The Coming Persecution

From Chuck Colson and Breakpoint.

How Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Will Harm Christians

 

“It is all about equal rights, the gay “marriage” lobby keeps telling us. We just want the right to marry, like everyone else.

That is what they are telling us. But that is not what they mean. If same-sex “marriage” becomes the law of the land, we can expect massive persecution of the Church.

As my friend Jennifer Roback Morse notes in the National Catholic Register, “Legalizing same-sex ‘marriage’ is not a stand-alone policy . . . Once governments assert that same-sex unions are the equivalent of marriage, those governments must defend and enforce a whole host of other social changes.”

The bad news is these changes affect other liberties we take for granted, such as religious freedom and private property rights. Several recent cases give us a sobering picture of what we can expect if we do not actively embrace—and even promote—same-sex “marriage.”

For instance, a Methodist retreat center recently refused to allow two lesbian couples to use a campground pavilion for a civil union ceremony. The state of New Jersey punished the Methodists by revoking the center’s tax-exempt status—a vindictive attack on the Methodists’ religious liberty.

In Massachusetts, where judges imposed gay marriage a few years ago, Catholic Charities was ordered to accept homosexual couples as candidates for adoption. Rather than comply with an order that would be harmful to children, Catholic Charities closed down its adoption program.

California public schools have been told they must be “gay friendly,” as Roback Morse notes. But it will not stop with public schools. Just north of the border in Quebec, the government told a Mennonite school that it must conform to provincial law regarding curriculum—a curriculum that teaches children that homosexuality is a valid lifestyle. How long will it be before the U.S. government goes after private schools?

Even speaking out against homosexuality can get you fired. Crystal Dixon, an associate vice president at the University of Toledo, was fired after writing an opinion piece in the Toledo Free Press in support of traditional marriage . . . Fired—for exercising her First Amendment rights!

Promoters of same-sex “marriage” seem to go out of their way to target Christian businesses and churches. Their goal, it seems, is not the right to “marry,” but to punish anyone who disagrees with them.

Clearly, there is a spiritual battle going on here: Christians are under attack because they are a public witness to the fact that a holy God created us male and female, and we will always put obedience to Him and His laws above obedience to any earthly demand for loyalty.

The coming persecution of Christians is one more reason why we need to get involved with efforts to pass laws at the state and federal level defining marriage as a legal relationship between one man and one woman. We must protect, not only genuine marriage, but also many of the freedoms we now take for granted: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association, freedom to use private property the way we see fit—all are under threat.

And we must tell our friends and neighbors why gay “marriage” is not just about equality: It is about forcing religious believers to accept the validity of the homosexual lifestyle—or else.”

Day of Truth

From the Alliance Defense Fund.

Your gift enables Christian students to bring the Truth to their classmates

In the past, students who have attempted to speak against the promotion of the homosexual agenda have been censored or, in some cases, punished for their beliefs. You may remember Chase Harper, a high school student who was placed in a room and interrogated by an armed deputy after peacefully expressing his Christian beliefs regarding homosexual behavior.

Encouraging this censorship is none other than GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network). In 1996, the organization created the Day of Silence, encouraging students to express their support for homosexual behavior by making a display of saying nothing all day, to anyone. Teachers are encouraged to add their support by indulging the silence of their students. Far from the pursuit of truth, proponents of the Day of Silence discourage open and honest discussion.

And so, the Day of Truth was launched.

The Day of Truth is a national project established to counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda and allow students to express an opposing viewpoint from a Christian perspective. Last year, in the third year of the project, more than 7,000 students—representing 1,022 schools in 49 states—participated, engaging their peers in thoughtful, respectful discussions. Reports from students throughout the country show that the event was a resounding success.

On Monday, April 28, students across the nation will once again wear a specially designed Truth T-shirt and pass out cards outside of class time with the following message:

I’m speaking the Truth to break the silence.
True tolerance means that people with differing — even opposing — viewpoints can freely exchange ideas and respectfully listen to each other.
It’s time for an honest conversation about homosexuality.
There’s freedom to change if you want to.
Let’s talk.

As a legal alliance, ADF works closely with other organizations and ministries who share our goals. This year, Focus on the Family and Exodus International have joined the project as allies, providing information and support regarding the theological, social, research, and religious ministry issues central to this debate. Their involvement provides students with resources we could not provide alone, and as a result, we are expecting the best Day of Truth ever. But we still need your help to ensure the success of this critical project.

