The majority of the justices on the Supreme Court are just out of touch with social reality. There were several major decisions brought forth by the Supreme Court in June that should concern Christians and all freedom loving people. Of all the cases involving major social issues the Supreme Court was on the side of the people only once.

The first major case was discussed in the July issue of the William J. Murray Report. The Supreme Court sided with the ACLU in a lawsuit against the Santa Fe School District. In that case the Supreme Court effectively banned public prayer before high school sporting events such as football games. But, an analysis of the 6-3 decision is even more foreboding. The Supreme Court found the school board policy, which was never implemented, unconstitutional. The school board policy said the games could be opened by an elected student. The student could say just about anything, including a prayer. The Supreme Court decided that since the "majority" of students were Christians they would pick a Christian and the Christian would say a prayer and therefore allowing any student to do anything before the game was unconstitutional.

This victory over free speech has emboldened the ACLU which now promises to bring lawsuits against states which have legislation allowing a moment of silence before school. The ACLU believes most kids are Christians and therefore may be praying in a public building and they somehow want to stop that as well.

The second blow to religious liberty came in a Louisiana case in which a school district had instructed teachers to tell students that the theory of Darwinism was just that, a theory. The school board wanted a disclaimer at the beginning of a course on Darwinism stating that it was one of many major theories about the origins of life on Earth. The Supreme Court in effect said that to say Darwinism was a theory was to in effect make a religious proclamation and thus was unconstitutional.

Then there was a destructive ruling not only on religious freedom, but on freedom of speech in general. In a Colorado case, Hill v. Colorado, the Supreme Court ruled that legislation infringing on the freedoms of anti abortion demonstrators was legal. The Colorado law in question barred anyone from coming within 8 feet of another person to hand them a leaflet or engage in oral protest against abortion. The law also stated that there was a "bubble" zone around abortion centers and that no one could protest within 100 feet of the entrance.

The "bubble zone" does not apply to churches or any other businesses. Homosexuals can camp on the doorstep of the Boy Scouts or disrupt church meetings. Pro-abortionists can hand out leaflets without permission in front of a Catholic Church because they have "freedom of speech". The Supreme Court found that the laws enacted by the liberal legislature in Colorado restricting the free speech of only certain individuals who believed in certain things was constitutional. Justice Scalia dissented, saying that the Colorado law, "...after all, is a speech regulation directed against the opponents of abortion. The usually mild-mannered Justice Kennedy said, "The First Amendment does not give the government this power."

Justice Scalia also dissented from the majority, saying, "This method of killing a human being - one cannot even accurately say an entirely unborn human child - proscribed by this statute is so horrible that the most clinical description of it evokes a shudder of revulsion."

Republican Presidential candidate Governor George Bush immediately condemned the decision of the court. Governor Bush said, "... I pledge to fight for a ban on partial-birth abortion." Vice President Al Gore praised the Court and said that the people should elect him rather than Bush. Gore said that Bush would change the character of the court by appointing conservatives, and that decisions such as this one in favor of late term abortions would be ruled unconstitutional.

House Republican Conference Chairman J.C Watts, Jr. (R-OK) vowed to keep fighting in Congress. He said, "Despite the liberal activism of the current Court, Congress will proceed with putting an end to the gruesome procedure known as partial-birth abortion." Watts continued, "It’s no wonder that we have a cheap view of life in this country. A nation that condones stabbing a baby in the head with scissors, sucking the child’s brain out, and then delivering the innocent victim is one that is in serious trouble. With all the breakdown in our culture, the last thing the federal government should be promoting is legal infanticide."

Every year since Republicans took control of the House in 1995 a ban on partial birth abortion has been passed. The Senate has been unable to pass the ban because of the practice known as the "filibuster". Any one Senator can block a law with the "filibuster". It takes a two-thirds vote to cut off a "filibuster" and each year partial birth abortion opponents fail by just one or two votes to cut off the "filibusters" by Democrat Senators led by Ted Kennedy (D-MA).

All polls indicate that at least four out of five Americans are against partial-birth abortion. Thirty states have passed laws against this gruesome form of baby murder. The Supreme Court decision affects the anti abortion laws of every one of these states.

