The Reformed Advisor

Month: May 2015

Christians Don’t Hate – But They Do Have Convictions

Posted on May 27, 2015 in Religious Freedom by

A very significant court ruling was handed down not long ago and I bet you didn’t know anything about it.

The Fayette Circuit Court in Kentucky ruled that a printer did not discriminate by refusing to print a t-shirt for a gay pride parade.

Blaine Adamson owns Hands On Originals. This printing company prints many items, including t-shirts. Not long ago an LGBT pride group came to HOO asking them to print a t-shirt for the upcoming pride rally in Lexington. Adamson refused their request based on his religious convictions and offered to set them up with another local printer for the same price.

The group went elsewhere to get their shirt printed.

But, I’m sure you can guess where this is going, a discrimination suit was filed against HOO and Adamson.

I reported on this incident a while back because of some of the unique aspects to the case. For starters, this is one of a few cases that does not involve someone in the wedding services industry. Most of the cases of “discrimination” we are seeing take place involve photographers, bakers, and florists refusing services for gay weddings. Btu this is a printer being asked to print something for a gay pride parade.

If ever there was a need for protection surely it would be for someone printing actual words. Right? No one would try to force another person to print words that violate his religious and moral convictions, right? Wrong.

Are You Male or Female? Or Something Else?

Posted on May 26, 2015 in Sexuality by

Wouldn’t it be a good idea to teach impressionable children that gender is just a construct of society and is really as fluid as they want it to be? In fact, we should teach them that there are many genders, perhaps a dozen, and let them pick and choose which they want to be.

That’s what one of the nation’s largest public school systems is preparing to teach its students via a new health and sexuality curriculum.

At a time when gender is suddenly a debatable topic – because apparently we’re not content with just boys and girls – this school system wants to further confuse the situation by affirming that people can be more than just male and female. No longer is your anatomy the definer of your gender identity, now you can choose; you can even choose to be something other than male and female! (Could someone please explain that one to me!?)

The Fairfax County Public School system is preparing to implement changes to their family life curriculum which includes teaching on gender identity that can only be described as disastrous and unscientific. A report describes the curriculum for middle school this way:

The Church is Partially to Blame for Efforts to Redefine Marriage

Posted on May 20, 2015 in Marriage, Sexuality by

Abigail Rine is a professor of English at George Fox University. Each year she hands out a reading assignment to her gender theory students designed to provoke them. She recently decided to assign the book “What Is Marriage” by noted Princeton professor Robert P. George, Ryan T. Anderson, and Sherif Girgis. The book is a simple explanation of the conjugal view of traditional marriage.

Rine reports that the book, which is a manual of sorts on the traditional view of marriage as it relates to procreation, was offensive to her evangelical students at her evangelical university. Let that sink in for a moment.

But Rine said something that needs to be admitted: the church helped create the effort to redefine marriage.

I don’t mean that the church altered biblical teaching or even advocated marriage redefinition. Certainly some churches have done this but the vast majority of churches today continue to adhere to traditional biblical teaching of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. What I mean is that how the church handled the issue of marriage and sexuality in past decades aided the rise of marriage redefinition efforts.

Rine writes:

Why Is This Baker Allowed to Discriminate?

Posted on May 19, 2015 in Marriage, Religious Freedom by

Why is one baker allowed to discriminate but another is not? That’s the question being asked after two separate – but related incidents involving cake and convictions.

In one incident Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, declined to bake a cake for a gay wedding because he said doing so would violate his religious convictions. Phillips sees his business as an extension of his faith, which means participating in a gay wedding by creating a work of art would violate that faith.

Unfortunately, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission disagreed with Phillips and charged him with discrimination under Colorado’s Human Rights Act. He was found guilty and threatened with fines and imprisonment if he continued such practices at his bakery.

In fact, Phillips was ordered to go “reeducation” along with his entire staff and will be monitored to ensure such an incident doesn’t happen again. Does this sound like America – the home of the free – or more like a communist country?

In light of this disturbing account, Bill Jack, just a guy wanting to make a point, asked three different bakeries to make him two separate cakes. Todd Starnes explains the cakes Jack wanted:

Steps Every Church Can Take to Defend Biblical Teaching on Marriage

Posted on May 13, 2015 in Marriage, Religious Freedom by

As I discussed yesterday, the Supreme Court is preparing to rule on the issue of marriage. More specifically, whether or not it should be legal in all 50 states for homosexuals to marry. This decision will have a major impact on every person regardless of which way the court rules.

Several years ago I was involved with educating churches and pastors on what steps they could take to protect their churches from lawsuits due to changing cultural norms. While many churches were receptive to such instruction, some churches believed it unnecessary. Few churches today seeking to protect their religious freedom think being educated is unnecessary.

Groups like The Gospel Coalition have been more cautious in recommending to churches steps that can be taken to protect their pastors, facilities, and religious freedom. So when I see recommendations from The Gospel Coalition, in conjunction with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), I take notice.

In a blog post not long ago, The Gospel Coalition recommended five ways churches can protect their religious convictions and freedom amidst a changing culture. These are five steps groups like ADF and the one I worked with were encouraging years ago; they are more critical today than ever.

The five steps are:

Did You Know the Supreme Court is About to Decide Whether Gay Marriage Should Be Legal for All States? Then What?

Posted on May 12, 2015 in Marriage by

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. Once they make a decision it is binding on all 50 states and there is little (if any) recourse for anyone opposed to the ruling. For this reason the pending decision regarding marriage is more than important, it is potentially historic.

The question everyone is wondering is whether or not the court will impose a sweeping decision on all 50 states that is – at best – controversial.

Let’s rewind a few years to the Roe v. Wade decision. This decision, which legalized abortion in all 50 states has been hailed as one of the most infamous decisions in U.S. history. This is primarily because it removed states’ rights to determine the issue within their borders. Rather than letting each state determine how to handle the issue, the court issued a sweeping ruling that was binding on all states.

To say that decision has been contested ever since would be a monumental understatement. The fact that pro-life laws are being passed on the state level at record rates is but one sign among many that the court made the wrong decision regarding abortion.

Author Wants to Recreate the Christian Sexual Ethic in Her Own Image

Posted on May 5, 2015 in Marriage, Sexuality by

It’s no secret that the Bible is under attack. What is interesting is the fact that it’s the oldest (and first) attack in the book (yes, pun intended). It’s the old “did God really say?” attack that is once again being foisted upon Christians and readers of the Bible.

Nowhere is this attack more prevalent than in the area of sexuality.

For centuries there has been a certain sexual ethic that has served as a guide for Christians. That doesn’t mean people didn’t ignore it or abuse it at times, but the truth that a guiding ethic for human sexuality existed can’t be ignored.

While we are all very familiar with the fact that the Christian/biblical view of sexuality with regards to homosexuality has been a constant topic in our culture; what has not been so obvious is the other aspects of sexuality that are now under attack.

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