John R. Houk
© July 3, 2019
Clearly California legislators either failed their civics
classes or are viewing the First Amendment in a reverse Original Intent format:
Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances. -First Amendment on ConstitutionCenter.org
Until activist Courts including SCOTUS began dismantling the
Religious Liberty in the First Amendment in the mid-20th century, history
CLEARLY illustrates the Founding Fathers intended the First Amendment to mean
the government must stay out of all things related to the Christian Church yet
Christianity was to be a moral influence on government.
Although legal scholars might use an earlier starting point,
the big date for SCOTUS revisionism is 1947: Everson
v. Board of Education. The
SCOTUS
decision 5 affirms and 4 dissents. Hugo Black wrote the majority
decision and Justices Jackson and Rutledge wrote dissenting opinions. The point
being ONE VOTE revised the First Amendment original understanding that stood 160
years of government out of Church but Church being a moral influence on
government:
Since this ruling in 1947, courts throughout America have looked to this
opinion as a watershed from its historical interpretation from the days of
America’s Founding Fathers. Justice Black and those supporting his opinion on
the Court introduced a completely new element that was and is at variance with
the historical interpretation of the First Amendment. Justice Black and his
colleagues inserted new law into the Constitution that the Supreme Court
justices for nearly 160 years had never seen. The historic position of the
Supreme Court and lower courts was summarized by Supreme Court Associate
Justice, David Brewer, and his majority opinion (Holy Trinity vs. United
States, 1892) and subsequently enlarged upon in his book, The
United States a Christian Nation. (The
Truth about Separation of Church and State: Error of Justice Hugo Black; By Stephen
Flick; Christian Heritage
Fellowship
A good read on the
issue is Justin Smith’s ‘The
Fallacy of "Separation of Church and State"’. Another
good read is “How
the Supreme Court Twisted the First Amendment and Banned Religion in Public
Schools” by Zachary
Garris at Teach Diligently.
The Dems are
perpetuating this assault on Religious Liberty via the Dem sponsored Equality
Act (H.R. 5) in the House. The aim of the Equality Act is to force
Americans (undoubtedly
aimed Biblical-minded Christians) to further accept the godless
LGBTQ lifestyle. If the Republican majority Senate passes its version of the
Equality Act (S.
788) introduced on March 13, God have mercy on America.
What brought these
thoughts to fruition though is State legislation in Leftist haven of
California. My July 3 news alert from Prophecy News Watch (PNW) informs me a
California State bill would force Christian Pastors/Preachers to zip their lips
on preaching the Bible about the godless homosexual lifestyle.
The California Bill
is ACR 99 and it “… would FORBID
pastors from saying homosexual acts are sinful? A bill REQUIRING them to affirm
same-sex relationships and gender identity? It has been proposed!" (The
bold text is my emphasis of
the quote in the PNW article.)
If read or hear the
Left (these days that includes some Churches who have abandoned the Word of
God) tell you, “The Bible does not
condemn homosexuality”; those sources are blatantly lying and maybe even
twisting the original meaning of Scripture with completely faulty revisionist
scholarship. (Just like activist Judges
and Justices to the U.S. Constitution.) HuffPo
is a classic example of twisted-lying Left-Wing sourcing. If you are a
Bible-believing Christian belonging to this Wikipedia
list (as of today last
updated 7/3/19) of Churches accepting LGBTQ in one fashion or another, YOU
are in danger of placing yourself in rebellion to God
(choosing the same path of Adam and Eve [godless Adam & Steve or Adriana
& Eve]). Rebellion causes God-Separation, aka the Second Death (Genesis
3: 1-9; 1 John 2: 15-17 HCSB):
Genesis - The Temptation and the
Fall
3 1Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the
wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did
God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman
said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But
about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must
not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “No! You
will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “In
fact, God knows that when[a] you
eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God,[b]knowing
good and evil.” 6 Then the woman saw that the tree
was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for
obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some
to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then
the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they
sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
Sin’s Consequences
8 Then the
man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the
garden at the time of the evening breeze,[c] and
they hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the
garden. 9 So the Lord God called out to
the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
[Bold text Editor’s – Signifies God-Separation]
1 John 2
15 Do not love the world or the things that
belong to[a] the world. If anyone loves
the world, love for the Father is not in him. 16 For
everything that belongs to[b] the world—the lust
of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in
one’s lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And
the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God’s will remains
forever. [Bold text Editor’s – Homosexuality is only one of many sins of the
world separating one from God.]
JRH 7/3/19
Your generosity is always appreciated:
***********************
Why This New California Bill Is So Dangerous To The
Church
By MICHAEL BROWN/ASKDRBROWN.ORG
JULY 03, 2019
Last week, I put out
a warning about a bill under consideration in California known as ACR 99. I
explained "Why California Pastors Must Stand Up to Government
Tyranny."
