![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/85\/2012\/02\/The_Hobbits_of_Hobbiton.jpg\" "\\"The_Hobbits_of_Hobbiton\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nI know. This is a weird title for a post. What does the Lord of the Rings trilogy have to do with the HHS Mandate? Maybe nothing, or maybe everything. Bear with me for a moment and I\u2019ll try to explain.<\/p>\n
A few months back, I wrote a little post that I titled\u00a0Because All of the Big Questions Have Been Answered<\/a>. <\/em>Therein, I stated simply that \u201cwhat is left to do, and one which takes a lifetime to perfect, is the implementation of the answers.\u201d<\/p>\n Actually, it would take an eternity of lifetimes for us to try and perfect the implementation of Christian values, and we simply don\u2019t have that luxury. Because though our souls are immortal, for this sojourn through life on earth our bodies are finite.<\/p>\n But guess what? God knows all this. And He still demands that we act in accordance with His teachings. And not just when they suit our own selfish predilections, but (gulp!) always. And that is a frightful, and fragile thing to do with our lives.<\/p>\n Because the Holy Spirit speaks to us often of our condition as\u00a0\u201cearthen vessels,\u201d<\/a> for we are often compared to \u201cclay pots.\u201d \u00a0So in our finite bodily existence here on earth, in this test called life, we must act with partial and incomplete knowledge. Not having 100% of all the data before we make a decision, is not going to exonerate us from acting in accordance with our heavenly mandate of a Christ-centered existence. I wrote of this condition of ours\u00a0a long, long, time ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our Majesty also knows that we are in \u201cthe play\u201d and this ain\u2019t no dress rehearsal. And as Christians, we are not called to just theorize and contemplate. We are also called to act upon this stage called\u00a0life here, and now<\/em>. And our actions, though imperfect, must seek to glorify God. And they must be in accordance with His will. We believe we will be judged accordingly, do we not? How then do we know that we are acting in compliance with these two demands?<\/p>\n In my mind, we can\u2019t do either on our own, which is why we need the Church as the grounding, or foundation of our actions. And the Church also must be the referee, if you will, \u00a0of the sporting contest of our lives. But even acting on our own, we do have a sense of what is \u201cright conduct\u201d and what is \u201cwrong conduct.\u201d Case in point: the whole HHS Mandate, and shredding of the Constitution\u00a0controversy, that has everyone with an opinion on fire to share it.<\/p>\n Now, I\u2019m no expert on moral theology, or moral philosophy. I will leave that to others with more knowledge and experience, both within the Church, and without. But in this matter, the Church has handed down a definitive opinion, and she hasn\u2019t been shy about announcing it<\/a>. Where you come down on her decision is really now a question of faith.<\/p>\n So where do I stand? I stand with the little people in the photograph above, who unwittingly understand the following statement from my ancient Chinese friend,<\/p>\n When strong, avoid them. If of high morale, depress them. Seem humble to fill them with conceit. If at ease, exhaust them. If united, separate them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise. \u2014Sun Tzu<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And so I\u2019m going to have some fun with the controversy by linking it to J.R.R. Tolkiens classic tale, The Lord of the Rings<\/em>. I\u2019ll be using Peter Jackson\u2019s film version to help you identify the cast of characters. By the way, the entire cast is made up of the laity and that is for two reasons: 1) we know where the Church stands on this issue, and she backs us up 100%; and 2) fighting this battle is the province of the laity. Just ask our Pope<\/a>.<\/p>\n On to the drama, then. First up are the folks who started this war and who now threaten the Shire.<\/p>\n Guess who plays the part of Saruman? Surely, you don\u2019t need many references to realize who fills the spot on the playbill here, but I assume nothing so I\u2019ll be clear: the current President of the United States<\/a>. He\u2019s working as close to hand-in-hand with Sauron on the HHS Mandate as he possible can. And aiding and abetting him?<\/p>\n Every Saruman needs creepy henchmen, and this time is no different<\/a>. Assume then that the role played by the cabinet officers of the POTUS is that of the character named Grima, also known as Wormtongue, OK? In the movie adaptation, this character was played by actor Brad Dourif, who also played Hazel Motes in\u00a0John Huston\u2019s adaptation<\/a> of Flannery O\u2019Connor\u2019s\u00a0Wise Blood.