Why I Encourage Believers to Stand Proudly with Supreme Court and our brothers and sisters in the human race

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Well here we go… I’m angering people right and left these days, so I might as well go ahead and completely disentangle myself from all shred of oppressive conservatism that I once held so dear.

Let me place a few disclaimers before I do just that and blow myself up. 1. I believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe it is good news to a lost and dying world. I believe Jesus to be the Savior from the true and most wretchedly dangerous evil and sickness of sin and Satan and a life spent enslaved to all these idols. 2. I believe true freedom from the entrapping and entaglment of idolatry comes through Jesus. That is my whole-hearted, 100% belief, and I will preach it so long as I am abled, Lord willing.

I also, believe, thirdly, in justice for the oppressed, and that Jesus came to seek and to save the LOST, the sick, and that Jesus sought and saved the lost BY uplifting them OUT of their oppression AND BY caring for their ENTIRE personhood- holistically. He did not just preach require people to follow religious rules before He healed them physically or restored them. What’s more, He often restored their faith THROUGH healing their physical or social pains.

Furthermore, I do not believe that Christians should uphold any laws that perpetuate the oppression and abuse of others. This leads me to be against the death penalty, even in the most grievous of cases, and this leads me to FIGHT for equal rights, under the law, to those who hold ideological positions completely different than my own.

Lastly, I am speaking for myself here. I am not speaking on behalf of any church or religious institution. I am speaking as a follower of Christ, a disciple. These are my core convictions. I will represent these convictions in the churches where I serve, but this is no statement of faith for any church, so please spare Pastor Jesse and Pastor Ben any hate mail because you may not like the fact that I have a big mouth and stand up for certain disenfranchised. You can save that for me and message me for my email address if you need it.

Okay- with that said, I read THIS article from The Gospel Coalition yesterday, and while I often post from TGC because of how much I agree with what its contributors write, this article was from my dear Mr. Carter, with whom I have revealed I have a contentious love-hate relationship, (see my blog here and scroll down to where it says For Those of You Who Follow Me on Facebook, It’s No Secret That I’m a Gospel Coalition Junkie).  He does a pretty thorough job with getting the facts out about yesterday’s ruling from the Supreme court, but I have to disagree with his reasons for why this should be a concern for Christians. He writes that we should be concerned because this ruling “redefines reality, undermines religious freedom, and undermines equal treatment for women.” While I understand, in part, the logic he is getting at with those statements, I have to disagree.

I feel like all three of his arguments are based in fear, fear of what this COULD be used to do to Christians by transgender people or LGBTQIA. And I suppose, when I step back and consider it, I just don’t feel like this group of people is looking to crucify Christians or get rid of religious freedom. And even if they were, I don’t think we necessarily need to be so desperately concerned with fighting back to a point where we enslave them to a system that works entirely in our favor for our preferences and what is easier for us. That is not what Jesus calls us to. In fact, Jesus says that in this world, WE WILL have trouble. He tells Christians to expect trouble, but to take heart, because HE has overcome the world. Christians should put their faith in Christ….not in the laws of their country. And Christians should not fight for laws JUST because they are afraid that they may suffer persecution for being Christian. Nowhere in the bible does it say that WE should go on a crusade of killing others for the sake of Christ. No, SCRIPTURE TEACHES we should count our lives and nothing and be willing to die for heralding the Good News. Therefore, acting out of fear for our own lives does not gel with following the Gospel. The Gospel tells me to act for the justice and life of others, taking no account for my own life.  Christians should fight for laws that uphold the life and livelyhood of others, even our ENEMIES. Christians should LOVE our enemies. I am not suggesting that LGBTQIA are MY enemies or the enemies of Christ. But if they were, I would be called to love them….

Now some may stop me here and say loving them is calling them up higher, out of their sin. Fine. I see your point. If I believe someone to be in sin, I want to call them up higher, but I should not use that as an excuse to keep them under a LAW which causes them ACTUAL persecution and discrimination. That is mincing words with myself and manipulating the situation and missing the point. Transgender people are not plotting to get a law which allows a bunch of men to SAY they want to be women under the premise of coming into our locker rooms dressed as women just to attack women. THAT is not reality. That is a warped fear put in our minds by Satan. We are not making it EASIER for abusers to abuse by passing these laws of protection for LGBTQIA. Abusers will abuse regardless. Rather, we are protecting a large group of people who are TARGETED right now for being different, a minority, a misunderstood group that needs PROTECTION under our laws. Stop acting out of fear. Act out of faith, (the very thing I’m doing by writing these words).

Yesterday’s decision did not actually infringe upon religious liberty, as Justice Gorsuch wrote, “We are also deeply concerned with preserving the promise of the free exercise of religion enshrined in our Constitution; that guarantee lies at the heart of our pluralistic society. But worries about how Title VII may intersect with religious liberty are nothing new; they even predate the statute’s passage,” Furthermore stating that, “While other employers in other cases may raise free exercise arguments that merit careful consideration, none of the employers before us today represent in this Court that compliance with Title VII will infringe their own religious liberties in any way.” -Sarah Bailey, Washington Post.

The other side of the argument is this, written in dissent by Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr: “the protection afforded to religious-based employers was narrow. [Specifically,] ‘the position that the Court now adopts will threaten freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and personal privacy and safety,’ Alito wrote.

While religious conservatives voiced concern, progressive faith leaders expressed support for the LGBT workers who won the case. ‘Too often employers overstep the boundaries of personal religious freedom — the right to believe as we choose — to impose their beliefs on others through staffing decisions and workplace culture,” Katy Joseph, director of policy and advocacy at Interfaith Alliance, wrote in a statement. ‘Turning away LGBTQ+ job applicants and employees, or terminating their employment due to their identity, isn’t religious freedom — it’s discrimination.” - Sarah Bailey, Washington Post.

I have to agree more with Justice Gorsuch in this situation, however. I can’t let fear of what ‘’could’’ drive my actions in the present. The most often given command in the entire bible is DO NOT FEAR! How much of our Christian faith and what we try to get people to adhere to is actually based in our fears? I would venture to say a lot. God has not given us a spirit of fear, however, but of power, courage, and self-control. Control ourselves in the midst of the unknown, and love others, putting our faith in Christ Jesus alone to save, redeem, carry us through, and restore. Thus fulfilling the law of Christ… amen.

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