Christ, Christians and Christmas Under Attack In The Courts

[Soldier4Christ]

Board votes to fire 'cross branding' teacher
Christian instructor accused of imposing his Christian beliefs

A public school board in Ohio voted unanimously today to proceed with firing an eighth-grade teacher for allegedly teaching his Christian beliefs in science classes and "branding" students with crosses.

Responding to an investigation, the Mount Vernon School District board voted 5-0 to consider termination of John Freshwater's contract at its next meeting, July 7.

The report presented to the board today charged Freshwater used a high-frequency generator – a Tesla coil – to make a cross on the arms of students, taught the theory of intelligent design and refused to remove all religious articles from his classroom.

Board president Ian Watson told the Mount Vernon News the panel will proceed with termination at its July 7 meeting, unless Freshwater files a written request for a hearing within 10 days of receiving notice of the board's intent to fire him.

Freshwater and the school board have been sued by the parents of a student who says the teacher violated their son's civil rights by branding him on the arm with a cross. The mark lasted four weeks, the parents claim.

But a spokesman for Freshwater, Dave Daubenmire, downplayed the parents' accusations and called the investigation one-sided, with "old trumped-up charges brought back to the table."

Daubenmire insisted to WND that the "cross branding" was nothing of the sort. He characterized it as a science experiment Freshwater had been doing for 21 years in which he made X marks, not crosses, on the students' skin with a Tesa Coil to demonstrate electrical current.

"They tried to make it out to be a cross, because it made him look like some kind of idiot," Daubenmire said of the parents.

Daubenmire pointed out experts have affirmed the experiment causes no injury to students.

He said the experiment session at the center of the lawsuit, conducted in December, had already been investigated and dealt with.

Daubenmire argued that the accusations about teaching intelligent design or creationism date back to 2003, when Freshwater was challenging students to "clinically analyze evolution."

Just after the accusing family hired an attorney, school officials told Freshwater he had to remove all religious items from his classroom, including a personal Bible he had on his desk.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, says, "Mr. Freshwater advised his students that although he is forced to teach from the textbooks, the teachings are wrong or not proven according to the Bible."

As WND reported, Freshwater took down the Christian items but refused to remove his Bible, which he has kept on his desk for 18 years.

Daubenmire, of Pass The Salt Ministries and Minutemen United, explained to WND at the time that Freshwater had not used the Bible in his interaction with students. But he said the teacher also believed he should not forfeit his constitutional rights just because of his occupation.

The lawsuit claims administrators knew Freshwater disregarded their instructions, but they allowed him to continue teaching and never disciplined him even after the branding, the Columbus Dispatch reported.

The district's attorney, David Millstone, told the paper the school administrators could not have disciplined Freshwater before completion of the investigation.

[Soldier4Christ]

Pastor preaches politics, dares IRS to investigate
'We could lose our tax-exempt status. Are you prepared for that?'

Gus Booth, a pastor in Warroad, Minn., preached from the pulpit, "If you are a Christian, you cannot support a candidate like Barack Obama," knowing that he was violating federal tax code and jeopardizing his church's tax-exempt status by speaking against a specific candidate.

Then he wrote a letter to the IRS explaining what he did and challenging the agency to investigate him.

Booth told ABC News that the threat of the IRS revoking churches' tax-exempt status if they preach politics amounts to government censorship of religion and a violation of our nation's founding documents.

"I may be taking on the IRS," Booth said, "but the IRS has taken on the Constitution unchallenged since 1954. I feel like the only law that should dictate what I am allowed to say is the First Amendment."

In 1954 the IRS tax code was changed to forbid churches "from directly or indirectly participating or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office."

If pastors target specific candidates, like Booth did in his sermon, their churches risk losing tax-exempt status.

Booth, however, sees the tax code as a violation of both the Bill of Rights and the words of God.

In his sermon, Booth explained his spiritual opposition to the tax code by quoting an 1863 sermon from Henry Beecher Ward: "It is sometimes said that ministers must not preach politics. … They would have to toe hop, and skip and jump through two thirds of the Bible if they did not, for the there is not another book on the face of God's earth that is so full of commerce and business and government, and the relations between the governing and the governed, as this same Bible."

