The Bible NETWork ~ Impacting the World for Christ one post at a time!

DECEMBER 22, 2011

Is religious freedom under threat in America today? Yes and no. Compared to Eritrea, where the government habitually forces Pentecostals into unventilated shipping containers until they renounce their beliefs, American religious freedom is in very good shape. But comparative evils abroad are a poor reason to be complacent about liberty at home. Today, in fact, multiple threats warrant special vigilance.

For example, the Obama administration wants to expand the power of courts to decide whether a congregation’s reasons for hiring and firing a minister are legally sound. And it appears that new federal health care regulations will compel almost all religious civil society institutions — including hospitals, colleges and refugee assistance agencies — to provide health plans that cover sterilization as well as drugs that sometimes cause abortions, even if doing so violates the organizations’ deepest religious beliefs. The alternative? Close down. Or renounce their beliefs.

NYTimes

Interesting piece from a very secular newspaper.

_________________
I am a stranger in a wicked and adulterous land. I look forward to returning home one day.

Hello marcus greetings,
In a democratic country where freedom of religion is granted by its constitution there will no treat compare to Eritrea Provisional government where human right record are poor with many violation of human rights on behalf of government. A believer must joined only to registered religion and non denomination is persecuted and punished until they renounce their belief.
If you are a non-denominationalist your signature phrase “"Sometimes it's better to keep what you know to yourself".must apply to self to avoid persecution. The faith of Daniel is an ideal sample of belief
when all the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects, and the satraps, the counsellors, and the governors have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, except of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked. Therefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and, his windows being open in his upper chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.( Daniel 6:7-10 )

Because of Daniel disobedience to the king Darius decree the king commanded them to brought Daniel and cast him to the lions. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were concubines brought before him; and his sleep fled from him. Then the king arose with the light at break of day, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came near unto the den, he cried with a mournful voice unto Daniel: the king spoke and said unto Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, hath thy God whom thou servest continually been able to save thee from the lions?
Then Daniel spoke unto the king, O king, live for ever! My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before him innocence was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. ( Daniel 6:16-21 )

In view thereof a true faith which originate from your heart and mind cannot be threated nor deceived.

Thanks and God bless.
Your brother in Christ.
virgilio

_________________
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isaiah 52:7

I think that the freedom of religion has been more of a social issue as opposed to a civil one. In other words, people have an ignorance of the Constitution and its protection of rights in the Bill of Rights. There have been numerous court cases which have protected the right to free speech and religious liberty. However, in the social arena it is my opinion, looking at it historically, that there has been more pressure put on religion, especially in the areas of homosexuality, tolerance and being politically correct.

We as believers should pray for our government at all levels (federal, state, and local governments) and for all the branches of government (judicial, executive and legislative). In addition, the Bible speaks more of civil obedience than civil disobedience. (I taught civics for several years.)

Hawaiian Church Denied Exemption
Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow - 1/4/2012 4:25:00 AM

A court in Hawaii has refused to exempt churches from being forced to allow their property to be used for civil union ceremonies.

_________________
I am a stranger in a wicked and adulterous land. I look forward to returning home one day.

It's a sad sign of the times. When the courts ruled (temporarily) in favor of same-sex marriage in California, my church took the step of formally establishing a written policy that all marriages performed on the premises of our church, under the auspices of our church, and/or by any licensed minister of our church must conform to all of the following principles and conditions:

• Marriage, according to the Holy Bible which is our rule of faith and practice, is ordained by God as a union between a man and a woman, and that union should be held in honor. (Gen 2:18-24; Heb 13:4)
• All sexual relations outside of God-ordained marriage are immoral, they are held in dishonor, and they are to be eschewed. (Rom 1:26-28; Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:3-7; 1 Cor 6:9-10)
• Couples seeking to be married on the premises of our church, under the auspices of our church, and/or by any licensed minister of our church must (a) complete a Marriage Information Form provided by our church and (b) complete premarital counseling to the satisfaction of the licensed minister of our church who conducts the counseling and to the satisfaction of the licensed minister who will officiate the marriage ceremony if that person did not also conduct the premarital counseling. If the licensed minister to officiate the marriage ceremony is not a licensed minister of our church, premarital counseling must still be completed under the direction of a licensed minister of our church. The extent of the required premarital counseling may vary from couple to couple at the discretion of the counselor. If during the course of premarital counseling or afterward it is discovered that an issue or situation exists that could jeopardize the prospective couple's marriage relationship, it may be necessary to postpone the wedding until the problem is resolved.
• Inasmuch as God-ordained marriage is only between a man and a woman, any question of an individual's true gender must be determined by genetic testing. If such a question arises, it must be resolved to the satisfaction of the licensed minister of our church who conducts the premarital counseling and (if a different person) the licensed minister who is to officiate the marriage ceremony.

It's unfortunate that we must even contemplate such steps to protect ourselves legally. And such steps don't guarantee that we'll be protected, but at least they provide a formally defensible position.

_________________
"The person who has my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him." (John 14:21)

Forum Code of Conduct
The Bible NETWork Doctrinal Statement
The NET Bible Study Environment
Pastors Pro-Life Resource Center
Biblical Eldership

As usual, ONN is doing a bit of shady reporting.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/01/03/42723.htm

The court ruled that they didn't have standing to pursue this suit preemptively.



-Dan.

Thanks Dan.



Sounds like this was in response to these charges in the civil rights commission.



BTW

How do you find these websites? My search came up with little besides similar articles that trace back to the original one.

_________________
I am a stranger in a wicked and adulterous land. I look forward to returning home one day.

Dangit! I hate facts getting in the way of a good story.

Marriage is a civil issue. Just like every other matter in courthouses, etc. There is nothing that prevents a pastor declining to perform a same-sex ceremony. Churches might get into a problem if they routinely rent out their facilities to non-members. If so, they do put themselves at risk with the argument about why they suddenly exclude same-sex receptions.

So, each church that has facilities available for use (and don't want homosexuals having their celebrations there) would be wise to make certain they limit such to church-members, who are presumably heterosexuals, or at least, closeted homosexuals or bi-sexuals.

_________________
"I hold that in this country there must be complete severance of Church and State;
Ronald Reagan

IIRC, I think I googled the name of the church along with the word "court." Doing that right now gives me the courthousenews.com link as #6. Also, sometimes less detailed news stories or blog posts will link back to earlier stories or original documents.

There are also ways to look at the writing and get a sense of what's being left out; with that, you can get an idea of what to be looking for.

-Dan.