Commentary OpinionBETWEEN THE LINES
Pray Supreme Court gets marriage right
Exclusive: Joseph Farah says only a miracle will cause justices to make correct call
By Joseph Farah
Published May 1, 2013 at 8:06pm
In a few weeks, the U.S. Supreme will make rulings in two cases that will determine whether America continues as a self-governing nation under the rule of law and will of the people or it goes the way of most other countries and descends into oligarchy and tyranny.
That is what the stakes are in rulings the justices will make on the definition of marriage.
There hasn't been a more important Supreme Court ruling since Roe v. Wade. Not even Obamacare was this big. Both of those went very badly because of the rulings of justices named to the high court by Republicans. In this case, it will take a straight flush by justices named by Republicans to save America from legally destroying the very building block of our civilization.
In one of the two cases, homosexual activists are asking the court to declare the duly enacted Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, unconstitutional. The law simply defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman in the United States. Following the rule of law, it was passed overwhelmingly by both houses of Congress just 17 years ago and signed by Bill Clinton.
The other case involves the will of the people – in this case the people of California – who voted in a statewide referendum called Proposition 8 to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Homosexual activists got two federal courts to declare the referendum vote unconstitutional, and Proposition 8 sponsors have appealed their decisions to the Supreme Court.
There is hardly any chance that the four justices appointed by Democratic presidents will vote to uphold what has been the American view of marriage for 237 years and the ideal biblical view of marriage since the Garden of Eden. That's why the five Republican appointees must all vote correctly to save America from cultural and legal disaster.
To say the odds do not look good at the moment would be an understatement. Three of the five Republican appointees are considered likely to uphold the rule of law and the will of the people – Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. The two others are wild cards – Anthony Kennedy and Chief Justice John Roberts.
Kennedy has been throughout his tenure on the court the proverbial swing vote – supporting the rule of law and the will of the people sometimes and supporting judicial activism that undermines self-government and the Constitution at other times.
Meanwhile, Roberts shocked everyone – liberals and conservatives alike – when he voted to uphold Obamacare on the most specious of premises.
It's not an exaggeration to say that it will take nothing short of a miracle for the Supreme Court to make the right call on these most crucial rulings.
Thankfully, the Creator of the universe is still in the miracle business. In fact, I believe, He is just waiting to hear the cries of prayer from His people as He did when they cried out to Him while in bondage in Egypt and when they cried out to Him to return to their land after being scattered around the world in the diaspora.
There's a promise in the Bible by the Lord God who spoke these words to Solomon at the time of the dedication of the First Temple: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
That's the prescription believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob must follow to heal their land now – both Jews and Christians alike. Why does this prescription apply to Christians and America? Because Christians are, as the Apostle Paul explained, "grafted in" to the promises of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through their faith in the atoning blood of the Messiah Jesus.
I know I have been asking for prayer frequently during these trying days. I'm encouraged by the feedback I have received from thousands to my plea for a 9/11 National Day of Prayer and Fasting.
But I am convinced that without it, this country is headed for the dustbin of history like so many empires before it.
This is no idle request. It's our only chance for survival. Government is broken. Politics is broken. The culture is broken. God is simply waiting to hear our fervent cries of repentance and deliverance.
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Joseph Farah is founder, editor and chief executive officer of WND. He is the author or co-author of 13 books that have sold more than 5 million copies, including his latest, "The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament." Before launching WND as the first independent online news outlet in 1997, he served as editor in chief of major market dailies including the legendary Sacramento Union.
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