Booth's sermon included several Scripture passages that he claimed clearly defined the biblical stance on marriage and abortion. Then he said, "You have heard our Lord's commands about the sanctity of life and marriage. You have heard the positions of the candidates. There is no middle ground in this election. … I urge you, when you enter that voting booth, to not vote for Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton or candidates like them that support and encourage activities our Lord condemns in the strongest terms."

Booth knows he has invited trouble, and he didn't do so lightly. "A month before I made the sermon I talked to the church leadership," he told ABC News. "I told them, 'If we do this we could lose our tax-exempt status. Are you prepared for that?' We spent a week in prayer, and I felt God was telling me to make that speech."

Trouble may have indeed found him. The Americans United for the Separation of Church and State sent a letter last week to the IRS urging the government to take Booth up on his challenge.

Barry Lynn, executive director of American United told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that churches need to choose whether they're going to be religious or political organizations. "Some churches have given up tax exemptions so they don't have to play by (IRS) rules," he said.

"Tax exemption is not a right; it's a privilege with certain restrictions," Lynn told ABC News.

"There is a very simple test religious leaders can use to determine if they're violating the law," Lynn said. "Ask yourself: 'Is what I'm doing intended to help someone's candidacy?' If the answer is 'yes,' don't do it."

Tax exemption is not a privilege the IRS has been ready to revoke easily, however. In 2006, the IRS received 237 complaints of groups abusing their tax-exempt status, investigated 100 and has yet to recommend revocation for any of them.

The last time the IRS revoked a church's tax-exempt status was in 1992, when a New York church took out an ad asking "How then can we vote for Bill Clinton?"

Booth's sermon may have sounded similar to the advertisement, but he believes pastors must be able to communicate specifically about the politics of the day to be able to faithfully preach the Bible and guide their congregations.

"It is my desire, and I dare say God's desire," Booth said in his sermon, "to use this pulpit to influence you and your family and friends to vote for the most biblical candidates this November. When you participate in the election process you allow God to participate as well (through you)."

Booth may soon have a large number of allies in his challenge to the IRS rules. As WND reported earlier, the Alliance Defense Fund, a religious liberty advocacy group, is asking for preachers to join in their Pulpit Initiative, an attempt to "reclaim pastors' constitutional right to speak truth from the pulpit" by inviting pastors on one Sunday to intentionally challenge the IRS ruling with the content of their sermons.

The event, planned for Sept. 28, will be a day for pastors to "evaluate candidates in light of Scripture," Eric Stanley, senior legal counsel for ADF, told ABC News. "Our hope is that the IRS will initiate investigations and we can bring this into the federal courts."

"This isn't about political speech; it is about religious speech," Stanley said. "Scripture applies to every aspect of life, including who we elect."

The ADF released a white paper on the Pulpit Initiative stating, "ADF believes that IRS restrictions on religious expression from the pulpit, whenever the IRS characterizes it as 'political,' is unconstitutional. After 50 years of threats and intimidation, churches should confront the IRS directly and reclaim the expressive rights guaranteed to them in the United States Constitution."

The ADF said its program will "equip, protect, and defend pastors who wish to exercise their First Amendment right to openly discuss the positions of political candidates and other moral and social issues from the pulpit."

Pastors who want to participate can find information at a special page assembled on the ADF website.

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

I firmly believe that it's far past time for everyone to stand up and demand our Religious Freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. The IRS and any other government agency has NO BUSINESS in meddling with what is taught from the pulpit. In fact, the meddling of the IRS would be and IS ILLEGAL AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL! The IRS either needs to BUTT OUT and/or given remedial instruction about how to act in a FREE COUNTRY with RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS! We fought a Revolutionary War with Religious Freedom as a primary cause. We won that FREEDOM and many others with blood, and they have been preserved with BLOOD these many years. WE WILL NOT GIVE THEM UP - NOR WILL ANYONE TAKE THEM! - END OF STORY! It appears this is a good time to remind everyone WHO RUNS THIS COUNTRY - THE PEOPLE! ...  THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE WILL NOT BE INFRINGED!

