When the smoke clears
This is another of those time when I think it necessary to copy a section of text before my own thoughts are recorded. Copy follows:
June 14, 2007
Please help us get this information into the hands of as many people as possible by forwarding it to your entire email list of family and friends.
A bill in Congress makes it a crime for pastors and churches to speak against homosexuality
Message to pastors and other Christians: Just keep your mouth shut
Dear Sonia,
If pastors and other Christians don’t aggressively oppose a bill now in Congress, in the near future they will be subject to huge fines and prison terms if they say anything negative about homosexuality.
The proposed law would make it a crime to preach on Romans Chapter 1 or I Corinthians Chapter 6. Or even to discuss them in a Sunday School class. If churches and individuals want to keep the government from telling them what they can and cannot preach and teach about homosexuality, they better get involved now!
House bill H.R. 1592 and Senate bill S. 1105 would make negative statements concerning homosexuality, such as calling the practice of homosexuality a sin from the pulpit, a “hate crime” punishable by law. This dangerous legislation would take away your freedom of speech and your freedom of religion. Consider what has already happened:
- A California lawsuit which is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court would make the use of the words “natural family,” “marriage” and “union of a man and a woman” a “hate speech” crime in government workplaces. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has already ruled in favor of the plaintiffs!
- CNN and The Washington Post both reported that General Peter Pace, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was fired because he publicly expressed moral opposition to homosexual behavio
This has been followed up by a second message on this issue that came to my attention today June 26
June 25, 2007
Please help us get this information into the hands of as many people as possible by forwarding it to your entire email list of family and friends.
Hate Crimes Law: A Real Threat to Your Religious Freedom
Sign our petition to Congress today
Dear TEDDY,
As we reported last week, Congress is considering a "hate crimes" law that would authorize enhanced punishments for crimes committed because of various reasons, including sexual orientation. If the law passes in the near future the federal government will be empowered to investigate and punish politically incorrect speech and thoughts.
Think it can't happen here? Consider what has happened in Oakland, California, where the following words disseminated through the government’s open email system and employee bulletin board have been deemed inflammatory and perhaps even a hate crime: “Marriage is the foundation of the natural family and sustains family values.”
Please take a few minutes to read the insightful commentary about the Oakland case by columnist George Will titled, "When marriage became a 'hate crime.'"
The federal "hate crimes" legislation - H.R. 1592 and S. 1105 - appears on a fast track to passage unless you act today. It is a threat to your freedom of speech and your freedom of religion.
There is obviously an agenda that has been set and is being vigorously pursued. These developments bring to mind in a very ominous manner Jesus' predictions in Luke 21 about the dangers that his disciples will face in the last days, how they will be brought before magistrates and courts simply because they speak his precepts. In the face of these challenges we must be resolute in our stance, we must do all to stand and remain standing when the smoke clears.
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