If officials can block the Truth in public schools, they can block it anywhere. That’s why it’s vital that we defend students’ freedom to hear and speak the Truth. These young people have shown they have the courage to stand for the Truth – and as a result, lives and hearts are being changed. Your gift today helps us continue providing students with the necessary resources to speak the Truth into the lives of classmates who desperately need to hear it.

Your support will change not only what tomorrow looks like in America . . . but also what today looks like for our children and grandchildren.

Procter & Gamble promotes explicit open-mouth homosexual kissing

From the American Family Association.

Procter & Gamble has resumed using explicit, open-mouth homosexual kissing in their soap opera, “As the World Turns.” P&G decided to include this type of content as a commitment to “diversity.” P&G stopped showing such scenes some months ago, but has now decided to again help promote the homosexual agenda which includes homosexual marriage.

Gay activists are hopeful that the P&G effort will desensitize viewers to the homosexual lifestyle and help make the unhealthy and immoral lifestyle more acceptable to society, especially to children and youth.

View a scene from the April 23, 2008 episode by P&G. WARNING – content is repulsive!

“As the World Turns” is owned and controlled completely by P&G. No network made this decision. P&G alone made the decision to support the homosexual agenda.

Take Action!

P&G needs to hear from you today. We have provided a sample letter for you to send to Chairman Lafley, but strongly encourage you to add a personal message. Help us spread the word about P&G by forwarding this to friends and family. Ask your pastor to put this information in the church bulletin and newsletter. P&G’s products include Tide, Crest and Pampers. Send an e-mail to P&G Chairman A.G. Lafley. Find P&G products in your home. Each product will have a toll-free number for that product line on the label. Call the number and let them know you oppose their promotion of homosexuality. P&G’s direct line which reaches a live person is 513-983-1100 .

Homosexual “Day of Silence” coming to Texas High Schools

From the American Family Association.

Your child’s classroom may be disrupted by gay activism

On, Friday, April 25, several dozen schools in Texas will be observing “Day of Silence (DOS).” DOS is a nationwide push to promote the homosexual lifestyle in public schools.

When AFA alerted parents of this public school classroom disruption by homosexual student activists, many Texans took action immediately! As a result, 23 schools had their name removed from the participating list. If you haven’t gotten involved, it’s critical that you do so today!

Take Action!
What should parents do? Check with your local school principal to see if your child’s school will be participating in DOS. If the school is participating, notify other parents about DOS and ask them to join in keeping their children out of school on that day.
A simple phone call or letter to your local Texas school administrators, telling them your child will not attend school the day it observes DOS, may be enough to cause some participating schools to change their plans.

Sample letter here.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Day of Silence.

Here is a partial list of Texas schools which the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network says are participating in DOS:

Akins H.S. Arlington Heights H.S. Austin H.S.
Sycamore H.S. Bellaire H.S. Boswell H.S.
Brackenridge H.S. Crowley H.S. Cypress Springs H.S.
Del Valle H.S. Denton H.S. Episcopal H.S.
Fox Tech H.S. Furr H.S. Gonzalo Garza Independence H.S.
H.S. for the Health Professions Hightower H.S. Jack C. Hays H.S.
James Madison H.S. Jay H.S. Kempner H.S.
Kingwood H.S. Lanier H.S. Lyndon B. Johnson H.S.
McCallum H.S. McNeil H.S. Northbrook H.S.
Reagan H.S. Rowe H.S. Sandra Day O’Conner H.S.
Sharpstown H.S. St. John H.S. Taft H.S.
The Kinkaid School Westlake H.S. Westside H.S.

If your school is listed, call your local school and ascertain whether they officially or passively allow students to observe “Day of Silence.” If your school is listed, please double-check with your local school to see if the school is actually sponsoring DOS. Sometimes the “participation” turns out to be a handful of kids who are saying they have a homosexual club and are observing this protest day, but without school endorsement. We sincerely hope your school, if listed, is not actually an official sponsor. If it is not, we will take them off the list, if a school official asks us to do so. Please e-mail your correction to webmaster@missionamerica.com.