But, the Supreme Court did not stop there in harming families and moral values in our nation. In the case of the Board of Trustees of the University of Wisconsin vs. Southworth, the Supreme Court held that colleges could force students to subsidize groups that were working to overthrow the beliefs of those students. The high court also ruled in U.S. vs. Playboy that cable operators did not have to completely block out pornography. This allows the porn operators more freedom in promoting their filth on cable channels.

There were some bright spots in the year’s decisions, but not many. In Boy Scouts vs. Dale, the Court did rule that the Boy Scouts of America were not required to allow homosexuals to be members or leaders. The Court also ruled that a limited amount of government funds could go to religious schools for secular purposes. Even though both cases helped the social conservative cause, they did not outweigh the damage done by the negative decisions of the Court this year.

What can Christians do to halt the Supreme Court slide into moral oblivion? Pray!

Supreme Court Justices are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. We must first and foremost pray that none of these Justices die or retire while Bill Clinton is still the president of the United States. He would replace them with Justices that are even more hateful of the cause of Christ. Second, all concerned Christians should pray that the next president of the United States will be a man of God who will appoint those to the Supreme Court that love the Lord and their nation.

While the Supreme Court hands down decisions to restrict the rights of Christians to publicly worship God, the National Parks Service is busy forcing all Americans to "honor" and "respect" American Indian "sacred" religions.

The NPS policy adopted in 1995 states that visitors and campers at Devils National Monument in Wyoming will "show respect" for Native American religion. Climbing Devil’s Tower is not allowed in June because this is a "sacred" time for some Indian religions. In Utah, visitors are prohibited from walking under the Rainbow Bridge Arch because it is "sacred". This is enforced by uniformed armed guards of the national Park Service. In Montana nearly three-quarters of a million acres are off limits because they have been declared "sacred".

How can the U.S. Government enforce the religious beliefs of minority religions while prohibiting Christians the right to worship in public?

It gets worse. As of the writing of this issue of the William J. Murray Report, the Washington, DC city council is attempting to force the Catholic Church to pay for contraceptives and abortions for their employees. The D.C city council also wants the church to be forced to hire homosexuals. The fight is being led by a homosexual and a bisexual member of the city council.

The liberal opposition is two faced, they speak with forked tongues. The liberals invoke separation of church and state until they want to force their politically correct version of society down the throats of others. One day they will face the truth when they face God. "Every knee shall bow"

On July 14, 2000 Senator Coverdell (R-GA) sent a note to me thanking me for my work in Washington, DC. Later that day he flew from Washington to Atlanta. Because of severe headaches he was taken to a hospital in Georgia that same day. He was having a stroke. On Monday surgeons operated on him and Wednesday, July 19th he died.

I knew none of this because I was on vacation where no newspapers were available. I did not learn of Senator Coverdell’s death until the day of his funeral or I would have flown to Georgia to be present. When I returned to my office from vacation on July 24th, Senator Coverdell’s note to me was on my desk.

My relationship with Senator Coverdell was in a way a bit strange, since most of our conversations occurred at Washington’s Reagan Airport or on Delta flights to and from Georgia. Each Friday night or Saturday morning Senator Coverdell would return home to Georgia. On Mondays he would head back to his Washington office. Delta Airlines is the only airline with service from Washington to Atlanta.

I am a Delta Platinum flyer. I receive that "honor" because I take more than 100 flights a year on Delta. Nearly every Friday or Saturday I fly on Delta to Atlanta and then fly someplace else to preach. I cannot count the times that Senator Coverdell and I talked at the airport or on aircraft about nonpolitical subjects. The Senator was a deeply convicted Christian, a born-again believer in Jesus Christ.

Senator Coverdell was unassuming and soft spoken as well. He would smile at me whenever he saw me walking over to talk to him at the airport. He was so unassuming that I never saw anyone at the airport recognize him except myself.

In the Senate this godly man was a hero of social conservative causes. He was anti abortion and believed that kids should have the right to pray in school. He was on our side and will be greatly missed by all. To me Paul Coverdell was more than a conservative Senator, he was a brother in Christ.

