According to the June 21 Ottawa Citizen, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission ruled that a newspaper ad with references to Biblical passages exposed gay men to hatred. Both the newspaper and Hugh Owens, who placed the ad, were ordered to pay three homosexual complainants $1,500 each. Grant Currie, attorney for the paper, argued to the commission that a ruling against the newspaper would limit the scope of debate in forums such as classrooms, church sermons and the media. 

If the shoe were on the other foot, would a Christian who was offended by a gay ad be entitled to complain and collect monetary damages? No, because hate against Christians is not only easily rationalized, but encouraged. As a matter of fact, I witnessed a "comedy" on TV awhile back that mocked Christians. According to this standard, if mere Bible verses were worth a cool $1500 on the hate meter, my truly justified complaint should net me a sizable sum. But it would never happen, because in the New World Order, Christians do not have special rights, and the legal rights they do have are invalidated. 

Will pastors eventually have to pick and choose which Bible verses they can safely preach on without being offensive to anyone? Most likely. One pastor in Vermont discovered that pastors are indeed already being censored when the Vermont Dept. of Motor Vehicles denied his request to use "ROMANS5" or ROMANS8" on his license plates as being "too offensive." The case has now landed in Vermont's Washington County Superior Court, where attorneys for the conservative Rutherford Institute are attempting to have the decision overturned. Rutherford president John Whitehead said, "The First Amendment does not permit government bureaucrats to decide for the people what is too 'offensive' to appear on a personal vanity plate." Constitutional rights have been steamrolled by political correctness.

Prayer is threatening, too

If you are not convinced that the government wants to silence religious "fanatics," ask the Rabbi in Orlando who found out that his home prayer meeting is illegal. Ten to twenty people were gathering for prayer and singing in his home until the Orange County zoning board shut them down. The law claims that operating a synagogue or any function related to synagogue or church services is not a permitted use in residential zoned area. Oddly enough, the zoning laws do not apply if these same people met for a family reunion, neighborhood barbeque, or Monday Night Football. John Stemberger, attorney for the Rabbi, doesn't need a crystal ball to predict, "There are broader implications and if this Rabbi and his family can't meet at his house in the privacy of his own home to worship and speak freely, then none of our rights are safe and this has much wider implications than this fellowship here."

Ultimate offense: The cross

An Arlington, Texas, policeman who was fired for refusing to remove a lapel cross from his uniform is appealing to the US Supreme Court, CNSNews reported on  August 6. Patrol Sergeant George Daniels, a 13-year veteran, claims his right to free speech was violated when he lost his job in 1998. Police Chief David Kunkle contends that the cross "might offend someone" and could be perceived as evidence of prejudice if worn in the line of duty. He had, however, permitted other officers to wear various insignias, including Mexican flag pins and union pins. It is ironic that Christians are portrayed as the "haters" when they are the ones who are continuously dodging the enemy's line of fire. 

Separation of church and school

In yet another attempt to lock Christians out of their right to meet on school property, Fox News reported on June 20 that a Marion, MA, church is suing the local school district for refusing to allow the church to use the facilities there. This is in direct violation of the Equal Access Act which was made law on August 11, 1984, guaranteeing that all student-led non-curriculum clubs may meet on school property. A Southern CA school is making use of one creative legal loophole which enables them to ban Christian groups: Prohibit all groups from meeting. Unfortunately, those who shut the door on Jesus, will one day find themselves banned from His exclusive group, "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33)

Separation of church and state has taken on new meaning as non-believers seek to make the nation not religion-neutral, but Christian-free. "For this people's heart has become calloused... and they have closed their eyes." (Matt. 13:15) In the same way that kids cover their eyes and think they are hidden, or an ostrich sticks its head in the ground to escape danger, many misguided people think that shutting out the truth will prevent feelings of guilt. Avoiding the truth is never the answer... but accepting it is. The Truth is still the Truth, even when people shut their ears to it. The prophet Jeremiah's words are just as valid today as when he penned them to Jerusalem over 2,500 years ago, "Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it." (Jeremiah 6:10) If people would actually seek this "scary" God – through prayer and His word – they would find themselves confronted, not by hatred, but by the greatest love they have ever known.  TOP