Some tips:

Be sure of the date that DOS is planned for your school. (The national date is April 25, but some schools observe DOS on a different date.)
Inform the school of your intention to keep your child home on that date and explain why. See the sample letter above.
Explain to your children why you’re taking a stand: Homosexual behavior is not an innate identity; it is a sinful, unnatural and destructive behavior. No school should advance a physically, emotionally, and spiritually destructive sexual lifestyle to students.
Schools do not have to tolerate students remaining silent in class. Schools can adopt policies that require parental consent for students to attend any club, including those premised on sexual orientation or gender identity. Here is more information from Attorney Mat Staver with Liberty Counsel who provides free information to parents, students, and schools regarding their rights associated with noncompliance on the Day of Silence.

Thank you for caring enough to get involved. If you feel our efforts are worthy of support, would you consider making a small tax-deductible contribution? Click here to make a donation.

Sincerely,

Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman American Family Association

Teachers Told Not To Say “Mum” Or “Dad”

From Gary Randall and Faith & Freedom Network & Foundation.

“Guidance materials have been sent out to all teachers, instructing them to avoid assumptions that pupils will have a conventional family background.

It says primary students as young as four should be familiarized with the idea of same-sex couples to help combat homophobic attitudes.

It also states that children who call classmates “gay” should be treated the same as racists as part of a “zero-tolerance” crackdown on the use of the word as an insult.

The instruction includes telling teachers to avoid telling boys to “be a man” or accuse them of “behaving like a bunch of women.”

This guidance was produced for the Government in the UK by the gay rights advocacy group, Stonewall, and was launched day before yesterday.

The DAILY MAIL reports that the new material tells teachers that they should, “Not assume that their pupils have a “mum and dad.” And should avoid using those words in favor of “parents.”

It also instructs teachers, when discussing marriage with secondary students, to educate pupils about civil partnerships and gay adoption rights.

It is suggested that English lessons for teenagers could focus on the emotions of the gay Italian soldier, Carlo, in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.

What is concerning about this, and the reason I bring it to you, is because five years ago, gay lobbyists and lawmakers were having much the same dialog that we are having in Washington State.

The gay lobbyists assured the lawmakers that they only wanted to be protected and would never use the repeal of SECTION 28 as a vehicle to teach homosexuality. SECTION 28 banned the promotion of homosexuality in schools. The lawmakers conceded and repealed the law.

Now, five years later, under the guise of an anti-bullying campaign, they are indoctrinating using information.

Every one would agree that children, under no circumstances, should be allowed to bully other kids.

I think many would also agree with a growing number of concerned citizens in the UK that this appears to be a near reverse bullying tactic, force feeding kids certain information, then having schools, “Encourage gay role models among staff, parents and governors.”

The material further states that, “Homosexual staff should be able to discuss their private lives after consultation with the head teacher.”

People are now becoming aware that the gay lobby has grown significantly in influence and are expressing concern.

Take a mental picture and make a note to yourself. Unless the gay lobbyists and activist lawmakers are restrained in Washington State, you are looking at the future.

It is not about benefits, bullying, rights or even “marriage,” it is about affirming a lifestyle that has been rejected by every major religion in the history of the human race.”

____________________
Gary Randall
President
Faith & Freedom

Lessons on Homosexuals Being ‘Born That Way’ and Erotic Sex Taught to 8th and 10th Graders Challenged by the Thomas More Law Center

From the Thomas More Law Center.

“In oral arguments last week, the Thomas More Law Center asked Maryland state circuit court judge William Rowan III to overturn a Maryland Board of Education ruling that approves of public schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, teaching 8th and 10th graders that homosexuality is innate—meaning they are born that way.   The schools also show how to use condoms in anal and oral sex.

The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, represents Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, the Family Leader Network, and the Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays.   John Garza, of Garza, Regan & Associates of Rockville, Maryland, is acting as local counsel.

Montgomery educators were forced to defend their new sex curriculum that promotes anal sex, homosexuality, bisexuality and transvestitism despite strong opposition from several pro-family groups.   The controversial new curriculum was adopted as a result of pressure by homosexual advocacy groups.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, commented, “This is another example of our public school system being used as an indoctrination arm of homosexual advocacy groups.   Promoting the use of condoms in anal and oral sex not only violates Maryland law and court decisions, but endangers the health of any student who tries it.   Moreover, teaching students that homosexuals are ‘born that way’ is contrary to the rulings of the Maryland’s highest court and court decisions of other states as well. ”

“The bottom line — this school system is guilty of educational malpractice,” said Thompson.

