Goshen College and Eastern Mennonite University have added “sexual orientation” to their nondiscrimination policies, opening the door for the schools to hire staff and faculty who are in same-sex relationships. Eleven years ago, Eastern Mennonite fired two professors over homosexual behavior, but in 2013, it became the first of the 120 CCCU schools to allow tenure-track faculty to pursue same-sex relationships essentially without censure.
Here, Ryan Anderson argues that previous generations debated matters of the nature of God and the nature of salvation. Now the critical debate is over personhood and that this is the essence of the same sex "marriage" debate. He states that, "today, the most pressing heresies—the newest challenges for the Church’s teaching and mission—center on the nature of man. The tribulations that marked the twentieth century and continue into the twenty-first—totalitarianism, genocide, abortion, and the sexual ideology that has battered the family and redefined marriage—have sprung from a faulty humanism. I don’t mean to equate each of these human tragedies with the others, but they all spring from faulty anthropology, a misunderstanding of the nature of man."
William Baude looks at the recent Supreme Court ruling and makes the point that the same arguments used in support of same-sex unions could also be used in support of polygamous unions. He says, "In particular, could the decision presage a constitutional right to plural marriage? If there is no magic power in opposite sexes when it comes to marriage, is there any magic power in the number two?"
Two years ago, Christian bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein, the owners of the bakeshop "Sweet Cakes by Melissa," did not agree to bake a "wedding" cake for a same-sex couple, saying doing so would violate their faith. The homosexual couple then filed a discrimination lawsuit, which resulted in the Klein's being forced to pay $135,000 in damages. However; the couple has raised a record-breaking amount of money in a fundraising campaign; amounting to $372,000, more than double the $135,000 they were forced to pay.
James White reviews a Karen Swallow Prior article in Christianity Today that claims Christians have been too "homophobic" and "discriminatory." towards the "LGBT community." White then moves on to review an article by Graeme Codrington that is directly, unabashedly promotional of the complete revision of Christian sexual ethics and, therefore, of the gospel itself.
The Alliance Defending Freedom is arguing that a federal judge should not dismiss their lawsuit against a northern Idaho city. The lawsuit contends that the city's anti-discrimination ordinance violates the religious rights of the owners of Hitching Post Lakeside Chapel. Attorneys on both sides of the issue presented their arguments in U.S. District Court on Monday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Bush is expected to issue a decision in the next few weeks.
The Supreme Court’s attempt last month to redefine marriage has left Americans sharply divided, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll that suggests support for homosexual unions may be down slightly from earlier this year. According to the poll, 42 percent support same-sex "marriage" and 40 percent oppose it. The poll also found a near-even split over whether local officials with religious objections should be required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. 47 percent said that it should be required, while 49 percent said that exemptions should be allowed.
Rick Perry is opposed to having openly homosexual leaders in the Boy Scouts of America, he said Sunday, even after that organization dropped its ban on such scoutmasters. "I believe that scouting would be better off if they didn't have openly gay scoutmasters," the former Texas governor and 2016 GOP presidential candidate said. The Boy Scouts dropped its policy banning "gay" scouts in 2013. And earlier this month, the organization also dropped its ban on homosexual scoutmasters after a push by the group's national president, former Defense Secretary Bob Gates. A final vote by the National Executive Board on removing the ban is expected to take place on July 27.
When asked wether he thought being "gay" was a choice, Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker answered, "I don't have an opinion on every single issue out there. To me, that's, I don't know. I don't know the answer to that question." When asked about the ban on homosexual leaders that is being challenged in the Boy Scouts, Walker said, "I thought the policy was just fine. I'm saying when I was in Scouts, it was fine. You're asking what should the policy be going forward. It should be left up to the leaders of the Scouts."
The majority of countries in Europe require people who wish to "change" their legal gender to undergo surgery and sterilization, or be diagnosed with a mental disorder and get divorced if they are married. However, Ireland's new bill will allow people 18 or older to legally "change" their gender without intervention. One anti-gender activist put it this way: "Self-determination is at the core of our human rights." This issue is all about who determines reality. If man does not believe that he is defined by God, then he will seek to define (or rather un-define) himself.
The executive committee of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has unanimously approved a resolution to allow openly homosexual men to be leaders of Scouts as young as 7 years old. In a statement Monday, the BSA said the 17-member executive committee approved the resolution on Friday and noted it would become official policy immediately if ratified by the organization’s 80-member National Executive Board at a meeting on July 27.
