Idaho “Nondiscrimination” Ordinance Could Land Couple in Jail

Religious Freedom, , ,

We have written before about the unintended consequences of so-called “nondiscrimination” ordinances like the one recently passed in Fayetteville. These types of city ordinances actually make it a crime to discriminate on the basis of sexual-orientation and gender-identity–meaning violators can be hit with jail time instead of simply a lawsuit. However, the ordinances are written so broadly that relatively benign actions qualify as “discrimination” under the law.

Case in point, a husband and wife in Idaho now face the prospect of expensive fines and jail time simply for declining to officiate a same-sex wedding.

According to the Daily Signal, (more…)

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Houston to Pastors: Hand Over Your “Speeches,” not “Sermons”

Religious Freedom, , , ,

After initially defending the bizarre subpoena demanding Houston pastors hand over all sermons and pastoral communication related to homosexuality, gender-identity, Houston’s mayor, and Houston’s “nondiscrimination” ordinance, city officials admitted their requests were overly-broad and needed to be narrowed.

Last Friday, Houston officials amended their request: They no longer want pastors’ sermons. Now they just want pastors’ “speeches.”

As Todd Starnes writes, “I don’t mean to point out the obvious here – but what do those attorneys think a sermon is? It’s a speech.”

To be fair, the amended subpoena filed by the city’s lawyers strikes the request for any and all sermons related to homosexuality, gender-identity, and the city’s mayor. However, the subpoena still demands, “all speeches or presentations” regarding the city ordinance and the effort to repeal the ordinance, and the subpoena still insists ministers turn over 16 other types of documents besides their sermons–including pastoral communications with church members.

And, as we wrote last week, the subpoena is directed at five ministers who are not even part of the lawsuit over the city ordinance.

At this point it seems the City of Houston is simply playing word games. They want to go after some of the pastors who opposed the city’s ordinance, and they’re hijacking the judicial system to do it.

You can read the city’s original subpoena here.

You can read the city’s amendment to the subpoena here.

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The Slow Creep of Of Euthanasia

Life, , ,

Eric Metaxas at the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview has released an alarming commentary on the steady increase of euthanasia in Europe.

According to researchers, euthanasia in Holland has risen 151% in seven years. Even more troubling is the rise in the number of dementia patients helped to die by their doctors.

Metaxas writes,

“Of course, all this is happening because people have swallowed the false worldview that we control our lives, and that our lives only have meaning if we’re happy and healthy and protected from suffering.

“But there’s a reason every Christian tradition condemns euthanasia and suicide. God is the author of life. Our lives—and our bodies—are not our own. We’re stewards of them. And every human life taken intentionally undermines the dignity of all human life. In other words, every life discarded is one more step down the slippery slope. We see it in the Netherlands. Let’s pray we don’t see it here.”

You can listen to Metaxas’ full commentary below or click here to read it online.

[audio:http://bit.ly/1sNspsn|titles=Eric Metaxas – Euthanasia and the Slippery Slope]

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