Tag Archives: 1st amendment

Politics, Sexuality

The “Gender Unicorn” and other state-mandated child abuse

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From the “I hate being right” category, I saw over a decade ago — along with many others — that the LGBTQX agenda would inevitably evolve to state-mandated child abuse down to kindergarten and even preschool, using anti-bullying and such as the Trojan Horses.

From the “I hate being wrong” category, I naively thought that more parents would say, “Enough!,” when they realized that public schools would teach their 5 yr. old children that they can choose their genders and that boys would be able to share locker rooms with their teenage daughters. Yet here we are. The following is occurring in Charlotte, NC schools and other places in the country and parents are too afraid — or too complacent or brainwashed? — to say or do anything about it.

gender_unicorn3

Source: CMS Introduces the Gender Unicorn as District Embraces Gender Neutral Bathrooms, Lockers and Showers | KeepNCSafe

Meet the gender Unicorn. This was included in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) training presentation on handling transgender issues under the new CMS policy that goes into effect on August 29th. It’s startling enough that the school district feels they have sovereignty to directly disobey state statute as outlined in HB2, but some of the stuff in here is shocking.Check out some of these quotes:

1. Parental involvement dependent on student’s permission: “Involvement of parents in the plan is determined in working with the student, considering the student’s age and health, wellbeing and safety concerns” (pg. 34).

2. Students can choose their bathrooms and changing facilities: “Students must have access to the restroom/changing facilities that correspond to their gender identity” (pg. 42).

3. CMS will remove some gender-based activities: “CMS will evaluate all gender-based activities; maintain only those that have clear and sound pedagogical purpose” (pg. 46).

4. Students can choose their gender-based activities (intramural sports, dress codes, classes, ceremonies, photos, extracurricular activities, etc). This includes choosing which gender they participate with during overnight field trips: “Students are permitted to participate in gender-based activities consistent with their gender identity.” (pg. 46).5. Students can no longer be referred to as “boys and girls” in classrooms, but “scholars” or “students.”: “Avoid gender specific classroom management techniques” (pg. 46).

In other news, millstone* demand is at an all-time high.

Please fight these evils and protect your children and grandchildren.  Now more than ever, you do not want them in government schools**.  The predictable annual reductions in your parental rights, from the schools teaching more and more perversions to them removing your opt-out rights, will not stop. Remember that the men of Sodom*** groped for the door even after being literally blinded.  Leftists are very, very persistent.  They hate God, they think that they own your children and they will not give up without a fight.

*Luke 17:1–2 And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.

**365 Reasons to Homeschool

***Genesis 19:11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.

 

Politics, Sexuality

The New Jersey issue is bigger than the Duck Dynasty issue

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The Duck Dynasty / Phil Robertson topic has received tons of attention, and deservedly so.  But the bigger issue is how the pro-LGBTQ groups aren’t satisfied with merely redefining marriage in an anti-biblical way, but how they won’t rest until they have completely stamped out religious freedom and forced churches to affirm their activities.  The A&E issue is a sad commentary on our society, but the New Jersey issue is about the power of Big Government to suppress religious freedom.

Via Duck Dynasty Star Fired Over Remarks on Homosexuality:

Earlier this week state Senate Democrats in New Jersey pulled from consideration a bill that would write gay marriage, already legal in New Jersey by court order, into the law books. The reason: the bill contained religious exemptions.  Loretta Weinberg, the Senate Majority Leader, said she pulled the bill after pressure from an LGBTQ legal group, Lambda Legal.

“They don’t want any kind of religious exemption, so out of respect for that, I will (pull the bill),” Weinberg said.

Re-read that carefully: They don’t want any kind of religious exemption.  None.  It isn’t about their freedom to do what they want.  They’ve had that for years.  No one is preventing their relationships and/or promiscuous sex, or even doing anything to stop 62% of men who know they are HIV-positive who have unprotected sex with men.  This is about silencing Christians and forcing them to violate their religious beliefs.

“There’s a disparate group of people and it’s hard to follow what they want, so I’m following Lambda Legal.”

The decision by New Jersey Democrats and A&E are similar. When pressured by LGBTQ groups, organizations and politicians will choose to silence Christians who oppose the normalization of homosexual behavior.

Many Christians have assumed that they would be allowed reasonable exemptions and accommodations based on religious liberty. But LGBTQ activists have made it clear (and have said so from the beginning) that unconditional acceptance of homosexuality is the only option. Normalization and public support, rather than mere legal recognition, is the end goal.

Religious believers who think they can avoid the issue are deluding themselves. While we may not have a hit reality show that we can get fired from, we will be pressured in numerous ways to make it clear that we will not speak or act publicly in a way that supports the biblical view of homosexuality. The objective of the activists is to marginalize Christian views on sexual norms until they can be outlawed in the public square. Many Christians have already and will continue to gleefully work to ensure this becomes a reality. But for faithful Christians, allowing our biblical witness to be silenced is not an option. Like Phil Robertson we must all say, “My mission today is to go forth and tell people about why I follow Christ and also what the Bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together.”

