Struggling to tolerate the intolerant

Good Monday Moanin’ – Oct. 5, 2015

Struggling to tolerate the intolerant

By Jeff Salisbury JeffreyLSalisbury@gmail.com

An appeals court recently upheld a lower court’s order halting a federal mandate requiring two Christian colleges – one in Michigan and the other in Iowa –  to provide insurance coverage for certain contraceptives.

The court issued an order saying the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate and accommodation process “substantially burdened” Iowa’s Dordt College’s and  Grand Rapids, Michigan Cornerstone University’s “exercise of religion.”

Both schools faced fines for noncompliance.

Translation: “Don’t share my faith? Don’t work here.”

Now I am sure that some folks are upset that employers cannot and should not be forced to go against their deeply held beliefs.

But I say: No no no.

It seems to me that just as many people are upset that a private employer can force its employees to abide by the employer’s deeply held beliefs.

I repeat… Translation: “Don’t share my faith? Don’t work here.”

Others might say, “How far we have come from a nation founded by those seeking freedom to worship their God as they saw fit.”

But I would offer this… how far we’ve come to a nation where an employer can deny its employees the freedom to worship (or not) as they see fit.

The “symbolic” faith-based conscience of an employer ought not be allowed to supersede that of its employees. Not in a truly free country.

Shame on such employers.

Shame on their intolerance and my sympathies are instead for the unfortunate employees who find themselves not sharing the same conscience of their employer.

Amazing how religious superstitions and the apparent need to seek out the martyr’s cause in order to follow one’s faith.

As for me, I find myself struggling to tolerate the intolerant.

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