All branches of government serve the PEOPLE according to the will and LAWS of the PEOPLE! The government HAS NO POWER unless it is given by the PEOPLE according to DUE PROCESS OF THE PEOPLE! SO, corrupt and unlawful governments can be removed by the PEOPLE! The government is the SERVANT and the PEOPLE ARE THE MASTER! I think that REMEDIAL INSTRUCTION is needed. NOTICE should be given that the RIGHTS, LAWS, AND CONSTITUTIONS OF THE PEOPLE WILL BE OBEYED!

[Soldier4Christ]

Amen! There does need to be more Christians standing up for their rights in Christ as Gus Booth is doing. The war has begun a long time ago.

[Shammu]

Booth, however, sees the tax code as a violation of both the Bill of Rights and the words of God.

AMEN!!

In fact my own sermon tomorrow is about politics. Lets see the IRS try and take away my tax-exempt status.

The only person I answer to, is our Lord, and Saviour!!

[HisDaughter]

Pastor preaches politics, dares IRS to investigate


"This isn't about political speech; it is about religious speech," Stanley said. "Scripture applies to every aspect of life, including who we elect."

AMEN!!

[Soldier4Christ]

Court to reconsider free-speech rights of evangelist

A federal district court has been ordered to reconsider a Christian evangelist's free-speech lawsuit against Ohio's Miami University.

Jim Gilles was handing out gospel tracts and witnessing to students on the public sidewalks on the campus of taxpayer-funded Miami University. But school security officials told Gilles to leave the campus. Gilles sued, but a federal district court dismissed the case, saying he had no legitimate free-speech argument.
 
Nate Kellum with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) says thankfully, that was not the end. "... [T]he Sixth Circuit disagreed with that assessment and has remanded the case back to the district court ...," he reports.
 
The court has been ordered to reconsider the case "in light of the proper constitutional standards." According to those standards, Gilles has the constitutional right to share his belief – "... [e]ven if those beliefs happen to be Christian."
 
Kellum says the public university proposed a novel argument to the court. The school stated that although the property is state-funded property, Gilles had to obtain their permission in order to have a conversation with another person.
 
"... [N]ow, there's no question that Mr. Gilles was free to be there. There is accessibility to him and any other citizen; there's no demarcation. [But] when he started to share his Christian beliefs, that's when Mr. Gilles ran into some problems," notes Kellum.
 
The ADF attorney says Gilles is not trying to cause problems for the university, but only desires the same rights as any other citizen sharing a non-religious message. Kellum argues that if an individual has the right to walk in a public place, one should have the right to talk there -- and that, he explains, is what Gilles is seeking from this action.

[Soldier4Christ]

Judge bans Bible from school, appeal filed
'No court has provided a private right of veto over private religious speech'

A brief has been filed in a federal appeals court asking the justices to overturn a judge who ordered a school district specifically to ban the Bible in its policy regarding the distribution of literature to students.

WND reported just a week ago when a federal judge declared unconstitutional a Florida law that was used to prevent Gideons from handing out Bibles to students on public property near schools.

Now comes another dispute, this one in Missouri and pursued by Liberty Counsel in its request to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. It wants the court to overturn a district judge's ruling that could be used to allow distribution of the Quran, but specifically censors the Bible under the district's open forum policy that is content-neutral.

The case comes out of a policy adopted by the school board in the South Iron School District in Iron County, Mo. The district has had a long-standing open access policy "that allows many community groups to present literature and information to students at its schools, outside the classroom during non-instructional time." In fact, officials noted, no one requesting permission ever had been refused.

Among the "diverse" groups that have participated are the Army Corps of Engineers, Red Cross, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Iron County Health Department, Missouri Water Patrol, Missouri Highland Healthcare and Union Pacific Railroad, officials said.

However, a recent distribution of Bibles by the Gideons supported by a local association of ministers prompted outrage from members of the American Civil Liberties Union, who filed a lawsuit seeking to censor the Bible.

School board members put into writing their open forum policy, specifically allowing material on a content-neutral basis unless the material fell into specific categories, such as pornography or advocacy of illegal activities.

Then U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry ordered the school to prohibit distribution of Bibles specifically, because she said they are an "instrument of religion."

Her ruling "presented a novel (and unconstitutional) theory that a private third party (like the ACLU) must have the opportunity to veto the distribution request of the private applicant," said Liberty Counsel. "The veto power, the judge wrote, must be provided to veto religious, but not secular, literature."