Make no mistake: Satan won’t rest until he has silenced Christians.  That will never happen completely, of course, but there is a rocky road coming up.  Many of us have warned of these logical consequences for years, but too many Christians thought they could sit on the fence.  There is no fence.

But be encouraged!  God always wins in the end.  Don’t be afraid to stand up for the truth.

Politics

Free speech is so 20th century.

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The only good thing about the across-the-board attempts to limit the free speech of Conservatives is that it reveals the very low confidence of the opposition.  As a Christian, I would never want to limit the ability of other religions to express their views.  I am all for the free expression of views in the market place of ideas.  I have confidence that my worldview holds up quite nicely.

If you care about free speech you should be chilled at what is going on in the U.S.  and in other Western countries (which inevitably ends up here).  Here are just a few examples.

Conservative views in general: See the Obama administration’s War on Fox  and the “Fairness” doctrine.

Pro-lifer: Pro-legalized abortionists shouting down pro-life speakers on a college campus in Canada — you know, one of those bastions of free speech and “challenge authority” philosophies.  How dare you mention in public the scientific fact that life begins at conception?

Intelligent Design: Darwinists Launch Cyber Attack Against Intelligent Design Website — Ever hear of Christians attacking atheist web sites like that?  Wow, these people are so fearful of anyone challenging their worldview.  Of course, you should also consider the whole Expelled! movie.

Hate speech laws:  Coming soon to a country near you: Woman gets police visit after writing letter protesting gay pride parade

After witnessing a gay pride march, committed Christian Pauline Howe wrote to the council to complain that the event had been allowed to go ahead.

But instead of a simple acknowledgement, she received a letter warning her she might be guilty of a hate crime and that the matter had been passed to police.

But don’t worry, if you are a Liberal you can publicly label a woman as a whore and have no consequences.

Bible

Do you know the Ten Commandments?

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Whenever there is a debate over displaying the Ten Commandments in public I’m always afraid that the media will ask the more vocal proponents to list them and that they won’t be able to do so.  Perhaps I’m not giving the average Christian in the U.S. enough credit, but based on poll results I doubt that most could name them all.

If you are a Christian I hope you have committed them to memory.  Ideally, you could give a sermonette on each one, explain how we’ve all violated them many times and how Jesus is the answer for our sins against a Holy God.

Roundup

Roundup

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Gotta love the eloquence of Obama’s “Green Jobs Czar” when he obviously couldn’t think of a real answer:

Republicans are a**holes.  Barack Obama is not an a**hole.

The Democrats in the audience really seemed to be taken with that logic.  Classy.  What a bipartisan uniter!  I saw elsewhere that he may have apologized, so that is good.

Seriously, that is just the tip of the iceburg with Van Jones.  Read all about him and his unelected, unaccountable role here.

Update: Turns out he is a 9-11 “Truther” (i.e., he publicly stated that he thought it was an inside job).

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More fantasy creation by evolutionists to explain the unexplainable about DNA — funny how an allegedly blind process has to have such spectacular foresight.

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Good news for the right to free speech in Canada! — That was very surprising and very welcomed.  Hopefully the U.S. can learn from them and toss out the politicians whose real belief is that free speech = speech they agree with.

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The growing power of social media in politics— I’m glad to see conservatives on the leading edge of a technology change for once.  McCain was completely outmaneuvered by Obama on this front.  Still, I’m avoiding Twitter.  I spend enough time blogging and Facebook (though mostly blogging).

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Congratulations to Marie for getting part of her book published online.  It addresses eating disorders from a spiritual point of view, but the advice applies to any sin.  It includes a great overview of the messages of the Bible and how we can avoid idolatry.  I encourage you to read it all.  Here’s an excerpt:

If you are trapped in the cycle of bulimia or anorexia, nothing is going to change until you let God renew your mind. God has chosen to reveal His mind, priorities and desires for His children through His Word, the Bible. If you have been born again, this is probably not a new concept to you – the inerrancy of Scripture is, after all, one of the fundamentals of the Christian faith. However, often even sincere believers can buy into false beliefs about truth, themselves, the world’s standards, and even God. How does this happen?

For one thing, our own human nature is inherently dishonest. “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). We are masters at fooling ourselves (through rationalization) and others (by hypocrisy) in more ways than we realize. We have a propensity to see things the way we want to and to play by our own rules if we can get away with it. This is the whole basis on which “doing your own thing” is acceptable. Refusing to agree that there is absolute truth (and that God determines it; not us) has lead to the climate of moral relativity in which we now live. Unfortunately, this proclivity of inventing our own truth often leads people into unbiblical conclusions about God.

