This is the humanist concept of "love". Equal rights for "ALL" without discrimination against any (except for those who follow the Bible that is). We as Christians are being told to be "tolerant and accepting". We are even told to do so because that's what Jesus would have done. Many churches teach this type of hogwash.
Things are totally upside in this country and hate towards anything to do with Christianity is growing at a governmental and cultural level. Articles like this are the tip of the iceberg.
Comments? Anyone?
Disclaimer: I am not promoting or endorsing this news source simply relaying a story.
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Christian bakery closes after LGBT threats, protests
By Todd Starnes
Published September 03, 2013
| FoxNews.com
A family-owned Christian bakery, under investigation for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple, has been forced to close its doors after a vicious boycott by militant homosexual activists.
Sweet Cakes By Melissa posted a message on its Facebook page alerting customers that their Gresham, Ore. retail store would be shut down after months of harassment from pro-gay marriage forces.
�Better is a poor man who walks in integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways,� read a posting from Proverbs on the bakery�s Facebook page.
�It�s a sad day for Christian business owners and it�s a sad day for the First Amendment,� owner Aaron Klein told me. �The LGBT attacks are the reason we are shutting down the shop. They have killed our business through mob tactics.�
Last January, Aaron and Melissa Klein made national headlines when they refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple.
Klein tells me he has nothing against homosexuals -- but because of their religious faith, the family simply cannot take part in gay wedding events.
�I believe marriage is between a man and a woman,� he said. �I don�t want to help somebody celebrate a commitment to a lifetime of sin.�
The lesbian couple filed a discrimination with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and told their story to local newspapers and television statements.
Within days, militant homosexuals groups launched protests and boycotts. Klein told me he received messages threatening to kill his family. They hoped his children would die.
The LGBT protestors then turned on other wedding vendors around the community. They threatened to boycott any florists, wedding planners or other vendors that did business with Sweet Cakes By Melissa.
�That tipped the scales,� Klein said. �The LGBT activists inundated them with phone calls and threatened them. They would tell our vendors, �If you don�t stop doing business with Sweet Cakes By Melissa, we will shut you down.��
To make matters worse, the Oregon�s Bureau of Labor and Industries announced last month they had launched a formal discrimination investigation against the Christian family.
Commissioner Brad Avakian told The Oregonian that he was committed to a fair and thorough investigation to determine whether the bakery discriminated against the lesbians.
�Everybody is entitled to their own beliefs, but that doesn�t mean that folks have the right to discriminate,� he told the newspaper. �The goal is to rehabilitate. For those who do violate the law, we want them to learn from that experience and have a good, successful business in Oregon.�
In other words, Christians who live and work in Oregon must follow man�s law instead of God�s law. But in a show of benevolence, the state is willing to rehabilitate and reeducate Christian business owners like the Kleins.
Klein said the closing of their retail store was a small price to pay for standing up for their religious beliefs.
�As a man of faith, I am in good spirits,� he said. �I�m happy to be serving the Lord and standing up for what�s right.�
Klein said what�s happened to Sweet Cakes By Melissa should be a warning to other Christians across the nation.
�This is a fight that�s been coming for a while,� he said. �Be prepared to take a stand. Hopefully, the church will wake up and understand that we are under attack right now.�
Just last month, New Mexico�s Supreme Court ruled that two Christian photographers who declined to photograph a same-sex union violated the state�s Human Rights Act. One justice said the photographers were �compelled by law to compromise the very religious beliefs that inspire their lives.�
Denver baker Jack Phillips is facing possible jail time for refusing to bake a cake for a gay wedding.
The Colorado Attorney General�s office filed a formal complaint against Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cake Shop. A hearing before the state�s civil rights commission is set for later this month.
In Indianapolis, a family-owned cookie shop faced a discrimination investigation after they refused to make rainbow cookies for National Coming Out Day.
A T-shirt company in Lexington, Ky. found itself at the center of a Human Rights Commission investigation after they refused to make T-shirts for a local gay rights organization.
Klein said it�s becoming clear that Christians do not have the �right to believe what we believe.�
In other words, gay rights trump religious rights.
Aaron and Melissa Klein tell me they will continue to bake wedding cakes from their home. He�s already taken a full-time job to pay the bills and feed their five children.
Mrs. Klein told television station KPTV her philosophy remains unchanged by recent events.
