The Reformed Advisor

Daily Roundup: Arizona Religious Freedom Bill Vetoed by Governor

Posted on February 27, 2014 in Public Policy, Religious Freedom by

Jan  BrewerIn a surprising move by outspoken conservative Republican Governor Jan Brewer, the Arizona religious freedom bill that has caused so much controversy in the last week has been vetoed.

Unfortunately mischaracterizations and outright lies from opponents seemed to have overwhelmed public opinion about this bill and contributed to its demise. While many claimed the bill would encourage and allow discrimination, the truth is that it simply would have brought Arizona law up to the level of federal law regarding religious freedom. It would have also protected any person of faith from being sued for living according to their religious convictions.

While I can’t begin to speculate on Gov. Brewer’s motives, the fact that she has been so outspoken and firm in her beliefs in the face of opposition leas me to believe there was something greater at stake for her here. In my opinion, Gov. Brewer was the victim of economic bullying. This opposed to this bill, including the NFL, made sure the governor knew that they would harm Arizona financially should she sign the bill into law.

Welcome to the new America. A place where your beliefs are protected, so long as they align with what the federal government deems acceptable. If they don’t, expect persecution and threats until you either change your views or shut up.

Personally, I feel bad for Gov. Brewer. She seems to have been between a rock and a hard place and it appears she suffered from the tight squeeze. Brewer cited the fact that she is not aware of one Arizona Christian business that has faced a lawsuit over their religious convictions. Well, that’s short sighted. Is the wisest position to wait until after someone’s life is potentially ruined before protecting him or her? Sadly, this is the state of American politics.

The following articles serve as a roundup following the decision to the veto the bill: Continue reading…

Does the Bible Justify Refusing to Serve Homosexual Weddings?

Posted on February 27, 2014 in Public Policy, Religious Freedom by

bake cakeNote: This article is a follow up to yesterday’s post in which I discussed the article by Kirsten Powers and responses to her article.

Predictably, the pending law in Arizona that would allow businesses to refuse service to homosexuals based on their religious convictions has stirred up controversy around the nation. Proponents of the legislation say it is needed to ensure the religious and conscience rights of Christian business owners are protected from government coercion and mandate. Opponents say the bills are just an excuse for people to discriminate.

What was not predictable in this discussion was how divided Christians themselves would be on the issue. Some Christians are saying no one should have the right to refuse service – not even Christians, and not even when rendering service would violate a person’s convictions. Other Christians are baffled by that position and reiterate that the government should not be allowed to force a person to violate his or her deeply held religious convictions. Dr. Albert Mohler recently said that this was “perhaps the strangest and most disappointing dimension of the current controversy.”

How we got to this point is best summed up by an article at National Review which made the statement: “It is perhaps unfortunate that it has come to this, but organized homosexuality, a phenomenon that is more about progressive pieties than gay rights per se, remains on the permanent offensive in the culture wars. Live-and-let-live is a creed that the gay lobby specifically rejects…And the so-called liberals answer: ‘To hell with your consciences.’”

At the crux of this discussion is not whether it is biblically appropriate to refuse to serve someone – though that has been brought into the conversation. As Citizenlink legal analyst Bruce Hausknecht identifies, the intention behind these bills is the protection of religious convictions for all people: Continue reading…

BREAKING: WV House Passes 20 Week Abortion Ban

Posted on February 26, 2014 in Life by

Breaking NewsBy a 79-17 margin, the West Virginia House of Delegates passed the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (HB 4588). The bill now goes to the Senate. The Charleston Gazette reports:

“Legislation that would make it a felony to perform abortions on fetuses after 20 weeks’ gestation passed an emotionally charged House of Delegates late Tuesday evening on a 79-17 vote. The passage vote followed a lengthy, emotional debate on the bill (HB4588). That included comments from Delegate Nancy Guthrie, D-Kanawha, saying the Legislature does not have the right to tell her or any other woman what rights she has with her body. ‘All of you should be ashamed of yourselves for bringing this bill to the floor of the House,’ she said.”

Whether the Gazette simply wants to be sterile and use medical terms like fetus or they are pro-abortion, I don’t know. I do know that Del. Guthrie thinks it is acceptable to torture and dismember an unborn child before it is born. But I’m sure she is glad her mother didn’t do that to her.

This bill has been a miracle since it was introduced and now needs another miracle to make it out of the senate. With just 11 days left in this legislative session the fate of the bill is presently unclear.

