In 2013 Air Force Chaplain Kurt Cizek preached a message on sexual immorality. Although homosexuality was mentioned in the sermon it was not the focus. “If you’re having sex with somebody that you’re not married to, then you need to stop,” he recalls saying. He even pointed out that it was hypocritical to target homosexuality without equally giving God’s opinion about heterosexual sin.

Of the 2,500 trainees that heard that sermon, only one person filed a complaint, a lesbian trainee. When the complaint reached an “openly lesbian commander, she wouldn’t let it go.”

Now performance reports began to be downgraded and he was twice passed over for promotions. Finally, he was involuntarily “separated” from the Air Force in 2016.

So far, he has been unsuccessful in getting a hearing on appeal. He has contacted legislators and the White House, but was put off to review boards.

The Founding Fathers originally established the chaplaincy with the belief that spiritual morale was essential to the function of the military. They made it a paid position within the military ranking.

The discharge denied Cizek pension and health benefits upon retirement worth over a million dollars. But the bigger issue is the denial of basic First Amendment rights. If injustice such as this is allowed to stand, no one’s freedom to practice his religion is safe.

We have granted rights to homosexuals to do what God calls “sin.” Yet, they are never satisfied.

Norway is an example: one of the most open societies to tolerate homosexual behavior. They allow full freedom to self-identify one’s own gender. But now, word comes that they have amended their penal code to penalize even “private remarks.” Those convicted of hate speech over the dinner table, face one year in jail for private remarks and a maximum of three years for public comments.

Many feel safe growing up under the protection of the US Constitution and assume that it will never be eroded. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recently told a gathering of the Federalist Society that religious liberty is “in danger of becoming a second-class right.”

He said that the coronavirus pandemic has “resulted in previously unimaginable restrictions on individual liberty.” He cited the bias when churches in Nevada were ordered closed while casinos were allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity.

He also cited hostility toward religion in the academic world and in some large corporations. Anyone who states that marriage is a union between one man and one woman is accused of intolerance, homophobia and bigotry.

However, there is some glimmer of hope. Since the latest appointments to the US Supreme Court, two decisions have been handed down in favor of churches that were being squeezed by state and local governments.

The New York governor’s efforts to suppress church and religious worship were rebuked by the Supreme Court. A similar case involving California was returned to the lower court with instruction to reconsider based on the New York ruling.

While this war for the soul of America rages on, we need to redirect people’s attention to the main issue. Our founding fathers said that this constitutional government would not work without virtue in the people. What they meant was, righteousness in the hearts of the citizens.

We need to find every possible way we can to “reprove” the sin that has been legalized in our culture. In the meantime, we must “proclaim from the housetops” that righteousness can only come in a life committed to following Jesus.

Saturation with no-nonsense gospel tracts has played a significant part in past revivals. Revivals cannot come without wholesale repentance, which is a major theme in Chick tracts.