Knox County must unite and issue a kind but firm rebuke to the local “magistrate,” making it clear that the encroachment on their civil and religious liberties will not go unchallenged.

The COVID-19 crisis won’t be the last time the local church faces off with civil authorities. While not every act of government interference with the church is illegal or unjustified, it is interference. All churches would be wise to think through how to respond. Even if the orders are legal and compliance is reasonable, such accommodation gives authorities a foot in the door. Be sure that agreeing to a modest request doesn’t lead to them barging all the way in.

This article is an expansion of a previous version published on DAVEOLSSON.COM.

One of the nation’s leading religious freedom law firms, The Liberty Counsel, has recently reported that it is receiving a flood of complaints on behalf of pastors and ministry leaders in 30 states regarding heavy handed tactics singling out churches for punishment during shutdown orders. They are taking legal action in numerous situations to defend the constitutional rights of religious freedom.

One of the most incredible cases involves Pastor Kevin Wilson of Lighthouse Christian Church in Virginia. On April 5^th, before Palm Sunday, police entered the church telling those gathered that they could not have church.  They then issued the Pastor with a summons for violating Virginia Governor Northam’s COVID order. A crime that holds a year in jail or a $2,500 fine.

According to the police, the church was in violation for having 16 people, even though they were seated for social distancing, in an auditorium built to seat nearly 300.  The police said that if the church held a similar service on Easter everyone in attendance would be cited.

Before you make a judgment about this, it should be understood that Lighthouse Christian Church is an underprivileged church that does not have internet.  The church is known for helping people overcome drug addiction, poverty, mental illness and prostitution.  Many, if not most of their members, do not have internet.   Many members do not have driver’s licenses and they rely upon other members to take them to get food or to medical appointments.  The church has a history of helping its members with utility bills and physical labor needs at home.   The church is a vital part of their regular care.

Parking lots around Lighthouse on Chincoteague Island had hundreds of cars at various business establishment, but only this church was cited for having more than 10 people.

One of the problems with charging a pastor criminally for having 6 more than people in an order, is that in so doing, the government is subjectively saying that a church is non-essential while a liquor store or hardware store is essential.  It prevents responsible people from deciding what is essential to them. It also makes the increasingly common public policy mistake of overlooking the important role faith plays in people’s lives and the overall health benefits churches provide.

These clampdowns on churches trying to be compliant and safe while caring for their members, are occurring at a time when suicide and mental health hotlines are seeing a massive rise in calls.

One of the things that really irritates people are stories like this one where government authorities seem to lack an ability to think on their own and to make common sense adjustments to an arbitrary policy.  This strikes at the heart of what the RFRA issue was really all about.  It was an effort to force the government to balance its own interests with the rights of religious Americans and to take the least restrictive means possible, when necessary.

The dark side of these stories about church crackdowns is that it reveals a growing hostility to faith in America that many of you have probably observed in social media comments or other parts of our culture.

If you appreciate the work and ministry of IFI, please consider a tax-deductible donation to sustain our endeavors.  It does make a difference.

Written by Jim Davids, Esq.

On March 16, 2020, Governor JB Pritzker signed Executive Order 2020-07 that states in part,

Beginning March 18, 2020, all public and private gatherings in the State of Illinois of 50 people or more are prohibited for the duration of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation. A public or private gathering includes community, civic, public leisure, faith-based events, sporting events with spectators, concerts, conventions, and any similar event or activity that brings together 50 or more people in a single room or a single space at the same time. This includes venues such as fitness centers/health clubs, bowling alleys, private clubs, and theatres. This does not include venues that provide essential goods or services such as grocery stores, hospitals, pharmacies, gas stations, banks/credit unions, and shelters.

Since many, if not most, of the churches in our State have more than 50 people in the worship center, we have pursued alternatives, such as moving worship online. This actually has brought the Gospel to a much broader audience, with many pastors reporting that more people are watching their services online than at their average Sunday service. But, not every church member has a computer or internet access, and there is no equal to personal warmth and caring when done in person.