This challenge to the new sex education curriculum has been in litigation for six years, meandering through the Federal District Courts, Maryland Administrative Panels and finally winding up in front of Judge Rowan III.   Initially, a Federal District Court enjoined the county schools from implementing the curriculum in 2005 because the lesson plan criticized religious “fundamentalism. ”   

However, following the federal court ruling and injunction, the county board merely omitted the anti-religious references, and began teaching the controversial health curriculum to all 8th and 10th grade classes.   The current case involves a judicial appeal of the final State Board decision under a Maryland law that allows final administrative denials to be challenged in the state circuit court.    
 
Brandon Bolling, the Thomas More Law Center attorney who argued the case, asked Judge Rowan to either declare the curriculum illegal or send it back to the state board for another review.   “Maryland law says you have to teach something that is factually accurate,” said Bolling.   “They are not doing that, therefore it is illegal. ”

That sexual orientation is innate—homosexuals are born that way—is a theory that has been rejected by courts in several states including Maryland.   Maryland’s highest appellate court  issued an opinion in a 2007 civil union case, holding the proposition that homosexuality is innate is not supported by credible evidence.   In fact, not one U.S. court presented with the issue has found homosexuality to be an innate characteristic.
Moreover, although state law does not define the word “erotic,” Bolling argued that a Maryland law which prohibits classroom material that “portrays erotic techniques of sexual intercourse,” makes video demonstrations of the use of condoms in anal and oral sex illegal.   Bolling argued that if a sexual act is not done for a procreative purpose, it is an erotic technique.

Thus, the six year battle boils down to two questions posed by Bolling in this latest court skirmish:  Can the school board legally teach students that homosexuality is innate despite rulings to the contrary by the state’s highest court?  And, can the health lessons discuss sex acts other than copulation?”

The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities.   It does not charge for its services.   The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization.   You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.

Answering Objections from Homosexuals

From Frank Turek and Impactapologetics.com.

What about equal rights? 

Answer: First, everyone in America has the same rights. We all have the same right to marry any qualified person from the opposite sex. What homosexuals want is special rights– the special right to marry someone of the same sex. But why stop there? If homosexuals have a right to get married, then how can they say a man has no right to marry his daughter, his dog, his father, or three women and a poodle? Should bisexuals be permitted to marry two people?

Second, the government is not taking away the “rights” of homosexuals to have relationships. Homosexuals can relate any way they want, but they have no “right” to have that relationship recognized by the state. That’s why the same-sex marriage movement has more to do with respect than rights. Greg Koukl puts this very well: “Same-sex marriage is not about civil rights. It’s about validation and social respect. It is a radical attempt at civil engineering using government muscle to strong-arm the people into accommodating a lifestyle many find deeply offensive, contrary to nature, socially destructive, and morally repugnant.” Same-sex marriage advocate Andrew Sullivan understands this. He writes, “Including homosexuals within marriage would be a means of conferring the highest form social approval imaginable.”

Indeed. Homosexuals want the courts to grant them legal and, therefore, social approval for their lifestyle because they know that they cannot win such approval by a fair vote of the people. Until the Massachusetts Supreme Court overstepped its authority, “we the people” have decided which sexual relationships are worthy of legal recognition and which are not. And “we the people” have done so not on arbitrary grounds, but in light of the natural biological design and compatibility of a man and a woman and all of the benefits that come from their union. In other words, we legally recognize and confer benefits on marriage because marriage benefits our society at large. Americans, like virtually every civilized people before us, have put marriage alone in privileged class because marriage alone is supremely beneficial.

Finally, while proponents of same-sex marriage cast this as a moral issue (that’s why they use the word “rights”), they lack any moral authority for their position. By whose standard of morality must same-sex marriage be legalized? Certainly the Constitution says nothing about same-sex marriage. Is there a standard beyond the Constitution? Yes, God– but God is the last subject homosexual activists want to bring up. If they appeal to God and His absolute Moral Law– the Moral Law the Declaration of Independence says is “self-evident”– then they have to make the case that God believes same-sex marriage is a right. That’s anything but self-evident as the entire history of religion, human civilization, and the design of the human body attests.

 Opposition to same-sex marriage is a violation of the Separation of Church and State 

Answer: Even if one were to accept the erroneous, court-invented claim that the constitution requires a strict separation of church and state, it would not mean that state opposition to same-sex marriage violates the constitution. Churches also teach that murder, rape and child abuse are wrong, but no one says laws prohibiting such acts comprise a violation of the “separation of church and state.” In fact, if the government could not pass laws consistent with church teachings, then all criminal laws would have to be overturned because they are all in some way consistent with at least one of the Ten Commandments.