The school policy treats religious literature the same as secular literature as required by Supreme Court precedents, the law firm said.

"But Judge Perry ruled that religious literature, particularly the Bible, may not be treated the same. If a private third party, like the ACLU, cannot veto the request before the distribution, then, she ruled, the policy must be stricken. No court in the country has provided a private right of veto over private religious speech," Liberty Counsel said.

"The ACLU might not like the fact that equal access also means equal treatment for religious speech, but the Constitution requires equal treatment. The First Amendment protects private religious viewpoints. Hecklers may heckle but they may not veto private religious speech. The Bible is not radioactive. Religious viewpoints have Constitutional protection," said Mathew D. Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel.

Liberty Counsel said the documentation in the case simply confirms that school board members assumed throughout their discussions about the Bible distribution that they already had an open forum for distribution of any materials; they just didn't have a written policy, which they soon adopted.

The minutes from board meetings noted the board president "explained to the board at this point, we are an open forum and any group can request to enter our school and distribute materials – atheists, communists, gay rights, etc." The minutes note the board members acknowledged that.

However, Perry banned the district "from distributing or allowing distribution of Bibles to elementary school children on school property at any time during the school day."

"The district court also opined that 'Bibles are different' from other forms of religious literature," Liberty Counsel said.

In fact, the advocacy law firm said, the judge's ruling "has the troubling effect of permitting the distribution of certain religious texts, such as the Quran or the I Ching, while censoring only one, the Bible. Such a result is hardly consistent with our constitutional scheme.

The Gideons, a group founded in the late 1800s, has as its "sole purpose" the goal "to win men, women, boys and girls to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through association for service, personal testimony, and distributing the Bible in the human traffic lanes and streams of everyday life."

Gideons have placed the Bible in 181 nations in 82 different languages over the years.

The organization focuses on hotels and motels, hospitals and nursing homes, schools, colleges and universities, the military and law enforcement and prisons and jails.

"The demand for Scriptures in these areas far exceeds our supplies that we are able to purchase through our donations. Much more could be done – if funds were available. However, we are placing and distributing more than one million copies of the Word of God, at no cost, every seven days in these areas…" the group said.

The organization only gives away the Bibles with the Gideon logo on the covers, but plain Bibles are available for consumers to purchase at its distribution center at P.O. Box 140800, Nashville, Tenn., 37214-0800. Information about the products is available on the group's website.

The Gideons serve as an extended missionary arm of the Christian church and are the oldest Christian business and professional men's association in the United States.

[Maryjane]

May the Lord shine upon us that without a word..people will see the light that shines from within us..the love of God that causes a dying world to see there is hope..

[nChrist]

May the Lord shine upon us that without a word..people will see the light that shines from within us..the love of God that causes a dying world to see there is hope..

Amen Maryjane!

It's nice to hear from you. We've been missing you.

Sister, it is important that we keep things in perspective with a Biblical worldview. We should not see things in the same way as the lost for many reasons. First, we are not of this world, and this world is not our HOME. Most importantly, we have the Promises of GOD that don't depend on what happens in this world.

Love In Christ,
Tom


Favorite Bible Quotes 377 - Psalms 118:24 This is the day which the
LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

[Soldier4Christ]

Legislator: Law allows banishment of Bible
'This is written so anybody can take any part and grow it into monstrosity'

A lawmaker in Colorado who challenged the authors of SB200, a new law that bans discrimination based on the "perception" of gender, during House debate says it was written to give a wide open door to anyone who wants to banish Christian beliefs or the Bible.

"This is so loaded. It's written in an open-ended fashion that anybody can take just about any part of it and grow it into a huge monstrosity," state Rep. Kevin Lundberg told WND today. "It was written with intentional [vagueness]."

He spoke with WND after a news conference at which a number of groups and organizations announced plans to challenge the law. Among those promising to dispute the new limitations on speech and actions was Liberty Counsel, which is reviewing the situation now in preparation for a legal challenge.

"Section 8 of Senate Bill 200 is a wide open door for any judge to censor anything that condemns homosexuality, including Scripture," Lundberg said at the news conference. Section 8 is headlined, "Publishing of discriminative matter forbidden."

"I do believe that the Bible is banned, under the plain language of this new statute," said Steve Crampton, general counsel of Liberty Counsel.