As U.S. Attorney General William Barr observed recently, this pandemic does not nullify the Bill of Rights, including America’s first freedom to exercise religious faith. All government officials – federal, state and local – must respect and protect the constitutionally protected freedom of Americans to worship according to their own beliefs.  Gov. Pritzker’s Executive Order 2020-07 obviously hinders Illinois residents in their exercise of religion, as well as in their right to peacefully assemble.

This deprivation of religious rights is effectuated by the Governor’s decision not to recognize religious services as “essential.” People congregating in some stores is okay, according to the Governor, but not in church.  This has undoubtedly resulted in many churches seeing a reduction in tithes and offerings.  The Governor is not treating all secular gatherings and religious gatherings the same, based on his opinion of what is “essential.”

The Bible is clear that we should respect and obey government leaders (Rom. 13; 1 Peter 2:13-17; Titus 3:1). At the same time, Paul and other Christians availed themselves of their rights as citizens and used the judicial systems of their day to appeal unjust rulings (e.g., Acts 25).  In our system of government, Gov. Pritzker’s Executive Orders are subject to review by judges who may find them unconstitutional or otherwise contrary to law.

If the Governor’s Order prohibiting gatherings of more than 50 people in a room, or his subsequent “stay at home” order, has resulted in

• Members of your church being unable to worship;
• Typical events like funerals, marriages, baptisms being unable to proceed; or
• Substantial financial losses due to decline in donations‍

and if you sincerely believe that restarting in-person church meetings is essential to your church’s ministry, we would like to talk to you about filing a law suit on your behalf. The phone call would be free, and, if our lawyers decide to take your case, you will not be charged for their services on your behalf. Please contact us to talk about your situation:

Justice & Freedom Law Center (JFLC)
(630) 333-9595
contactus@jflc.us

Finally, let us end this with a little encouragement. During times of crisis, like the present one, people realize their weakness, their vulnerable health, and their need for a Savior. Remain vigilant in declaring the truth of Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection.

Use also this opportunity to show the love of Christ in tangible ways. Consider delivering food to the elderly in your churches, or expanding your food pantry. You can also consider using your church as a temporary day care for healthcare workers or first responders.

Be of good cheer. Remember that God is in control, and perhaps this pandemic is His means of creating a revival in our State and country.

Jim Davids is a native Chicagoan who, after graduating from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI and Duke University School of Law in Durham, NC, returned to Chicago to begin practicing law. At church on a Sunday night in 1977 he met Sue, and after a two-year courtship they married. They raised four children in Chicago, and now have 12 grandchildren. (Read more here…)

On March 9, Governor J.B. Pritzker issued his first “stay-at-home” emergency Executive Order (EO). That was followed by another EO extending his stay-at-home order through April 30th. Then last week, Gov. Pritzker extended his stay-at-home order for another 30 days, through the end of May. If not extended again, that would constitute a total of 11 weeks of a lock-down for Illinois residents and businesses.

Since Illinois law only grants the governor emergency authority for a period of 30 days, the extensions of Gov. Pritzker’s “stay-at-home” order, which closes businesses and forbids church services and assemblies in excess of ten citizens, constitutes an overreach of executive authority. Thankfully, State Representative Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) took Gov. Pritzker to court over this very issue and won an important decision that may lead to a definitive strike-down of the governor’s dangerous precedent. In fact, Clay County Circuit Court Judge Michael McHaney was reported as saying that Gov. Pritzker’s “subsequent executive orders ‘shredded the Constitution.’” The governor has promised to appeal this decision, so it may not be resolved anytime soon.

Gov. Pritzker and state lawmakers need to hear from their constituents about the abuse of power and the infringement of our civil liberties.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to Gov. Pritzker and your state lawmakers asking them to end the lock-down and restore our civil liberties. Consider pointing out that our First Amendment rights to freely exercise our religion and to assemble in our churches are essential.

Background

In fairness to Gov. Prizker, the state’s initial response was part of his administrative effort to slow the spread of the disease and “flatten the curve” of COVID-19 hospitalizations. Yet over the past 6 weeks we have learned a lot about the COVID-19 pandemic. For one thing, the initial government predictions of hospitalizations and deaths were wrong. Thank God that these projections have been repeatedly revised downward but, unfortunately, not before contributing to the incitement of great fear and anxiety.

