Dear Friends,
We’re 10 days into life in Springfield and can’t thank you enough for your prayers, support, and general cheerleading from afar as we made the move from Montana to Illinois. A few pics:
And in Other News…
As a family, we just couldn’t let a season go by without something monumental happening. So…
Welcome & Thanks
Finally, after the past two months’ “Long Goodbye” posts (Part 1 and Part 2), we’ve gone over the 400 subscriber mark and are thankful to have you along as a reader. For those who are new, welcome, and thanks for joining us; for those who have been with us for a while, thanks for sticking around. We plan to continue sending out the newsletter on the first Friday of each month and always welcome your feedback as you care to share it. Just email us.
Thanks (as always) for reading Second Drafts,
Craig (for Megan)
PS: If you need our new mailing address, it’s 1605 Dial Court, Springfield, IL 62704.
PPS: Phone numbers are still the same (Craig: 406-595-0446; Megan: 406-595-0446).
Winds, Swells & Waves in the Land of Lincoln
It’s been almost humorous the number of comments from folks here in Illinois about Illinois since we officially moved in 10 days ago. Perhaps the funniest remark was from a City Water, Light, and Power employee, who, after seeing my Montana license, gave me the unexpected Spanish Inquisition as to my motives for our move:
“You must be moving for work or for family, because no one retires to Illinois.”
After I recovered from the woman assuming I looked old enough to retire (okay, the grey hair is understandable), I smiled and told her she was correct on both counts.
I also told her she wasn’t the first to share her negative perceptions about our state. In the short time since moving back, I’ve been on the receiving end of similar unsolicited responses from a variety of folks: the family friend from Pike County who wanted reassurance that, “You do know about Illinois, right?”; another family friend from Pike County who wanted to know if we were “sure it’s not Missouri you’re looking for?”; the two Springfield Walmart employees who helped us load groceries into our empty 26-foot moving truck (which we had unloaded the previous night and using to run the last of our errands before returning it that afternoon) and noticed that “you still have the truck—it’s not too late!”; or the bank representative who went so far as to say that Illinois residents have defaulted to calling Illinois “the Land of Lincoln,” because a former slogan, “the Land of Opportunity,” no longer really applied.
Ringing words of endorsement, to say the least.
It would seem the good people of Illinois (or at least those downstate from Chicago) don’t feel too great about the state of our state. Having to pay the highest state and local taxes in the nation probably doesn’t help morale, but I recently came across some good news (maybe, depending on where things go) that might surprise my frustrated fellow Illinoisians and others who care about religious freedoms (which should be all of us).
Illinois: The Future of Religious Liberty in America?
On July 13, 2023, World Magazine published an article titled, “A blue state makes a big point: Does Illinois represent the future of religious liberty in America?”
I was intrigued. In the article, Jordan J. Ballor, director of research at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy, an initiative of First Liberty Institute, writes,
“Today the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy makes public the results of our second annual Religious Liberty in the States (RLS) index. One of the most noteworthy changes from the first iteration of the index last year is that the state of Illinois has moved from the second position to the top spot.”
Ballor touches on the study’s methodology and Illinois’ ranking, summarizing that,
“At the very least the results of the RLS project cut across simplistic narratives that conservative states are necessarily more friendly toward religious liberty and progressives are more hostile. Certainly there are elements of truth to this pattern, but Illinois is a prime example of how progressive politics and robust protections for religious liberty can coexist.”
Ballor then concludes:
“As American society becomes increasingly post-Christian and religious adherence becomes less culturally mainstream, one hopeful possibility is that generous protections for religious believers will continue to have legal prominence. Illinois in its current configuration might then be a model for those parts of America that are dominated by progressive politics but remain respectful of the convictions of adherents of all religions. This, of course, is what ‘liberal’ used to mean, a kind of broad-mindedness that respected the diversity of beliefs and perspectives represented in the American people…
…My hope is that all states, whether red, blue, or purple, will work to enhance the legal standing for those who face religious discrimination and restrictions because of their beliefs. Illinois shows us that this kind of robust legal protection is possible—even in a historically blue state.”
As both a new resident of Illinois and a long-time fan of religious liberty, I was dumbfounded. Illinois, “the nation’s leading bastion of progressivism,” a model of religious protections in support of religious speech? Here’s the one-page scorecard.
Make no mistake: I’m all for “enhanced legal standing for those facing religious discrimination and restrictions because of their beliefs.” But with such protections supposedly and legally in place, why does it feel like we’re living (in Illinois and everywhere else) increasingly on the edge of people being arrested on charges of “hate speech” or “hate crimes” for verbally pushing back against the culture’s war on traditional Christian views of marriage and sexuality?
By definition, speech is not violence, but the world sure wants to say religious speech is.
Politics Is Always Downstream of Culture
It’s not that there isn’t precedent for Illinois specifically (and the Midwest in general) to lead the way when it comes to religious freedoms and their legal protections (read what historian Jon Lauck deems “the most advanced democratic society that the world had seen to date” in The Good Country: A History of the American Midwest (1800-1900)). However, as happy as I am to hear that my home state has had (and still has, at least for now) some strong laws on the books protecting religious speech, it’s important not to forget that politics is always downstream of culture.
That push to compromise what God has always said about marriage and sexuality for the sake of pleasure or ease? There’s nothing “progressive” about any of it; it’s just a tired old form of hedonism cycling through history…only this time around, its terms and conditions have been forced upon us and much more widely accepted as a result than before, with “tolerance” as its Trojan horse and all in the name of “progress.”
Case in point, as reported by the State Journal-Register, on July 13, 2023:
“A 16-year-old Springfield area swimmer spoke out at a rally against the local YMCA on Thursday after being accused of hate speech for protesting against the sharing of a women’s locker room with a biological male.
