What Will Be Illegal When Sodomy is Legal

[Psalm 51:17]

What did he say that was so wrong?

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/tony-dungy-s-assessment-of-rams-rookie-michael-sam-reflects-stunning-lack-of-courage-195216393.html
Tony Dungy's assessment of Rams rookie Michael Sam shows stunning lack of courage
7/21/14

The good news for Tony Dungy is that once upon a time enough people in power, be it in football … education … government … wherever, decided that they should empower African-Americans with the opportunities they deserved. They did this no matter whether things would go "totally smooth" or cause "things to happen" with the bigots who wanted to cling to the old days.

At some point they said someone such as Dungy deserved to go to school with white people, play football with white people, even coach football like white people once exclusively did, even at the highest levels of the NFL. They rejected the ancient concept that blacks either weren't deserving/capable of such opportunities. Even more important, they ignored the idiotic idea that until every last racist was completely and wholly comfortable with a black man playing, learning or working alongside them (let alone be the boss) then such opportunity should continue to be withheld.

The smartest people pushed the dumbest aside and decided to just let the best person win.

And Tony Dungy won. From high school in Jackson, Mich., to college at the University of Minnesota, to the NFL as both a Super Bowl-winning player and coach. It continued as a best-selling author, coveted and highly compensated speaker and now high-profile analyst on NBC, front and center on the No. 1 television show in America.

Despite all of that, Dungy decided to throw gasoline on the training camp story of the year by telling the Tampa Tribune that unlike the St. Louis Rams, he never would have drafted Michael Sam, the NFL's first openly homosexual player, because someone (who, he didn't say) might not handle it so well.

"I wouldn't have taken him,'' Dungy told the Tribune. "Not because I don't believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but I wouldn't want to deal with all of it … It's not going to be totally smooth … things will happen.''

This thinking is devoid of courage – in every possible way. And that's what makes this so pathetic.

Dungy has a well-earned reputation as a straight shooter and a stand-up guy. It's almost impossible to play and work in the NFL without self-belief and heart. He is a powerful figure. He says a lot of smart things. He knows tough times and consistently finds time for people going through them.

He should be a lot better than this.

Dungy is an outspoken conservative Christian and if he were to say that he wouldn't have drafted Michael Sam because the Bible that Dungy believes in condemns Sam's lifestyle that would be … well, that would be ridiculous, hypocritical and wrong also, but at least it would seemingly jibe with Dungy's sometimes expressed beliefs.

Sometimes being the operative word.

Dungy, is, after all, a guy who has drafted, hired, signed, coached, championed and personally mentored scores of players and coaches who routinely engaged in Biblical definitions of sin, let alone behavior that goes against modern societal standards. He was (rightfully) a huge proponent, for instance, of Michael Vick deserving a second chance after incarceration for the operation of a dog-fighting ring.

Still, at least it would be some kind of principled (if misguided) stance. At least it would've been honest.

This is actually worse. This is a complete cop-out. This is Dungy bending to the beliefs that he knows are wrong simply because those who hold them may – may – find doing the right thing difficult.

This is Dungy not standing up for his own convictions. It's Dungy using the same old buzzwords that caused society to move so slowly to grant equal rights and opportunities to minorities of all kinds, choosing what's easy over what's right (even if it likely will be easier for the generation of guys who actually play than an old man like Dungy realizes).

Integrated third grades weren't "smooth." A black man on the Dodgers caused "things to happen." The first female executives in the business world weren't welcome by all. Lots of people were aghast at the thought of minorities owning homes, especially in their neighborhood. Politicians that didn't look like the Founding Fathers were upsetting to some. Many bristled against the idea of blacks, Hispanics, Asians, women, gays, whatever on factory lines, boardrooms, school boards and on military front lines.

This isn't even worth arguing. Caving to the most ignorant and obstinate among us is an embarrassment and should never, ever, be the basis for anything. Ever.

For an NFL executive to not draft an openly gay player because someone in his locker room or fan base or anywhere might – might – not handle it so well is some kind of Jim Crow-era awful.

The good news for everyone other than Tony Dungy is that Tony Dungy doesn't draft players or coach players anymore. Dungy merely talks for a living and this week he'll deal with the reaction to his talking – there will be plenty of criticism, not to mention support via tortured straw man arguments, political opportunism and misguided admiration.

This isn't about politics though. This isn't about religion. This isn't about what anyone thinks of Michael Sam. This is about Tony Dungy sadly acknowledging he'd care more about someone's narrow mindedness than his own realization that everyone deserves a fair shot.

Mercifully Dungy is from the old NFL mindset rooted in a dying segment of society, like those who once wouldn't draft, hire, educate or vote for an African-American. Fortunately there are more than enough coaches, executives, players, fans and people these days who think otherwise.

So Michael Sam will report to training camp this week. If he can play, he will play. If he can't, he won't.

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Sodomy is a CHOICE LIFESTYLE, NOT genetics!

[Psalm 51:17]

http://news.yahoo.com/jersey-ban-gay-conversion-therapy-upheld-172229347.html
New Jersey 'gay conversion therapy' ban is upheld
9/11/14

 NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld New Jersey's ban on counseling intended to change the sexual orientation of gay and lesbian children.

By a 3-0 vote, a panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the ban, which Republican Governor Chris Christie signed into law in August 2013, did not violate the free speech or religious rights of counselors offering "gay conversion therapy" to convert homosexual minors into heterosexuals.

The panel also said the plaintiffs, who included licensed therapists and a Christian counseling group, lacked standing to pursue claims on behalf of their minor clients.

Circuit Judge D. Brooks Smith said the ban, the second in the country after California's, appropriately advanced New Jersey's legitimate interest in protecting people under the age of 18 from harmful or ineffective professional treatment.

He also said New Jersey had shown that the potential harm from gay conversion therapy was "not merely conjectural," reflecting concern by the American Psychiatric Association and other groups about such risks as anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.

Lawmakers may "rely on the empirical judgment of independent professional organizations that possess specialized knowledge and experience ... particularly when this community has spoken with such urgency and solidarity," wrote Smith, an appointee of President George W. Bush.

The other judges on the panel were appointed by Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.

In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder, but various conservative and religious groups have since argued that sexual orientation can be changed.

Plaintiffs challenging the New Jersey ban included two counselors, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, and the American Association of Christian Counselors.

"Laws banning counseling in this area are simply unconstitutional violations of free speech," the plaintiffs' lawyer Mathew Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel, said in a statement. He said there will be an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Christie's office declined to comment, and the state attorney general's office had no immediate comment.

The decision "will do a lot of good for young people who are at great risk of harm from unscrupulous or misguided therapists," Hayley Gorenberg, deputy legal director of Lambda Legal, a nonprofit advocating for rights of gay and transgender people, said in an interview. "It validates the state's strong interest in preventing these snake-oil efforts."

Thursday's decision upheld a November ruling by U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson in Trenton, New Jersey.

The appeals court said Wolfson had erred in finding that New Jersey law regulated conduct and not speech, but said the law's limits on speech were "not more extensive than necessary."

California Governor Jerry Brown signed that state's gay conversion therapy ban into law in 2012, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld it in August 2013. The Supreme Court in June refused to disturb that ruling.

[Mark]

Christian T-Shirt Company Forced to Attend Diversity Training after Refusing to Make Gay Pride Shirts

 Hands On Originals, a Christian t-shirt printing company in Kentucky, has been found guilty of discriminating against homosexuals. Charisma News reports the company refused to make gay pride shirts, resulting in The Gay and Lesbian Services Organization filing a complaint in 2012.
 
The organization argued that Hands On Originals violated a city fairness ordinance when prohibits companies from refusing to provide services to homosexuals. Gay and Lesbian Services won the suit, forcing the Christian business to attend “diversity training.”
 
Alliance Defending Freedom represented Hands On Originals in the suit. "No one should be forced by the government or by another citizen to endorse or promote ideas with which they disagree," the law firm said.
 
"In America, we don't force people to express messages that are contrary to their convictions," said co-counsel Bryan Beuman.
 

http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/christian-t-shirt-company-forced-to-attend-diversity-training-after-refusing-to-make-gay-pride-shirts.html

[Mark]

California Churches Forced to Offer Abortion Insurance Coverage

Life Legal Defense Foundation and Alliance Defending Freedom filed a formal complaint Thursday with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services against the California Department of Managed Health Care.

The two national not-for-profit law organizations joined to represent seven California churches that are being forced to provide insurance coverage for elective abortions, in violation of federal law.

Skyline Church in La Mesa, Foothill Church and Foothill Christian School in Glendora, Alpine Christian Fellowship in El Cajon, The Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch, City View Church in San Diego, Faith Baptist Church in Santa Barbara, and Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Chino, object to offering their employees insurance plans that include abortion coverage.

The complaint filed on behalf of these churches echoes a separate complaint filed last month on behalf of employees at Loyola Marymount University, also represented by Life Legal Defense Foundation and Alliance Defending Freedom.

"California's Department of Managed Health Care created this abortion mandate in response to political pressure from the abortion lobby," said Life Legal Defense Foundation Legal Director Catherine Short.

"They would have us believe that, while the Legislature exempted these churches from the state's contraceptive coverage mandate, it nonetheless intended to force them to cover all abortions under the rubric of 'basic health care,'" she explained.

Short deemed this move a "a pure power play" adding, "We trust that the Department of Health and Human Services will take the necessary steps to bring the state of California into compliance with federal law."