In Illinois, we have not come close to exceeding hospitalization and healthcare capacity. An excellent article by Wirepoints provides evidence of the adequacy of ICU bed capacity and ventilator availability.

Three weeks ago, Governor Pritzker stood before the media complaining about the Trump administration and our great need for ventilators, ICU beds, and other medical equipment. He was wrong. Illinois didn’t use half of the available ventilators and only two-thirds of available hospital beds.

The facts that have emerged over the past few weeks do not warrant Gov. Pritzker’s extended “stay-at-home” order. So, it is not surprising that his announced plans to extend the Illinois lock-down through the end of May is provoking a growing “enough is enough” response.

This past Friday, Illinois State Representative Allen Skillicorn (R-McHenry) issued a press release publicly asking,

Has the Governor lost his mind! How in the world could he possibly think of continuing a statewide lockdown when Cook County and Chicago are 70% of the positive cases, while 84 counties have less than 100 positives of which 75 have less than 50 positives. Just what will it take to convince Pharaoh Pritzker to let people in most of Illinois go!

Additionally, an Illinois Appellate Prosecutors Office’s staff memo sent by David J. Robinson, Chief Deputy Director of the 102 State’s Attorneys across Illinois are forewarned of possible litigation:

A cursory review of the EO (and extension) reveal clear – although potentially justified – infringements on the constitutional rights of Illinois citizens. See Article I, §2 (the State due process clause); Article I, §3 (religious freedom, including “mode of worship” protection); Article I, §5 (right to assemble and petition); Article I, §15 (right of eminent domain); and Article I, §24 (rights retained).

Article I, §23 also specifically accounts for citizen’s being responsible for their actions to preserve liberty, as follows: “A frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of civil government is necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty. These blessings cannot endure unless the people recognize their corresponding individual obligations and responsibilities.” Implicit in §23 is idea that emergencies may require adherence to individual responsibility rather than suspension of Constitutional rights.

…

From a strict enforcement standpoint, although well-intentioned on an emergency basis, the EO is very broad and does not appear to meet strict scrutiny – this is not to mention the EO appears to be beyond the framework of the specific Act it cites as support.

Illinoisans must awaken to the truth: the governor’s edicts infringe on our God-given, unalienable rights as set forth in our federal and state constitutions.

Speak Out

Calls and email messages to state lawmakers are vital. Too many politicians are keeping their heads down and have not challenged the abuse of power by the Pritzker administration. They are simply afraid of the media and the negative coverage they may receive as a result of being outspoken. Calls to these lawmakers are needed to get them off the sideline and into the fray. They need to be emboldened.

Our grand experiment in liberty, built firmly on Judeo/Christian (Biblical) truths and values, calls for servant leaders whose fallen human natures were reined in by a system of checks and balances. Let’s return to that vision and fight for the liberty our forefathers bled and died for.

Now is not the time for silence but for mighty prayers and grassroots action.

If you appreciate the work and ministry of IFI, please consider a tax-deductible donation to sustain our endeavors.  It does make a difference.

Written by Daniel Horowitz

We are going to lose 40% of our national GDP this quarter, incur trillions in debt, lose our freedoms and privacy, and shed tens of millions of jobs – including of health care workers – due to the shutdown and panic porn peddled by the political class. But for what? For a virus that had already been spreading for months and has a case fatality rate well below 1%. We will be left with nothing from the lockdowns other than a virus that will be kept alive for longer and kill more people.

We no longer need to guess how pervasive the virus has been and therefore how low the fatality rate is. There are numerous serology tests being done throughout the country and the world that demonstrate the entire premise for the lockdown is counterproductive.

Miami-Dade County has now completed two rounds of random sampling for antibodies, and both surveys found a 0.18% fatality rate. The study sampled 32 municipal statistical areas in this county of 2.75 million people and found that between 4.4% and 7.9% of the population contained the antibodies. Extrapolating the survey results to the entire county’s population would mean that between 123,000 and 221,000 residents have already gotten the virus and that the fatality rate is therefore between 0.13% and 0.23%, for a median of 0.18%.

