by Julie Cave
"In Freedom From Religion Foundation v. McCallum, a lawsuit was filed challenging the state of Wisconsin's funding of a drug and alcohol treatment center, called Faith Works. Faith Works is a religious organization and it was claimed that participants were indoctrinated with religion. At issue were two payment streams: fixed grants and per capita funding. The district court found that the fixed grants were unconstitutional but the per capita funding was allowable. This decision was upheld by the appellate court."
"So a win for both parties there," said Winters. "Although I'd imagine the case cost the center the majority of their funding. So what do you think we can expect from our lawsuit?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if the district court dismisses your case," replied Connor confidently, "and the appellate court reverses that decision. The Supreme Court, should it get that far, will almost certainly uphold your claims."
Winters felt absurdly pleased with his young intern. "Well done, young man," he said, rare praise indeed.
"Thank you, sir," said Connor, flushing bright red. "Can I ask a question?"
"Sure, go ahead," said Winters magnanimously.
"Broadly, I understand what's going on here," said Connor. "Christianity shouldn't receive special treatment or funding from the government, nor should they be allowed to force their beliefs down other people's throats. But ... aren't you imposing your beliefs down other people's throats instead?"
Winters went very still and thought he might have to rethink this young intern. "In what sense?"
"Well, these lawsuits are stripping away any remnant of Christianity, and in their place stands atheism or humanism, which are religions themselves."
Winters' eyes glittered. "Where did you get that notion, son?"
"Both have rejected God, and therefore one could say they have no belief in a supernatural religion," said Connor, oblivious to the look on the senator's face. "However, in its place is a religion based on human understanding and reason. An atheist or humanist views evolution as much more than mere science, but rather as ideology which has its own meaning and morality. Richard Dawkins, the prominent atheist, admits that atheism is the logical extension of believing in evolution. Furthermore, evolution has, like every other world religion, provided one explanation for the origins of life, for death and suffering, for why humans exist and what will happen to humans in the future. It also provides for a new kind of morality, where one is no longer answerable to God but only to oneself. If that isn't the very definition of religion, then I don't know what is."
Winters had gone ominously quiet. Finally, he said through gritted teeth: "Who has been telling you these lies, Connor?"
"Just my initial impression," Connor said naively.
Winters controlled his temper, telling himself that the boy didn't know any better. "We're just after freedom from religion, son. Nothing sinister about it."
Thus appeased, the intern left his office and Winters vowed to keep a closer eye on Connor Eastleigh.
Chapter 13
Dinah left Ferguson and Sinclair frantically fielding calls from thousands of citizens who supposedly knew the man in the CCTV footage. That was one part of the job she didn't miss at all.
On the way home, her cell phone rang with a familiar number.
"Andy? Is that you?" she answered.
"Hi!" Andy Coleman replied brightly. He and his wife Sandra had first met Dinah during the Smithsonian case, a mystery in which a good friend of theirs had disappeared and subsequently been murdered. It had been Sandra who'd recognized Dinah's descent into alcoholism and interrupted her suicide attempt, and who had eventually led Dinah to the Lord. Andy had founded an apologetics ministry based in Cincinnati, Ohio, called the Genesis Legacy, which sought to protect and defend biblical authority in a society quickly losing sight of its Christian heritage.
"Are you going to be home in a few minutes?" Andy asked.
"Yes," said Dinah. "Are you in town? I'd love to catch up with you." Already at the point of speeding, Dinah had to be careful not to exceed the limit as she rushed home.
Andy and Sandra were waiting for her, leaning on their car in the sweltering late afternoon. He was a tall, lean man with shaggy gray hair that never looked properly cut. His dark eyes were sharp and keen, and he always wore a few days' stubble on his face. His wife was shorter and rounder, with curly blond hair and large blue eyes and an Australian accent that hadn't changed despite the length of time they'd lived in the States.
After greeting her friends, Dinah led them up to her apartment and busied herself fixing drinks for her guests. "So what brings you to D.C.?" she asked, once they were all comfortably seated in the living room.
"Schedules, to be blunt," said Andy with a laugh. "I still spend a lot of time touring around the country, speaking at churches and conferences, and summer is a busy time for conferences. The lawyer for the Genesis Legacy seems to do an awful lot of traveling himself. This was the only time and place that we could find to meet together."
"Your lawyer?" said Dinah. "Is everything okay?"
"You would think I'd be used to it by now," said Andy, "but we've been named in a lawsuit and I need to make sure the lawyer's got it all under control."
Dinah was intrigued. "What's the lawsuit about?"
"Well, have you heard of the Ark Experience?" Andy asked, his face lighting up with excitement.
Dinah shook her head.
"We've acquired some land near Cincinnati and we're going to build a Noah's ark themed attraction," explained Andy, "including a full-size ark, according to the dimensions stated in the Bible, using the materials that would have been available to Noah. We're going to show how the animals would have fit on the ark and answer lots of questions people have about whether Noah's ark could have been real. There'll be lots of other exciting things to do and see there too, but the main one is the ark."
"Wow!" said Dinah. "That's amazing! I would love to see that."