There are only a few days to go before the July 21 deadline to file for a re-hearing before the US Supreme Court on its recent 5-4 “same-sex marriage” ruling. But chances are bleak that this crucial filing will be done. The states involved in the "same-sex marriage" case are Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. The attorney general of any one of these states could file for a rehearing, but no one is showing any desire to do it.
Filmmaker Coley Sohn has launching a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to start filming the "gay marriage" comedy “Dodie and Cheryl Get Hitched.” IFC is releasing another "gay marriage" comedy, “Jenny’s Wedding,” on July 31. This is a deliberate and strategic attempt to shift public opinion on marriage and homosexuality. People will cease to be disgusted with sin when they embrace the idea that sin is funny.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Two Republican state representatives have filed a bill that would allegedly protect county clerks from criminal or civil liability for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because of their religious beliefs. Reps. Stan Lee of Lexington and David Meade of Stanford are sponsoring the bill for the legislative session that begins in January. The bill is similar to one filed by Republican state Rep. Addia Wuchner of Florence.
Casey Davis is one among a handful of Kentucky clerks who are not issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Kentucky Gov. Beshear recently told Davis to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples or else quit his job. "'Issue marriage licenses or resign' — those were the words," Davis told reporters after meeting with Beshear. Davis said he that he has no intention of quitting, and that he is willing to go to jail to defend his right to religious liberty. "If that's what it takes for me to express the freedom of religion that I believe I was born with, I'm willing to do that," he said.
"Just who do we think we are?" Those words were included in Chief Justice Robert's dissent from Obergefell v. Hodges. Kevin Theriot answers this question: "We think we're God." He shows how Americans think this way when it comes to abortion, "sex-change" surgery and no-fault divorce. "The 'American Dream' has come to mean you can be your own god – if you just believe in yourself and work hard."
MURFREESBORO, TN – State Rep. Rick Womick is calling for impeachment of Gov. Bill Haslam for accepting the "gay marriage" ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court and of the five justices for making the decision. "I am looking at impeachment proceedings," the Republican lawmaker from Rutherford County said during a Tuesday phone interview. Womick contends that Haslam should enforce the Tennessee Constitution and the amendment approved by voters in a referendum that bans "gay marriage" because the U.S. Supreme Court has no authority to rule on marriage.
When the SC Senate went in session Monday morning to discuss items that the governor had vetoed from the state budget and to discuss a proposed bill to remove the Confederate flag from Statehouse grounds, Sen. Lee Bright of Spartanburg was one of the first officials to speak. Bright said instead of debating the Confederate flag, the state needed to be debating "same-sex marriage" in wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that attempted to redefine marriage in all 50 states.
After refusing to "marry" a homosexual couple in Toledo, Municipal Court Judge C. Allen McConnell has clarified that his denial was based on his religion and that he intends to continue performing only traditional marriages unless ordered to do otherwise by the state Supreme Court. He said, "The declination was based upon my personal and Christian beliefs established over many years....I will continue to perform traditional marriages during my duties assignment."
The terms “husband” and “wife” have been deleted from California’s marriage law under a bill signed into law Monday by Gov. Jerry Brown. The terms will be replaced with “spouse” to accommodate the Supreme Court's attempt to redefine marriage.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul doesn't know whether county clerks in his home state have a constitutional right to refuse to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples. Paul said he is "not a legal authority on that" and isn't sure whether the clerks have a legitimate reason to resist the U.S. Supreme Court's attempt to redefine marriage.
A federal judge heard arguments on Monday about a county clerk who is refusing to issue marriage licenses following the U.S. Supreme Court's attempt to redefine marriage. U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning heard testimony from the couples involved in the lawsuit filed against Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, who says "same-sex marriage" violates her religious beliefs. The American Civil Liberties Union sued Davis on behalf of two homosexual couples and two heterosexual couples who were denied marriage licenses.
Texas Clerk Joyce Lewis-Kugle stepped down from her post Monday. She did this rather than participate in the recent attempt by the Supreme Court to redefine marriage. She said, "Before taking office, I was required to take an oath to uphold the laws of this State and the United States. Due to the recent decision by the Supreme Court, the laws I swore to have now changed."
Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore told a church crowd on Sunday that the U.S. Supreme Court "destroyed the institution of God" by redefining marriage. "How do they come out now and say that marriage, which is ordained by God, doesn't mean what it's always meant, between a man and woman?" Moore said. "Not between two men, two women, or three women and one man."
Sixty-three percent of Republicans oppose the Supreme Court’s backing of "gay marriage," according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. This could give a boost to candidates in the Republican primaries who still hold to a traditional view of marriage; such as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.