The War On Christian Organizations

Yesterday Just the News posted an article about a recent court case in Washington state.

The article reports:

When the Washington Supreme Court gutted protections for religious employers in a state antidiscrimination law, it threw down the gauntlet against both federal law and several federal appeals courts, according to Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission (UGM).

The Christian homeless ministry is petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling, and last week several prominent Christian service ministries, Washington state lawmakers, a third of the states and even a Muslim group joined its cause, filing friend-of-the-court briefs.

Bisexual lawyer Matthew Woods sued UGM for not hiring him for its legal aid clinic because he was in a same-sex relationship in violation of its lifestyle rules for employees. The state high court ruled UGM could only apply the rules to “ministerial” employees, not other staff.

Yet the Washington Law Against Discrimination has exempted religious nonprofits since its passage in 1949, and that protection was reaffirmed when sexual orientation was added in 2006, according to a brief by 19 Washington Republican lawmakers, mostly in committee and party leadership.

They cited more than 300 years of religious accommodations in military service, oath-taking, medical treatment, abortion services and civil rights, including the employment-focused Title VII, which recognizes religious employers’ First Amendment rights to only hire “coreligionists.”

The state high court showed “shocking antireligious animus” against UGM and endangered similar organizations as well as private schools and even houses of worship, who are “left without legal protection from intrusive and potentially ruinous employment-related enforcement actions and lawsuits,” the GOP lawmakers said.

These groups will suffer “an actual chilling effect” if they have to predict “which of their activities the Washington State Human Rights Commission or a secular court will consider religious.” They cited the controlling precedent of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with World Vision for firing technical and office employees who rejected the doctrine of the Trinity.

This is actually a very simple matter. Would you expect a private company to hire someone who objected to the goals of the company? Would you hire someone who opposed fracking to lead a company whose business is fracking? There are many charitable organizations that operate according to Biblical principles. Are you willing to put these companies out of business when they are providing a much-needed service?

The article notes:

Franklin Graham also leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Its brief says the obligation to proclaim the gospel “extends to all of its employees — from accountants to event planners to Rev. Franklin Graham himself — because every employee is a member of the Body of Christ,” and “every task is purposed for the furtherance of the Gospel, and accordingly, has eternal significance.”

The association was especially alarmed by Justice Yu’s concurrence, which characterized its right to hire coreligionists as a “right to discriminate” and urged religious organizations to only use faith in hiring decisions when “absolutely necessary and grounded in sound reason and purpose.”

A long line of cases makes clear that “civil courts are not equipped to second-guess a religious organization’s determination of whether a given employee or applicant is a coreligionist” without endangering First Amendment rights, the association argues.

We need the religious charities and the work that they do. The government has no business limiting their ability to conform to their religious beliefs.

Like A Serpent’s Tooth

William Shakespeare said, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.” Well, we have something close to that in the remarks by a New York lawmaker.

Todd Starnes posted an article at Townhall about some recent comments by New York State Sen. Brad Hoylman.

The article reports:

“It’s a shame that the federal government has left New York with no other choice but to accept charity from bigots,” State Sen. Brad Hoylman said. “You know those medical tents being constructed in Central Park? They’re being set up by notorious anti-gay bigot Franklin Graham. Mr. Graham must promise to treat EVERY patient with dignity and respect.”

Graham responded to the senator’s repulsive comments during an interview on The Todd Starnes Radio Show. He urged Americans to set aside politics.

“This virus is a tsunami that is hitting our shores. It’s killing Republicans. It’s killing Democrats. It’s killing independents,” Graham said. “And we just need to say forget the politics right now. Let’s work together to save lives.”

It’s unthinkable that anyone, much less a state lawmaker, would bully a bunch of Christians who simply want to provide medical treatment to critically ill New Yorkers.

Just for the record, I have no doubt that Reverend Graham will treat every patient with dignity and respect. It is a shame that Senator Hoylman is not treating Reverend Graham with dignity and respect. The Senator needs to apologize and gratefully accept the help.

This Needed To Be Done

Yesterday CBN News posted an article about President Trump’s visit to the United Nations.

The article reports:

On Monday, President Donald Trump made history with a big push for the United Nations to truly focus its attention on global religious liberty

On the first day of a three-day scheduled visit during the UN’s General Assembly, the President’s big focus was a meeting about the worldwide persecution of religious minorities, especially Christians.

The event called a “Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom,” was attended by key evangelical leaders including Franklin Graham, Paula White, Jentezen Franklin, Tim Clinton, and Cissie Graham Lynch. The president was introduced by Vice President Mike Pence.