"So would millions of people, according to our research," said Andy. His entire face was animated.
"So, the lawsuit is to stop you building the ark or something?" asked Dinah.
"No. The attraction is going to be built in Kentucky, and there are some there who are convinced that taxpayer money is going to be used to help fund it," said Andy, his exhilarated expression dying. "There are groups of atheists, humanists, civil libertarians, and the like, all across the country, who think that government spending on religious organizations is a direct violation of the First Amendment — supposedly separation of church and state."
A spark flashing, Dinah jumped up and tried to find the lawsuit that had been mailed to her by Senator Winters, among the other papers she had on her desk. "Keep going," she said. "I'm listening."
"They're wrong on a few levels," continued Andy. "First, the Ark Experience will receive no funding from the state whatsoever. Patrons who choose to attend the attraction will pay sales tax as part of the ticket price. We will apply to receive tax incentives as part of the state's Tourism Development Act, to receive partial refunds on the sales tax collected by the attraction. By the way, such incentives are available to anyone who opens an attraction designed to draw tourists into the state of Kentucky. Whether they're religious tourists or not is irrelevant, frankly. Furthermore, I have to point out the obvious — we will employ hundreds of people, all of whom will pay taxes; plus we will generate city and county real estate tax."
Dinah found the envelope containing the lawsuit and pulled out the thick wad of paper.
"That hasn't stopped a humanist group from filing a federal lawsuit in which we are named, albeit among hundreds of others, as violating the First Amendment," Andy explained. "Apparently any financial intervention by the state government violates the First Amendment. This is patently untrue. The Tourism Development Act of Kentucky is non-discriminatory, which means by law they can't discriminate against us because we're Christian. Virtually any tourist attraction can apply for incentives regardless of the message. Legall
y, the threat against us is a waste of time."
"So, clearly I'm not up-to-date on the latest church and state separation legislation," said Dinah. "But it would seem to me that if you don't like the idea of a religious tourist attraction, you just wouldn't go. Right?"
"Common sense doesn't apply." Andy grinned. "Atheists and humanists are not happy to leave it there. They object to anyone going to the Christian tourist attraction, because they want to completely eradicate Christianity from our country."
"Is the lawsuit by any chance filed by Elena Kasprowitz, supported by the American Humanist Cooperation and the Secular Humanists of America?" Dinah asked.
"Yes, why?" Andy looked surprised.
"My old friend Senator Winters sent me a copy of the lawsuit, for some reason," said Dinah. "Is that what the lawsuit is about? Government funding religious organizations?"
"Yes, erroneously," said Andy. "Unfortunately the interpretation of the First Amendment by the courts and liberal commentators is very different from the intentions of the Founding Fathers. The whole idea of separation of church and state was supposedly established by Thomas Jefferson, who wanted to build a secular state. However, the facts tell a very different story.
"For one thing, this concept of separation of church and state being enshrined in the Constitution is completely false. Jefferson mentioned it in a letter he wrote to a group of Baptists, and the primary concern was that the federal government would try to impose a state religion. Jefferson himself was not a Christian, but he recognized the great need to protect religious freedom. Therefore, he fought for the right of freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. Can you see the difference there?
"Jefferson, and the Founding Fathers, wanted to protect the church from the state. The current interpretation is that the state requires protection from the church. Jefferson actually believed that the government ought to have no power to interfere with freedom of religion. He had witnessed the tendency of government to encroach upon the free exercise of religion — precisely what is happening in modern-day America today. In those days, many of the pilgrims who found their way to America had been persecuted for being of a different religion than the reigning monarch of the time. One could be summarily executed for being a Protestant if the king happened to be Catholic, for example.
"Thus he, together with the other Founding Fathers, believed that the First Amendment had been enacted only to prevent the establishment, by decree of the state, of a national denomination.
"Furthermore, their intentions were that the government ought never to interfere with traditional religious practices outlined in the Scripture — including public prayer, public acknowledgment of God, and so on. Yet what do we see all around us today? We have lost the freedom to pray in public, to talk about God in public, to even look at a picture of the Ten Commandments."
Dinah could sense Andy was only just getting warmed up to his subject.
"Furthermore, Jefferson himself declared that the power to prescribe any religious curtailment must rest with the States. Yet the federal courts take it upon themselves to ignore this, and misuse his separation phrase to strike down dozens of state laws which encourage or maintain public religious expressions."
Dinah chewed her lip. "So basically, the way in which courts apply the separation of church and state is almost the exact opposite of what it originally meant?"
"Right," said Andy. "What does that mean practically? It means that my right to practice religious freedom has been sacrificed on the altar of the religion of atheism. Make no mistake about it, what these humanist groups are seeking to do is not just eradicate Christianity but evangelize their own religion. What modern-day America is experiencing is not freedom of religion but the enforced secularization of church and state."
Dinah could see plainly the deep love and concern Andy held for his country etched intensely on his face. Then he said softly, "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
* * * *
Isabelle was hot, tired, and grumpy by the time she arrived at her brother's house. Her shirt was plastered to her body, and sticky strands of hair were tucked behind her ears. The farther she walked, the angrier she became with her controlling husband.