In further unfortunate news, I report that the Democrat governor of Georgia, Roy E. Barnes, has appointed a very liberal former governor to fill Senator Coverdell’s seat. Until at least January, former Governor Zell Miller, a pro-abortionist, will occupy the vacant seat left by Senator Coverdell.

Under Georgia state law, a special election must be held in November at the same time as the general election. The election will be nonpartisan, meaning that as many candidates as can come up with a $1,400 filing fee can run. If no one candidate receives 50%, there will be a run off. Several Republicans including ultraconservative Congressman Bob Barr have expressed interest. Even former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is a possible candidate.

Zell Miller will be hard for Republicans to beat. He has a state wide machine in place and will be the incumbent because of the appointment by Governor Barnes.

Senate problems: One high ranking Senate Republican confided in me that passing social conservative legislation would now be difficult. Although the Republicans had a 55-45 advantage, the Republican leadership only had a one vote margin on many issues because of several very liberal Republican Senators who vote with the Democrats on many occasions. The high ranking Senator told me it would be more difficult than ever to follow the House lead and pass anti abortion legislation. As a senator, Zell Miller will oppose school prayer and vote in favor of partial-birth abortion.

How can there be good news from a place where almost two million Christians have died for their faith and where even now the threat of violent death, starvation, or disease stalks every believer in the southern part of the country? In the June issue of the William J. Murray Report, we told you how the radical Islamic government is waging a war of genocide against the predominately Christian population of southern Sudan, where people are presented with terrifying ultimatums: convert to Islam or else be killed, enslaved, or driven into exile. Many groups are trying to awaken Christians in America to what is going on, and to prevail upon our government to send relief supplies, or at the very least to stop sending aid to the government troops who are attacking Christians!

However, amid all the devastation, reports out of Sudan give cause for hope and rejoicing also. For, just as it was in the early days of the persecuted church, the number of Christian converts is growing at a phenomenal rate. Twenty years ago, Christians in Sudan made up about 5% of the population. Today, that number stands at 20%, and in the South, where people are being so horribly persecuted, fully 80% of the population openly claims Christ, even though to do so means almost certain suffering or death. Moved by their example of faith, even many of their Muslim neighbors are coming to Christ.

Attempting to protect the Christians of the South is the all volunteer Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), which has no uniforms, no planes, tanks, or heavy armaments, and no real support from outside Sudan. They do battle with the much better equipped government army which receives support not only from Sudan but which gets a lot of help from China and Iraq. It is the government army (GOS) which has leveled so many villages with bombs and fires and seeded the ground with land mines so the villagers cannot go back to their homes.

In the SPLA, many divisions march under the Christian flag, many carry Bibles, and there are frequent, regular gatherings for prayer and worship. This rag tag army has been having some amazing, even miraculous victories against their better equipped enemies. During the last two years, they have had a string of stunning victories. When questioned by Americans about the reasons for their success, the commanders have not claimed it was due to superior strategy or training. Instead, they said, "since we have committed our ways to the Lord Jesus and have prayed each day before the battle, we have seen victory."

In spite of the victories and occasions for thanksgiving, the situation is still desperate in Sudan. Christians face not only military attack by government forces, but attacks by Muslim citizens. Those who proclaim Islam are free to enslave their Christian neighbors and steal their land at will. This is because non-Muslims are officially viewed as second class citizens and are not afforded protection under the law.

One of the biggest problems faced by Christians in the south is that now a large oil field has been discovered on their land. The Islamic government in Khartoum is ruthlessly making sure that they will have full control of the oil fields, and they are counting on arming their military with the profits. They are driving the native born Christians out of their territory where they have lived for untold generations. Oil companies from Europe, America and China are developing these fields and buying the oil. British Petroleum, owner of BP and Amoco service stations, is one of the biggest investors in this oil field. Unfortunately, buying oil from Sudan puts money in the pockets of the murderous rulers and enables them to better equip their army for slaughtering Christians.

The Sudan is a very dangerous place not only for the inhabitants but for journalists and relief workers traveling there. A few courageous people do venture there, however, bringing food, medicine, Bibles and the encouragement of fellow Christians. We are offering this month a very well made video which was shot on location inside Sudan. Made by the Persecution Project, it presents the real faces and voices of those who are suffering for their faith, and also informs us about what is being done to help in this war torn country.