Others represented at the news conference were WND columnist and national syndicated talk show host Janet Folger, who wrote "The Criminalization of Christianity;" Steve Curtis, president of the American Right To Life Action and former chairman of the Colorado GOP; Kevin Swanson of Christian Home Educators of Colorado; Mark Hotaling of Christian Family Alliance and Colorado for Family Values; and others.

Lundberg told WND the statute includes some "very troubling" provisions "that can be used in fairly heavy-handed ways. It goes so far and it goes so broad … the more I read it the more troubled I get."

He said Section 8, for example, regarding the publication of discriminatory material.

""When it was on the floor of the house and we were debating it I discounted the overall effect, thinking it applied to the posting of rules for hotels and lodging," he said. "When I more seriously looked at all the particulars, then it starts to encompass a prohibition on anything of a printed nature that's distributed or sold or shared for virtually any purpose."

Curtis told WND that the legal challenge will be launched soon by Liberty Counsel, and participants deliberately violated the law with a display of both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, provided by the Denver Tech Center Marriott where the news conference was held at the same time as a pastors' conference at which former presidential candidate and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was a speaker.

"We questioned whether the Marriott Corp. was in violation for distributing [the books] to us," he said. "We displayed them, which is a violation, we sold Janet Folger's book, which is a violation. We gave it away, which is a violation.

"We will go ahead and continue to violate [the law]," he said. "Our challenge to the governor is go ahead and issue the citation, arrest us, do whatever you want."

Lundberg said it's clear the Bible could be targeted by those using the vague definitions in the law.

"If you're going to be distributing Scriptures, there are clear passages that someone of a homosexual orientation could easily find offensive," he said.

He said not only did Colorado lawmakers created an open-ended document, "any court could take it to whatever direction they wanted to take it, and they would have the authority of the statute to fall back onto."

The lawmaker said there is an exemption for churches, mosques and synagogues in Section 6 of the law, dealing with public accommodations. But that definition is only for Section 6 and doesn't apply to Section 8, restricting printed material, he said.

And he said the new burden for business owners will force Christians quickly to abandon their principles, or their business.

"When you read all of the particulars, you discover it is much more inclusive of any type of commerce," he said of the rules. "When I confronted the House sponsor [Rep. Joel Judd] in debate on a photographer who found it morally unacceptable to shoot a same-sex commitment ceremony, the answer was, 'If you choose to do commerce in Colorado you have to abide by these rules.'"

There are two other important factors, he noted, including the law itself which includes not just civil, but criminal penalties of up to a year in jail, for violations. And the other is the fact the legislature included a "safety" clause in the law, specifying that the law is necessary for the safety of the state, which means voters cannot take the law and put it to a vote.

"The reason I consider this to be a big deal … to my knowledge people were going to exercise their rights with a citizens referendum, before [that right] was stripped away from them by the legislature," he said.

Curtis said his organization, American RTL Action, is a political 527 group headquarter half a block from where the legislature meets.

"We're not going to hire someone cohabitating outside of marriage," he said. "We will also violate SB200's prohibition on publishing certain biblical teachings on homosexuality."

WND reported earlier that one of the supporters of the bill, Cathryn Hazouri of the American Civil Liberties Union, told the state House Judiciary Committee: "One may practice one's religion in private; however, once a religious person comes into the public arena, there are limitations in how the expression of their religion impacts others."

The Christian publishing house Focus on the Family has called it a payback by the Democrat-controlled legislature and Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter to homosexual activists such as millionaire Tim Gill, who has donated widely to pro-homosexual political candidates.

The Focus analysis of the plan, according to spokesman Bruce Hausknecht, shows that besides the obvious impacts of opening restrooms and locker rooms statewide to members of either sex, depending on a perception of their gender, "the biggest danger this law poses is to the religious or moral consciences of small business owners who may object to doing business with people whose lifestyle they do not want to promote."

"Who would have believed that the Colorado state legislature and its governor would have made it fully legal for men to enter and use women's restrooms and locker-room facilities without notice or explanation?" Focus founder James Dobson said. "Henceforth, every woman and little girl will have to fear that a predator, bisexual, cross-dresser or even a homosexual or heterosexual male might walk in and relieve himself in their presence."