Read the complaint filed by Life Legal Defense Foundation and Alliance Defending Freedom here.

Click here for additional information on the issue.

http://www.charismanews.com/us/45717-california-churches-forced-to-offer-abortion-insurance-coverage

[Mark]

Major U.S. city demands oversight of sermons

Houston Mayor Annise Parker

Officials with the city of Houston, Texas, who are defending a controversial ordinance that would allow men to use women’s restrooms now have demanded to see the sermons preached by several area pastors.

The recent move came in a subpoena from the city to pastors for copies of their sermons and other communications in the city’s legal defense of a “non-discrimination” measure that allows “gender-confused” people to use public restrooms designated for the opposite sex.

A lawsuit challenging Houston’s move alleges the city violated its own charter in its adoption of the Equal Rights Ordinance, which in May designated homosexuals and transgender persons as a protected class.

Critics say the measure effectively enables sexual predators who dress as women to enter female public bathrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities. A coalition of activists that includes area pastors filed suit Aug. 6 against the city and lesbian Mayor Annise Parker after officials announced a voter petition to repeal the measure didn’t have enough signatures to qualify for the election ballot.

Parker, who has acknowledged the ordinance is “all about me,” was legally married to her same-sex partner in California in January.

The Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a motion to quash the city’s demands to see the sermons. ADF argues the pastors are not party to the lawsuit, and the city’s strategy doesn’t meet the requirements of state law that requires such efforts “be reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence, not be overly broad, seek only information that is not privileged and relevant to the subject matter of the litigation, and not cause undue burden or harassment.”

ADF said city officials “are upset over a voter lawsuit filed after the city council rejected valid petitions to repeal a law that allows members of the opposite sex into each other’s restrooms.”

ADF attorneys say the city is “illegitimately demanding that the pastors, who are not party to the lawsuit, turn over their constitutionally protected sermons and other communications simply so the city can see if the pastors have ever opposed or criticized the city.”

“City council members are supposed to be public servants, not ‘Big Brother’ overlords who will tolerate no dissent or challenge,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “In this case, they have embarked upon a witch hunt, and we are asking the court to put a stop to it.”

ADF Litigation Counsel Christiana Holcomb said the city’s subpoena of sermons and other pastoral communications is needless and unprecedented.

“The city council and its attorneys are engaging in an inquisition designed to stifle any critique of its actions. Political and social commentary is not a crime; it is protected by the First Amendment,” she said.

While the public submitted more than three times the legally required number of petition signatures to require city action, and the city secretary certified the number as sufficient, the mayor and city attorney “defied” the law and rejected the certification, ADF said.

“The message is clear: oppose the decisions of city government, and drown in unwarranted, burdensome discovery requests,” said a brief in support of the motion to quash. “These requests, if allowed, will have a chilling effect on future citizens who might consider circulating referendum petitions because they are dissatisfied with ordinances passed by the city council.

“Not only will the nonparty pastors be harmed if these discovery requests are allowed, but the people will suffer as well. The referendum process will become toxic and the people will be deprived of an important check on city government provided them by the charter.”

WND has reported similar measures in other jurisdictions across the country. Opponents point to incidents such a man in Indianapolis who allegedly went into a women’s locker room at a YMCA and watched girls, ages 7 and 10, shower.

Opposition in Houston was led by a coalition including the Baptist Ministers Association of Houston, the Houston Area Pastor Council, the Houston Ministers against Crime, AME Ministers Alliance of Houston/Gulf Coast, the Northeast Ministers Alliance, the South Texas Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship, the South Texas District of the Assemblies of God and the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

The coalition had submitted more than 55,000 signatures in the referendum drive. City Secretary Anna Russell confirmed in writing Aug. 1 that the petition sponsors had submitted 17,846 qualified signatures, nearly 600 above the minimum 17,269.

However, City Attorney David Feldman announced 2,750 petitions were invalid because of “technical problems.”

Opponents have argued Feldman did not have the authority to step in and make the decision and that it should have been handled by the courts.

Critics dubbed the Houston law the “sexual predator protection act,” claiming that by designating transgender or gender-confused persons as a protected class, women and children are threatened by predators seeking to exploit the ordinance’s ambiguous language.

Political activist Steven F. Hotze said the ordinance would establish minority status for transvestites, allowing men who dress as women to enter women’s public bathrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities.

“I want to protect my wife, daughters and granddaughters from being exposed to the dangers of male sexual predators masquerading as women in women’s public bathrooms and other facilities,” he said. “This is why it has been called the Sexual Predators’ Protection Act.”

Similar cases also have erupted in Maryland, Florida and Colorado, which adopted a radical “transgender nondiscrimination” bill in 2008 that makes it illegal to deny a person access to public accommodations, including restrooms and locker rooms, based on gender identity or the “perception” of gender identity. One consequence of the law is a ruling forcing authorities to permit 6-year-old Coy Mathis – a boy who says he thinks he’s a girl – to use the girls bathroom at his elementary school.

Nationwide, 17 states and the District of Columbia have embraced the transsexual agenda. Rhode Island added “gender identity and expression” to its anti-discrimination law in June with the support of Gov. Jack Markell, and Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden announced his support in an Equality Delaware video.

But other attempts to advance the transsexual agenda were defeated in Montana, Missouri, North Dakota and New York, where state Senate leaders refused to allow a vote.

Here what happened in Washington state:

The Obama administration is solidly behind the move to open locker room doors to some members of the opposite sex.

    President Obama signed the U.N. Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity;
    The White House hosted the first-ever meeting with transgender activists;
    The Department of State made it easier for transsexuals to change the sex indicated on passports;
    The U.S. Justice Department sided with a transsexual individual in an employment discrimination suit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives;
    The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled for the first time last year that “gender identity or expression” in the workplace is protected under federal civil rights law;
    The Office of Personnel Management inserted “gender identity” for the first time into its federal workplace anti-discrimination policy;
    The American Psychiatric Association removed “gender identity disorder” from its list of mental health ailments in late 2012, a move some regarded as a lifting of the social stigma attached to transsexual behavior.

 VIDEO

Article printed from WND: http://www.wnd.com

URL to article: http://www.wnd.com/2014/10/major-u-s-city-demands-oversight-of-sermons/
http://www.wnd.com/2014/10/major-u-s-city-demands-oversight-of-sermons/

[Psalm 51:17]

Opposition in Houston was led by a coalition including the Baptist Ministers Association of Houston, the Houston Area Pastor Council, the Houston Ministers against Crime, AME Ministers Alliance of Houston/Gulf Coast, the Northeast Ministers Alliance, the South Texas Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship, the South Texas District of the Assemblies of God and the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

Hate to say it, but there's nothing they can do b/c quite simply, they're a 501c3.

IOW, they know it, and they're just paying lip service(and nothing more).

[Mark]

City of Houston demands pastors turn over sermons

The city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor. And those ministers who fail to comply could be held in contempt of court.

“The city’s subpoena of sermons and other pastoral communications is both needless and unprecedented,” Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Christina Holcomb said in a statement. “The city council and its attorneys are engaging in an inquisition designed to stifle any critique of its actions.”

ADF, a nationally-known law firm specializing in religious liberty cases, is representing five Houston pastors. They filed a motion in Harris County court to stop the subpoenas arguing they are “overbroad, unduly burdensome, harassing, and vexatious.”

“Political and social commentary is not a crime,” Holcomb said. “It is protected by the First Amendment.”

The subpoenas are just the latest twist in an ongoing saga over the Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance. The law, among other things, would allow men to use the ladies room and vice versa.  The city council approved the law in June.

The Houston Chronicle reported opponents of the ordinance launched a petition drive that generated more than 50,000 signatures – far more than the 17,269 needed to put a referendum on the ballot.

However, the city threw out the petition in August over alleged irregularities.

After opponents of the bathroom bill filed a lawsuit the city’s attorneys responded by issuing the subpoenas against the pastors.

The pastors were not part of the lawsuit. However, they were part of a coalition of some 400 Houston-area churches that opposed the ordinance. The churches represent a number of faith groups – from Southern Baptist to non-denominational.

“City council members are supposed to be public servants, not ‘Big Brother’ overlords who will tolerate no dissent or challenge,” said ADF attorney Erik Stanley.  “This is designed to intimidate pastors.”

Mayor Parker will not explain why she wants to inspect the sermons. I contacted City Hall for a comment and received a terse reply from the mayor’s director of communications.

“We don’t comment on litigation,” said Janice Evans.

However, ADF attorney Stanley suspects the mayor wants to publicly shame the ministers. He said he anticipates they will hold up their sermons for public scrutiny. In other words – the city is rummaging for evidence to “out” the pastors as anti-gay bigots.

Among those slapped with a subpoena is Steve Riggle, the senior pastor of Grace Community Church. He was ordered to produce all speeches and sermons related to Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality and gender identity.

The mega-church pastor was also ordered to hand over “all communications with members of your congregation” regarding the non-discrimination law.

“This is an attempt to chill pastors from speaking to the cultural issues of the day,” Riggle told me. “The mayor would like to silence our voice. She’s a bully.”

Rev. Dave Welch, executive director of the Texas Pastor Council, also received a subpoena. He said he will not be intimidated by the mayor.

“We’re not afraid of this bully,” he said. “We’re not intimidated at all.”