�The Bible tells us to flee from sin,� she said. �I don�t think making a cake for it helps. I guess in my mind I thought we lived in a lot nicer of a world where everybody tolerated everybody.�
The plight of the Klein family exposes the true nature of the left. Those who preach tolerance and diversity are the least tolerant and the least diverse of all.
Again, I am not necessarily promoting or endorsing this news source simply reporting........
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Court Ruling Could Nullify First Amendment
Judge Michael Ponsor has ruled in Sexual Minorities Uganda v. Lively (2013) that Scott Lively, through his talks in Uganda in opposition to homosexual behavior was in fact �aiding and abetting a crime against humanity.�
Lively, an evangelical pastor, was sued in a Massachusetts federal court by a foreign group called Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG) based on provisions in the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). If this decision is upheld, every foreign group with a grievance will appeal to the ATS and inundate our courts with claims of injustice, and the First Amendment will not offer any protection.
Judge Posnor went on to write in his 79-page ruling that Lively�s anti-same-sex views can be compared �to that of an upper-level manager or leader of a criminal enterprise.� They are, according to Judge Ponsor, �analogous to a terrorist designing and manufacturing a bomb in this country, which he then mails to Uganda with the intent that it explode there.�
So speaking out against behaviors that only recently in the United States have been deemed lawful is akin to genocide?
We�ve seen this type of leftist logic before, and it�s not surprising that it came from a judge who was supported for the bench by John Kerry and Ted Kennedy and appointed by Bill Clinton. Soon after Timothy McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City in April of 1995, some on the left of the political spectrum blamed �anti-government rhetoric� for the assault. Supposedly �hateful� speech directed at politicians had incited a cadre of �right-wing� extremists to put words into explosive action.
A similar blame-game tactic was tried by then Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) after the loss of the Senate to the Republicans in the 2002 mid-term elections. He blamed �talk radio,� and compared American �fundamentalists� to Islamic extremists. He claimed that critical talk about certain politicians and their policies could lead to a hostile environment that could spur people to violent acts. Daschle offered no empirical evidence to back up his claim.
On the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, former President Clinton once again tried to make the connection between speech and domestic terrorism. The following is the reaction from a New York Post editorial:
�[Clinton drew] implicit parallels between bomber Timothy McVeigh and peaceful � if rambunctious � political dissent like the Tea Party movement. � Like we said: shameless.�
What about Judge Ponsor�s claim that speaking out against homosexual behavior is akin to �aiding and abetting a crime against humanity�? Is there such a thing in the world today? We kill about 1.2 million pre-born babies in America each year, but this is not a crime against humanity.
Texas State Senator Wendy Davis gets a multi-page spread in Vogue because she spoke passionately in defense of permitting the killing of late term pre-born babies.
�The article makes no mention of how, during a speech and press conference last week, Davis called abortion �sacred ground� and indicated she may run for governor. Later, she indicated she thinks pro-life women �don�t understand� abortion and she showed she has no understanding of the Kermit Gosnell case.�
Nothing is said about how the Southern Poverty Law Center�s claim that Family Research Council is a hate group influenced a pro-homosexual man to shoot up the organization and kill the employees.
Maybe we can deduce that President Obama�s pro-Muslim Brotherhood rhetoric has led to the destruction of Christian churches in Egypt and the persecution of Christians.
�Across Egypt, at least 60 churches have been targeted, along with Christian schools, homes,businesses and even an orphanage, according to conservative estimates. In the areas of Minya, Beni Suef, Fayoum and Assiut, Christian homes and businesses have received leaflets warning them to leave or face reprisals by Islamists, Christians said.�
A man speaks about the immorality of certain sex acts, and he�s �aiding and abetting a crime against humanity�? Judge Posnor�s ruling, if it stands on appeal, is one of the most dangerous decisions ever to come from the bench.
�The Liberty Counsel has insisted that Lively exercised �nothing more than civil, non-violent political discourse in the public square on a subject of great public concern, which occupies the highest rung of First Amendment protection.��
If higher courts on appeal disagree, the days of free speech for conservatives are over.
- See more at: http://americanvision.org/9297/court-ruling-nullify-first-amendment/#sthash.8ktRhReL.suwujO6O.dpuf
I don't want to sound like I endorse the LGBT agenda, so first off, I believe homosexuality is sin, just like any other sin, and any unrepentant sinner will be destroyed. That being said, here are a few biblical principles about the treatment of sinners.
