Category Archives: Pro-Life

Religious Freedom Is Not an Option

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The Stewardship Foundation has, as a founding principle, support of religious freedom. If so, why should you care? What does it mean? You may recall how the earliest Christians, Peter and Paul, refused to compromise. When they were ordered to stop preaching their answer was, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19)

For us, Freedom of Religion means that no person should be compelled to embrace any religion against his will, nor should persons of faith be forbidden to worship God according to the dictates of conscience, or to express freely and publicly their deeply held religious convictions. Neither should anyone be compelled to invest in morally irresponsible corporations, nor live in fear of being mocked and vilified because they conduct their business or personal affairs in accordance with the dictates of their conscience.

For all of us, religious freedom is supported by the U.S. Constitution. The First Amendment gives Americans the right to practice their own religion, or no religion at all. Religious freedom is exercised when we teach, practice our faith, worship God, or observe religious holidays – or when we freely choose not to believe in any religion at all! The Catholic bishops in the U.S. adopted religious freedom as a signature issue in response to the objections to contraception provisions in the Affordable Care Act.

Pope St. John Paul II said, “Religious freedom, an essential requirement of the dignity of every person, is a cornerstone of the structure of human rights, and for this reason, an irreplaceable factor in the good of individuals and of the whole society as well as of the personal fulfillment of each individual.”

During his visit to Philadelphia this past summer, Pope Francis said ”the right to religious freedom is a fundamental right which shapes the way we interact socially and personally with our neighbors whose religious views differ from our own.”

Last year in Rome, Iraqi Patriarch of the Chaldeans, Archbishop Louis Raphael Sako, said “If they kill us all, will you do something then?” Do we not have a responsibility to that man, and to the others of Iraq and Syria—Christian, Yazidi, and Muslim alike—who are fending for, or fleeing for, their lives?

Do you detect a theme here? As we march bravely into another year, our thoughts are focused as always on servicing our donor clients and our nonprofit partners according to the tenets of our Foundation – and that includes the defense of religious liberty as well as life, marriage, and family value issues. As always, if we can help you or someone you know to better understand the tools of morally responsible investing, or if we can help your nonprofit to attract major donors, please reach out. We, by the grace of God, are here to serve.

What’s Good About Positive Law?

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Positive law is a term used to describe statutory man-made laws that oblige or specify an action for an individual or a group. Roe v. Wade, for instance, is based on positive law.

Natural law, on the other hand, is based on inherent rights conferred not by an act of legislation but by God, nature, or reason. When we do the right thing, we obey natural law.

Now that we’ve described these two types of law, we’ll get to the meat of our discussion—why a case coming before the Supreme Court in 2016 in Texas, Whole Women Health v. Cole, matters. Put aside certain requirements that must be met as to cleanliness of the facility and competency of the abortion doctors to consider this side of the argument: the defendants claim that if the abortion center is shut down, women seeking an abortion will have to travel over 235 miles to get one! Not a particularly long drive for a Texan, but will the courts rule it as an “undue burden” and thus rule against the pro-life plaintiffs?

Socrates put the question: What if a friend, whom you knew to be deranged, asked you the whereabouts of a weapon? Would a lie, in this case, be wrong? Socrates alerts us that in natural law, we don’t always have a hand on real moral principle. Natural law must be discovered by humans through the use of reason and choosing good over evil.

The Supreme Court judges, practicing positive law, can do what the lower courts did—argue whether 150 miles is a more relevant travel distance. Can any distance in miles be “more relevant” in order to destroy a life? Our courts rule on man-made laws that speak to actions and groups, and completely ignore the ethical considerations of natural law: the victims—this baby, it’s mother and father, the family who will never share this child’s love and joy, the world who will never benefit from a life who could well grow up to be another Socrates, Plato, or Aristotle. There seems to be nothing positive about the term “positive law” in this case.

Annual Report on Faith-Friendly Companies

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In front of the big Christmas buying season come the reports on the nation’s most Christian-friendly businesses. So we set out to find out exactly what makes these companies faith-friendly.

It’s no surprise that Chick-fil-A (#1) tops the faith-friendly list, closely followed by Hobby Lobby (#2). This faithful duo consistently make news. When an Austin, Texas, Chick-fil-A store recently closed for renovations, the store owner continued to pay staff for the entire 5-month closure and also gave them each a $1 per hour raise. Hobby Lobby had the courage to invest in a lawsuit against having to pay for their employees’ birth control under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. Last June, they won in a 5–4 decision.

Interstate Batteries (#3) is transparent about their faithfulness. Their chairman Norm Miller, a former alcoholic who by a single prayer in a time of agony overcame his addiction, writes about it on their website. They are a privately-held company.

Tyson Foods comes in #4 for their faith-friendly culture where “faith and spiritual commitments (in the workforce) are valued and respected”. They have over 115 chaplains to care for their team members and their families, no matter what their religious belief. Tyson Foods is a publicly traded company.

Cracker Barrel (#5) was widely crushed in the press and the courts for their stance against gay and lesbian employees for discriminatory practices against African American employees in the 90s. The company changed their policies and got involved in civic and minority communities. Today they support a range of charities and are outspoken about their commitments to faith-driven consumers. And if you’ve been living under a rock, they do sell Duck Dynasty paraphernalia.

Walmart (#6) was chosen for their respect for pro-life, pro-marriage views, but more so lately because of their refusal to publicly display sexually explicit or inappropriate magazine covers in their stores, an action that demonstrates a commitment to the faith community. However, Walmart’s online shopping experience is an open book for quite the opposite.

As always, if we can help you or a friend or colleague with your morally responsible investments, or if you have any questions about end of the year charitable giving, please give us a call.