He accused the city of violating the law with the subpoenas and vowed to stand firm in the faith.

“We are not going to yield our First Amendment rights,” Welch told me. ‘This is absolutely a complete abuse of authority.”

Tony Perkins, the head of the Family Research Council, said pastors around the nation should rally around the Houston ministers.

“The state is breaching the wall of separation between church and state,” Perkins told me. ‘Pastors need to step forward and challenge this across the country. I’d like to see literally thousands of pastors after they read this story begin to challenge government authorities – to dare them to come into their churches and demand their sermons.”

Perkins called the actions by Houston’s mayor “obscene” and said they “should not be tolerated.”

“This is a shot across the bow of the church,” he said.

This is the moment I wrote about in my book, “God Less America.” I predicted that the government would one day try to silence American pastors. I warned that under the guise of “tolerance and diversity” elected officials would attempt to deconstruct religious liberty.

Sadly, that day arrived sooner than even I expected.

Tony Perkins is absolutely right. Now is the time for pastors and people of faith to take a stand.  We must rise up and reject this despicable strong-arm attack on religious liberty. We cannot allow ministers to be intimidated by government thugs.

The pastors I spoke to tell me they will not comply with the subpoena – putting them at risk for a “fine or confinement, or both.”

Heaven forbid that should happen. But if it does, Christians across America should be willing to descend en masse upon Houston and join these brave men of God behind bars.

Pastor Welch compared the culture war skirmish to the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto, fought in present-day Harris County, Texas. It was a decisive battle of the Texas Revolution.

“This is the San Jacinto moment for traditional family,” Welch told me. “This is the place where we stop the LGBT assault on the freedom to practice our faith.”

We can no longer remain silent. We must stand together - because one day – the government might come for your pastor.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/10/14/city-houston-demands-pastors-turn-over-sermons/

[Mark]

College accreditation: Please God - or please man?


Education
College accreditation: Please God - or please man?
Michael F. Haverluck   (OneNewsNow.com) Friday, October 03, 2014
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Accredited or not accredited … that is the question. Keeping to its biblical code of behavior as a Christian college since 1889, Gordon College has now been given an ultimatum by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC): be an accredited academic institution by accepting “homosexual practice” or stick to its Christian teachings on sexual behavior and be unaccredited.

Gordon College and NEASC verticalGordon College will be trying to convince the NEASC over the next 12 to 18 months during a review period that its policy conforms to the new thinking sweeping the education system — one that embraces and normalizes homosexual behavior on campus.

Prepping for its September 2015 meeting with the NEASC, a “working group of 20 representative trustees, faculty, administrators, staff and students” will prepare and submit a review of the process and its outcomes, which includes indoctrinating campus members in the “proper” way to respond to homosexual behavior. The document to be issued to the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education must primarily prove one thing:

“[The review must] ensure [Gordon College’s] ability to foster an atmosphere that respects and supports people of diverse characteristics and backgrounds, consistent with the Commission’s Standards for Accreditation,” reads a joint statement produced by the Wenham, Massachusetts-based college and the NEASC.

Scrutiny of campus worldviews and attitudes toward the LGBTQ community escalated fairly recently after Gordon College president D. Michael Lindsay signed a letter along with other academic and religious leaders asking for a religious exemption from President Barack Obama’s executive order that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation. Repercussions were immediate, as the town hall in Salem quickly canceled Gordon College’s contract to use its facility when they found out about Lindsay’s request.

According to the NEASC, it assured Gordon College that if it doesn’t alter its policy, “the organization won’t be rushing to withdraw the school’s accreditation;” however, the NEASC controls whether federal funding will be made available to the college.

Related commentary by Dr. Michael L. Brown:
Gordon College, don't sell your soul for secular accreditation

Putting things into perspective

Stand to Reason founder and president Greg Koukl made it quite clear exactly what’s at stake.

“If they do not change the standards for sexual behavior in their ‘life and conduct statement’ (which prohibit ‘sexual relations outside of marriage’ and ‘homosexual practice’) they will lose their accreditation,” the head of the Christian nonprofit explained.

According to a joint NEASC-Gordon College statement, the association’s higher education commission met last week and “considered whether Gordon College’s traditional inclusion of ‘homosexual practice’ as a forbidden activity” is in violation of the commission’s accreditation standards. It states that the review will be conducted “to ensure that the College’s policies and procedures are non-discriminatory.”

Attempting to explain the 18-month period allotted to Gordon College, the NEASC higher education commission president said it was given because the college’s policy is “deeply embedded in the culture of the college” and such things “don’t change overnight.”

Koukl does not believe that this timeframe is as generous as it’s been described when taking the policy’s roots into consideration.

“How reasonable of the commission to give Gordon College 18 months to come to terms with overturning the thousands-of-years-old Christian view of acceptable sexual behavior,” Koukl jests. “This 18-month reprieve is nothing but theater, of course. Gordon College will not convince the commission their standards are ‘non-discriminatory.’”

The Christian scholar, who also teaches Apologetics at Biola University in La Mirada, California, believes Gordon College is exercising an act of futility in its attempt for accreditation.

“Gordon College will explain the difference between behavior and identity, between a person with same-sex attractions who agrees with the biblical standards and one who doesn’t, and the difference between banning a person because of his sexual orientation and banning particular behaviors among all students that go against the biblical view,” Koukl argues. “And then the commission will reject it.”

Koukl is quite sure that this will be the course of action taken and explains why.

“How do I know this?” asks the Christian leader headquartered in Signal Hill, California. “Because this is what happened earlier this year when Gordon College publicly argued for the ‘right of faith-based institutions to set and adhere to standards which derive from our shared framework of faith.’ That controversy ended with the termination of their city contract to maintain Salem’s historical Old Town Hall and their student teachers being removed from public schools.”

Discrimination redefined

At the time the college was banned from the town hall it stated its beliefs, which it considered non-discriminatory.

“In our statement of faith and conduct we affirm God’s creation of marriage, first described in Genesis, as the intended lifelong one-flesh union of one man and one woman,” Gordon College officials maintained. “Along with this positive affirmation of marriage as a male-female union, there are clear prohibitions in the Scriptures against sexual relations between persons of the same sex.”

Gordon College went through lengths to assure that it does not treat homosexuals any differently than heterosexuals when it comes to sexual sin.

“It is important to note that the Gordon statement of faith and conduct does not reference same-sex orientation — that is, the state of being a person who experiences same-sex attraction — but rather, specifically, homosexual acts,” the college pointed out. “The Gordon community is expected to refrain from any such sexual intercourse — heterosexual or homosexual; premarital or extramarital — outside of the marriage covenant.”

It acknowledges the hot-topic social issues tied to homosexuality.

“There is currently much debate among Christians about the nature and causes of homosexuality, and about a faithful Christian response to same-sex attractions, but we acknowledge that we are all sinners in need of grace, all called to redeemed humanity in Christ,” the statement continues. “We recognize that students at Gordon who identify as LGBTQ or experience same-sex attraction have often felt marginalized and alone, and recognize the pressing need for a safe campus environment for all students.”

Koukl contens there’s no satisfying the NEASC.

“That wasn’t enough then, and it certainly won’t be enough now,” Koukl asserts. “But it should be. Setting standards or sexual behavior is not the same as discrimination against people because of their sexual orientation — it’s not discrimination against singe people because of their heterosexual orientation, and it’s not discrimination against gay people because of their homosexual orientation.”

He insists that there is a definite double-standard going on — one that is rarely reported by the mainstream media that embraces the LGBTQ community.

“Consider this: I can’t think of three names off the top of my head right now of people who have same-sex attractions (and are open about it) who support the boundaries Christianity sets around sexuality and write for esteemed and popular conservative evangelical Christian ministries and/or whose books I recommend: Nick Roen, Sam Allberry, and Wesley Hill,” Koukl shared. “No one is interested in kicking them out of anything because of their same-sex attractions, because that is not the issue. The issue is whether or not they subscribe to and live by the biblical view of sexuality, not their sexual orientation. There is a relevant distinction between the two.”

Koukl contends that part of the strategy behind the homosexual agenda is to blur the lines of the argument so that the LGBTQ community continues to get special legal privileges in the names of tolerance, anti-discrimination and civil rights.

“Therefore, just as having a sexual behavior standard for people with opposite-sex attractions is not an act of discrimination against heterosexual people, so having the same standard for people with same-sex attractions is not an act of discrimination against homosexual people,”  Koukl reasons. “But the commission won’t see this because our culture is no longer capable of making a distinction between ‘sexual identity’ and behavior.”

According to Koukl, it’s all downhill for Christian nonprofit organizations, as he believes they will continue to have their beliefs and Christian traditions trampled as LGBTQ “rights” turn into privileges.

“If Stand to Reason still has tax-exempt status within five years, I will be very, very surprised,” Koukl concedes.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/education/2014/10/03/college-accreditation-please-god-or-please-man#.VD7EYslxhlc

[Psalm 51:17]

"This is the moment I wrote about in my book, “God Less America.” I predicted that the government would one day try to silence American pastors. I warned that under the guise of “tolerance and diversity” elected officials would attempt to deconstruct religious liberty.

They already did  a long time ago - it was b/c these hireling pastors sold out to 501c3.

[Mark]

Why the City of Houston wanted the sermons of five Christian pastors

The City of Houston ignited a free-speech controversy by seeking the sermons of five evangelical Christian pastors as part of a legal battle over a new anti-gay discrimination ordinance. On Wednesday, the mayor scaled back the scope of the subpoenas.

