Posted on 07/25/2015 12:36:05 PM PDT by markomalley
The state of Kentucky has begun imposing a religious test on volunteer pastor counselors in its youth division, insisting that they refrain from calling homosexuality “sinful” and dismissing those who cannot bend their religious faith to accommodate the state requirements.
The policy was uncovered by Liberty Counsel, which has sent a letter to Bob Hayter, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice, demanding that the state religious test be dropped and that a dismissed counselor be reinstated.
“Liberty Counsel writes regarding the blatantly unconstitutional revocation of volunteer prison minister status of ordained Christian minister David Wells, who has provided voluntary spiritual counseling and mentorship to juvenile inmates under the control of the Department of Juvenile Justice. … This revocation was issued by Warren County Regional Juvenile Detention Center on the basis of the April 4, 2014, DJJ Policy 912, which mandates full DJJ support of homosexuality and transvestism.
“With no evidence of any violation of DJJ policy on Mr. Wells’ part, his volunteer status was revoked by the Warren RJDC superintendent because he could not sign a state-mandated statement that homosexuality was not ‘sinful,’ among other things,” the letter said.
The policy states that DJJ staff, volunteers and others “shall not imply or tell LGBTQI juveniles that they are abnormal, deviant, sinful or that they can or should change their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...
They are not a secular minded group of people. They are not afraid of losing cases. Many times a letter from them is enough to halt something going on. The other side is far more afeaid of Liberty Counsel than Liberty Counselis afraid to ruin their win/loss record. Besides they take cases where they may believe they will lose in a lower court given what part of the country its in, but know later on they will win on appeal in a higher court.
They are not a group that is hung up on their statistics. I brought it up because God uses them tremendously effectively in a court system fhat is now inherently ostile to Christianity.
Which would be a stupid thing to do, it vitiates a clear tenet of the faith.
Mans laws are easily usurpable!
God Reigns Supreme!
That you say it’s not sin doesn’t negate that it is.
Um I was joking? ;)
Let us all pray that God finds a way past this demonic resistance. As, in fact, He always can. Whether Christians can walk it, depends on the firmness of their faith.
There might be some suffering involved.
OK, ok.
>>Liberty Counsel is hardly afraid of losing cases. I reject your arguments premise.
Reject all you want. You obviously have some emotional attachment to this group so you can’t think rationally.
Also, just mounting opposition means something. Liberals knew this long before they became predominant in the modern scene. They just kept hammering, hammering, hammering whether or not the rock yielded. Conservatives could learn something from this: persistence pays even if you’re evil so how much more those who are dedicated to the good?
I agree with you. However, that was not the point of my post.
This wasn’t about pastors having freedom to say what they want in their churches. This was about state officials setting guidelines for speech within correctional facilities, which is their right.
Pastors have plenty of sin to deal with in that population.
Seems like most posters only read the misleading headline.
What are the premises of your argument? Rationality can only work with premises that are valid. Otherwise it is like pretending to show, by bookkeeping, that you have a million dollars in your checking account — when you have never earned a dime.
I have to say that if pastors are rounded up and jailed it will be their own fault. For years they’ve say quietly while Christianity has been under attack. When they come for them there will be no one to help them.
>>They are not a secular minded group of people. They are not afraid of losing cases. Many times a letter from them is enough to halt something going on. The other side is far more afeaid of Liberty Counsel than Liberty Counselis afraid to ruin their win/loss record. Besides they take cases where they may believe they will lose in a lower court given what part of the country its in, but know later on they will win on appeal in a higher court.
>>They are not a group that is hung up on their statistics. I brought it up because God uses them tremendously effectively in a court system fhat is now inherently ostile to Christianity.
Successful use of letter does not figure into win/loss statistics. To be honest, I think that God laughs at our ineffective use of the courts to “do his will”. God only has one court and that one is his. Fighting for religious things in the court only demonstrates a lack of faith.
How about stopping the mud slinging and look at the concern, which precious few are?
Pastoral counselors were being told to sign on to a pledge to silence a definite part of the faith — or be dismissed.
Why can it not be both/and. You are invalidly presuming it needs to be either/or.
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people, there you have it squarely.
Christians must do their spiritual part to bring the salt. But once they have it, they may most certainly attempt to use it.
...and... Kentucky? When did that state become a Godless bastion of liberalism???
After it was just plain godless...?
I think it’s way past time to separate the tares from the wheat. If it involves suffering so be it! Too many CINO’s running around pretending to be wheat IMHO.
It is not there right to ask for a religious person to be involved, and then to tell that religious person what religion he will practice.
They either do invite them or they don’t invite them. That’s their prerogative.
Nor are they permitted to set belief standards and pick only those who meet them.
Either of those would be 1st amendment violations.
They’re asking for wimps. If they want nothing but wimps, then they will get nothing but wimps.
>>Why can it not be both/and. You are invalidly presuming it needs to be either/or.
You can do both. You can do as many things as you want. “Fighting the good fight” in court makes us feel empowered, so by all means, do it. The Progs follow the Prince of this world so they will win until God decides to make it all right.
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