Where My Understanding Ends

A song we sing pretty regularly at Evangel is called Rejoice (VOUS Worship). One portion of the chorus goes like this: “Where my understanding ends, there's a peace that makes no sense”. I like that line. Especially coming off another legislative session.

If you’re like me, you seek to understand; to make sense of things. It’s something beyond mere curiosity but is focused on the why and not just the what. And not just the first or even second layer of explanation, but we follow it as far down as it goes until we are satisfied we’ve answered why.

I believe it is how we were created. While we see animals try to understand the why, it only goes so far. The famous gorilla Koko learned over 2,000 words and quickly figured out that the why for getting grapes was because she demonstrated an understanding of new words. Annie, our dog, has figured out why she gets a treat; because she sits and waits for it until I tell her she may get it. However, I daresay that Koko never wondered why she was being taught words, just as Annie does not wonder why she was trained to wait to grab the treat. They simply know on a very rudimentary level that x causes y — that’s the why.

We humans are not so easily satisfied. If we were given a grape every time we learned a new word, we would wonder about a lot of things. Why am I being rewarded for this behavior? What is being studied through this reward system? Why was I chosen for this experiment? And perhaps most importantly, what in the world am doing in a cage with a plexiglass window?

We are pretty proud of ourselves when we fully understand something (as if that could ever completely happen). Why does the perceived pitch/frequency of something such as a police car siren change as it moves past us? Because of the Doppler Effect. Pretty impressive that we figured that out, right? We have figured out the why behind diseases, human behavior, physical phenomena, and much more. But because we’re so good at it, we take not only pride in our ability to understand, but start to believe that if we dig deep enough, we can figure out anything. As Francis Bacon put it, “God has placed no limits to the exercise of the intellect he has given us, on this side of the grave.”

The same is true in the public policy world. During the legislative session, we need to be experts on why things happen. Why bills are introduced. Why committees or legislators vote a certain way. Why Governor Burgum decided to veto a bill. While we can often ferret out some reasons, we are always left with unanswered questions. It is where our understanding ends, and where God’s peace enters the picture.

Ideally, we should have the peace of God during all of session, but I’m sorry to tell you that it just doesn’t happen for most of us. Unfortunately, it takes our understanding to hit a wall so that we have no choice but to trust in that “peace that makes no sense”. How can we explain that? We can’t understand the why behind it, however, God gives it to us freely and reminds us to rest in Him.

There are many things one must understand to shepherd a ministry like NDFA – lots of operational, tactical, and strategic things. If you do them correctly, you can look back and be pretty impressed with yourself. After all, the ability to tackle 50 bills this session and end up with an 83% win rate is impressive. But we deceive ourselves if we think our great understanding of the issues is the primary thing that leads us to that place.

I regularly pray for NDFA, as I hope you do. I pray that we may have the funding to continue and hopefully grow our work. I pray for a lasting increase in pro-life and pro-family biblical values in North Dakota. I pray that we do a good job educating and providing information to you on key issues. However, there is one thing I consistently pray for every day: that we at NDFA remain humble.

As it says in Proverbs 3, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” NDFA is the Lord’s ministry; we are caretakers. I’d like to think that we understand more about public policy than Koko the gorilla, but I also hope we are never too proud to admit that we don’t have all the answers, and we’re at peace with that.

Church and State

by Jacob Thomsen, Policy Analyst

Religion and politics go hand in hand. That is a statement of truth that may make some people uncomfortable or spark a debate on the “separation of church and state.” This is something that has been taught to us since grade school, and while there is a separation of church and state, it may not mean what you think.

You may often hear that the founding fathers were against religion or had no beliefs themselves. This is simply not true. The founders believed that what makes a free country free is having citizens with a moral compass. Where does that moral compass come from? Our faith. “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other,” said John Adams in 1798. President George Washington, in his first inaugural address, said something similar. “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.”

All of the early states, excluding Virginia and New York, had religious tests for public office. Members of the Pennsylvania state legislature had to recite this, for example; “I do believe in one God, the creator and governor of the universe, the rewarder of the good and punisher of the wicked, and I do believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration.”