The City of Houston ignited a First Amendment free-speech debate by issuing subpoenas to evangelical Christian leaders demanding they turn over their sermons – and all other communications – regarding a new city ordinance providing protections to the LGBT community.

But on Wednesday, the Houston Mayor Annise Parker apparently backpedaled.

"Mayor Parker agrees with those who are concerned about the city legal department’s subpoenas for pastor’s sermons,” according to an email from Janice Evans, chief policy officer for the City of Houston. “The subpoenas were issued by pro bono attorneys helping the city prepare for the trial regarding the petition to repeal the new Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) in January.  Neither the mayor nor City Attorney David Feldman were aware the subpoenas had been issued until yesterday.  Both agree the original documents were overly broad.  The city will move to narrow the scope during an upcoming court hearing.  Feldman says the focus should be only on communications related to the HERO petition process.”

Pastor Dave Welch, one of five Houston pastors who received a subpoena despite not being involved the HERO lawsuit against the city, said in a phone interview shortly after mayor's statement was issued: “What they did by issuing these subpoenas was to punish any pastor in the city of Houston who participated in gathering signatures against the HERO ordinance,”

Welch, who heads the Houston Area Pastor Council, called even a downsized version of the subpoena “an effort to both punish and intimidate those who dared to step-up and oppose this city council.”

The recently enacted HERO was championed by Mayor Parker, the nation’s first openly lesbian mayor of a major American city.

The city ordinance passed in June and bans anti-gay discrimination among businesses that serve the public, private employers, in housing and in city employment and city contracting. The ordinance exempted religious institutions.

But the ordinance passage was followed by a lawsuit against the city by people identified as Christians in the media. The lawsuit sought a court injunction forcing the city to suspend the HERO ordinance and place a repeal on the ballot in November. City attorneys responded to the lawsuit on Oct. 10 by issuing subpoenas to five local pastors.

And that's when a local battle over discrimination suddenly became a First Amendment cause célèbre.

“City council members are supposed to be public servants, not Big Brother overlords who won’t tolerate descent or challenge,” said Erik Stanley of the group Alliance Defending Freedom, which now represents the pastors, on the group’s website.  “In this case the city has embarked upon a witch hunt and we’re asking the court to put a stop to it.”

Part of the evangelical outcry now is the fact that the five pastors named in the subpoena have no involvement in the lawsuit brought against the city – the city attorney issued the subpoena during the legal discovery process, according to Religious News Service (RNS) and other news outlets.

Therefore it appears to some that these pastors have been singled-out because they allegedly fought the passage of the HERO ordinance from the pulpit.

The city attorney's office has not responded to requests for comment.

However, the subpoena was posted online by the attorneys at The Alliance Defending Freedom who represent the pastors.

“The subpoenas were issued to pastors who have been involved in the political campaign to organize a repeal of Houston’s new equal rights ordinance,” said Ms. Evans, chief policy officer to the mayor, in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. “It is part of the discovery process in a lawsuit brought by opponents of the ordinance, a group that is tied to the pastors who have received the subpoenas.”

A central point of contention in the new ordinance is that if transgender people are barred access to a restroom, they may file a discrimination complaint.

The City of Houston subpoena specifically demanded the pastors turn over any all communications of any kind, written or electronic including but not limited to: sermons, emails, studies, petition circulars, training materials and any other related documents, photos and petition drafts, according to the subpoena.

The subpoena also demands, “All communications with Pastor Dave Welch or anyone else at or associated with the Houston Area Pastor Council referring or relating to HERO, restroom access in connection with HERO, the Petition, or this litigation.”

Welch has become known for his conservative views and allegedly calling upon his followers to invoke “Imprecatory prayers” that “ask God to burden, curse or even destroy wicked individuals and institutions,” against the LGBT community and its supporters, according to TFN (Texas Freedom Network)

Those failing to comply will with the subpoena will be held in contempt of court.

But the city's lawyers will face a high bar for proving the information in the sermons is essential to their case, Charles Rhodes, a South Texas College of Law professor, told the Houston Chronicle. The pastors are not named parties in the lawsuit, and the [US Constitution's First Amendment] "Church Autonomy Doctrine" offers fairly broad protections for internal church deliberations, he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/why-city-houston-wanted-sermons-five-christian-pastors-020730663.html

[Mark]

Houston Mayor Backs Off Sermon Subpoena After Public Outcry
After calling the sermons “fair game,” Mayor Parker now claims subpoena wasn’t her idea, city to “narrow the scope” of investigation



After declaring late Tuesday night that the sermons of local pastors were “fair game” for the city’s review in a legal case involving a referendum, Houston Mayor Annise Parker issued a statement late Wednesday saying she now “agrees with those who are concerned about the city legal department’s subpoenas for pastors’ sermons.” The about face comes after public outrage over the city’s demand that five pastors who opposed a new transgender rights ordinance turn over any sermons related to homosexuality or the mayor.

As TruthRevolt reported Wednesday, the city demanded five Houston-area pastors turn over “all speeches, presentations, or sermons” on sexual identity, the new ordinance, or the mayor, the first openly gay major of a major U.S. city. The five pastors had been a part of a petition for a referendum vote on the new Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, a transgender non-discrimination law that in part would allow men to use women’s restrooms and vice versa. Though the petition received far more than the required signatures to force a referendum, the city threw it out citing “irregularities.” The city’s move prompted a lawsuit against the city.

Though Parker clearly stated Tuesday night that she agreed with the subpoena, her office is now disavowing the move and claiming that they were not the ones who issued the subpoena in the first place. The statement from Parker’s office claimed that the subpoenas were issued by “pro bono attorneys helping the city prepare for the trial regarding the petition to repeal the new Houston Equal Rights Ordinance” and that “[n]either the mayor nor City Attorney David Feldman were aware the subpoenas had been issued until [Tuesday].” The city, Feldman explained, would now “narrow the scope” of information for the court hearing to “communications related to the petitions to overturn the ordinance.”

The city’s rationale for demanding the sermons was that they were relevant to the petition case, an argument dismissed by Alliance Defending Freedom’s Joe La Rue, who called the mayor’s reversal “wholly inadequate,” noting that the city is still demanding sermons and documents unrelated to the petition drive.

“These sermons, emails and texts have nothing to do with whether the coalition gathered enough signatures to qualify for the ballot,” said La Rue. ADF, a group nationally known for taking up cases involvement religious freedom, filed to have the subpoenas stopped Tuesday.

The pastors, ADF, and others involved in the petition drive say the city’s actions fly in the face of religious freedom and seem to be an attempt to vilify Christianity. Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, warned that the city’s actions were a “shot across the bow of the church,” and called for unified pushback from pastors across the country against such abuses of power.


http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/houston-mayor-backs-sermon-subpoena-after-public-outcry

[Mark]

Twitter Blocks Campaign To Protect Pastors From Having To Hand Over Their Sermons and Emails To The Government

Twitter blocked a petition campaign Wednesday to protect Houston pastors from having to hand over to the city government all of their sermons and personal emails dealing with the issue of homosexuality.

The Christian organization Faith Driven Consumer’s Twitter hashtag campaign #HoustonWeHaveAProblem was censored by Twitter minutes after launching so that users could not Tweet the petition and a warning was placed on Twitter-based links to the petition website. The group’s previous campaign #iStandWithPhil defending Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson was also blocked by Twitter at one time.

“We are asking Twitter to immediately unblock thousands of people who have already flocked to our petition and want to spread the word from coast to coast,” Faith Driven Consumer founder Chris Stone said in a statement provided to The Daily Caller.

The city of Houston this week subpoenaed from a group of pastors sermons and personal correspondences, including emails, that discuss “homosexuality, gender identity, or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor.”

UPDATE: Houston mayor Annise Parker said Wednesday night that the subpoenas “should be clarified, will be clarified” and will be less broad in scope. But as of press time the subpoenas are still active.

http://dailycaller.com/2014/10/15/twitter-blocks-campaign-to-protect-pastors-from-having-to-hand-over-its-sermons-and-emails-to-the-government/

[Mark]

Houston Pastor Refiles Subpoenas With Jail Threats

The following is a response from Tony Perkins after Houston Mayor Annise Parker agreed to revise subpoenas against pastors that drop the word "sermons" but retain the demand for 17 different categories of information—including speeches by the pastors, emails, text messages and other private communications within the church.

This head-fake might fool some, but the reality is, Mayor Parker didn't need a subpoena to access those sermons in the first place. They were already public. In this "new" filing, the mayor still insists on seeing private emails, texts and other communications related to the mayor's office and the city's "bathroom bill." While two words—"or sermons"—are dropped from the "revised" subpoena, the government intrusion into private religious affairs remains. The "revised" subpoena is a difference without a distinction.

Obviously, Houston's leadership has one goal—and information gathering isn't it. This is about political intimidation. But if the Mayor was hoping to scare off these churches, she'll have to try harder. Every pastor I've spoken to would go to jail before surrendering their God-given rights to preach the Truth free from government harassment and intimidation.

Houston has become a rallying cry for freedom-loving Americans tired of seeing their laws and liberties casually tossed aside in a stampede. This is why more than 38,000 people have signed our petition in the last two days, standing with the Houston pastors and calling on Mayor Parker to immediately retract these unconstitutional and unconscionable demands.