A WND reader also expressed horror at the implications of the law.

"Now, as I stand outside of a movie theater bathroom or a swimming pool shower room door and guard the most precious thing in my life: my wife and daughter's safety, modesty and privacy, I can no longer stop a man from entering a woman's domain," wrote a concern resident whose name was withheld. "(I will anyway, that's why I'm a criminal!)"

"An act that once was criminal is now legitimate, and what was taught to me as a virtue is now a vice. Not only am I liable for civil penalties but criminal, as I can be sentenced for up to a year in jail," he wrote.

"Will SB200 be the end of it? No. Next, hate crime legislation must be passed so that it is illegal for me to write this letter (as it is now illegal in Canada); then enforced homosexual/transsexual indoctrination of our children in the public educational system; finally, all other alternative forms of education must be outlawed. Impossible, you say? It's already happened in California," he said. "As I'm being forced into this 'shotgun wedding' with the radical homosexual agenda, I hope it's not too late to 'speak now, or forever hold my peace.' What is it called when you are forced, against your will, to participate in a sexual lifestyle that you find objectionable? I believe that is called 'rape.' My state legislature has 'violated' me and charged me with the crime."

Tom Minnery, the senior vice president of government and public policy for Focus, said every Christian, Jewish or Muslim business owner now is under a threat.

"We've seen … charges brought by homosexuals against a video reproduction business in Virginia, a medical clinic in California, an adoption service in Arizona and a church in New Jersey," he continued. "Colorado tops them all on the potential outrage meter, however, because in addition to civil fines and penalties, small-business owners can be prosecuted under the criminal laws of Colorado and spend up to one year in jail for trying to live according to their faith."

[Soldier4Christ]

'Gay' man sues
Bible publishers
$70 million for emotional distress
because homosexuality cast as sin

A homosexual man is suing two major Christian publishers for violating his constitutional rights and causing emotional pain, because the Bible versions they publish refer to homosexuality as a sin.

Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, of Canton, Mich., is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and another $10 million from Thomas Nelson Publishing in lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the Grand Rapids Press reported.

Fowler filed his claim against Grand Rapids-based Zondervan Monday, alleging its Bibles' references to homosexuality as a sin have made him an outcast from his family and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of "demoralization, chaos and bewilderment," the paper said.

He filed suit against Tennessee publisher Thomas Nelson in June.

Zondervan says that even if Fowler's claim is credible, he's suing the wrong party. A company spokesman told WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids that Zondervan doesn't translate the Bible or own the copyright for any of the translations but relies, instead, on the "scholarly judgment of credible translation committees."

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Julian Abele Cook Jr. refused to appoint an attorney to represent Fowler in the Thomas Nelson case, saying the court "has some very genuine concerns about the nature and efficacy of these claims."

Fowler, who is representing himself in both lawsuits, says in his complaint against Zondervan that the publisher intended to design a religious, sacred document to reflect an individual opinion or a group's conclusion to cause "me or anyone who is a homosexual to endure verbal abuse, discrimination, episodes of hate, and physical violence ... including murder."

Fowler alleges both Zondervan and Thomas Nelson, with its King James Bible, manipulated Scripture without informing the public by using the term "homosexuals" in a New Testament passage, 1 Corinthians 6:9.

Fowler, according to a post by JoAnne Thomas on RightPundits.com, explained his complaint on his own blog.

Thomas reproduced Fowler's blog post, including the spelling errors:

    In 1970, I Corinthians 6:9 read as followed-

    Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulteres, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effiminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind.

    In 1982 ,the same scripture read like this-

    Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodimites.

    In 2001 the same scripture reads like this-

    Surely you know that the people who do wrong will not inherit God’s kingdom. Do not be fooled, those who sin sexually, worship idols, take part in adultery, those who are male prostitutes, or men who have sexual relations with other men, those who steal, are greedy, get drunk, lie about others, or rob thses people will not inherit God’s kingdom.

Fowler told the Grand Rapids TV station in an interview he wants to "compensate for the past 20 years of emotional duress and mental instability."

Zondervan, he contended, is misinterpreting the Bible by specifically using the word homosexuals.

"These are opinions based on the publishers," he said. "And they are being embedded in the religious structure as a way of life."

[Soldier4Christ]

It sounds more like a problem with his own conscience.