. . .

Are you willing to agree with God that this obsession with being slender at all costs is idolatry? If we are ever to win the battle against an eating disorder, we need to recognize the dichotomy we place between God’s standards and the world’s. Next, we need to resolve to re-program our minds with a biblical definition of beauty to replace the world’s superficial definition.

Favorites, Politics

Confronting fake concerns about religion in the public square

Friendly reminder: Many people advancing liberal arguments will try to dismiss the views of religious people just because they are religious people.  Too often people let them get away with that truly bigoted, prejudiced anti-religious argument.

These responses specifically address the marriage debate, though they also work when they try to dismiss your pro-life or other views that align with your religious convictions.  Feel free to use them as responses when people try to shut you up just because you trust in Jesus.

Here’s why I am free to support real marriage in the public square:

1. That First Amendment thingy.  We’re allowed to let our religious views inform our political views whether you like it or not. It doesn’t inhibit religious freedoms, it protects them.

2. My religion tells me that stealing, perjury, gay bashing and murder are also wrong.  Do you object to me letting those views inform my political views, or just the views you don’t like?

3. Lots of churches are thoroughly pro-gay, such as the UCC and the Episcopals.  I don’t recall you objecting to their advancement of the pro-gay cause.  If you were being consistent and if you really opposed any religious beliefs in the public square, shouldn’t you be objecting to their views just as strenuously?  Why do you just use that argument against views you disagree with?

4. You are begging the question by assuming what you should be proving.  You claim that we are denying “rights” to gays but you must change the definition of the word in question to draw that conclusion.  But the whole debate is whether to change the word and give them a new right.  You cheat and pretend that we’ve already changed the word and given them the right and then insist that we’re denying this existing right.  Sadly, pro-gay apologists commit this fallacy so reflexively that I doubt you realize what you are doing.

Ironically, the “rights” talked is best founded by a Christian worldview.  The Declaration of Independence notes this:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

But most of the world – religious or not – doesn’t regard those truths to be self-evident at all.  They make sense in our culture because we are still running on the fumes of Christianity. 

5. Finally, and most importantly, I didn’t bring up religion.  You did.  I can argue this topic without it — though of course, if you want to know Jesus’ views on it I’ll be glad to share the biblical view with you.

Bible

Authorities Forbid Bible Study

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Authorities Forbid Bible Study : Stop The ACLU — This has been reported on all over on blogs, but I wanted to make a quick note about it. 

When I first heard it I figured it must be some type of urban legend.  Apparently not.

Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary have been told that they cannot invite friends to their San Diego, Calif. home for a Bible study — unless they are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to San Diego County.

“On Good Friday we had an employee from San Diego County come to our house, and inform us that the Bible study that we were having was a religious assembly, and in violation of the code in the county.” David Jones told FOX News.

“We told them this is not really a religious assembly — this is just a Bible study with friends. We have a meal, we pray, that was all,” Jones said.

A few days later, the couple received a written warning that cited “unlawful use of land,” ordering them to either “stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit,” the couple’s attorney Dean Broyles told San Diego news station 10News.

But the major use permit could cost the Jones’ thousands of dollars just to have a few friends over.

They should win easily on appeal, what with that pesky First Amendment thingy that Obama hasn’t completely repealed yet.

Pro-life

Sibling rivalry and bad pro-abortion arguments, Part II

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Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason uses the term sibling rivalry to describe conflicting arguments used by the same party.

Sometimes objections come in pairs that are logically inconsistent and therefore oppose each other. I call this “sibling rivalry” because they are like children fighting.

For example, those who are quick to object that God isn’t doing enough about evil in the world (“A good God wouldn’t let that happen”) are often equally quick to complain when God puts His foot down (“A loving God would never send anyone to hell”). If He appears indifferent to wickedness, His goodness is challenged. Yet if He acts to punish sin, His love is in question. These objections compete with each other. They are siblings in rivalry. One or the other needs to be surrendered. Both can’t be held simultaneously.

I encountered a second example from a pro-legalized-abortion advocate.  He simultaneously maintained that:

  1. I was trying to force my religious views on other people by maintaining that abortions should be illegal.
  2. Abortion was acceptable according to the Bible given his interpretation of Exodus 21.

It is pretty obvious that his views conflicted: You should not use religious views to influence public policy on abortion and it is acceptable to use religious views to influence public policy on abortion.  It was a transparent attempt to ignore my views while permitting his, all the while demonizing me for supposedly doing a bad thing.

I think both arguments fail badly, as I’ll demonstrate in a moment, but under no circumstances should a pro-choicer use both.

Argument 1 fails because there is no reason someone’s religious views should not inform his political views.  No one seems to object when my religious views on perjury, stealing and murdering atheists align with my religious views.  I think all those things should be against the law.  Oh, yes, and there’s that First Amendment thingy, which protects my religious views.