Click here to access the petition.
http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/45815-houston-pastor-refiles-subpoenas-with-jail-threats

[Psalm 51:17]

Every pastor I've spoken to would go to jail before surrendering their God-given rights to preach the Truth free from government harassment and intimidation.

But they won't give up their preciouses 501c3 statuses.(b/c of the love of money)

Just wait until the IRS forces these same pastors in Houston(among every church in the country) to have sodomite weddings and hire sodomite employees.
They WILL cave in.

[Mark]

Ordained ministers threatened with jail unless they perform same sex marriages

and it begins...

City officials in Coeur d'Alene Idaho have told a married couple who are both ordained ministers that they will go to jail if they refuse to perform wedding ceremonies for gay couples.

The Alliance for Defending Freedom has filed suit against the city and asked for a temporary restraining order to prevent officials from carrying out their threat.

    Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal lawsuit and a motion for a temporary restraining order Friday to stop officials in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, from forcing two ordained Christian ministers to perform wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples.

    City officials told Donald Knapp that he and his wife Evelyn, both ordained ministers who run Hitching Post Wedding Chapel, are required to perform such ceremonies or face months in jail and/or thousands of dollars in fines. The city claims its “non-discrimination” ordinance requires the Knapps to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies now that the courts have overridden Idaho’s voter-approved constitutional amendment that affirmed marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

    “The government should not force ordained ministers to act contrary to their faith under threat of jail time and criminal fines,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Many have denied that pastors would ever be forced to perform ceremonies that are completely at odds with their faith, but that’s what is happening here – and it’s happened this quickly. The city is on seriously flawed legal ground, and our lawsuit intends to ensure that this couple’s freedom to adhere to their own faith as pastors is protected just as the First Amendment intended.”

The couple would face 180 days in jail and up to $1000 in fines per day if they dared to adhere to their religious beliefs.

    “The city somehow expects ordained pastors to flip a switch and turn off all faithfulness to their God and their vows,” explained ADF Legal Counsel Jonathan Scruggs. “The U.S. Constitution as well as federal and state law clearly stand against that. The city cannot mandate across-the-board conformity to its interpretation of a city ordinance in utter disregard for the guaranteed freedoms Americans treasure in our society.”

How many other towns and cities have statutes like this? No doubt there are other budding fascists out there who would enjoy putting Christian ministers in jail for not violating the sacred tenets of their faith.

This is a law that manifestly violates the Constitution so I wouldn't expect any court in America to uphold the city statutue. But the fact that it was passed in the first place should raise the alarm that the assault on religious liberty has entered a new phase. The power of government is being used in the contraceptive controversey and now the gay marriage issue to force acceptance of practices totally at odds with the religious faith of millions of people.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/10/new_america_ordained_ministers_threatened_with_jail_unless_they_perform_same_sex_marriages.html

[Mark]

Ted Cruz Says There Is 'Real Risk' Of Pastors Being Jailed  For Preaching Against Homosexuality

Did you read above Ted?

In an exclusive interview with The Brody File, Senator Ted Cruz says pastors being hauled off to jail by the government for preaching against homosexuality is a “real risk” in the future. ““I think that is a real risk,” Cruz tells me. “Some in the media ridicule that threat saying there is no danger of the government coming after pastors. That is the usual response.” But he adds: “The specter of government trying to determine if what pastors preach from the pulpit meets with the policy views or political correctness of the governing authorities, that prospect is real and happening now.”   

MORE: http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2014/10/17/ted-cruz-tells-brody-file-real-risk-of-pastors-being.aspx

[Mark]

HOUSTON, TEXAS: NO FREEDOM OF SPEECH FOR PASTORS

By Chuck Baldwin
October 16, 2014
NewsWithViews.com

Thomas Jefferson rightly noted that big cities are the “bane” of freedom. And in a letter to James Madison, Jefferson wrote, “When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become corrupt as in Europe.” Modern America is a living testament to Jefferson’s sagacity. Unlike early America, the vast majority of the U.S. population now lives in large metropolitan areas. And it is the big-government machinations of big-city politicians that are leading the charge for America’s surrender to Big Brother. Houston, Texas, is the latest example.

Writing for FOX NEWS, Todd Starnes covers the story:

“The city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor. And those ministers who fail to comply could be held in contempt of court.

“‘The city’s subpoena of sermons and other pastoral communications is both needless and unprecedented,’ Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Christina Holcomb said in a statement. ‘The city council and its attorneys are engaging in an inquisition designed to stifle any critique of its actions.’”

Starnes continues, “‘Political and social commentary is not a crime,’ Holcomb said. ‘It is protected by the First Amendment.’

“The subpoenas are just the latest twist in an ongoing saga over the Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance. The law, among other things, would allow men to use the ladies room and vice versa. The city council approved the law in June.

“The Houston Chronicle reported opponents of the ordinance launched a petition drive that generated more than 50,000 signatures--far more than the 17,269 needed to put a referendum on the ballot.

“However, the city threw out the petition in August over alleged irregularities.

“After opponents of the bathroom bill filed a lawsuit the city’s attorneys responded by issuing the subpoenas against the pastors.

“The pastors were not part of the lawsuit. However, they were part of a coalition of some 400 Houston-area churches that opposed the ordinance. The churches represent a number of faith groups--from Southern Baptist to non-denominational.

“‘City council members are supposed to be public servants, not “Big Brother” overlords who will tolerate no dissent or challenge,’ said ADF attorney Erik Stanley. ‘This is designed to intimidate pastors.’”

Starnes also wrote, “Among those slapped with a subpoena is Steve Riggle, the senior pastor of Grace Community Church. He was ordered to produce all speeches and sermons related to Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality and gender identity.

“The mega-church pastor was also ordered to hand over ‘all communications with members of your congregation’ regarding the non-discrimination law.

“‘This is an attempt to chill pastors from speaking to the cultural issues of the day,’ Riggle told me. ‘The mayor would like to silence our voice. She’s a bully.’

“Rev. David Welch, executive director of the Texas Pastor Council, also received a subpoena. He said he will not be intimidated by the mayor.

“‘We’re not afraid of this bully,’ he said. ‘We’re not intimidated at all.’

“He accused the city of violating the law with the subpoenas and vowed to stand firm in the faith.

“‘We are not going to yield our First Amendment rights,’ Welch told me. ‘This is absolutely a complete abuse of authority.’”

Obviously, city officials in Houston, Texas, are trying to use their authority to bully and intimidate local pastors and churches from exercising their God-given duty to proclaim truth as they understand it. And, yes, such speech is emphatically recognized and protected in the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights. Therefore, it is clear that Mayor Annise Parker and the Houston City Council do not believe in the freedom of speech; and their actions should be regarded as an act of tyranny by any freedom lover--be they Christian or otherwise.

The issue is NOT homosexuality or lesbianism; the issue is freedom of speech and religion. And I would say the same if the folks exercising their First Amendment freedom were homosexuals and lesbians. In fact, can you imagine the outcry of the national media if, instead of a lesbian mayor and pro-homosexual city council, the mayor of Houston and city council were conservative Christians and the clergymen being threatened with fine or imprisonment over their freedom of speech were lesbians and homosexuals? Why, the outcry of the national press corps would be deafening. As it is, for all intents and purposes, the story is completely ignored by the vast majority of the mainstream media. So typical!

The audacity of Mayor Parker and the Houston City Council to demand they examine and approve of a pastor’s sermons and private communications with parishioners! This is so egregiously offensive it is difficult to comprehend that we are talking about an American city. But this is NOT the America of Washington, Jefferson, and Madison. Furthermore, it is obvious that Texas is NOT the State of Travis, Austin, and Houston. In fact, the namesake of the City of Houston must be turning over in his grave. I doubt that the Mexican tyrant, Santa Anna, ever dreamed up anything as dastardly as what we see emanating from the twisted mind of Mayor Parker and her corrupt cronies on the Houston City Council.

Unfortunately, there is absolutely no doubt that the action of Houston city officials is only a precursor of forthcoming acts of tyranny.

Most of us are aware that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued a statement saying it was going to begin “monitoring” the sermons of America’s pastors after an atheist organization complained that too many of America’s pastors were violating the conditions of their non-profit tax status under section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC).

As an aside, I have to chuckle at the proposition that too many pastors are speaking out on political issues from their pulpits. How many churches have you attended lately? One could visit almost every church in a given community and not find ONE pastor who regularly speaks out on what some might call “political” issues. In fact, a recent Barna research project discovered that some 90% of America’s pastors deliberately refuse to address such subjects from the pulpit.

Furthermore, I am NOT IMPRESSED with the so called “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” in which pastors are encouraged to deliberately speak out on topics considered taboo by the IRC on one particular Sunday of the year. Nationwide, some 1,500 pastors reportedly participated in a recent “Pulpit Freedom Sunday.” That’s 1,500 out of over 300,000 evangelical pastors in America. Do the math.

I ask you, what is the big deal if a pastor decides to speak out on salient political and cultural issues on ONE Sunday? What about the other 51 Sundays? Tune in to Liberty Fellowship in Kalispell, Montana, folks. EVERY SUNDAY is “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” at Liberty.

Then again, Liberty Fellowship is NOT a 501c3 church. And that is what makes all the difference. And sooner or later, Mayor Parker and others of her ilk are going to get around to that. And when they do, the lunacy of America’s pastors and churches allowing themselves to become creatures of the state via their acceptance of the 501c3 non-profit tax status is going to come home to roost.

