The Reformed Advisor

Tag: Christian

“Government Every Citizen Should Fear” Supreme Court Ruling Strikes Blow to Religious Freedom

Posted on April 14, 2014 in Public Policy, Religious Freedom by

Christians now have every reason to fear their government.

That is the general sentiment after the Supreme Court refused to hear the case of Elane Photography after the disastrous ruling by the New Mexico Supreme Court. Here’s what you need to know and where the case currently stands.

Elaine Huguenin refused to render services to a homosexual couple that asked her to photograph their same-sex ceremony. She cited her religious convictions and said she simply could not in accordance with her faith photograph their ceremony. The couple sued Elane Photography for discrimination based on sexual orientation. After years in the court system the New Mexico Supreme Court finally ruled against Elane Photography for discrimination and fined her.

A View of Women the Feminist Movement Forgot

Posted on April 12, 2014 in Family, Marriage by

Filing for divorce twice as often as men, women most often say it is due to ‘mental cruelty’ (Source: Why women leave men). It seems that in most all statistics, women are worse off as a whole. They are seeing the highest levels of poverty ( Source: National Women’s Law Center), out of wedlock births (Source: National Review), and one in three women will have an abortion in their lifetime (Source: Guttmacher Institute).

It demands us to ask some serious questions. Has the last century of women’s rights not touched the home? Has women’s equality not turned the tide of divorce? Has it not lifted women out of poverty instead of sinking them further into poverty? Women’s equality has failed precisely because it is misplaced from the Biblical understanding of women. It has failed precisely because it misunderstands the honor God has given to women.

In short, if you think women are equal to men, then you have too low of a view of women. Women are not merely equal, they are to be honored and esteemed unlike that of a man.

New York City Says Churches Can’t Use Public Schools

Posted on April 11, 2014 in Religious Freedom by

The case of the Bronx Household of Faith is a storied one that has spanned decades. It began when the New York City Board of Education changed a city policy forbidding churches to rent public schools for church services. Other organizations may rent public schools, only churches were barred from using them. The Bronx Household of Faith sued the city for unfairly targeting the free exercise of religion.

In 2012 a lower court granted a full injunction which barred the city policy from taking effect, this allowed the churches to continue meeting in schools pending the ruling by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. The 2nd Circuit reversed the lower court ruling last week and allowed the city policy to take effect. Without intervention by the full 2nd Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court churches in New York City will now be homeless.

The good news is that newly elected mayor Bill de Blasio has said he supports allowing churches to meet in schools like everyone else. In fact he made such statements more than once during his campaign. After the ruling Mayor de Blasio was quoted as saying:

Video: Candace Cameron-Bure Shares Her Faith on “Dancing With the Stars”

Posted on March 31, 2014 in Marriage by

I’ve become a fan of Candace Cameron-Bure for her bold faith in the face of criticism as a result of being such a public figure. Her appearance on ‘Dancing with the Stars” is no exception as she seeks to balance her faith with a show that has a certain level of sensuality and sex-appeal.

The Blaze reported on Cameron-Bure’s idea of being on the show:

“I’m a Christian. My life revolves around my relationship with Jesus Christ. So with the overall tone of the dance and the costumes I’m not going to take a backseat. My voice will definitely be heard.” In the video, the crowd can be heard cheering her position. Cameron-Bure then proceeded to nix her partner’s costume idea that included him without a shirt. And while she admitted the dance was “sensual,” she maintained that she would not be over-the-top.”

UPDATE: World Vision’s Near-Sighted Decision to Support Homosexuality Reversed!

Posted on March 27, 2014 in Marriage, Sexuality by

World Vision (hereafter referred to as WV) believes that changing its policy to allow homosexuals in same-sex “marriages” will help to “unite” the church around their mission of serving the poor. This change only affects the US division of WV and not the global umbrella. Richard Stearns, president of the US division, said:

“Changing the employee conduct policy to allow someone in a same-sex marriage who is a professed believer in Jesus Christ to work for us makes our policy more consistent with our practice on other divisive issues. It also allows us to treat all of our employees the same way: abstinence outside of marriage, and fidelity within marriage.”

This Homosexual Couple Was denied a Cake. Their Response is Shocking!

Posted on March 25, 2014 in Religious Freedom by

More stories are cropping up in the news about homosexual couples being denied service from Christian business owners. If you’ve not read about the photographer in New Mexico, florist in Washington, or baker in Colorado, you can do so here. Big names have shared their thoughts on the issue in light of the religious freedom bill vetoed in Arizona.

By now I should be used to reading these stories. Despite that fact I am genuinely shocked by the response of one homosexual couple when they were turned down by a baker in Indiana.

The story goes like this. The couple wanted to celebrate their relationship in April and called 111 Cakery to order a cake for their occasion. They were told by the owner that they could not get a cake because doing so would violate his religious convictions.

At this point we should be hearing about the couple getting mad, hiring a lawyer, alerting the press, and suing the baker. And though a social media firestorm happened over the weekend as a result of the incident, the couple’s response is beautifully shocking. They said:

A Man’s Response When He Was Refused Service for Being Conservative Should Be a Lesson to All

Posted on March 6, 2014 in Religious Freedom by

We’ve all heard of a Christian being sued for effusing to take part in a same-sex ceremony. Sure you have. There’s a baker in Colorado, a photographer in New Mexico, a florist in Washington, these are just a few of the many people being attacked by LGBT activists and the government for refusing to violate their religious convictions. (If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, click here.)

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a straight person was ‘discriminated” against by a homosexual simply for being straight, conservative, or Christian?

Wonder no more.

Not long ago Alan Sears, the president of Arizona based legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, was turned down by a photographer when asked to take a family photo for a Christmas card.

Daily Roundup: Arizona Religious Freedom Bill Vetoed by Governor

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

In 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.

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

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

Are 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.

Full House’s DJ Tanner Talks About Marriage and Faith

Posted on February 25, 2014 in Marriage by

If 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.

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