While many Florida counties are overwhelmingly populated by elderly residents, Miami-Dade is just a little above the national median age of the country, so it’s a good sample of the macro fatality rate when averaging out all age groups nationwide.

Most notably, the serology test found that “more than half had NO symptoms in the seven to fourteen days prior to screening.” That is a result similar to that of other countries, such as Iceland.

In other words, this thing was quietly spreading long before the lockdown, rendering the entire purpose of the lockdown moot.

Many other antibody studies have concluded there is a similarly low fatality rate. Antibody sampling in Santa Clara and Los Angeles counties netted similar results – between 0.12% and 0.20%. The fatality rate in Chelsea, Massachusetts, based on an extrapolation of a sampling there, would be around 0.16 percent. That is identical to the results of a recent antibody test in Denmark, which demonstrates a degree of consistency throughout the world. One serology test in Germany showed a slightly higher but still low fatality rate of 0.37%. And Germany has a higher percentage of seniors relative to its general population than the United States.

However, the more this virus runs its course and the more antibody testing takes place, it’s likely that the denominator of total cases will be much larger, further driving down the fatality rate. According to Reuters, a recent tally of 3,277 inmates in state prison systems in Arkansas, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia who had tested positive for the virus showed that 96 percent of them were asymptomatic. This is likely a relatively young population of predominantly males in their 20s and 30s.

If these surveys and tests showing wide asymptomatic spreading are representative of other places in the country and across the globe, it means that likely as many people have had SARS-CoV-2 as have the flu in a typical year. This has two important public policy implications: 1) The fatality rate is a fraction of what was suggested by the models that were used to justify the shutdown; and 2) This disease has spread so far and wide that implementing lockdowns and mass surveillance/contact tracing at this stage are like spitting into a sea.

Release the healthy; better protect the elderly and vulnerable     

What is the punch line? If you are not elderly or chronically ill, you are less likely to die from coronavirus than most other things. Not only is the fatality rate of the virus overall only slightly higher than that of the flu, but it’s mainly targeting vulnerable populations. Over half the SARS-CoV-2 deaths in Massachusetts and Maine were in long-term care facilities, and the median age of death was 82. Nearly three-quarters of those in Minnesota were in long-term care facilities. That number is 75% in Rhode Island, 61% in Pennsylvania, and 43% in Connecticut.

New York and New Jersey appear to be the only states where the percentage is lower, but even in those hot spots, it was mainly those with chronic illnesses who died. A new paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association by the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research found that 94% of fatalities in the New York City area had at least one chronic illness and 88% percent had at least two. The comprehensive study analyzed data from about 5,700 coronavirus patients admitted to New York City and metro-area hospitals between March 1 and April 4, of whom 553 passed away.

Now, certainly there are still a lot of people in the country with chronic illness who are at risk. They need to be protected. But the way to protect them is by younger and healthier people going out to burn out the virus. “Quarantining” younger and healthier people who are least at risk of serious illness or death will ensure the virus continues to make comebacks after the summer and kills even more people. Tragically, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, while pushing lockdowns on everyone, actually compromised local nursing homes by forcing them to accept coronavirus patients straight from the hospital.

Moreover, this lockdown is weakening the immune systems of even healthy people by keeping them so isolated. As Dr. Dan Erickson warned in his lecture that has now gone viral, there will actually be more illnesses over time as people go out because their immune systems have been artificially weakened.

“When we all come out of shelter-in-place with a lower immune system and start trading viruses and bacteria, what do you think is going to happen? Disease is going to spike,” warned Erickson, whose urgent care clinics tested over half of the positive cases in Kern County, California. “And then you’ve got disease spike among a hospital system with furloughed doctors and nurses. This is not the combination you want to set up for a healthy society.”

Obviously, if this virus had a high death rate among the broad population, then you wouldn’t want to build up your immune system while increasing the chance of catching the virus. But we now see in most places the death rate is likely well below 1% among younger people. We take greater risks with our health every day.