What these pastors and churches of Houston, Texas, (and the rest of the country) don’t realize--or have ignored--is that when they voluntarily accepted the 501c3 categorization of the IRS, they also voluntarily accepted the rules and regulations of the IRC. Therefore, the government does not recognize them as churches and pastors but as mere corporations and corporate officers. And, tragically, they are right. That’s exactly what a 501c3 “church” is.

A 501c3 “church” is nothing more than a government-created non-profit organization, equal to ten thousand other non-profit organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Amnesty International, Doctors of the World, American Humane Association, National Audubon Society, Greenpeace, American Red Cross, American Heart Association, March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, Lutheran World Relief, Habitat for Humanity, AARP Foundation, Common Cause, Boy Scouts of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, League of Women Voters, and the National Football League (NFL). Yep, you read it right: the NFL. Oh! We can also throw in the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Professional Golfers Association (PGA).

Again, sooner or later, Mayor Parker and Company will awaken to this reality. And that’s when the real battle lines will be drawn.

So, let’s acknowledge that the vast, vast majority of America’s 501c3 pastors and churches have completely abdicated their freedom of speech and freedom of religion to the IRS and make no pretense about it. Barna’s research says 90% of America’s pastors deliberately refuse to address political issues from the pulpit--the very same issues that violate the stated rules and regulations of the IRC. Then, let’s also acknowledge that the vast, vast majority of America’s church members have deliberately laid their religious convictions on the altar of IRS tax benefits for donations to “charitable organizations,” i.e. “churches.”

When push comes to shove (and it certainly will), America’s pastors and churches are going to be forced to come to grips with the fact that they have--either wittingly or unwittingly--surrendered their spiritual authority and freedom of religion to Caesar through the acceptance of the government 501c3 non-profit organization status. At this point, they then must decide whether they will continue to function as a creature of the state by continuing to accept the 501c3 non-profit organization status in exchange for their willful silence, or, will they choose to break free from the shackles of government bondage and become a true church under the authority and sovereignty of Christ by renouncing the 501c3 non-profit organization status?

The shot fired in Houston, Texas, by the mayor and city council is indeed a “shot across the bow.” And, in typical fashion, it is a large metropolitan area that is firing this shot of tyranny against the sacred principle of religious liberty. The sage assessment of Mr. Jefferson is proven dead right. And, as already noted, we can certainly expect the federal government, via the IRS, to join in the barrage.

But, as I see it, this fight is long overdue. For too many years, America’s churches have operated as creatures of the state without any seeming repercussion. This lack of aggressive intrusion into church affairs has accomplished two things: 1) It has given pastors and churches a false sense of security, and, 2) It has given time for pastors and churches to be thoroughly indoctrinated in the devilish philosophy that it’s okay for the church to operate under the auspice and “benevolence” of Caesar. Now, it appears that the façade is beginning to be lifted; the dragon is awakening.

That the Church will once again be forced to truly recognize who their Master is, what their spiritual authority is, and where real liberty comes from, is not a bad thing at all. It just might be the beginning of what America needs most: fiercely independent, unshackled pastors and churches that are courageously and fearlessly proclaiming the Biblical Natural Law principles of liberty, which have been mostly ignored for well over a century. It will also give genuine believers an opportunity to identify real Bible churches from phony, government-created non-profit organizations pretending to be churches.

It took religious persecution in Colonial America to bring about a Great Awakening, which then produced the great separation from the British Crown and American independence. It appears that it’s going to take religious persecution once again to bring about another Great Awakening, which very well could produce another great surge of liberty and independence in our land.

Houston, Texas, might be the beginning, but it most certainly will not be the ending.

http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin827.htm

[Psalm 51:17]

Ted Cruz Says There Is 'Real Risk' Of Pastors Being Jailed  For Preaching Against Homosexuality

Did you read above Ted?

In an exclusive interview with The Brody File, Senator Ted Cruz says pastors being hauled off to jail by the government for preaching against homosexuality is a “real risk” in the future. ““I think that is a real risk,” Cruz tells me. “Some in the media ridicule that threat saying there is no danger of the government coming after pastors. That is the usual response.” But he adds: “The specter of government trying to determine if what pastors preach from the pulpit meets with the policy views or political correctness of the governing authorities, that prospect is real and happening now.”   

MORE: http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2014/10/17/ted-cruz-tells-brody-file-real-risk-of-pastors-being.aspx

Hey Ted - why don't you start exposing the whole 501c3 issue? And while you're at it, why don't you start taking a stand for the King James Bible?

[Psalm 51:17]

Houston Pastor Refiles Subpoenas With Jail Threats

The following is a response from Tony Perkins after Houston Mayor Annise Parker agreed to revise subpoenas against pastors that drop the word "sermons" but retain the demand for 17 different categories of information—including speeches by the pastors, emails, text messages and other private communications within the church.

This head-fake might fool some, but the reality is, Mayor Parker didn't need a subpoena to access those sermons in the first place. They were already public. In this "new" filing, the mayor still insists on seeing private emails, texts and other communications related to the mayor's office and the city's "bathroom bill." While two words—"or sermons"—are dropped from the "revised" subpoena, the government intrusion into private religious affairs remains. The "revised" subpoena is a difference without a distinction.

Obviously, Houston's leadership has one goal—and information gathering isn't it. This is about political intimidation. But if the Mayor was hoping to scare off these churches, she'll have to try harder. Every pastor I've spoken to would go to jail before surrendering their God-given rights to preach the Truth free from government harassment and intimidation.

Houston has become a rallying cry for freedom-loving Americans tired of seeing their laws and liberties casually tossed aside in a stampede. This is why more than 38,000 people have signed our petition in the last two days, standing with the Houston pastors and calling on Mayor Parker to immediately retract these unconstitutional and unconscionable demands.

Click here to access the petition.
http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/45815-houston-pastor-refiles-subpoenas-with-jail-threats

Keep in mind - (501c3)churches by and large in America have flat screen tvs behind their pulpits nowdays.

Pt being that they have hidden microphones et al in these digital/flat screen tvs(where everyone has been given mandatory to switch to) - so the government can hear their sermons anyways.

Ultimately - don't fall for this little sideshow going on - besides, this Houston sodomite mayor has been around since 2009. It wasn't like she was recently elected. When she was first elected(and served during this time until now), she has been quietly under the radar without a chirp from any of these pastors and "evangelicals". And they've waited until NOW to start making a big fuss?

Yeah, had a feeling why they put Wendy Davis in the spotlight - as she has played her part too distracting away from Parker.

[Mark]

Ordained ministers threatened with jail unless they perform same sex marriages

and it begins...

City officials in Coeur d'Alene Idaho have told a married couple who are both ordained ministers that they will go to jail if they refuse to perform wedding ceremonies for gay couples.

The Alliance for Defending Freedom has filed suit against the city and asked for a temporary restraining order to prevent officials from carrying out their threat.

    Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal lawsuit and a motion for a temporary restraining order Friday to stop officials in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, from forcing two ordained Christian ministers to perform wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples.

    City officials told Donald Knapp that he and his wife Evelyn, both ordained ministers who run Hitching Post Wedding Chapel, are required to perform such ceremonies or face months in jail and/or thousands of dollars in fines. The city claims its “non-discrimination” ordinance requires the Knapps to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies now that the courts have overridden Idaho’s voter-approved constitutional amendment that affirmed marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

    “The government should not force ordained ministers to act contrary to their faith under threat of jail time and criminal fines,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Many have denied that pastors would ever be forced to perform ceremonies that are completely at odds with their faith, but that’s what is happening here – and it’s happened this quickly. The city is on seriously flawed legal ground, and our lawsuit intends to ensure that this couple’s freedom to adhere to their own faith as pastors is protected just as the First Amendment intended.”

The couple would face 180 days in jail and up to $1000 in fines per day if they dared to adhere to their religious beliefs.

    “The city somehow expects ordained pastors to flip a switch and turn off all faithfulness to their God and their vows,” explained ADF Legal Counsel Jonathan Scruggs. “The U.S. Constitution as well as federal and state law clearly stand against that. The city cannot mandate across-the-board conformity to its interpretation of a city ordinance in utter disregard for the guaranteed freedoms Americans treasure in our society.”

How many other towns and cities have statutes like this? No doubt there are other budding fascists out there who would enjoy putting Christian ministers in jail for not violating the sacred tenets of their faith.

This is a law that manifestly violates the Constitution so I wouldn't expect any court in America to uphold the city statutue. But the fact that it was passed in the first place should raise the alarm that the assault on religious liberty has entered a new phase. The power of government is being used in the contraceptive controversey and now the gay marriage issue to force acceptance of practices totally at odds with the religious faith of millions of people.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/10/new_america_ordained_ministers_threatened_with_jail_unless_they_perform_same_sex_marriages.html

Couple Look to Paul’s Example in Resisting Order to Perform Gay Marriages

Perform same-sex wedding ceremonies or pay tens of thousands of dollars in fines and spend months behind bars. That’s the choice their Idaho town gave one Christian couple who have made marriage ministry their life’s work.

Donald and Eyelyn Knapp, ordained ministers, are married to each other. Together, they have run Hitching Post Wedding Chapel in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, since Ronald Reagan’s last year as president.