I encourage you to contact your elected state senators and let them know you support the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and want them to do the same. You can get in touch with every member of the legislature by going to: www.legis.state.wv.us/

For more information read the LifeNews.com article: “West Virginia House Passes Bill Banning Abortions After 20 Weeks”

 

Russell Moore, Kirsten Powers, Erick Erickson: Should Christians Be Forced to Bake Cakes for Homosexuals?

Posted on February 26, 2014 in Marriage, Public Policy by

bake cakeAre Christian vendors being hypocrites for refusing to provide services to same-sex ceremonies citing a violation of their faith while continuing to provide services for other unbiblical weddings?

That is the question that is beginning to swirl in light of several state bills that would give Christian business owners the right to refuse service to homosexual couples seeking their services for weddings. Those bills, introduced in Tennessee, Ohio, Kansas, and awaiting the governor’s signature in Arizona, are a response to lawsuits by homosexuals against “wedding vendors” that refused to render services saying to do so would violate their faith.

The cases of a photographer in New Mexico, baker in Colorado, and florist in Washington have made national news as they pit Christian conscience against government coercion. While people on both sides of the aisle are quick to agree that no one should be forced to violate their religious convictions, the government appears ready to do just that in forcing these Christian business owners to provide services for homosexual weddings.

To guard against such governmental coercion, states have begun introducing bills that would prevent Christian business owners – such as bakers, florists, and hotel owners – from being sued in the event that they refuse service to anyone based on religious convictions. These bills have gained momentum in state legislatures as backers both local and national see them as a necessary protection in addition to the First Amendment in preserving religious freedom.

The question that is now being asked is: “Is providing a service the same as an endorsement?” Continue reading…

Full House’s DJ Tanner Talks About Marriage and Faith

Posted on February 25, 2014 in Marriage by

B & H PublishingIf you remember TGIF growing up you have no trouble remembering that Full House played a central role in that lineup and DJ Tanner – Candace Cameron-Bure – was one of the stars. Candace is all grown up now with a family and have become quite outspoken, like her brother Kirk Cameron – regarding her faith.

Candace recently released a book called “Balancing It All” in which she talks about her faith and her marriage. In the her discussions about her marriage she takes a complimentarian view from the Bible and applies it to her own life. This caused some heat from media and other feminists that degraded her for her position. But, taking it all in stride she calmly explained that she lives life according to her faith and wont’ apologize for it. When asked about her position and the media heat by Christianity Today, she said:

“Yeah, I did an interview with Huffington Post for my book…. They got to the chapter on marriage, and I wrote in there that I tend to take a more submissive role, and let my husband take the lead. They thought that was quite controversial, to which I giggled, and explained my point of view. But it hit a nerve. The press took it and ran with it, and it was pretty much the hot topic on every single talk show for that week and more. This is what has worked in our marriage, and I take it from a biblical standpoint. I literally did giggle because there’s nothing in there that’s offensive towards me or devalues my role as a woman or as a wife within my marriage. We have different roles within our marriage, and they do complement each other.”

Good for her. Rather than apologizing for her Christian faith she defended it with common sense remarks and didn’t back down. Read the rest of the interview here, including some cool Post Full House trivia you might not have known.

Will Boys Be Playing On Your Daughters Team Soon? Here’s the Answer

Posted on February 25, 2014 in Public Policy, Sexuality by

cordova.jpgPsychiatrist Keith Ablow plans to keep speaking against encouraging transgenderism in children despite death threats.

While it’s good to know people are willing to oppose dangerous “science” and speak out against things that may be harmful to children, it’s also sad that such a need exists. Yet, the realm of transgenderism is one such area where amidst growing cries for rights, some voices are urging caution.

In the wake of a California law that took effect in January allowing students in California to decide for themselves which bathroom to use and which sports team to play on based on their perceived gender, Ablow wrote:

“As of January 1, students in California public schools have been able to choose whether to use the boys’ rest room or girls’ rest room, as well as the girls’ locker room or boys’ locker room, based on whether they feel female or male, not whether they are anatomically female or male…I believe that allowing this ‘choice’ is profoundly destructive, psychologically, to all students, including the ones who identify themselves as transgender…I believe that children have enough to deal with as they struggle to feel comfortable with their bodies, with the notion of privacy and with later changes involving puberty without urging them to grapple with the notion that their souls may have been born into the wrong bodies.”   Continue reading…

BREAKING: W.Va. House Poised to Pass Landmark Pro-Life Bill

Posted on February 24, 2014 in Uncategorized by

stopThis is a big deal folks. Currently West Virginia is just one of a few states that has a completely unregulated abortion industry. That means an unborn child can be killed via abortion at any time up to the moment of birth. Yet, a super-majority of Mountaineers believe that life should be defended. The failure of our lawmakers to adequately reflect the will and wishes of the people is glaring.