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em>I\u2019ll be nice and not name orcs. Pretend, instead, that Saruman has clones of Wormtongues working for him earnestly. Insert Kathleen Sebelius<\/a>, Chief of Staff Jack Lew<\/a>, and a whole host of other Administration talking heads in this role. And what about Nancy Pelosi? California elected an orc; not me.<\/p>\n This appears to be a war the Administration seems to relish and to have the stomach to fight it mercilessly. Did you hear Wormtongue player John Lew speak out recently?<\/p>\n \u201cWe have set out our policy. We are going to finalize it in the final rules, but I think what the president announced on Friday is a balanced approach that meets the concerns raised both in terms of access to health care and in terms of protecting religious liberties, and we think that\u2019s the right approach.<\/a>\u201c<\/p><\/blockquote>\n set in concrete, er, that is, until the poll numbers come back definitively pointing to \u201cEpic FAIL.\u201d<\/p>\n So much for the characters supporting the agenda of the Dark Lord of Mordor,\u00a0what of the good guys in the HHS Mandate\/ Obamacare\u00a0fracus played out among the characters?\u00a0Below are a few links to the thoughts of our players about what to make of this event. I will share them with you in the order in which they match up with Tolkien\u2019s cast. I think each makes valid points. \u00a0As a mere hobbit though, I am inclined to let wiser heads prevail in these discussions. But I also seek information from all sides in order to view the full picture. I may be a hobbit, but that doesn\u2019t excuse me from not knowing why I am fighting.<\/p>\n First up is the opinion of a modern day version of\u00a0Gandalf the Grey<\/a>,<\/p>\n Peter Kreeft:<\/em> To win any war, the three most necessary things to know are: (1) that you are at war, (2) who your enemy is, and (3) what weapons or strategies can defeat him.<\/p>\n You cannot win a war (1) if you simply sew peace banners on a battlefield, (2) if you fight civil wars against your allies, or (3) if you use the wrong weapons.<\/p>\n Here is a three point checklist for the culture wars. Hadley Arkes:<\/em> The mandate of the government is certainly not needed for people to have access to contraception and abortion. These \u201cservices\u201d are not barred by law, and if contraception and abortion make as much economic sense for the lives of people as their partisans contend, the buyers would find it as sensible to buy it themselves as to pay the bills for their iPhones. <\/p>\n This move of the Administration cannot be explained then by a need simply to make these services available. It can be explained only by the determination to insist on the deep \u201crightness\u201d of abortion and contraception \u2013 and to brand as wrong anyone who would deny their rightness<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Katrina Fernandez, the Crescat<\/em>:There aren\u2019t enough hours in the day to write about how pathetic it is that so many Catholics are ignorant of Humanae Vitae and where our Church went so drastically wrong. Equally, I can\u2019t change the minds of sixty million Catholics in a matter of weeks even I talked till I was blue in the face and passed out on the floor. I\u2019m just not that influential or eloquent.<\/p>\n This past weekend my parish priest gave a fantastic homily on the mandate and told his flock \u201cquit cooperating with the culture of death\u201c. He was so impassioned and forceful it made us all squirm \u2013 the good kind of squirm that indicates a pricking of the conscience. I had never heard the Profession of Faith recited so weakly after a homily. Awkward.<\/p>\n Again, why should we care?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n And of course, there is the brave and able\u00a0Aragorn of Gondor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Francis Beckwith: <\/em>Do religious-based organizations, such as Catholic hospitals and universities, and businesses owned by devout religious believers including Catholics, Evangelicals, Orthodox Jews, and Muslims, have the right under Obamacare to negotiate an agreement with an insurance company so that the insurance policy the employer offers to its employees does not include contraception, abortion, sterilization, etc.?<\/p>\n Does an entrepreneur under Obamacare have a right to create an insurance company that in fact meets the needs of such employers?<\/p>\n If the answer to each is \u201cno,\u201d then Obamacare violates a fundamental right. If \u201cyes,\u201d then the problem is solved and the debate is over. But since the HHS regulations allow a narrow exemption for some religious organizations\u2013e.g., churches, synagogues, mosques\u2013that means that the answer to the questions is probably \u201cno.