Freedom of Religion vs. the Law of the United States. Recently the practices of a church came under the media microscope when Warren Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, was convicted of being an accomplice to child rape because he facilitated the marriage of a minor against her wishes. This is a practice of the FLDS, a belief that they are to have multiple wives and overpopulate the world.

The question here for me is when does the practices of the church run afoul of the laws of the land? Are there other cases in the FLDS church where they are guilt of crimes? Certainly. In this exact case the leader was found guilty of being an accomplice, indicating that there were others. How about the “husband”? Why wasn't he being tried as an accomplice?

But when do we allow a belief system to break the law of the land, and when should it be enforced? This is a really tough question, not easily answered. For the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas the government felt that their stockpiling of illegal weapons constituted a direct threat to the community. In 1990 the US Government said that peyote, a power cactus drug, was illegal except for the members of the Native American communities that used the drug as a part of their religious ceremonies. And now the United States has convicted Jeffs for practicing his religious beliefs.

The key here is that the government differentiates between beliefs and practices. I may believe that it is okay to rob banks, but to practice that belief is wrong. In the above cases, those practices which brought harm or potential harm to others were stopped, but the use of a natural drug which had been used for centuries by a religious group was allowed.

What does that say for Christians, Jews, or Muslims? Our beliefs may be anything, but if we practice something that is against the law we may be held responsible. The Old Testament says that a homosexual should be stoned. To do so in America is against the law. By not stoning that person I don't think that God holds us accountable, but to do so surely would. Iran has taken the opposite view and they will string up the homosexual in public, but say they were guilty of something else to protect themselves from civil rights violations. A double standard, but at least a hypocrisy that they can live with.

I wonder if my faith will ever be challenged in such a way. I know that the politically correct thought police are working hard to stamp out all thought and speech that they disagree with, it is really just a matter of time until just speaking out against abortion or homosexuality will get me thrown into jail. It will be deemed hate speech if I quote the Bible because it is offensive to someone somewhere. Maybe time to move to some safe place where I can be free to believe what I want without fear.

Someplace like Ruby Ridge.