I also tweeted about
the bill. I asked: "What? A California bill that would FORBID pastors from
saying homosexual acts are sinful? A bill REQUIRING them to affirm same-sex relationships
and gender identity? It has been proposed!"
One of my Twitter
followers, a younger Christian man, challenged my reading of the bill. He
insisted that it did not infringe on Christian liberties. Is he right?
Let's take a look at
this bill more carefully. Once we do, you'll understand why Christian legal
organizations, along with pastors and ex-gay leaders in California, are so
concerned.
The Bill is Bad
The final text of
the bill states this: "This measure would call upon all Californians to
embrace the individual and social benefits of family and community acceptance,
upon religious leaders to counsel on LGBTQ matters from a place of love,
compassion, and knowledge of the psychological and other harms of conversion
therapy, and upon the people of California and the institutions of California
with great moral influence to model equitable treatment of all people of the
state."
Is this really so
bad? Yes.
First, who gave the
government the right to issue a call like this? Who gave the government the
right to tell religious leaders that they cannot help people with unwanted
same-sex attractions pursue change? (Broadly speaking, that's what
"conversion therapy" ultimately refers to. The term, of course, is
used in a derogatory way.) If ever there was an overstepping of the separation
of Church and State, this would be it.
Second, what,
exactly, is meant by "equitable treatment of all people of the
state"? Based on the findings which form the foundation of this bill, it
would mean affirming transgender identity and transgender "rights,"
even when those "rights" infringed on the rights of others.
And this is not just
idle talk. The bill passed it its committee vote and is heading to the
California Senate for a full vote. Let's dig in a little deeper to see exactly
what California pastors and religious leaders are facing.
The Presuppositions
ACR 99 is based on a
number of presuppositions, all introduced with the word WHEREAS. Here's the
first: "The California State Legislature has found that being lesbian,
gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBTQ) is not a disease, disorder, illness,
deficiency, or shortcoming."
Based on this, it
would be wrong to believe or teach that homosexual practice is sinful. Or that
homosexual desires are disordered. Or that there is anything wrong with
homosexual relationships. Or that a man who believes he is a woman has any type
of deficiency. And this is just the first of the 9 "WHEREAS" clauses!
Another clause
rejects any attempts to change a person's LGBTQ identity. (This appears under
the heading of "conversion therapy.")
And another states
that "the stigma associated with being LGBTQ often created by groups in
society, including therapists and religious groups, has caused
disproportionately high rates of suicide, attempted suicide, depression,
rejection, and isolation amongst LGBTQ and questioning individuals."
In other words, if
you preach and teach what the Bible says about LGBTQ issues and people, no
matter how loving and compassionate you are, you are guilty of stigmatizing
them, thereby causing them emotional and even physical harm.
The intent of this
bill is perfectly clear.
The Government Telling Pastors What to Preach
That's why Liberty
Counsel issued a warning, stating, "CA RESOLUTION THREATENS PASTORS AND
COUNSELORS."
Specifically, the
resolution "calls on religious leaders and others with 'moral influence'
to affirm homosexuality and 'transgenderism' and to accept that Christian
efforts to help people with unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion
are 'ineffective, unethical and harmful.' As a resolution, ACR 99 does not have
the force of law but will be persuasive for some policymakers. It will now go
to the state Senate for a vote."
That's why the
California Family Council, which is on the front lines of this legislative
battle, wrote that "CA Legislators to Tell Pastors What to Preach from
their Pulpits on LGBT Behavior & Identities."
Life and Hope
And that's why
ex-gay leaders Ken Williams and Elizabeth Woning protested the bill. As Woning
wrote, "For us, walking out our faith with biblical conviction means life
and hope. Our faith has saved us from suicide and given us freedom to live with
clear consciences. We too would like to be acknowledged and affirmed. ...
Instead, activists attack our efforts to care for like-minded friends by
promoting dangerous counseling restrictions and stifling our free speech."
In short, this bill
would state that pastors and Christian counselors do not have the right to walk
out their faith and live out their biblical convictions.
It would stop them
from offering the fullness of the Gospel to people with unwanted same-sex
attractions and gender identity confusion. And it would constitute, in no uncertain
terms, a frontal assault on their -- and our -- religious liberties.
That's why it must
be resisted.
Originally published at AskDrBrown.org -
reposted with permission.
_______________________
Next Step Church/State Separation Plague
John R. Houk
© July 3, 2019
___________________
Why This New California Bill Is So Dangerous To The
Church
© 2019 Prophecy News Watch. All Rights Reserved.
Located in Coeur D Alene, Idaho - USA.
Call Toll Free: 1-877-561-4442
Email: Info@ProphecyNewsWatch.com
Located in Coeur D Alene, Idaho - USA.
Call Toll Free: 1-877-561-4442
Email: Info@ProphecyNewsWatch.com
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