Posted on 01/22/2005 8:26:13 AM PST by ViLaLuz
Illinois churches are protesting a new state law that bars them from "discriminating" against homosexuals, contending it robs Christians of their First Amendment freedoms.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the bill into law yesterday amid a demonstration led by the Illinois Family Institute, or IFI, a non-profit group affiliated with Focus on the Family, Family Research Council and Alliance Defense Fund.
The measure adds "sexual orientation" to the state law that bars discrimination based on race, religion and similar traits in areas such as jobs and housing.
The bill was signed to loud cheers and a standing ovation from about 150 homosexual-rights supporters who see it as a human-rights issue. ...
INTREP - Sodomite Agenda
Great intellectual arguments gidget7...you're so right!
Thanks Bill
Too bad our Congress wouldn't tell that to these lefties eh?
Actually, as was once explained to me, in the twisted logic of their culture, only the person sodomized is considered to be homosexual, while the sodomizer is absolved and not tainted with the same label.There's a great article describing this twisted culture of older men raping boys --- so rampant in the Arab world --- originally published on Frontpage.com and posted here several times.
Can we get someone from Fred Phelps' group to try getting hired on by some homosexual rights organization?
Mark
Granted, he's an offensive whack-job, but still... What's next? Making churches hire satan worshipers? Don't laugh... I know of a Synagogue who used to have a "Wiccan" working for them, but she was eventually fired after repeated reprimands against bringing un-kosher food into the premisis.
LOL! What sweet revenge...
Sheesh... the religion of peace.
Thank you EdReform and upchuck, I think I understand it now.
The ACLU needs to be stopped!
scripter, I see you spent some time putting those links together... you are very much appreciated.
Hmmm, interesting. I recall a few months ago a similar story about a Christian woman fired by a company owned by Muslims for bringing pork in her lunch to work.
THe ACLJ as well as the American Family Association lawyers are working against the ACLU. Both have wesites, and would welcome donations I am sure, and they generally work pro bono. Also the stoptheaclu.org site is a good place to start.
Any one of these sites can also direct you on what you can do. I do know, there is a nation wide praywr campaign going on all month to end the same sex marriage in MA. Never underestimate the power of prayer!
Asside from keeping up pressure on congress, thats what comes to mind at the moment.
I just put it all together - EdReform, little jeremiah and many others helped gather all the information. We're all a team and you're on that team, helping us organize our information for quick reference. It also serves as a great educational tool for folks around the world. So keep those cards and letters (pings) coming! ;-)
I understand your intention in describing the article, but somehow, the wording does seem a bit incongruous.
What does religious freedom mean to you?
Does it mean you have the absolute right to practice your faith without restriction by the government?
If so, and you live in Illinois, you are in for a rude awakening.
Last week, Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed into a law a bill that would force churches and synagogues to hire those openly practicing sins characterized by both Christian and Jewish scriptures as "abominations" – heinous transgressions in the sight of God.
So, as I read this law, if a church or synagogue had a policy, based on its holiest, divinely inspired doctrines, to avoid hiring pastors who were adulterers, practitioners of group sex, homosexuals, bisexuals, "transgendered," cross-dressers, advocates of incest or child sex or even those partial to bestiality, that institution would be in violation of the law.
In signing this legislation into law, Blagojevich clumsily and ironically suggested he is wiser than those who subscribe to the ancient teachings of Moses and Jesus:
"What we're doing today is older than Scripture: Love they neighbor. It's what Jesus said when he gave his Sermon on the Mount: "Do unto others what you would have others do unto you."
Notice Blagojevich says the "Golden Rule" is older than Scripture. Is he right? If so, why not cite the original source of this wisdom? Apparently, Blagojevich and his colleagues in the Illinois Legislature believe Jesus was commanding followers to tolerate – even condone – sin.
Here's what Jesus actually said, as recorded in Matthew 7:12: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."
I can assure you He was not suggesting that we reward sin. I can assure you He was not advocating we excuse sin. I can assure you He was not saying we should ignore sin.
People who want celebrate sin can only cite the Bible as justification if they take its message out of context. The Bible – Old Testament and New Testament – is crystal clear and very specific in its condemnations of sexual sin.
When Jesus said "Love thy neighbor," he was not suggesting buggery. He was commanding believers to spread His good news about redemption from sin.
But that's not the way officials see it in Illinois, where sponsors of this chilling legislation say the new "non-discrimination" law should be enforced on churches.
"If that is their goal, to discriminate against gay people, this law wouldn't allow them to do that," said Sen. Carol Ronen of Chicago. "But I don't believe that's what the Catholic Church wants or stands for."
An Illinois law firm that analyzed the measure pointed out:
While many such municipal prohibitions on sexual orientation discrimination expressly exempt religious organizations from their coverage, the new amendment to Illinois' Human Rights Act does not.
This puts the Illinois law on a collision course with the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which safeguards as an inalienable right the free exercise of religion.
What do you think is more important – the right to worship God as we see fit or the desire to practice illicit sex without condemnation or consequence?
In Illinois, the people, through their Legislature, have decided the latter is more important. It is an astonishing development. If the Legislature erred in its interpretation of the will of the people in that state, residents there need to take corrective action immediately. They need to recall the governor and the legislators who violated their trust and approved a law so blatantly in violation of the spirit and letter of the U.S. Constitution.
This is a disturbing development. Around the world, Christian pastors are being jailed for speaking out against sexual sin as they are commanded to do in Bible. Could this happen tomorrow in Illinois?
It will if this law is not overturned and those who approved it not thrown out of office.
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