Second, there are churches on both sides of this issue. In other words, some churches actually support same-sex marriage. So if there is a strict separation of church and state, then I suppose we can’t put the pro-same-sex marriage position into law either, right? Homosexual activists don’t want to go there.

This separation-of-church-and-state objection involves a failure to distinguish between religion and morality. Religion involves our duty to God; but morality involves our duty to one another. Our lawmakers are not telling people how, when, or if to worship—that would be legislating religion. But lawmakers cannot avoid telling people how they should treat one another— that’s legislating morality.

Contrary to popular opinion, all laws legislate morality. Morality is about right and wrong, and every law legally declares one behavior right and its opposite wrong. So the question is not whether we can legislate morality. The question is, “Whose morality should we legislate?”

 

For thousands of years, we’ve legislated the self-evident truth that man is meant for woman. Now suddenly homosexuals—long critical of conservatives for trying to “legislate morality”—are trying to legislate their own morality in the form of same-sex marriage. They want to ignore self-evident truths and impose their own moral position on the entire country. The only question is, should we continue to legislate the morality that nurtures the next generation (traditional marriage), or the new one that entices it to destruction (same-sex marriage)?

 Don’t write Discrimination into the Constitution 

Answer: Too late. It’s already there. In fact, all laws discriminate. But it’s discrimination against behavior, not persons; and it is discrimination with cause not without. For example, the First Amendment’s freedom-of-religion protections discriminate against the behavior of Muslims who want to impose Islam on the entire nation, but it does not discriminate against Muslims as persons.

And the Thirteenth Amendment discriminates against the behavior of some businessmen who might like to improve their profits through slavery, but it does not discriminate against businessmen as persons. Likewise, our marriage laws discriminate against the desired behaviors of homosexuals, polygamists, bigamists, adulterers, and the incestuous among us, but they do not discriminate against them as persons. People who have homosexual desires want to be considered a special class of people that deserves special legal rights. But if we begin to classify people according to their desires or personality traits, where does it end? Should we have a special class for shy people? After all, they’re at a social disadvantage to extroverts. No, that would be absurd.  If we start to classify people by what they desire to do sexually, then we would have to give all sexual preferences and all sexual behaviors special legal status, including polygamy, incest, pedophilia, bestiality, adultery, rape, etc. “But those behaviors are harmful!” you say. Exactly, and so is homosexuality. So why is it legitimate to carve out a special case for homosexuality but not for those other behaviors? Are there any desires people ought not act on?

Perhaps we should use our common sense and classify people according to the way they were designed—male and female. In other words, we should be classified by our humanity and gender, not our feelings. We are men and women, not hetero-or-homosexuals. Therefore, limiting marriage to a man and a woman does not discriminate against people of any kind because our population consists of only two kinds of people: men and women!

 Preventing Same-sex marriage is Bigotry. 

Answer: Opposition to same-sex marriage is not based on bigotry, but on good reason. Consider murder, rape and incest. Our laws rightly discriminate against those behaviors because those behaviors are harmful. Imagine murderers, rapists or the incestuous calling us “bigots” for enacting those laws. Such laws are the antithesis of bigotry. Bigotry involves pre-judging something for no good reason. But laws against murder, rape, and incest are based on good reason. Namely, we reasonably conclude that the health and welfare of the public are higher values than allowing individuals to do whatever they want.

The same holds true with preserving marriage. The health and welfare of the public are higher values than allowing individuals to marry whomever they want. We don’t discriminate in favor of traditional marriage and against same-sex marriage out of “bigotry” or bias, but because we are sensible human beings who draw on thousands of years of evidence to conclude that one sexual relationship is more beneficial than any other. Some behaviors are better than others. That’s not bigotry, but wisdom!

Of course, proponents of same-sex marriage will continue to call us bigots, which may be

considered evidence that their case is flawed. Since they can’t win on the merits, their only recourse is to divert attention through name calling.

By the way, the bigotry charge is another case of selective morality on the part of homosexual activists. While resistance to same-sex marriage is clearly not bigotry as they claim, we might ask them, “Why is bigotry wrong? From what moral standard are you arguing? Why can you recognize that bigotry is absolutely wrong, but refuse to admit that homosexual behavior is wrong as well?” Indeed, homosexuals acknowledge the Moral Law when it comes to the immorality of bigotry, but they conveniently ignore it when comes to their own homosexual behavior.