“The Apostle Paul spent quite a bit of time in jail for his faith, so who am I to feel like I have any right to avoid the same thing?” Don Knapp says during the couple’s exclusive interview with The Daily Signal.

More…
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/67053

[Psalm 51:17]

I'm just looking at their ministry's web site - they're not doing much in terms of following biblical principles...

http://hitchingpostweddings.com/wedding/marriage-license-info/

Before getting married at the Hitching Post, you will need to apply and purchase your Marriage License. Your marriage licence needs to be purchased from the State in which you are being married.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And they want to follow Apostle Paul's example?

Ephesians 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

[Mark]

Religious Colleges Face a New Threat over Their Sexual Policies

 Christian colleges value accreditation from secular agencies as a quality assurance mechanism, but also because without it their students will lose federal financial aid and may have trouble gaining acceptance to graduate school. So accreditation is a potential weapon in the hands of agencies influenced by the agenda of gay rights activists. This worries some education leaders in the wake of news from Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., while others say there’s nothing to fear.
 
The Gordon story, in brief: Gordon President Michael Lindsay bravely joined some other Christian leaders in signing a letter to President Barack Obama asking for religious exemptions to a proposed ban on federal funding for institutions that “discriminate” against LGBT employees. In September the Commission of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), one of six regional accrediting agencies, asked Gordon for a report about whether its conduct policy forbidding “homosexual practice” meets NEASC’s requirement for “nondiscriminatory policies and practices in recruitment, admissions, employment, evaluation, disciplinary action, and advancement.”
 
NEASC President Barbara Brittingham told me, “We didn’t have any problem with any other part of the school’s policies,” which also include prohibitions of sex outside marriage, drunkenness, blasphemy, profanity, theft, and dishonesty. She also said, “We accredit Boston College, which is a Jesuit school, and they only want Jesuits to teach theology. We have no problem with that.”
 
When asked why Gordon should have to produce a special report regarding its opposition to homosexuality, Brittingham said, “How society thinks about LGBT people has changed drastically in the last 15 years or so, and Gordon seems to be saying that one group of people can do certain things, but another group of people cannot.” She also said NEASC has a good relationship with Gordon and that withdrawal of accreditation could not happen next September, when the report is due. She said the worst possibilities at that time would be some form of probation or a more formal inquiry. Later, she emailed me about the probation issue and said, “I was speaking hypothetically in the general sense, not about Gordon College.”
 
David Brown, a professor at Northland International University, says, “Leaders in Christian higher education are keeping a close watch on what is happening at Gordon. … They were anticipating this as a falling of the first domino, and they aren’t surprised it happened in Massachusetts.” Brown noted that NEASC “pinpointed one action of one leader on a topic on which good people differ, and threatened the entire future of a fine school.”
 
But a statement from the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities said, “NEASC has been clear in its communication that Gordon’s accreditation is not at risk. The Higher Education Opportunity Act requires accreditors to respect institutional mission, and in the case of religious institutions, their religious mission specifically.” Mary Ellen Petrisko, president of the Accrediting Commission for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, told me, “I do not believe that the Gordon College situation is the beginning of a trend that will endanger the accreditation of religious schools.”
 
Withdrawal of accreditation is very rare and has been done only once by NEASC since 1988—in 2010, when a school had serious financial problems. But this is also the first time that an accrediting agency has demanded a report in relation to rules concerning homosexuality. So questions remain: Will Christian colleges be evaluated based on consistency with their own mission and values, or will they be judged by someone else’s? And if accrediting agencies demand changes, will those colleges give in?

http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/religious-colleges-face-a-new-threat-over-their-sexual-policies.html

[Psalm 51:17]

Why didn't Huckabee and his 501c3 ilk do this 5 years ago?(when she first came into office) This TX sodomite mayor has quietly been under the radar since she came in(until recently, that is). Hate to say it, but 1) They should go to her and show her the gospel of Jesus Christ in truth and love, and 2) Sending her a flood of bibles is too little, too late(and they're likely not KJBs).

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/10/28/guess-how-many-bibles-have-arrived-at-the-office-of-the-houston-mayor-after-she-subpoenaed-pastors-sermons/
10/28/14
Guess How Many Bibles Have Arrived at the Office of the Houston Mayor After She Subpoenaed Pastors’ Sermons

Houston Mayor Annise Parker has received a flood of Bibles — somewhere between 500 and 1,000 according to a spokesman for the mayor’s office — after the city subpoenaed the church sermons of five local faith leaders opposed to the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, which the mayor signed in May.

“This is more dangerous than anything I’ve ever seen,” Glenn Beck said last week after interviewing one of the five subpoenaed religious leaders. “This is not about equal rights. … This is about shutting people down.”

Steve Riggle, the pastor of Grace Community Church in Houston, told Beck that the city not only demanded his sermons, but anything he had said about Mayor Parker in 17 different forms of communication.

“People of faith are under attack,” Beck said. “Our churches and our institutions, our pastors, our preachers, our priests, our rabbis are under attack.”

Beck, in addition to former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R), encouraged Americans across the country to stand in support of the subpoenaed religious leaders by flooding the mayor’s office with religious texts.

“Go find the best sermons you can find on religious liberty and send them to city hall in Houston,” Beck said.

Mayor Parker acknowledged Monday that she has received a number of Bibles, telling KHOU-TV that Huckabee is “doing what he can to pump ratings for Fox News.”

But she also added that it was a “very productive way for folks who disagreed with our legal strategy to express that disagreement,” and she will be distributing the Bibles to local churches.

More on the story via KPRC-TV:

[Psalm 51:17]

Matthew 10:14  And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
Mat 10:15  Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

[Mark]

City Says Ministers Don’t Have to Wed Same-Sex Couples, but Here’s Why It’s Not Over Yet

An Idaho town is not going to force a Christian ministry couple who own a wedding chapel to perform same-sex marriages there, the town’s chief attorney told The Daily Signal.

A lawsuit filed against the town by the ordained ministers to protect themselves from prosecution was based on “a misperception,” City Attorney Michael C. Gridley said, and he had no intentions of “threatening” and “imprisoning” them.

With these conciliatory words, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, backed off enforcing its nondiscrimination ordinance against the ministers, Donald and Evelyn Knapp. The move would have subjected the couple to thousands of dollars in fines and up to six months behind bars for declining to perform gay and lesbian wedding ceremonies at their Hitching Post Lakeside Wedding Chapel.
Screen Shot 2014-10-29 at 5.35.25 PM

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho is located near the border of Washington state.

In a letter to the Knapps’ lawyer dated Oct. 23,  Gridley sought to “clarify” the town’s earlier stand in response to the couple’s lawsuit and motion for a temporary restraining order. He wrote:

    [I ]t is my opinion and the city’s position that as currently represented, the conduct by Hitching Post Weddings LLC is exempt from the requirements of the ordinance and would not be subject to prosecution under the ordinance if a complaint was received by the city.

Don and Lynn Knapp, who are Pentecostal ministers, have been married for 47 years. The couple, who have  owned the Hitching Post chapel in Coeur d’Alene since 1989, say their wedding ceremonies follow the teachings of the Bible, “which makes clear that marriage is between a man and a woman.”
closeupHitchingPost

Hitching Post Lakeside Wedding Chapel has been part of the regional experience since 1919.

The Knapps sued the city on Oct. 17, 10 days after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared gay marriage legal in Idaho.

Already, one same-sex couple had inquired about holding a wedding at their Hitching Post chapel.

Critics called the lawsuit “totally false” and “ridiculous,” saying the Knapps were already exempt from the nondiscrimination law, which states that places of “public accommodation” such as restaurants and hotels must offer services equally regardless of a person’s sexual orientation.

Gridley, the city attorney, now concedes that officials may have sent mixed messages to the Knapps.

How the Story Unfolded

In multiple interviews last spring, another attorney for Coeur d’Alene said the Knapps would be subject to the nondiscrimination law pending an appeal of a federal judge’s ruling against the Idaho law affirming marriage as between a man and  a woman.

“I would think that the Hitching Post would probably be considered a place of public accommodation that would be subject to the ordinance,” Deputy City Attorney Warren Wilson told The Spokesman-Review newspaper.

In an interview with KXLY, a local ABC television affiliate, Wilson also said:

    For-profit wedding chapels are in a position now where last week the ban would have prevented them from performing gay marriages, this week gay marriages are legal, pending an appeal to the 9th Circuit.

He added:

    If you turn away a gay couple, refuse to provide services for them, then in theory you violated our code and you’re looking at a potential misdemeanor citation.

So on Oct. 17, when a same-sex couple asked the Knapps about holding their wedding at Hitching Post, the ministers went on the offense.

Of that decision, Don Knapp told The Daily Signal in an interview via email last week:

    If someone was told by the government that he or she would be prosecuted and face up to six months in jail and up to $1,000 in fines for exercising their First Amendment rights, they would not wait around to see if the government made good on that threat. They would file a lawsuit to protect their freedom and avoid jail and fines. And that’s what we did here.

Represented by a lawyer associated with Alliance Defending Freedom, the Knapps filed suit to prevent officials of Coeur d’Alene from prosecuting them for declining to violate their religious beliefs about marriage.

The lawsuit follows several cases that have drawn national attention because a government agency moved against a private business owner for acting on their religious beliefs that marriage is the union of a man and woman.