The Declaration of Independence cites God four different times. Not only is this document a notice to the British government that we ought to be an independent country, but it is also an appeal to God. The introduction of the document talks about how we as a people ought to have “separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of Nature’s God entitle them…” This is to say that natural law and morality is established by God and gives us the right to be free from tyranny. The second point is the most recognizable, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This is an incredibly clear statement that our Rights are a gift from God. The third point is equally important. “We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name and Authority of the good people of these Colonies, Solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States.” This recognizes God as the Supreme Judge and asks for justice in the cause of independence. The fourth and final time God is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence is probably the most important of them all. “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” This is a common prayer for many of us today as we step into uncharted territory – a prayer for protection.

The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights is where the argument for separation of church and state is based. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This was meant to prevent the United States Government from favoring one religion over another; essentially creating a theocracy. They wanted to make sure that all religions had an even playing field. Some people interpret this, however, as saying that religion cannot be thought about or brought into political decisions and that there needs to be an impenetrable wall between religion and lawmaking or politics.

This nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and morals. People believed you were immoral if you weren’t religious. Today, I’m afraid, there are people who believe you are immoral if you are religious. Because you may not subscribe to the belief that people are the masters of their own bodies or “love is love” or “it’s just a clump of cells,” you are old-fashioned, bigoted, a fascist, etc. The founding fathers would have been appalled at the morals of today.

Religion and politics are different things, but your religion should affect your politics if you truly believe in the importance of each. The founders of our incredible country had that in mind. They specifically believed a free society was one of self-governance. Self-governance does not mean the freedom to do whatever you please. It really means that there is a moral compass (religion) instilled within you that helps you make decisions and distinguish right from wrong.

“These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace,” Zechariah 8:16. We are called to speak biblical truth. We are not called to stand idly by as culture takes over what the founders had intended for us. Do not be discouraged when someone tries to silence you for speaking about your religious beliefs and how they relate to public policy. After all, it’s not supposed to be easy (James 1:2-4).

Pride and Prejudice

The title of this email probably made you think of the book by the same name, authored by Jane Austen. It is a beloved novel that has been translated into 40 languages and has been produced for the silver screen at least 17 different times. However, that is not what I am referring to when I talk about pride and prejudice.

Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave for the past couple weeks, you’ve probably been assailed with advertisements, media stories, and companies and groups proclaiming how June is “Pride Month”. According to the Library of Congress, “This month-long celebration demonstrates how LGBTQ Americans have strengthened our country, by using their talent and creativity to help create awareness and goodwill.” Well, good for them, however, I don’t believe it for a minute. I guess that makes me prejudiced.

Let me explain. I will be the first to admit that there have been individuals in the LGBT community who have contributed in significant ways to American culture. The part I strongly disagree with is the, “have strengthened our country” portion. Put simply, the family is the foundation of culture. Families give rise to communities, communities to societies, and societies to governments. Strengthening the family strengthens the country, but the opposite is also true. No major civilization has ever continued to exist once its family foundation crumbled.

I would argue that the LGBT movement has not strengthened the family, but has furthered its demise. Their community’s philosophy of “anything goes” with regard to sexuality and marriage, their embracing of moral relativism, and the irrelevance with which they regard the biblical and foundational family structure upon which our country was based have all hurt our country. I am not saying that we should ignore the LGBT community or the contributions of particular individuals, but we can’t ignore the other side of the issue either – the rather obvious deleterious effect their movement has had on social values.

Those in the LGBT community often say that they just want equality. We consistently hear that they are merely trying to eliminate the discrimination against them. I imagine they would regard my previous comments as just more evidence of this prejudice.

Let me make one thing clear: pride is not the opposite of prejudice. The opposite of prejudice is when something is fair or impartial or unbiased. You will be unsuccessful if you try to make a level playing field by being proud.

Undoing prejudice is also not pressuring someone to abandon their set of beliefs for yours; it just causes resentment. “Live and let live” is no longer in the LGBT playbook. Force feeding the LGBT agenda to the rest of us via the media, pushing companies to virtue signal, participating in the local gay pride parade, or shoving one’s social ideology on our children in the classroom is not the way to overcome prejudice. Just look at the last elections in ND or the outcome of our recent legislative session. It backfires.