 Same-sex marriage is Like Interracial Marriage. 

Answer: No, interracial marriage was opposed without any valid grounds. Opponents hid their prejudice with false speculation about birth defects and the like. But since all “races” interbreed, there is no such thing as interracial marriage. Actually, there is only one race– the human race. At best, there is inter-ethnic marriage which is still between men and women. Same-sex marriage is between man-man or woman-woman. That’s completely different. Interethnic couplings are benign—the man and woman are still designed for one another. But homosexual couplings are harmful because they go against the natural design. In other words, ethnicity is irrelevant to marriage—gender is essential to it.

Ironically, it’s same-sex marriage proponents who are reasoning like racists. Instead of asking the state to recognize the preexisting institution of marriage, homosexuals are asking the state to define marriage. Well, that’s exactly the line of reasoning racists used in their effort to prevent inter-racial marriage. Racists wanted the state to define marriage as only between same race couples, instead of having the state recognize what marriage already was—the procreative union of a man and a woman regardless of their racial/ethnic background. While racists and homosexuals may want to alter the legal definition of marriage, they cannot alter the laws of nature that helped produce the recognition of legal marriage in the first place.

 Homosexuality is Like Race. 

Answer: No, it’s not. Sexual behavior is always a choice, race never is. You will find many former homosexuals, but you will never find a former African-American.

This analogy falsely assumes a homosexual act is a condition rather than a behavior. Skin color is a condition; a sexual act is behavior. Someone could be a “homosexual’ in the sense of having gay feelings, but not act on them. The same can be said of a celibate person with heterosexual feelings. So technically speaking, there are no heterosexuals or homosexuals—there are only males and females. For convenience we call people heterosexuals or homosexuals, when it would be more accurate to refer to such people as “people who desire to engage in heterosexual acts” and “people who desire to engage in homosexual acts.” In other words, we are males and females by condition, and heterosexuals or homosexuals by behavior.

 But Homosexuals Were Born that Way! 

Answer: If there is a real genetic component to homosexual desires, it has not been discovered. But even if there is a genetic component to desires, that would not give license to behavior. All of us have desires that we ought not act on. There have been genetic links made to a desire for alcohol, but who would advocate alcoholism? If someone has a genetic attraction to children, does that justify pedophilia? What homosexual activist would say that a genetic predisposition to violence justifies gay-bashing? Desires do not justify behaviors. In fact, there’s a word we use to describe the disciplined restraint of destructive desires– it’s called civilization.

But homosexual activists will have none of this. Instead of restraining negative behaviors,

homosexual activists are asking us not just to tolerate, but to endorse them. If we adopt their narcissistic demands—as J.D. Unwin documented by his study of 86 civilizations– it may be just a few generations before our nation is destroyed from within.

 But Same-sex marriage is About Love. 

Answer: Even if that were true, so what? Our culture associates marriage with love, but love is not the central purpose the state recognizes marriage. The state recognizes marriage because it is the best way to produce children and propagate a stable society. Homosexual unions by nature cannot do that.

But even if love is seen as a reason for marriage, we must ask, “What kind of love typifies a homosexual relationship?” Are there men who really feel drawn romantically to other men? No doubt. Are there men who really have a deep sense of commitment to other men, wish to care for them, and be intimate with them? No doubt.

But the same might be said of a man and his daughter, a man and a child, or three men and a woman. Should those people act on their sexual desires? If they did, would their actions truly be seeking the ultimate good of the person or persons they were trying to “love?” No. Sometimes sexual acts can be unloving. In fact, even sexual acts inside of marriage can be unloving—when they are medically dangerous for example. This is the very case with homosexual acts. They are medically dangerous. When sex is medically dangerous, the most loving thing you can do is not have sex with that person.

Some may argue that, “When two adults consent to engage in homosexual acts they are

each seeking the good of the other. Each person wants it and chooses it.” But if you truly love someone, will you do something that will seriously hurt or kill them? Having homosexual sex with someone does just that. It’s been documented to cause disease and to shorten life spans dramatically (one study showed the median age of death in the early 40’s for gay men and women without AIDS26). With the consequences so severe, if a man really “loved” another man, he wouldn’t engage in homosexual acts with him. Besides, sex isn’t the only way you can demonstrate your love for someone. Men can demonstrate their love for one another without having sex. In fact, most of our loving relationships are non-sexual.