\u201d<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Elizabeth Scalia, aka \u201cThe Anchoress:\u201d<\/em> This unwillingness of staunch Obama supporters to quickly embrace his latest idea and perform a full-pivot from the bishops has become for me the most interesting part of the story. As a rule, I think any of these men would be all-too-happy to leave the Bishop\u2019s corners for Obama\u2019s on this particular issue, but\u2013in good conscience\u2013they simply cannot. His stated mandate was so shocking to ideas of justice and constitutionality that whether the president is dealing in good faith has now become an unknowable\u2014why did Obama feel a need to ensnare the churches in an issue that could have been attended to in other ways?<\/p>\n If, upon gauging the dismay of his allies within the church, Obama had truly meant to assuage the consciences of his Catholic allies, he could have done so easily and clearly; instead his words suggested to some that even the narrow conscience clause offered in his first decision was at risk, and his solution looks like a shell game, analogous, as blogger Marc Barnes put it, to trying to force Orthodox Jewish restaurants to sell bacon, but then \u201caccommodating\u201d them by forcing them to \u201cpay a Gentile with a bacon cart to serve pork\u201d for them<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Entering from stage right, we have\u00a0Legolas<\/a><\/p>\n Marc Barnes:<\/em> You said, \u201cUnder the rule, women will still have access to free preventive care that includes contraceptive services \u2014 no matter where they work. So that core principle remains.\u201d<\/p>\n Please tell me, for the sake of our friendship, that you were misquoted. Because this \u201cno matter where they work,\u201d business is not a remaining core principle, it\u2019s an entirely new principle, rotten to the core. Previously, the Mandate\u2019s religious exemption covered churches, parish offices, and institution that only serve members of their own faith, out of some odd philanthropic desire that Catholics start religiously discriminating the poor and sick they serve. Now you\u2019ve even flounced that. No matter where they work? So every single institution in America is now forced to pay for contraception \u2013 oh I\u2019m sorry, I meant forced to buy insurance plans that will pay for contraception \u2014 and that makes it okay? It\u2019s not tyrannical if you\u2019re being a tyrant to everyone? Maybe no one has told you, so I will be clear: We are opposed to paying money to provide for artificial contraception, no. matter. what.<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Remember what\u00a0Faramir<\/a> said? \u201cI do not believe this darkness will endure. \u201d<\/p>\n Mark Shea:<\/em> But Obama\u2019s war on the Church is, as I said, a new wrinkle and makes me consider tossing my two copper coins in, not to support the GOP\u2019s pursuit of war without end, or its contemptible disregard for serious prolife change, or its vile enthusiasm for torture, or it corrupt crony capitalist whoremongering, but because its cynical exploitation of religiosity means that it prefers to use Christian piety rather than crush the Church mercilessly, as Obama is attempting to do. Caelum et Terra thinks this is more or less selling out, a position I can certainly empathize with.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, over at National Review, Gina Dalfonso notes my noodling as well and is gobsmacked, as are some readers. I really don\u2019t know why. I\u2019ve made it perfectly clear many times that I regard politics as the art of the possible and that my moral calculations always center around how to promote the progress of the Faith. When both parties are advocating grave moral evils, I see no point in choosing which circle of hell I want. But when the equation changes and one party sets out, not only to advocate for sin, but to mount an open and naked assault on the Church which Jesus founded to act as the sacramental remedy for sin, I adjust my moral calculations accordingly<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As for me, I\u2019ll just try to keep my friend Frodo on the straight and narrow, I reckon. All I know is this\u2014we are at war<\/a>, and war is hell. Not everyone sees the big picture. \u00a0But somehow, by each one of us, and all our allies, doing their duty good can overcome evil. It truly is like the great stories\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n
\n1. We Are at War:
\nIf you don\u2019t know that our entire civilization is in crisis, I hope you had a nice vacation on the moon<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/a>Next up,\u00a0Elrond of Rivendell<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>Guess who plays the character of\u00a0Arwen?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/a>And then there is\u00a0Eowyn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n