Also, as usual I was taking great care to use secular reasoning when dealing with secular arguments.  The scientific fact is that abortion kills an innocent human being.  I can point to the immorality of that all day long without opening the Bible.  The other gentleman was the one who brought up the religious bit in an attempt to discredit my views.

Oddly, though, he didn’t realize his inconsistency in using his (mis)reading of Exodus 21 to support his views.  If religious reasoning isn’t fair game to oppose abortion, why is it  allowed to condone abortion?  I pointed out to him that he was just forcing his religious views on the innocent unborn human beings who die during abortions.

I encourage you to watch for this trick whenever pro-abortionists pull the religion card out.  Ask them if they are just as opposed to liberal Christians (such as the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice) who insist that Jesus is OK with abortion.  I’ve yet to find one who objects to that support.  That works on the same-sex union and other debates as well.  Just look for it.

More importantly, the religious pro-abortionists rely on a bad translation to make their case from Exodus 21.  This link is a keeper, as it clearly demonstrates from the original languages why the verse does not support abortion.  Oddly, this fellow never responded to my counter to his Exodus 21 arguments.

Also, it is interesting that these liberal Christians find a passage in Exodus as a foundation for their pro-abortion views, yet they have a generally low view of scripture and ignore the legions of pro-life verses — e.g., Don’t murder, do unto the least of these, love your neighbor, Jesus is the author of life, God knit us together in our mothers’ wombs, etc.  Just flip your bible open just about anywhere and you’ll find some. 

So remember these responses and don’t let them dismiss your views so easily.

Roundup

Roundup

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Sweden is having major problems with the growth of Islam.  The country is often held up as an example of how swell things can be if you ignore God, but they are finding out the that the “reap what you sow” part from Galatians is true.  Sure, people may enjoy sin for a time, but it always leads to pain.

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“Expelled! Exposed” Exposed – a thorough set of rebuttals to the criticisms of the documentary.  It highlights some of Richard Dawkins’ lies about the making of the movie, among other things (though to his credit he sort-of apologized).

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Why can’t Prosperity Pulpit Pimps manage their own money and follow their own advice to solve their financial problems?   The video is nauseating.  These people are crooks.  As awful as this economic mess is I hope it cleans out some of the fakers.  Maybe some of their gullible followers will see the light.

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Obama used a logical fallacy-fest to rationalize Embryonic Stem Cell Research.  Fact: This is the government funded destruction of human beings for scientific research.  All the emotional pleas about getting in the way of cures fail for multiple reasons. 

If ESCR is such a swell idea, why hasn’t private money supported it? 

It is cloning, regardless of whether it is therapeutic cloning or reproductive cloning.  In Obama’s world it is only bad cloning if you let the human being live to be delivered.  As long as you destroy him or her it is OK. 

Ghouls.

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Obama offends the Brits  – again! – and his high tech administration can’t answer the phone.   Wasn’t he supposed to make the world love us?

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Obama’s double-speak on marriage.  Shocking.

When presidential candidate Barack Obama visited the Saddleback Civil Forum in California in August 2008, he gave his views on marriage:  “I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman.”

Yet, the new administration’s actual policies and planned actions for marriage are stated much differently. The new administration…

· Supports “full civil unions and federal rights for [homosexual] couples”

· Opposes a “constitutional ban on same-sex marriage”

· Promises to repeal the federal “Defense of Marriage Act”

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Man Driving to Abortion Clinic Runs Over Pro-Lifer, then Persuaded by Victim’s Wife Not to Abort – now there’s a powerful example of love and forgiveness that saved a life!

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It only makes sense that those who oppose the 2nd Amendment may eventually oppose your 1st Amendment rights to speak about the 2nd Amendment.  You won’t be able to defend your 1st Amendment rights when they take away your guns.

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Obama can’t go anywhere without his teleprompter – does he use one at breakfast?  Seriously, can you imagine the mockery President Bush would have endured if he had done this?  Once again the MSM covers for Obama.

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If you are pro-life and like sarcasm, don’t miss this post by The Raving Theist (formerly the Raving Atheist) on National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers.

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Christian worldview, Politics, Sexuality

Hate crimes

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hate.jpgJust for the record: 

  1. I oppose hate
  2. I oppose hate crimes
  3. I oppose hate crimes legislation

Some people find item 3 to be incongruous with items 1 & 2, but it isn’t.   Hate crimes legislation is about politics, and specifically about silencing opposing views. 

I am pro-1st Amendment, even for journalists who hate Christians and write things that would get them fired if the subject were any other group.  

And for people who mock the birth of Christ, for example, I think they are tasteless.  But I don’t react the way other religions do when they are offended.

More here.