How dare he! she raged to herself. This is his fault! If he hadn't tried to control me, if he'd just let me live my life. She wouldn't dare say anything like that to his face, of course. In fact, she didn't even really believe it herself. Deep down she knew that it had been her fault for defying Scott's wishes. The heat and exhaustion she was already feeling just made her grumpy, and so she yelled at everyone she knew inside her head.
When Michael opened the door, he did a double take. "What on earth?" he exclaimed, as he ushered her into the house, which was only marginally cooler than the vicious sun.
In the small kitchen, Michael poured her a tall glass of cold water, which she gulped down too fast, resulting in an unpleasant ache in her head.
Her brother waited, despite the fact that he was obviously dying to ask her what was wrong. After the second glass of water, he finally said, "So what's going on?"
"Um ...," said Isabelle, wondering briefly how honest she should be. Then she decided Michael knew her so well that he'd be able to tell if she was lying. "Well, Scott took away my keys, money, and phone because I refused to resign from my job," she explained succinctly.
Michael raised his eyebrows. "What?"
Isabelle told him the full story, of the staff meeting running late, Scott's wrath at her being late, and his subsequent demand to quit her job.
Michael shook his head. "You didn't agree, did you?"
"No, for once I actually stood up to him," she admitted. "I thought he was going to hit me. In fact, he almost did. He stopped when he saw I had a kitchen knife in my hand."
Michael grasped his sister's hand. "Good for you!"
"Yeah, I felt pretty good until I woke up this morning and figured out that Scott had taken all my money, my credit cards, my cell phone, my keys, and even the house phone and modem."
"So I guess he's expecting you to wait at home for him like a good wife," said Michael, pouring himself a glass of water.
"Yeah, I guess. I just couldn't, though," said Isabelle. "I can't be alone for that long with my own thoughts."
Michael nodded and took a long drink. "What are you going to do?"
She sighed. "I don't know. If he goes home tonight and I'm not there, he'll probably kick me out of the house."
"Is that such a bad thing?"
"You mean apart from Mom flipping out because one of her kids is getting divorced?" Isabelle said dryly. "I take marriage seriously. I don't want to throw it away because of one stupid argument."
"I know I'm an outsider," said Michael after a lengthy pause, "but do you think this is a marriage worth saving?"
"Why? What makes you say that?" Isabelle felt oddly insulted.
"He puts you down, he calls you names, he doesn't come home sometimes," began Michael. "He controls you, he isolates you. He takes your money and phone and keys when he's unhappy with you. Come on, you must realize that you...."
"Don't say it," Isabelle blurted. Somehow, if the words weren't spoken, they lost their power.
"You married our father," insisted Michael, raising his voice over her.
"That's ridiculous!" Isabelle felt the heat in her face rise. "For one thing, Scott has never raised his hand against me...."
"Only because you happened to have a kitchen knife in your hand at the time," Michael swiftly interjected.
"But he's never hit me or touched me in anger," asserted Isabelle. "He doesn't lose his temper, the way Dad did. He's the very opposite, he gets very quiet when he's angry."
"Yet he still puts you down and hurts you with his anger, doesn't he?"
"He doesn't get drunk around me," continued Isabelle.
"He doesn't need to," rejoined Michael. "The man is a sociopath — he is capable of cruelty stone sober."
"He pr
ovides a nice house for me. He doesn't mind what I buy," she added, somewhat lamely.
Michael just stared at her. She felt like she was fighting a losing battle. "What?" she said, when the silence had dragged on for too long and her brother's gaze had disconcerted her.
"Why haven't you had children with him?" he asked quietly.
Isabelle didn't want to go to that place. Not that dark, cold place. She knew very well why she hadn't had children with Scott but refused to admit it to her own heart.
"You know if you had kids with that man," said Michael, "that they would grow up devoid of a father's love. They would be damaged. Like me. Like you."
"No," said Isabelle, barely more than a whisper.
"What is this, then?" He pushed her long sleeve up her arm, exposing the scars on the underside of her wrist. "Are these the marks of an undamaged person?"
Defensively, she whipped her arm away from him and pushed down her sleeve. "It's nothing. I'm just an anxious person; I worry too much."
"Oh, I know you worry," agreed Michael. "All you can think about is the sound of Dad coming up the stairs, wondering whether it'll be you who bears the brunt of his frustration tonight. You think about all the lies Mom told the emergency room doctors. You think about the stark reality of loneliness, when you realize there is truly nobody in the world who will protect you."
Stricken, Isabelle didn't want to hear her brother's words, as right as he was. "Well, what about you?" she snapped. "You seem to have turned out okay!"
"Don't be so naive," Michael said in a voice so harsh it shocked her. "You grew up thinking that you deserve to be treated badly by men. You think you deserve the abuse that Scott dishes out. You know what I fear? I fear that I'm going to become that abusive man! I fear that the first time I lose my temper at a woman, I'm not going to be able to control my fists. I fear I'm going to take out my anger on a person weaker than myself. How do you think that makes me feel?"
"You are not that person, Michael!" cried Isabelle, tears forming in her eyes. "I know you too well!"