1 Corinthians 5
9I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 10Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 11But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 12For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
Paul is saying here, that it's not our job to judge or condemn anyone that isn't named a Christian. I believe what Paul is saying/endorsing here is the very principle that Jesus put into practice. Jesus hung out with sinners and traitors and prostitutes(us). Those were the people he came to save, and he mingled with them as someone deeply concerned for their soul. He NEVER ENDORSED their behavior or their sin, but he was most definitely with them and concerned about them. His mission was to save them. Save them FROM sin, not IN sin, but long story short, I'm pretty sure Jesus would have baked a cake for them. If "sin" and people who go against God's principles is what determines who we can make cakes for, then no one would have cake. I'm not sure what is going on, but homosexuality is no worse in God's eyes than theft or drunkenness or adultery, and it's definitely not worse than being unmerciful or hateful or prideful. Anyone that thinks they're better than a fellow sinner can cast the first stone, otherwise, we should have some cake. That is how Jesus won people to Him. Clear, calm authority and righteousness, tempered with love.
"Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."
"Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more".
Just as a little tip though, I'm always being told that Jesus never condemned homosexuality as sin or endorsed heterosexuality, but I did find this:
"And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."
...and I'd say Jesus is clearly endorsing God's perfectly designed natural heterosexual monogamous behavior. We need to make a stand for God's design and biblical truth, but at the same time, exude the same love and concern for sinners that Jesus did, especially considering that we are sinners too. If Jesus, being perfect and without sin, can love a sinner and die for them(and not only die for them, but also be killed by them), how much more should that be our attitude? You should not be offended by tolerance when you were shown tolerance, and the bible is very clear about how we treat people who abuse and disrespect us.
Matthew 18
23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, �Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.� 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. 28 �But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, �Pay me what you owe!� 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet[a] and begged him, saying, �Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.�[b] 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, �You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?� 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
Romans 12
14Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. 16Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Matthew 5
38Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 43Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
It is God's job to judge, it's our job to minister and witness. I would consider homosexuality to be on the same basic level of "sin" as fornication or drunkenness. It perverts the natural use of our body(God's temple, made in His image) and degrades our overall effectiveness and role that we're meant to fill(marriage, procreation). I consider the attitude of reverse discrimination and revenge that some in the LGBT community exhibit to be far worse of a sin than the actual act of homosexuality, but that still does not justify any vengeful reaction from our side, in fact, if we do react that way, it gives them an excuse to continue in their sin. Don't let politics direct your spiritual life.
"The impenitent sometimes excuse themselves by saying of professed Christians, �I am as good as they are. They are no more self-denying, sober, or circumspect in their conduct than I am. They love pleasure and self-indulgence as well as I do.� Thus they make the faults of others an excuse for their own neglect of duty. But the sins and defects of others do not excuse anyone, for the Lord has not given us an erring human pattern. The spotless Son of God has been given as our example, and those who complain of the wrong course of professed Christians are the ones who should show better lives and nobler examples. If they have so high a conception of what a Christian should be, is not their own sin so much the greater? They know what is right, and yet refuse to do it."
This is such a great topic and I might add I 100% agree.
One of my best friends is a delivered homosexual and G-d healed him from HIV/AIDS. When we debate people/Christians one of their arguments is that homosexuality is only mentioned 5x�s in the Bible. Making the assumption that it�s not important because it�s �only� 5x�s. How many times does G-d have to speak for it to be important and right�? ONY ONCE!!!! (The importance of never minimizing Scripture)
There is no doubt that discrimination is here in America and becoming stronger. Look at TV, they will mock Y-shua, make Christians all look like crazy, but never anything slanderous against Mohamed and people that are �spiritual� and are one with themselves are glorified.
I strongly believe if G-d does not destroy our nation for our sin like Billy Graham said �He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah�.
As born again believers in the most high we must be like Samuel was with Israel.
1 Samuel 12:23 Moreover as for me, G-d forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.
"I strongly believe if G-d does not destroy our nation for our sin like Billy Graham said �He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah�.
God will not utterly destroy our nation because unlike Sodom and Gomorrah, there are still many righteous men to be found here. "And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake." Gen. 18:32
Beware of the beam in ones eye because how many so called professing christians are living together unmarried? Or how many so called professing christians are in the act of fornication right now? Even those here?
So does the bakery owner screen who is fornicating or not? And only does business with pure wholesome christians? They would be totally out of business anyway.
Just another hypocricy of those who claim Christ!!