 I Know Loving Homosexuals Couples with Children Who Have Been Together For Years 

Answer: Yes, some homosexuals live long healthy lives, and some homosexuals turn out to be better parents than some heterosexuals. But the data shows that such people are the exception rather than the rule. And laws cannot be based on exceptions. For example, we don’t stop warning people about the dangers of smoking just because some smokers outlive non-smokers. Nor should we stop warning people about the dangers of homosexual behavior just because some homosexuals outlive some heterosexuals. And if we’re not going to warn them, at the very least, we ought not endorse homosexual behavior.

If laws were based on exceptions, we would have to do away with virtually every law we

have. It would require that we do away with all laws against running red lights because sometimes you can run a red light without hurting anyone. It would also require that we do away with all laws against theft because a starving man may need to steal a loaf of bread to feed his family. In fact, it would require that we do away with marriage itself because spouses in some marriages abuse one another and their children. But in doing that we’d be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Traditional marriage, as a whole, is great for society. We can’t let its exceptions prevent us from experiencing the overall benefits it produces. So, traditional marriage must remain our legal norm despite any exceptions to the rule.

 Some Marriages Do Not Produce Children 

Answer: Yes, but that is the exception rather than the rule. The state recognizes marriage

because marriage in general procreates and provides the most stable and nurturing environment for children. But by the facts of nature, no homosexual act can do this.

Second, sterile heterosexual marriages still affirm the connection to childbearing because

sterility is not generally known on the wedding day. And on those few instances where sterility is known (e.g. with older couples), the man-woman union still symbolizes what is generally a procreative relationship.

Furthermore, since it would not be possible or desirable for the state to attempt to determine which men and women are capable of procreation and which are not, it allows all men and woman to marry. But since no homosexual relationship produces children, no homosexual relationship deserves to be called a marriage.

 Opposition to Same-sex marriage is Hate Speech 

Answer: Nonsense. If that were the case, then homosexual activists would be guilty of hate speech toward heterosexuals for trying to change the definition of marriage. Political disagreement is not hate speech. And disagreement with the radical gay political agenda does not make someone an enemy of homosexuals. I am opposed to the legal endorsement of a particular behavior. I am not opposed to the people who engage in that behavior. Just because we disagree about political ends, does not mean we ought to demonize those who disagree with us.

Ironically, those of us who are reasonably pointing out the known dangers of homosexual

activity should be considered friends of homosexuals, not foes. After all, we’re the ones trying to spare homosexuals from further disease and death by telling the truth about the issue. The activists who are suppressing that truth are their real enemies.

 The President is Politicizing the Constitution 

Answer: President Bush didn’t create this controversy because he wanted to “energize his base.” Four members from the activist Massachusetts and New Jersey Supreme Courts have created the need for a constitutional amendment by making up rights that aren’t in their constitution. Their rulings now have the potential to become the law of every other state through the full faith and credit clause of the United States constitution. Think of that—four unelected justices can change the laws of the entire country! Talk about discrimination—that’s discrimination against the other 300 million people in this country who are entitled to govern themselves! When any court oversteps its bounds and usurps the will of the people by legislating from the bench, the only sure remedy is what the President has suggested—a constitutional amendment.

 

We need to set aside emotion and look at the facts. When we do, we can see clearly that a

constitutional amendment is necessary to protect our national immune system. Vote YES.

Homosexual Parents Knock Out Nature in Courts

From the Family Research Council.

“It’s not just the definition of marriage that is being attacked by the homosexual movement–it’s also the definition of parenthood and of family itself. This was literally brought home today by an article in the Los Angeles Times regarding two homosexual men who wanted to have a child together. They bought an egg from one woman, rented the womb of another, and mixed their sperm so that they wouldn’t know which of them is the biological father. After “a four-year journey that involved three egg retrievals, 65 eggs, seven fertilization attempts, three surrogates and more than $200,000 in expenses,” documented by the Times in a series last year, a surrogate mother fulfilled her contract nine weeks ago by presenting the two men with a baby boy. She “continues to pump and freeze breast milk” and “ships bottles from Massachusetts to Georgia packed in dry ice.” One of the two men says that other than that, “we’re just going through what all parents go through.” Yet they have gone to such great lengths to ensure that this child will not “go through” the experience that most children enjoy of being raised by both a mother and a father. It is outrageous that courts in some states have become complicit in this denial of biological reality by allowing homosexual couples to have custody of newborns and birth certificates that mislead about the true parentage of the child.”

