Amid the concern that America is trending toward socialism (a form of government at odds with religious liberty), comes the California same-sex "marriage" ruling wherein the judge criticizes Christian beliefs -- a case headed for the U.S. Supreme Court.
-- From "Prop 8 Ruling Could Criminalize Christianity, Leaders Warn" by Pete Winn, CNSNews.com Senior Writer/Editor 8/16/10
In a 136-page decision barring California’s Proposition 8, which limited marriage to one man and one woman, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker found that “Religious beliefs that gay and lesbian relationships are sinful or inferior to heterosexual relationships harm gays and lesbians.”
Mathew Staver, dean of the Liberty University Law School and chairman of the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel, said Walker's finding is shocking, and, if upheld, would have ominous implications for Christians wanting to present the Bible’s position on homosexuality.
The judge based his finding on testimony of witnesses produced by the plaintiffs and on quotations from documents from the Roman Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the Orthodox Church and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
One Catholic document that the judge said “hurts” homosexuals, published by the Congregation for the Doctine of the Faith, titled “Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons,” states: “Sacred Scripture condemns homosexual acts as ‘a serious depravity.’”
Another document he cited -- a resolution the Southern Baptist Convention passed in June of 2003 -- says: “Legalizing ‘same-sex marriage’ would convey a societal approval of a homosexual lifestyle, which the Bible calls sinful and dangerous both to the individuals involved and to society at large.”
Christian counselor Joe Dallas, who operates a center that uses Scripture to counsel people on homosexuality, is concerned about the implications of the judge's finding.
“For a judge to say that it is literally damaging to homosexual people when churches simply express and maintain a clearly defined biblical approach to homosexuality, is to introduce the concept that the ‘damage’ that’s being done to homosexuals needs to be stopped. That damage will have to be stopped by silencing the Church,” Dallas said. “There’s really no other way to read that particular finding.”
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