However, that could all change with one bill. The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act is poised to pass in the legislature and be sent to the governor to be signed into law. This bill would keep unborn children 20 weeks and older from being killed via abortion. A recent article reports:

“The House Judiciary Committee passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.B. 4588) Friday afternoon on a voice vote. Now that H.B. 4588 is out of Judiciary, the bill will go to the House floor for first, second, and third readings. After a favorable vote (and it should pass by an overwhelming margin), the bill will be sent to the Senate.”

It is critical that you take a few moments to contact your lawmakers and let them know how much you support this bill and want to see it passed. You can contact elected lawmakers by clicking here or going to wvforlife.org/legislation/wv-senate/.

What’s More Important: Cookies or Babies?

Posted on February 24, 2014 in Life by

Cookie-CotAs you might know by now, there is a boycott of Girl Scout cookies taking place across the country. The purpose is to expose the connection between the Girl Scouts and the abortion industry. Many still do not know that every box of cookies bought will send money to groups like Planned Parenthood and help fund abortion.

For years now the Girl Scouts (Part of the World association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts – WAGGGS) have been in bed with Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry. They even recently honored both Nancy Pelosi and Cecile Richards as “women of courage.” Nancy Pelosi is the minority leader of the House of Representatives, while Cecile Richards is the president of Planned Parenthood. Apparently supporting the whole sale murder of innocent children makes you a “woman of courage” to the Girl Scouts. Hmm…might have to check into other groups for my daughter.

Furthermore, as reported, “In March 2010 WAGGGS bragged that one of its delegates, Nefeli Themeli, was among a group of young people advocating for ‘[a]ccessible, affordable and safe abortions’ at the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.”

But while many have worked to expose this link, a link that is now so solid neither The Girl Scouts nor Planned Parenthood can ignore it, that won’t stop either from trying. Continue reading…

Must Watch: John Piper and Francis Chan Talk About Abortion in Church

Posted on February 22, 2014 in Life by

If you’ve ever wondered whether a pastor should discuss abortion church, or if the pastor should use graphic images of aborted babies as illustrations, you must watch this video.

John Piper and Francis Chan discuss how to discuss abortion while being sensitive to post-abortive women in your church. They further discuss the use of graphic images depicting abortion within the church. I think a lot of people will be surprised by this discussion an the positions taken by the two prominent pastors.

If the video doesn’t appear automatically, please refresh your browser.

Pastor Francis Chan sought to explain how to properly use graphic images in the church by saying: “We have a responsibility to preach the full counsel of God’s word, which includes Him being the giver of life, the creator of life, and protecting life, and not trying to usurp or take that authority away from him. The whole idea of not killing in this way, murdering, these are real commands. And we tend to pick and choose, and say ‘Well, the people aren’t going to like that…’ but I have to stand before God and say everything. This is a real issue. It’s prevalent in our world today.”

The video does show some graphic material so please use caution in watching the video. But, as Father Frank Pavone has said many times, “American won’t end abortion until America sees abortion.”

Will the Religious Super-Majority Be Forced to Comply?

Posted on February 21, 2014 in Religious Freedom by

church stateA number of times now President Obama has stated that America is “no longer a Christian nation.” I don’t believe that every person in America is a repentant follower of Jesus, and I am certain the president does not believe that either. What I believe the president was trying to accomplish with his remarks is to distance modern America from our religious founding and heritage. In President Obama’s ongoing attempts to replace “freedom of religion” with “freedom to worship” he would like nothing more than to imbed the idea that America is not founded and based on biblical principles.

In a solid refutation of the president’s claim, a recent Gallup poll released at the end of December in 2013 shows that a super-majority of Americans, 75%, identify with the Christian faith. Dr. Frank Newport, Galup’s Editor-in-Chief says:

“Now, our overall estimation of what percent of Americans identify with the Christian religion depends a little on which of our various polls we look at, but I would estimate that about three-quarters – 75, maybe up to 77 percent of Americans – identify with the Christian religion.”

What this shows is that despite efforts to remove our religious founding, heritage, and current religious freedom protections, Americans are still overwhelmingly religious. How this identification plays out politically is another matter altogether, but the president is absolutely wrong to claim that we are no longer a Christian nation (i.e. a nation of religious people espousing a faith of some sort.). Continue reading…

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