This summer, the Supreme Court has ruled, for the second time in the last two months, against a church which sought exemptions from statewide restrictions on houses of worship during the COVID-19 pandemic (Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley v. Sisolak). Calvary Chapel involved a Nevada public health order governing which businesses and institutions are able to remain open during the pandemic, and under what terms these institutions may do so.

In the context of Mary anointing Jesus’ head and feet and the Pharisees seeking to kill both Jesus and Lazarus, Jesus enters Jerusalem on a young donkey in a triumphal manner with the crowds waving palm branches and exclaiming Psalm 118, thereby fulfilling Zechariah 9:9.

1 Corinthians 8-10 detail the central biblical teaching on Christian liberty. The premise is that brothers and sisters in Christ should be willing to set aside their rights for the sake of others. The COVID-19 pandemic has been disruptive and has necessitated the surrender of some of our freedoms for the sake of the larger public health. To satisfactorily balance individual rights with public health issues is excruciatingly difficult. In this Perspective, I seek to explore in-depth the matter of religious liberty and its application to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jesus explains that “I and the Father are one,” and to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

Who decides questions of truth? Who defines the boundaries of human rights? In a pluralistic culture, who defines the standards of behavior based on these rights? In our Postmodern, Post Christian era, answering these questions is no longer easy. There is no foundation for our civilization, no agreed-upon set of ethical standards, and no transcendent authority to which to appeal. Human autonomy is a given and the boundaries to that autonomy appear limitless. Two recent developments highlight the ongoing redefinition of human rights and human identity.

Jesus declares Himself to be the Door of the sheepfold and the Good Shepherd, providing salvation for His sheep and giving them eternal life.

Jesus’ giving sight on the Sabbath to a man blind from birth raises questions among His disciples, cause division among the Pharisees, and leads to the former blind man confessing Him as the Son of Man.

Ideas have consequences! Human beings are physical, spiritual, social, emotional and intellectual creatures. Humans respond to stimuli and react to that which both pleases and threatens. The complexity of humanity is reflected in the social sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc.), each of which attempts to explain why humans behave the way they do.

Several weeks ago in the weekly edition of Issues, I wrote a critique of the Bostock Supreme Court decision, which extended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sexual orientation and transgender status as worthy of federal protection against discrimination. I still regard this important decision as a potential threat to religious liberty in America. However, in early July, in two 7-2 decisions, the Supreme Court upheld “conscience protections for nuns and parochial schools,” producing a level of encouragement that the Court, as now structured, seeks to protect religious liberty.

Sociologists often organize populations according to the generational differences they observe and then create categories with labels and timeline distinctives.