[Soldier4Christ]

Christian counselor fired for trying to help lesbian
Referral to another adviser classified as 'homophobic'

A Christian counselor has been fired on directions from government officials for trying to help a lesbian by referring her to another adviser who was supportive of homosexual "marriage," according to a lawsuit filed on her behalf.

The action has been brought by the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of Marcia Walden, who was fired from her position with a contractor for the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta because her religious beliefs conflicted with the homosexual's goal of rebuilding a same-sex relationship and she reassigned the client to another counselor.

"A woman shouldn't lose her job for merely upholding the highest professional standards," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Brian Raum. "It is unconstitutional to punish Walden for following her Christian faith, particularly when she made every effort to accommodate the needs of a potential client. Referring her to another competent counselor instead of attempting to offer her own counsel in such a situation was the ethical thing to do for the person seeking help. It's egregious to be fired for honoring professional and ethical obligations."

The ADF lawsuit names the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the counselor's former employer, Computer Sciences Corp., as well as Christie Zerbe, an official with the CDC.

In August 2007, a woman working at the CDC sought help from Walden, a counselor at CSC which operated a counseling service under the federal agency's employee assistance program, regarding a same-sex relationship.

"Walden explained that the client's needs would conflict with her religious beliefs and that, therefore, it would be unfair for her to serve as the woman's counselor. As a result, Walden referred the individual to a colleague," the law firm said. "After the meeting with the client, Walden's colleague told her that she had done 'the right thing' by referring the woman to him."

However, it apparently was not enough that her counseling needs were addressed, because the lesbian complained about Walden, alleging the Christian counselor was "homophobic."

The lesbian, who was counseled by Walden's colleague, Ken Cook, told Walden's supervisor, Gordon Hughes, Walden should not be employed because of her beliefs and asked to file a formal complaint against her.

Walden explained the conflict between the woman's desire for furthering a same-sex relationship and her Christian beliefs and that that was the reason for her referral. She confirmed she had counseled other individuals involved in same-sex relationships for various reasons without complications when their issues did not conflict with her religious principles.

"Following this incident, Ms. Walden endured religiously based questioning from her CSC supervisors including Mr. Hughes. Mr. Hughes asked Ms. Walden why she told [the lesbian employee] about her religiously based conflict; he told Ms. Walden that if a similar situation arose in the future, Ms. Walden should tell the client something else – for example, that she was not experienced in relationship counseling – instead of discussing her religiously based conflict," the lawsuit said.

Walden responded that it would be inappropriate to misrepresent her conflicts.

The company told WND it would not comment on the case.

But Walden was placed on unpaid suspension on Aug. 24, and during that time Jacqueline Byrum, a CSC employee relations specialist, advised her to set aside her religious beliefs.

Then Zerbe, the CDC worker responsible for overseeing the employee assistance contract with CSC, demanded Walden be removed, and CSC then dismissed her, even before its investigation was finished.

The company said the results of its investigation didn't matter.

Within weeks, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a "right to sue" letter to Walden based on her allegations the CSC discriminated against her because of her religious beliefs in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The lawsuit seeks a declaration that Walden's rights under the First and Fifth Amendments as will as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Civil Rights Act were violated, along with compensatory and punitive damages.

[nChrist]

Christian counselor fired for trying to help lesbian
Referral to another adviser classified as 'homophobic'

A Christian counselor has been fired on directions from government officials for trying to help a lesbian by referring her to another adviser who was supportive of homosexual "marriage," according to a lawsuit filed on her behalf.

The action has been brought by the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of Marcia Walden, who was fired from her position with a contractor for the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta because her religious beliefs conflicted with the homosexual's goal of rebuilding a same-sex relationship and she reassigned the client to another counselor.

The irony of this case is the Centers for Disease Control being involved. Same sex behavior is directly responsible for millions of deaths, and millions more are dying as we speak. The CDC's primary responsibility is to control and stop epidemics, but the objective appears to be keeping the AIDS and HIV epidemics going. The numbers have been far past any dreaded epidemic for a long time. For some unknown reason, segments of our society want to encourage and increase same sex behaviors, and that will obviously result in more disease, suffering, and death. Where is the common sense in this, especially from the Centers for Disease Control?