“Barrett, Breyer, and Baloney” is not the name of a law firm that practices before the U.S. Supreme Court. Rather it is a description of my reaction to comments made this week by two Justices—one liberal, the other conservative (perhaps)—about the cries of liberals to expand the number of Justices on the Court (“court packing”). Of course, those cries intensified after the Court refused to intervene to prevent Texas’ abortion statute from going into effect. The Court created its own mess.

After further review and counsel, it seems the primary purpose of Texas’ new abortion law is to prevent abortions until the U.S. Supreme Court can decide, come next June, whether to affirm, reverse, or modify its abortion jurisprudence of the last 48 years. But the Court’s temporary decision not to block enforcement of the law contains a hidden constitutional gem that, if laid hold of by state officials, could allow us to restore constitutional government in our country.

Dr. P. Andrew Sandlin once told me, “Political victories are perfectly compatible with losing the culture,” and he is right. The decision by the Fifth Court of Appeals and U.S. Supreme Court not to grant an emergency stay that would have prevented a Texas abortion law from going into effect is clearly a political victory. The pro-life community should rejoice for the reasons I will give, but may I encourage those who also want to stem the larger tide that is washing away any semblance of Christian culture in America to have a larger, on-going vision.

This is my last commentary on COVID-related issues, at least for a while, and parents who are frustrated with public K-12 schools and mask mandates do not really know how bad things are regarding parental rights. For the following reasons you have no such rights or, at least in the very near future, you will have none. So read this carefully and be appropriately terrified.

When in a state of crisis, one must be able to retreat to and reflect on fundamental principles to develop workable solutions. I believe Governor Lee’s Executive Order 83 and his more recent one about mask mandates in schools have given us an excellent opportunity to recall and apply our fundamental governing principles. People on every side know something is wrong, but without fundamental principles to guide us, anger and frustration, resulting in the disintegration of personal and familial relationships and civil social intercourse, are becoming the norm. Here is my open letter to and request of the Governor and General Assembly.

With a flap last week over vaccine mandates being imposed on employees of certain state and local government agencies here in Tennessee and perhaps a nationwide mandate on all persons, I couldn’t help but think of what President Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel said, “Never let a crisis go to waste.” I agree. What if Christian political leaders and pastors used this potential crisis to teach people about real religious liberty and the First Amendment’s free exercise clause? I thought I would start the ball rolling.

Kevin DeYoung once wrote, “The only thing more difficult than finding the truth is not losing it.” While he was speaking of theological truths, his statement is universal in its application, and it relates to a letter signed last week by several of our state Senators urging us to get the Covid “jab” and to similar overtures by other government leaders. Now is a good time to make sure we have not lost a truth about civil government and our Constitution that was realized after centuries of struggle.

Eighty briefs were filed with the United States Supreme Court by pro-life organizations and persons in support of Mississippi’s constitutional authority to ban all elective abortions after 15 weeks. My name went on one of those briefs as its author. A lawyer friend and colleague whose state organization joined on that brief said, “This theory is brilliant…Florida will sign on to the brief.” Brilliant or, as another friend of mine says, “evil genius”? You decide.

Many Christian political conservatives have been touting their success in passing bills protecting biological girls from competing in high school sports against transgendered persons and preventing hormone therapy for minors. This week, federal district court judges held unenforceable a law on the former in West Virginia and on the latter in Arkansas. For the following reasons, I believe enacting these bills is an exercise in futility.

Today I want to speak to what a non-Christian friend calls “the Church that’s substituted Mr. Nice for Jesus Christ” and, using Jesus’ own words, consider how He might have responded to those in American society complaining about their oppression and victimization. I suspect those of the Church of Mr. Nice and those to whom it seeks to appeal would be horrified, and they, along with the others, would “cancel” Him again. It may even happen to me.