The way I was born

From Gary Ledbetter.

“Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. —Psalm 51:5

It’s a sentiment repeated with pounding regularity—a mantra long past any reasonable or critical thought. When Pastor Brett Younger of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth (speaking of his church’s welcoming and affirming stance toward homosexuality) asked on Dec. 2, “How can anyone who knows Jesus believe God condemns people for the way they were born?” he echoed the rhetorical question asked by liberal Christians and psychologists for more than a decade. And there’s an answer to the question.

God doesn’t condemn people for the way we were born. But the nature we share from before we were born becomes a problem as soon as we are able to make a moral choice. We, all of us, were born sinners. As a result of being sinners, we sin. And the wages of sin is death.

Rather than supposing that those of us encumbered by a belief that God has revealed himself in the Bible are singling out a particular sin for condemnation, I might ask why Pastor Younger and others who agree with him want to single out homosexuality as the one place where we are under no obligation to resist our destructive urges. The narrow agenda comes from the left.

Is a thief condemned if he never actually steals? Of course not; deeds have a quality that desires don’t. Neither is a person guilty if he has a mere urge toward immoral sexual behavior. Our current blurring of sexual desire and sexual behavior is done to imply that the behavior is of no more consequence than the desire.

If the thief does steal, is it reasonable to expect exoneration based on his (or his therapist’s) assertion that he’s always wanted to steal—he was born that way? How about an alcoholic or an adulterer or a brute with a bad temper? Of course we recognize the personal and socially negative aspects of these actions.

It is wrong for our society to pick and choose acceptable negative behavior based on which advocacy group has the most influence. It is more wrong for those who claim the name of Christ to blink at some sin because sentiment will not allow us the courage to speak prophetically. It is blasphemous to suppose that the God who inspired the books of Moses and Paul expressed a different nature in the Gospels.

No one can deny that some combination of nature and nurture makes some people more likely than others to gravitate toward one or more of these behaviors. Does that predilection change the moral quality of the behavior?

Actually, I was born with an orientation toward all kinds of sin. In some settings I want to lie. In another setting I want to gossip. In some circumstances I want to apply my hands to the throat of another and shake vigorously. This selection of temptations is not also a selection of orientations; it lists a few urges of the one orientation toward sin. A desire to steal hubcaps off the parking lot of liberal churches would be condemned in a way that extramarital sex might not be in that same liberal church, yet both urges come from the same orientation—that of a selfish sinner.

The Bible condemns immorality of all kinds. Some of these behaviors have more devastating impact than others. Theologically, they are all the fruit of our fallen nature. It is neither gentle nor loving to lie to people about anything the Bible says.

I don’t know what Broadway Baptist is going to do next year when they take up the issue again. I don’t know that the church will even be Southern Baptist this time next year. I do know, though, that justifying anything the Bible calls sin by invoking the all-accepting love of Christ (who wrote the Bible) is a false gospel. On a more secular plane, it’s also absurd hypocrisy to champion behavior based on a supposed aspect of our nature unless we’re willing to open the doors of all the prisons of our country.”

Gay Mogul Changing U.S. Politics

From Gary Randall and Faith and Freedom Network and Foundation.

“Time Magazine reported earlier this year that Tim Gill, a 53-year-old snowboarder, retired computer programmer and multimillionaire ($425 million), is changing the political landscape of America one state at a time. He has started the Gill Foundation and The Gill Action Fund to advance the gay agenda and gay causes. Time reports that his money has put secularist Democrats in control of the Colorado Legislature for the first time in four decades. Now, he and his millionaire gay allies, have taken the model they used in Colorado and will be using it in other states in the 2008 election. He believes that most all so-called gay rights legislation is primarily state based. I agree. He is now going state-to-state defeating traditional conservative lawmakers and replacing them with pro-gay rights lawmakers. He and his colleagues threw $15 million into a dozen states during the 2006 elections, targeting 70 politicians whom they regarded as “unhelpful” to gay causes: 50 of them went down. His Fund and allies are literally transforming the political landscape of the country. The Atlantic Monthly has written an extensive article about this. So what about Washington State? What about the Judeo Christian culture that has served America so well for so long? Faith and Freedom has no big donors or “fat cats” stepping up to “throw” money at anything, however, we do have a growing number of people who really do care and are stepping up to do what they can to support our efforts. This next election cycle is perhaps the most important in our lifetime. We need many to step up and take a stand for what is right.”