The bottom line is that early on, when we knew little about the virus and were all spooked by what seemed to be going on in Italy, some degree of a shutdown made sense. But now that the data is in, there is no justification for a lockdown – other than for those who want to secure a long-standing progressive agenda that predated this virus.

Daniel Horowitz is a senior editor of Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @RMConservative. This article was originally published at ConservativeReview.com.

Big Brother—er, I mean—the Mendocino County, California Health Department has issued an Order mandating the following for streaming church services:

No singing or use of wind instruments, harmonicas, or other instruments that could spread COVID-19 through projected droplets shall be permitted unless the recording of the event is done at one’s residence, and involving only the members of one’s household or living unit, because of the increased risk of transmission of COVID-19.

This Order applies to streaming church services even if “Only four individuals” are present and they observe the social-distancing requirements that include,

maintaining at least six feet of physical distancing from other individuals … , frequently washing hands with soap and water for at least twenty seconds as frequently as possible or using hand sanitizer that is recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as effective in combatting COVID-19, covering coughs or sneezes (into the sleeve or elbow, not hands), regularly cleaning high-touch surfaces, not shaking hands, and, for those who are not on camera, to wear facial coverings as much as possible.

Could a church even have a streaming service that included music with fewer than four people? Remember, the off-camera persons managing the technical aspects of streaming a service would need to be present.

While singing may be deemed non-essential to non-Christians, they have no moral right to impose their non-Christian beliefs on Christians—including on four Christians in a nearly empty church who are standing six feet apart with bleached hands during a pandemic.

God’s holy Word has a lot to say about singing:

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! (Psalm 100: 1-2)

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! (Psalm 95:1-2)

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. (Psalm 104:33)

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)

Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him! (Psalm 68:4)

While the U.S. Constitution expressly protects the free exercise of religion and the right to assembly , “progressives,” many of whom have stated they respect neither religion nor the U.S. Constitution, are discovering in the penumbras formed by emanations from the Chinese Communist coronavirus (and the “LGBT” ideology) rationalizations for the erosion of our most precious rights. As the Bill of Rights is being devoured right before our eyes, the ravenous, slavering “progressive” blinkered beast who was once known by the gendered name Big Brother grows.

What happens when politicians and unelected government bureaucrats with barely concealed contempt for theologically orthodox Christians discover that pastors project droplets when they preach?

Listen to this article read by Laurie:

https://staging.illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Exploiting-a-Pandemic-to-Ban-Church.mp3

If you appreciate the work and ministry of IFI,
please consider a tax-deductible donation to sustain our endeavors.

In 2016, IFI was fortunate to have as our annual banquet keynote speaker former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a strong and consistent voice for pro-family values. A former candidate for POTUS, she not only distinguished herself by forming and chairing the Tea Party Caucus in 2010 in the U.S. House, but as a courageous and outspoken pro-life leader, as attested to by her rating of zero from the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL).  First elected in 2006 and stepping down in 2014, Congresswoman Bachmann understands well the gravity of our diminishing civil freedoms and has experienced, first hand, the relentless and intolerant attacks of the Left on people of faith.

In this presentation Mrs. Bachmann speaks on Christians’ responsibility to defend truth in our country. Using the example of the Pilgrims, who came to found a new community on Christian principles, she argues for the good that Christians can do in a society to preserve its culture and uphold truth. The spirit of the United States did not originate with the U.S. Constitution or with the Declaration of Independence, she argues; rather, it comes directly from God, who upholds man. With the spirit of the Pilgrims’ Christian community, we can preserve this country, and this speech may well inspire more Christians to do so.

Mrs. Bachmann is a graduate of Anoka High School and Winona State University. She and her husband, Marcus, live in Stillwater where they own a small business mental health care practice that employs 42 people. The Bachmanns have five children, Lucas, Harrison, Elisa, Caroline, and Sophia. In addition, the Bachmanns have opened their home to 23 foster children over the years, which was the inspiration for Michele’s advocacy and work for foster and adopted children, earning her bipartisan praise for her efforts.

If you appreciate the work and ministry of IFI,
please consider a tax-deductible donation to sustain our endeavors.