President Trump began his remarks by saying, “The United States is founded on the principle that our rights don’t come from government, they come from God.”

He said the facts are clear that 80 percent of the world doesn’t enjoy the same protection for religious freedom that US citizens enjoy.

Trump said it was an “urgent moral duty” for world leaders to stop crimes against faith.

“The United States of America calls upon the nations of the world to end religious persecution, to stop the crimes against prisoners of faith, to release prisoners of conscience,” Trump said.

The Trump administration has hosted annual meetings on the topic in Washington, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced during this year’s event that he would create an international alliance dedicated to the issue.

The United Nations Human Rights Commission includes the following members: Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, South Africa, and Pakistan. In most of these countries, religious freedom is an impossible dream. In South Africa, white farmers are being murdered and their land taken. This is the United Nations President Trump is working with. I admire his effort, but I believe that the United Nations has become so corrupt that they are no longer an organization capable of working toward either peace or freedom. They need to be kicked out of New York City and dissolved.

 

The First Amendment Allows The Free Exercise Of Religion–It Doesn’t Restrict It

The First Amendment was designed to prevent the establishment of one religion sanctioned by the government. It was not designed to put obstacles in the way of people choosing to practice their religion.

Yesterday CNS News posted an article about a policy of the Trump administration designed to protect the rights of Americans to practice their religion.

The article reports:

Evangelical leader Franklin Graham praised Vice President Mike Pence for defending religious freedom at Veterans Affairs hospitals in a recent speech, where Pence said, “Under this administration, VA hospitals will not be religion-free zones.” 

In an Aug. 29 post on Facebook, Rev. Graham wrote, “‘VA hospitals will not be religion-free zones.’ Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the American Legion’s 101st National Convention yesterday about all that this administration is doing to help our nation’s military veterans.”

“He also addressed the issue of a current lawsuit in New Hampshire to remove the Bible of a World War II POW from a VA hospital’s ‘missing man’ table,” remarked Graham. “Vice President Pence said, ‘…under the last administration, VA hospitals were removing Bibles and even banning Christmas carols in an effort to be politically correct.

The article concludes:

“In 2014, the Navy Exchange Service Command issued a memo for the removal of Bibles in Navy Lodge guest rooms following a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation,” reads the letter. “The Navy reversed course and announced that the Bibles would be replaced.  Similarly, the Establishment Clause does not require that you remove Bibles from the Missing Man Table displays.  The mere presence of a Bible coerces no one.”

At the Manchester Veterans Affairs hospital in New Hampshire there is a “missing man” memorial table that includes a Bible. In May, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, headed by Michael Weinstein, filed a federal lawsuit to have the Bible removed. The litigation is ongoing.

“That sectarian Christian Bible bolted down to that POW/MIA table at the Manchester NH VAMC is a grotesque gang sign of fundamentalist Christian triumphalism, exceptionalism and supremacy, indeed a middle finger of unconstitutional repugnance to the plurality and separation of church and state guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution,” Weinstein told the Military Times.

Weinstein is well known in the military as someone who frequently uses lawsuits to end religious speech. Barack Obama appointed Mikey Wienstein to be a consultant to the Pentagon to develop new policies on religious tolerance, including a policy for court-martialing military chaplains who share the Christian Gospel during spiritual counseling of American troops. These are some of the policies that President Trump is quietly undoing.

Taking A Stand

The Washington Times reported today that Franklin Graham has left the Republican Party. He left the party after the omnibus spending bill was passed. The bill continues the government funding of Planned Parenthood and was passed with both Republican and Democratic votes.

The article reports:

“This is an example of why I have resigned from the Republican Party and declared myself Independent. I have no hope in the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, or Tea Party to do what is best for America,” Mr. Graham said in a Facebook post. 

“Seeing and hearing Planned Parenthood talk nonchalantly about selling baby parts from aborted fetuses with utter disregard for human life is reminiscent of Joseph Mengele and the Nazi concentration camps!” Mr. Graham continued. “That should’ve been all that was needed to turn off the faucet for their funding.”

I totally understand his decision. I have remained in the Republican party in the hope that at some point they will return to the pro-life stand stated in their platform. I don’t see the possibility of having a strong voice in Washington without being associated with either the Republican or Democratic parties. That is unfortunate and has gotten us into the mess we are in, but I believe it is where we are. I hope Reverend Graham will continue to speak out for the principles that made America great.