Bryan Fischer
Churches ORDERED to perform sodomy-based wedding ceremonies
By Bryan Fischer
Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at "Focal Point"
I've often made the point that every advance of the homosexual agenda comes at the expense of religious liberty. We as a society must choose between homosexuality and liberty because we cannot have both. Where homosexuality advances, liberty retreats.
For example, I have already written about the cop in Utah who essentially has been fired because he did not want to literally lead a gay pride parade. His reservations about homosexuality are religious in nature, but regardless of the Constitution's guarantee of the "free exercise" of religion, he was forced to choose between homosexual pride and his own conscience. He chose conscience, and now he's looking for work.
But the threat of what Bill Maher calls the gay mafia is not confined to the world of law enforcement or commerce. Of course, virtually every piece of gay "rights" legislation carves out special exemptions for religious organizations, especially churches, as a sop to the First Amendment. But these crumbs from the master's table are flimsy protections at best, for the simple reason that people will start to argue that churches should not be allowed to break "laws" that everyone else has to obey.
Why, we will be told, should Christians be allowed to be homophobic bigots if nobody else is?
When we in the pro-family community argue that such conscience protections for churches one day will be hardly worth the pixels they're painted with, we're told we are exaggerating and fear-mongering, and that the concerns we are raising are about things that could never happen here.
Well, the day we prophesied has arrived. Churches in Denmark – and the U.S. will not be far behind – have been ORDERED to perform sodomy-based weddings whether they want to or not.
According to the London Telegraph, a new law passed by the Danish parliament "make(s) it mandatory for all churches to conduct gay marriages." No options, no exceptions, no choice. Homosexuals are to be married wherever they want, regardless of whose conscience is trampled and whose sanctuary is defiled in the process.
While an individual priest may not be compelled to perform such weddings, his bishop has been ordered (under threat of what?) to find a replacement for him so that the priest's church can be used. Thus an individual priest can no longer protect the spiritual integrity of his own house of worship.
How long will it be before American churches will be ordered, as a condition of maintaining their tax-exempt status, to host same-sex ceremonies? How long will it be before American pastors are ordered to perform them?
Unless America's pastors rise up as one, now, that day will arrive like a thief in the night, a day when each pastor will be told that he must solemnize sodomy-based marriages in his church or his church's 501(c)(3) status will be revoked. At that point, he and his church will effectively be out of business.
And then if he tries to keep his church going without tax exempt status, it won't be long before he will be ordered to perform same-sex weddings anyway, tax exempt status or no, under threat of fine or even incarceration. If the Gay Gestapo can order a baker to make a wedding cake, they can order a pastor to make a wedding.
Don't think it cannot happen here. If it can happen there, it can and will happen here.
And then the pastors in America who thought we pro-family activists were just a bunch of hyperbolic alarmists, and who foolishly thought that the church should just stay out of politics, will come to us with a stunned and bewildered look in their eyes and say, "Dude, what happened to my religious liberty?"
But by then it will be too late.
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
June 11, 2014
Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at "Focal Point"
I've often made the point that every advance of the homosexual agenda comes at the expense of religious liberty. We as a society must choose between homosexuality and liberty because we cannot have both. Where homosexuality advances, liberty retreats.
For example, I have already written about the cop in Utah who essentially has been fired because he did not want to literally lead a gay pride parade. His reservations about homosexuality are religious in nature, but regardless of the Constitution's guarantee of the "free exercise" of religion, he was forced to choose between homosexual pride and his own conscience. He chose conscience, and now he's looking for work.
But the threat of what Bill Maher calls the gay mafia is not confined to the world of law enforcement or commerce. Of course, virtually every piece of gay "rights" legislation carves out special exemptions for religious organizations, especially churches, as a sop to the First Amendment. But these crumbs from the master's table are flimsy protections at best, for the simple reason that people will start to argue that churches should not be allowed to break "laws" that everyone else has to obey.
Why, we will be told, should Christians be allowed to be homophobic bigots if nobody else is?
When we in the pro-family community argue that such conscience protections for churches one day will be hardly worth the pixels they're painted with, we're told we are exaggerating and fear-mongering, and that the concerns we are raising are about things that could never happen here.
Well, the day we prophesied has arrived. Churches in Denmark – and the U.S. will not be far behind – have been ORDERED to perform sodomy-based weddings whether they want to or not.
According to the London Telegraph, a new law passed by the Danish parliament "make(s) it mandatory for all churches to conduct gay marriages." No options, no exceptions, no choice. Homosexuals are to be married wherever they want, regardless of whose conscience is trampled and whose sanctuary is defiled in the process.
While an individual priest may not be compelled to perform such weddings, his bishop has been ordered (under threat of what?) to find a replacement for him so that the priest's church can be used. Thus an individual priest can no longer protect the spiritual integrity of his own house of worship.
How long will it be before American churches will be ordered, as a condition of maintaining their tax-exempt status, to host same-sex ceremonies? How long will it be before American pastors are ordered to perform them?
Unless America's pastors rise up as one, now, that day will arrive like a thief in the night, a day when each pastor will be told that he must solemnize sodomy-based marriages in his church or his church's 501(c)(3) status will be revoked. At that point, he and his church will effectively be out of business.
And then if he tries to keep his church going without tax exempt status, it won't be long before he will be ordered to perform same-sex weddings anyway, tax exempt status or no, under threat of fine or even incarceration. If the Gay Gestapo can order a baker to make a wedding cake, they can order a pastor to make a wedding.
Don't think it cannot happen here. If it can happen there, it can and will happen here.
And then the pastors in America who thought we pro-family activists were just a bunch of hyperbolic alarmists, and who foolishly thought that the church should just stay out of politics, will come to us with a stunned and bewildered look in their eyes and say, "Dude, what happened to my religious liberty?"
But by then it will be too late.
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