Let me close with this. Do you know what June is besides “Pride Month”? It’s also Immigrant Heritage Month, which focuses on “honoring the rich contributions that immigrants and their descendants have made to our shared history and culture.” My parents were immigrants. Did they experience prejudice or unequal treatment because of their cultural roots? You bet they did.

I don’t imagine we will see parades for Immigrant Heritage Month. There will be no companies feeling the need to recognize all the contributions made by immigrants (far more than those made by the LGBT community, I might add). The media will not laud the praises of immigrants, nor will a special flag be hung from the White House balcony (especially not illegally) in celebration of immigrants. And you know what, that’s OK.

My parents would not have wanted any of it. They worked hard and showed that they could contribute to our society and nation, despite being marginalized at times. They did not insist on special recognition or fame – they earned respect. And if you think that there is societal prejudice today, trying living as an immigrant in the 1950s.

Our country has always been the land of opportunity. I am far more impressed with someone who may be openly LGBT and demonstrates their desire and ability to contribute and move us forward, than someone who is shouting, “Look at me! I’m gay and insist that you validate my life choices and give me special rights”.

Opportunity has always been there for Americans, and still is, but it takes more than shouting to get what you want. You don’t have a right to be successful, celebrated, or approved– you earn it.

Shadows on the Wall

This past Sunday we celebrated Easter, which is truly a time of celebration for Christians around the world. We attended our church, Evangel, and heard an uplifting message and call for all those who were not saved to commit their lives to Christ. During the message, our pastor said something that particularly caught my attention, in large part because it directly related to my work over the past three months. He said:

Jesus died, and He rose again. And here’s why. Not so all of us would get a ticket to get out of here as things get more crazy, but so that we, His people, would be empowered by His Spirit to be His witness on the earth. That we would make a difference in the world around us. So following Jesus is not an escape method, it is an engagement call, to be a part of our world…

I wholeheartedly agree. As Christians, we sometimes feel that it is OK to live a life separate from the “evil world”. Many over the centuries have held this view. Not surprisingly, we at NDFA do not.

Some of you may remember studying Plato’s Allegory of the Cave in school. In short, he suggested that in many ways, we are like prisoners chained to a wall who can only see our shadows. Because that is all we see, that is reality for us, even though it is not actual reality. 

The picture you see, above, is from that same Easter service. It is the shadow of a guitarist performing on stage during the worship portion of the service. That shadow is not the guitarist. It cannot actually play the guitar, interact with our world, or do the other things we can do as real humans. The shadow cannot make a difference in the world around us.

What did make a difference in our world was the music the actual guitarist played on stage during the worship service. He was real. He was praising God with his talents. He was touching lives for Christ.

While I don’t necessarily agree with Plato’s allegory, I acknowledge that sometimes we get fixated on the shadows in our lives. We get caught up in our minds with things that don’t exist or tell ourselves that nothing we do really matters in the long run. What does it matter if politicians vote one way or another? Why should I bother with biblical values when they don’t deal with my world, but are just shadows of the past? They are just ephemera with little real relevance for me. 

If that’s your perspective, I’m sorry that I have to be the one to break it to you – we are not shadows. Christ, who was very real and walked among us, made it clear that what we do as living human beings matters in His Kingdom. We’re not like the shadow of that guitarist; we can impact our world and we have been commanded to do so.

Does that mean you have to become a politician? Probably not. Does it mean you have to testify in front of a legislative committee, even if you become a bundle of nerves when speaking in public? No, you don’t. But like our guitarist, you do what you have a talent for; that thing God has enabled you to be really good at.

I can’t play the guitar, and it’s probably for the better, given the sounds I’d be subjecting my family to. But I can support that guitarist, by singing along, thanking him when I see him after the service, and financially supporting my church. 

In the case of NDFA, we have the talent to work with legislators and help get bills passed into law. To quote our pastor, we do not want to get a ticket to get out of here as things get more crazy, but be empowered by His Spirit to be His witness on earth. No, we most certainly are not seeking that ticket. At NDFA, we want to get even more engaged as things get more crazy in our world!

NDFA exists to be the voice for you and your values in the policy world. We seek to ensure that what we do is a witness to those around us, and we thank God daily for the privilege to represent your deeply held beliefs. What can you do? You can help us by writing that email to your legislator, praying for our work, and financially supporting us. 