Abbigail Wheeler of Loami said she was kicked off of the YMCA'S swim team and allegedly banned from the club after hanging signs in the women's locker room to warn teammates that biological men were present in their private changing space.”
Wheeler brought the matter to her coach, Alex Totura, who said he was aware of the men but there was nothing he could do about it and suggested she change in the family changing areas or at home. Wheeler and a teammate decided to hang signs of protest in the locker room to “let people know that biological men were changing in the women’s locker room while parents and families were completely unaware and young girls were present.”
“A meeting with the swim team was called by YMCA administrators the next day and Wheeler said the team was informed that the signs were considered hate speech, discriminatory, and disrespectful. Wheeler and her teammate approached Totura after the meeting to inform him that they were responsible for the signs, in which Totura responded that it would no longer be appropriate for the girls to practice with the team and that the YMCA would be in contact with their families as they were sent home.”
Wheeler said the signs read “Biological Women Only,” “Women’s Rights,” and “SafeSport,” but YMCA chief executive officer Angie Sowle said there were 10-12 signs posted to the entrance and inside the locker room.
“One sign read, ‘In case anyone is unaware, I feel as a concerned member to share the shocking news that transgenders are now using the women’s locker rooms and they have been for a while now.’ Another read, ‘Do you feel uncomfortable in this locker room? Tell someone. Fight for what's right.’
Sowle said hanging up signs in the facility without permission is a violation of the organization's protocols. ‘Secondly, signs that are meant to intimidate, threaten, and dissuade use of the facility to any one group of individuals are going to be considered discriminatory in nature by us,’ she said.”
Sowle said after Wheeler made her complaint, an investigation was launched and reports were filed according to the organization’s procedures, but there was no further action taken. Though initially reported that Wheeler was cut from the team, the YMCA documented that the family cancelled their membership and withdrew her.
Someone to Hate?
In this Illinois Times article published on July 27, 2023, senior staff writer Dean Olsen posted a follow-up article that included a brief interview with the two biological men thought to be the two Wheeler witnessed in the locker room. That these men have suffered such gender dysphoria resulting in such barbaric physical procedures as outlined in Olsen’s article is heartbreaking. They need our empathy and our prayers.
But sadness notwithstanding, the point is that situations like this one in Springfield become fodder for those wanting to label adherence to traditional religious morals (and the speech used to express them) as “hate.” As Olsen continues in his article,
“Chris Mooney, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said: ‘It’s almost 100% political with the leaders of these groups [Illinois Freedom Caucus]. It’s a way to gain leverage. It’s 100% theater.’
Mooney said the Freedom Caucus is exploiting a persistent strain of xenophobia, or an unreasonable fear of strangers or something that is foreign or strange, that runs through American society. Earlier victims of such fears included homosexuals and Black, Jewish, Italian and Irish people, he said.
‘We've got to have somebody to hate,’ he said.”
Hate? Really?
A Native (or Naive?) Hope
To what degree will Illinois’ legal protections of religious speech guard against this kind of cultural fear-mongering? I don’t know, but I wish wholeheartedly for Jordan Ballor not to be disappointed when he writes,
“My hope is that all states, whether red, blue, or purple, will work to enhance the legal standing for those who face religious discrimination and restrictions because of their beliefs. Illinois shows us that this kind of robust legal protection is possible—even in a historically blue state.”
As a native son returning to his homeland, I’m surprised Illinois looks as good as it does on paper and (presumably) in the court room. But talk to a person of faith (particularly the Christian faith) involved in the sectors of technology, medicine, law, education, and government in Illinois, and they’ll tell you all bets are off as to whether legal protections will stand when the blowing cultural winds turn into churning swells that turn into bigger waves and further erode the Land of Lincoln.
The good news is God is still God, and the inane plots of man his entertainment while he brings his covenant plan to fruition. Consider the first six verses of Psalm 2:
“Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“‘Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.’He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
Though nice to have (and we should be good stewards while we have them), none of God’s plan ultimately depends on our rights for its accomplishment.
All that matters is Christ—he who gave up his rights in exchange for our sins—that we should live now and forever under him as the king God has set on his holy hill.
Appeal to/for our rights? In our constitutional republic, of course (see Paul, a Roman citizen, in Acts 22).
Demand our rights? Biblically, they have never been ours to do so (though they actually were his, see Jesus on the cross).
May God give us wisdom to discern when to do which.
September 15 in St. Louis: Beyond Homo Sapiens
Here’s a resource for you if you live anywhere in the Midwest (I’m not kidding; this would be worth a long road trip to St. Louis).
On Friday, September 15, Jonathan Barlow will speak on the topic of human identity, AI, and transhumanism at The Schaeffer House at Covenant Presbyterian Church in St. Louis. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. with appetizers and drinks; the event will begin at 7 p.m. and end at 8:30 p.m. Admission is free, but attendees are asked to register.
I don’t know anyone doing more with AI who can actually speak about it in plain English and from a biblical perspective than Jon. His data science research interests involve natural language processing and the ethics of artificial intelligence. Plus, he’s a great guy with a quick sense of humor and a very humble heart.
Jon is the Associate Director of the Data Science Program and an Assistant Teaching Professor at Mississippi State University. Previously, he was the Associate Director for Software Architecture and Development at the National Strategic Planning & Analysis Research Center, a data science and digital government research center.
Jon earned his Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Saint Louis University and his Master of Divinity from Covenant Theological Seminary. He serves as a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and is a member of the American Academy of Religion and is a Theopolis Institute contributing author.
Jon and his wife, Ann, have four children and two grandchildren.
I’m hoping to make it down for the evening. If you’re nearby, I hope to see you there.
Until next month.
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