Hours after filing suit, the Knapps — ordained by a Pentecostal denomination called the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel — received another request to hold a same-sex ceremony, this time from a couple in Boston.

This put them at risk of being prosecuted over saying no to a second couple, meaning more fines and more jail time, said Jeremy Tedesco, the Knapps’ lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom.

Filing Suit Too Soon?

Tedesco told The Daily Signal that the lawsuit isn’t pre-emptive because the city made clear on three occasions that if the Hitching Post were to decline to perform same-sex weddings, the Knapps would be in violation of the law and subject to criminal prosecution.

The city’s first response was a letter dated  Oct. 20. In it, Gridley writes that the Knapps would be exempt from the law if they were running a nonprofit religious corporation:

    If [the Knapps] are operating as a legitimate not-for-profit religious corporation then they are exempt from the ordinance like any other church or religious association. On the other hand, if [the Knapps] are providing services primarily or substantially for profit andthey discriminate in providing those services based on sexual orientation then they would likely be in violation of the ordinance.

Hitching Post has been a for-profit wedding chapel since they opened it 25 years ago, the Knapps say.

The city’s distinction between for-profit and nonprofit distinction “should not come as any surprise,” Tedesco said in an email to The Daily Signal:

    The left’s unequivocal (and incorrect) position is that for-profit companies cannot exercise religion, and thus are not entitled to any religious exemptions in these types of nondiscrimination laws. The city consistently expressed this same position before and after we filed suit. But the massive public outcry has pressured the city to alter its position and recognize that people do not abandon their faith when they open a business.

Later in the Oct. 20 letter, Gridley told the Knapps there was another way they could be exempt from the law: the First Amendment.

The city attorney wrote:

    [S ]ection 9.56.040 of the anti-discrimination ordinance states that the ordinance ‘shall be construed and applied in a manner consistent with the First Amendment jurisprudence regarding the freedom of speech and exercise of religion.’

Amending the Law

Tedesco said he was pleased to see the city backing off enforcement, but its response was insufficient to settle the case.

“To resolve the broader religious freedom problem with the ordinance, the city should amend it so that it is clear that the religious exemption covers for-profits, like the Hitching Post,” he said. “It is a fundamental violation of due process for the city to leave people guessing as to whether they will be subject to the criminal penalties set out in the ordinance.”

Gridley’s follow-up letter Oct. 23, meant to “clarify” the city’s stance, does not say all for-profit religious corporations are protected from prosecution — only Hitching Post.
HitchingPost2

Don and Lynn Knapp are ordained Pentecostal ministers who have been married for 47 years.

In a telephone interview with The Daily Signal late Tuesday, Gridley said town officials are talking about changing language in the law. As written, he said he realized upon review,  it “makes no distinction between profit and not.”

Citing the Supreme Court’s June 20 decision in the Hobby Lobby case, which upheld the religious liberty rights of closely held corporations, Gridley said:

    It’s not my place to add that [interpretation regarding for-profit enterprises] onto that ordinance, so that’s why I sent the letter correcting or clarifying … that a religious corporation would be exempt from this ordinance, whether they are for profit or not.


Gridley also said town officials were not maliciously targeting the Knapps. He said:

    I think there was a misperception that we were threatening the Knapps, that we were imprisoning ministers, and all that kind of stuff, and we’re really not. We have not gone there, we have not threatened anybody.

http://dailysignal.com/2014/10/30/city-says-ministers-dont-have-to-wed-same-sex-couples-but-heres-why-its-not-over-yet/

[Psalm 51:17]

Don and Lynn Knapp, who are Pentecostal ministers, have been married for 47 years. The couple, who have  owned the Hitching Post chapel in Coeur d’Alene since 1989, say their wedding ceremonies follow the teachings of the Bible, “which makes clear that marriage is between a man and a woman.”

Well, that's a shame. Hate to see the public deceived like this over how the people who are getting "persecuted" are indeed wolves in sheep's clothing.

With that being said - what we saw here and in Houston are just that...WARNING SHOTS. IOW, it's only the beginning.

[Mark]

England Makes A New Law: Schools That Teach Against Homosexuality Will Be Shut Down



    The homo tyranny is only getting worse and worse. With the increase of tolerance for evil, comes the increase of tyranny. Now the British government is decreeing that any school that teaches against homosexuality will be closed, according to the Daily Mail:

    Schools found ‘indoctrinating pupils about gay people’ will face being closed down under new rules designed to promote ‘British values’, the Government confirmed today.

    The Department for Education insisted it was ‘nonsense’ to suggest teachers would have to give lessons on gay rights.

    But a spokesman insisted Ofsted, which has introduced the new rules the wake of the Islamist Trojan Horse plot to radicalise pupils in Birmingham, was right to ensure schools were not breeding grounds for homophobia.

    A spokesman said: ‘Ofsted are rightly ensuring that schools do not indoctrinate pupils about gay people – or any other people – being inferior.

    ‘The same goes for schools that do things like make girls sit separately at the back of the class. Both are practices which go directly against the fundamental British values of tolerance and respect.

    ‘We believe schools should prepare all pupils for life in modern Britain. A broad and balanced curriculum is vital for this.’

    But the spokesman said it was ‘nonsense’ to say children would
    be taught gay rights.

    Labour’s shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt said Mrs Morgan ‘clearly does not believe that LGBT rights are British values’.

    He said: ‘Compulsory sex and relationship education, including LGBT rights, in all schools is common sense, not nonsense.
    ‘Nicky Morgan should apologise for the offence that has been caused by claiming that it is nonsense for all schools to teach gay rights.’

    It came after the Education Secretary Nicky Morgan – who said
    last week that she had changed her mind about gay marriage after voting against its introduction – warned schools not to ‘close minds’.

    She told the Sunday Times that schools must teach ‘pupils to respect other people even if they do not agree with them’.

    Mrs Morgan said: ‘I should have thought this is a principle with which the vast majority of people would agree. All schools of whatever type have a duty to protect young people and to ensure they leave school fully prepared for life in modern Britain.

    ‘These values — democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs — are not new. The requirement to “actively promote” them is designed to reinforce the importance this government attaches to these values.’

    Schools have been warned that those that fail to follow new rules on British values will be judged inadequate and could face closure by Ofsted inspectors.

    The move follows snap inspections by Ofsted at 40 schools, including those for Christian and Jewish pupils. They were launched in the wake of the Trojan Horse affair in Birmingham as part of the government’s efforts to combat extremism.

    Mrs Morgan is backing Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw who will say that any school suspected of not teaching a broad and balanced curriculum, of rapidly falling standards or of not preparing children for life in modern Britain will face no-notice inspections.

    For the first time the rules give inspectors the powers to downgrade schools where teachers are breaching the Equality Act, which encourages respect for lesbian, gay and transgender people as well as those of other religions and races.

http://shoebat.com/2014/11/05/england-makes-new-law-schools-teach-homosexuality-will-shut/

[Mark]

Christian Bakers Who Refused to Make Bert and Ernie Gay Marriage Cake Will Be Prosecuted

 The Christian bakers who recently made headlines for refusing to make a cake featuring Bert and Ernie and the slogan, “Support Gay Marriage,” are reportedly facing prosecution. The Equality Commission has announced that it is pursuing legal action against Ashers Baking Company, which is owned by Colin and Karen McArthur and managed by their son Daniel.
 
The Equality Commission send a letter to Ashers last week, saying that they believe the company acted unlawfully by denying to the request to make the cake and their clients will be “seeking only modest damages for the upset and inconvenience caused.” The letter continued that, “failing this, a civil bill will be issued.”
 
Daniel McArthur said that his family feels attacked for their traditional marriage values.

"It feels like a David and Goliath battle because on one hand we have the Equality Commission who are a public body, they're funded by taxpayers' money, they have massive resources at their disposal whereas we are a small family business and we have limited resources at our disposal.
 
"We're continuing to hold to the stand that we took originally because we believe it's biblical, we believe it's what God would want us to do, and we also think that if we do cave in to the Equality Commission at this point it'll put pressure on other citizens who are defending their view of traditional marriage.”

http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/christian-bakers-who-refused-to-make-bert-and-ernie-gay-marriage-cake-will-be-prosecuted.html

[Mark]

Red Cross Volunteer Dismissed for Voicing Views on Biblical Marriage

 A British Red Cross volunteer has been dismissed from the organization after he protested against same-sex marriage earlier this year.
 
Bryan Barkley, 71, has volunteered with the Red Cross for about 20 years. He works with the international family tracing service and helps locate and reunite families in the UK with relatives in other countries.
 
But earlier this year, Barkley was part of a protest outside Wakefield Cathedral where he held signs that read, “No Same Sex Marriage.” The protest took place on the day that the first same-sex marriages were allowed in England.
 
"What have I done wrong? I passionately believe that the institution of marriage is between a man and a woman and is the cornerstone of our society. Why is it wrong to say so in public?
 
"Freedom of expression is being stifled in this country.
 
"I have nothing against homosexuals. But I don't believe Parliament was representing the views of the people when it changed the definition of marriage."
 
Barkley is appealing his dismissal with help from the Coalition for Marriage.

http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/red-cross-volunteer-dismissed-for-voicing-views-on-biblical-marriage.html

[Psalm 51:17]

Speaking of Bert and Ernie - alot of us(including myself) grew up watching it - when I think about it...this is just me, but they craftily pushed alot of sexual pervertness et al(the way they touched each other).