Let us be your guitarist up on the public stage of politics. Pray that we are empowered by God’s Spirit and act as His witness, as we play your music across North Dakota.

A Response to the Fargo Public School Board Position on HB 1522

North Dakota Family Alliance firmly believes in a pluralistic nation and state. One where different viewpoints can be held and all can exercise the freedoms we hold so dear, subject to the rule of law as determined by a democratic process. The Fargo School Board seems to believe otherwise, given their recent statement that they will actively disobey the recently signed and enacted House Bill 1522.

At the board’s May 9 meeting, Superintendent Dr. Rupak Gandhi stated that they would defy the new law and cited transgender young people’s suicide rates and lack of parental support among the reasons. We certainly want the best for every student in North Dakota, including the estimated 1.2% of young people aged 13-17 in our state who identify as transgender. But what about the other 98.8% of students?

The issue is that Dr. Gandhi and the rest of their board believe that HB 1522 causes harm, while we would contend that it prevents harm. As Governor Burgum stated numerous times, North Dakotans need to start by actually reading the bill. Here is a link, in case you are unfamiliar with its contents.

As is apparent, it is not some draconian legislation aimed at hurting transgender young people, but quite the opposite. It is meant to prevent harm to all the other students, parents, and teachers in North Dakota. The major elements of the bill state: 1.) teachers and students cannot be forced to use preferred pronouns, 2.) restrooms are only to be used by those of the same biological sex and, 3.) a school and its staff cannot withhold or conceal information about a student's transgender status. Looking at the bill from a somewhat more conceptual perspective, here are the key ideas embodied in the bill that seem to be getting the most opposition and media attention.

Choice: The bill states more than once, “…may not adopt a policy requiring or prohibiting…”. Nobody is limiting the use of pronouns. It merely protects students and teachers from being forced into using a student’s requested pronoun. Teachers and students do not leave their First Amendment rights at the front door of the school.

Parental Involvement: The new law states in multiple places that things may only be done, “…with the approval of the parent or legal guardian…”. In other words, parents are the first and final decision makers when it comes to their child’s education. We agree. This may be shocking to some in the more “progressive” educational establishment, but that’s how it is. In fact, it was reinforced this session with the passage of HB 1362, affirming parental rights in education and many more areas.  It’s clearly important to legislators, and by extension, the North Dakotans they represent. Imagine if it was proposed that parents be prevented from seeing their children’s grades. Both parents and educators would quickly agree it was a bad idea and should not happen. This bill prevents withholding information from parents about something even more important than grades – a child’s preferred gender. Believe it or not, parents can actually help their children work through feelings of gender dysphoria.

Safety: The new law prevents transgender students from using restrooms that do not coincide with their biological sex. We heard over and again during testimony this session that transgender individuals do not pose a physical danger to members of the opposite biological sex. Whether or not this is true, those who are not transgender will quickly see an opportunity to capitalize on social permissiveness and pose an actual physical danger to other students using restrooms. Further, what is often omitted is the emotional and psychological danger people of the opposite sex can pose to other students by sharing a bathroom. It is not difficult to imagine a scenario where a young girl is traumatized by having a biological boy expose himself to her in a school restroom. This bill prevents that from happening.

The new law based on HB 1522 addresses choice, parental involvement, and safety for all students. Some might argue that these no longer exist for transgender students under the new law. However, the law allows a transgender student to be identified by another name or gender. It allows a transgender student to use a restroom that conforms to their biological sex or a family-designated bathroom. It allows a child to present as transgender.

All of this does not even begin to address the blatant disregard for the law that the Fargo School Board and its Superintendent have modeled for their students. They have effectively said that it is perfectly fine for students to ignore laws they disapprove of. Does that also apply to their students if they disagree with school rules? What if parents decide to ignore school district mandates and regulations? And these do not even have the weight of law. Do you see how this can quickly spiral out of control?

In the wake of this controversy, the Fargo School Board has invited students in other districts to join their district in its enlightened position. Considering that their position is unlawful, the attraction might be a bit less enthusiastic than they expect, but we will see. Is it some sort of virtue signaling? Or maybe it’s just a poorly thought-through position that endangers the stability and support for their school district? Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain. It doesn’t represent North Dakota values, and the last time I checked, Fargo was still part of North Dakota.