Meanwhile in California…

Earlier this week, The Christian Index hosted a discussion of sorts about America being a “Christian nation.” Christians who responded were split over whether America used to be a Christian nation and no longer is vs. those who felt America never was a Christian nation to begin with. Very few argued that it still is today.

Meanwhile, California is about to become the first state to do away with religious/ faith-based education at the college level. If passed as is, SB 1146 would limit religious education to seminaries. Church affiliated schools, or colleges and universities that apply Christian principles to all areas of life, would be restricted from doing so with all students except those preparing for vocational ministry.

Please read this article by Ed Stetzer and Marty Duren via Christianity Today. This is one of those issues that could drag on through the court system for years to come, but we currently have an aging Supreme Court that’s already short one member and a presidential election coming up that could dramatically alter its balance of power. Who knows what the long term implications of this state legislation could be?

Separation of Church, State and Twitter

This is a follow up to a post from June 15, 2010. I am pleased to report that Shimkus is still tweeting Bible verses (https://twitter.com/RepShimkus) and his followers have grown to over 15,000! Below is the original post in it’s entirety.

Decision America Tour

Franklin Graham is traveling to all 50 states and holding prayer rallies at each state capital. Graham is well known for his work with Samaritan’s Purse; he joined the organization in 1974 and became president in 1979. He is now also the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).

The Decision America Tour 2016 is not a campaign for any political party or candidate.

The State of Marriage to be a Federal Issue

“The Obama administration abandoned its states’ rights position on marriage Thursday (Feb. 28) by asking the Supreme Court to overturn California’s Proposition 8, and in the process it laid the legal groundwork for legalizing gay marriage nationwide.” -Baptist Press, March 1, 2013

Last year president Obama announced his support of gay marriage and made it an issue in the campaign, but at that time indicated the legal specifics of marriage should remain the business of each state. Last year he said  “I think it is a mistake to try to make what has traditionally been a state issue into a national issue.”  Now in his second term he can say and act on what he really thinks.  The Justice Department is asking the Court to use a form of review known as “heightened scrutiny” which is much more likely to result in Prop 8 being struck down than “rational basis.”  Reviewing California’s Proposition 8 under heightened scrutiny could be a big step in legalizing gay marriage nationwide.

Read the full article here.  

Government Mandated Abortion Coverage

I wish more attention were being drawn to this issue.  Millions of people lined up at Chick-fil-A back in August to support a Christian business owner’s right to free speech, but the plight of Hobby Lobby and other businesses fighting mandated health care – including chemical abortion – have garnered less support.

The new health care mandates that took effect Jan. 1 require employers to provide access to birth control, including emergency contraception.  Plan B is just one such method which causes a medically induced (or chemical) abortion.  Beginning on the first day of January, Hobby Lobby was facing a fine of up to $1.5 million per day – one and a half million dollars per day – for refusing to provide abortion coverage to its employees.  The new new loop hole buys them some time as the court battle continues.

Louis Giglio Will NOT Lead Inaugural Prayer

Louis Giglio is an Atlanta Area pastor that recently became well known for organizing Passion 2013.  Some 60,000 college students met at the Georgia Dome to rally against sex-trafficking and slavery.  Some of my own friends were there and posted regularly on Facebook, while others were able to view live streams.  Giglio, possibly riding the success of Passion, was invited to lead prayer at President Obama’s inauguration on January 21st.

After further investigation, gay and lesbian groups found a sermon from the 1990’s in which Giglio preached the sinfulness of same-sex relationships. The inaugural committee has now released this statement: “We were not aware of Pastor Giglio’s past comments at the time of his selection and they don’t reflect our desire to celebrate the strength and diversity of our country at this inaugural…”

In other words, Pastor Giglio does not support gay marriage and the inaugural committee will look for a “Christian” that does to pray for the president.  Read the full story here.

 

 

Can Christians Vote for a Mormon

 

Can Christians Vote for a Mormon?  That was the topic of a panel discussion at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  When I saw the headline, I couldn’t believe we were still talking about this.  The panel resulted in some good points being made about viewing American history from a Christian perspective and abandoning the idea that the White House is some king of mascot for Christianity.  I like this statement from Al Mohler:   “Above all we have a Gospel responsibility, that we are first and foremost citizens of the heavenly Kingdom and our concern is that others will become a part of the Kingdom through the proclamation of the Gospel.”

The panel was composed of four members, among them Al Mohler, Jr., President of Southern Baptist Seminary and Russell Moore, dead of the school of theology at Southern.  Despite a little shock at the headline (and maybe that was the point) I really liked where they came out on this.  Read the entire article at Baptist Press.  

 

 

FRC Shooting Leads to Calls for Civil Discourse

A lone gunman entered the Family Research Council in Washington D.C. and shot an unarmed security guard before being subdued.  The only thing he said before opening fire was “I do not like your politics.”  There have been a lot of accusations from both sides, conservative and liberal, about who is at fault.  The most sensible thing I’ve read all week is a statement from Richard Land, president of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission: “”We need to lift the level of civil discourse where we can disagree without demonizing our opponents.”  Ed Stetzer wrote on his blog “We must be able to disagree without demonizing or labeling as ‘haters’ those with whom we disagree.”

Case in Point

Reagan’s name gets kicked around a lot  in the political arena these days, by members of both political parties.  The Reagan era in the White House was a time of ultra-conservatism, returning the nation to the center after a very liberal late 60’s and 70’s.  Quoting Reagan is to conservatives what Jefferson or Franklin is to Patriots.  Did President Reagan actually say these words (We do not want socialized medicine) or is this a cut and paste with his picture on it?

A Piece of My Mind

I didn’t watch the evening news the day the Supreme Court ruled on Obamacare.  I held my tongue as every single person on Facebook suddenly became a constitutional scholar.  I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to have to share how I really feel before a vein pops or something.  Here comes my 2 cents worth.

Allow me to put on my history teacher hat.  When our present system of federal government was designed by the framers of the Constitution in 1787, they were still trying to settle the representation issue.  Under the Articles of Confederation (a smaller government with fewer taxes that failed miserably) each state got one vote.  There were 13 states and any measure required a 2/3 majority vote.  There was only one branch of government, Congress, and even if they could pass something there was no executive to carry it out.  Without the power to tax, the brand new American government was already in debt from fighting the Revolutionary War and had no means of income whatsoever.