Suing churches over gay marriage

Written by Yahoo News on . Posted in FAITH

Publisher's note:  While some churches may be concerned, and understandably so, about lawsuits stemming from them refusing to officiate at gay marriages, I would offer they not lose sight of the 'Heavenly Lawsuit' that awaits for bowing to cultural pressure.

Yahoo story:  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Worried they could be sued by gay couples, some churches are changing their bylaws to reflect their view that the Bible allows only marriage between one man and one woman.

Although there have been lawsuits against wedding industry businesses that refuse to serve gay couples, attorneys promoting the bylaw changes say they don't know of any lawsuits against churches.

Critics say the changes are unnecessary, but some churches fear that it's only a matter of time before one of them is sued.

"I thought marriage was always between one man and one woman, but the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision said no," said Gregory S. Erwin, an attorney for the Louisiana Baptist Convention, an association of Southern Baptist churches and one several groups advising churches to change their bylaws. "I think it's better to be prepared because the law is changing. America is changing."

In a June decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as between a man and a woman for purposes of federal law. A second decision was more technical but essentially ushered in legal gay marriage in California.

Kevin Snider is an attorney with the Pacific Justice Institute, a nonprofit legal defense group that specializes in conservative Christian issues. His organization released a model marriage policy a few years ago in response to a statewide gay marriage fight in California. Snider said some religious leaders have been threatened with lawsuits for declining to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies.

Dean Inserra, head pastor of the 1,000-member City Church Tallahassee, based in Florida, said he does not want to be alarmist, but his church is looking into how best to address the issue.

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Mounting persecution of Christians in China

Written by Fox News on . Posted in FAITH

Christians and human rights advocates are alarmed over an aggressive crackdown on house churches in China, where the faithful are forced to call their gatherings "patriotic" assemblies or sent to prison where they can face torture, according to a new report.

Cases of the government persecuting Christians rose 42 percent last year, amid a three-phase plan by Beijing to eradicate the home-based churches, according to China Aid, a Texas-based human rights group. Experts say the Communist Party in China has long felt threatened by any movement that galvanizes a large sector of the population, fearing it could wield political clout. But the nation has become more systematically hostile to worshippers, according to Bob Fu, China Aid founder and president.

“There have been new tactics of persecution as well, especially with the government using secret directives and memos with long-term, step-by-step strategies to eradicate house churches,” Fu told FoxNews.com. “This is very serious stuff.”

Last year, the government mounted a new three-phase approach designed to wipe out unregistered house churches by forcing them to join the official "Three-Self Patriotic Movement" and stop defining themselves as churches. The phase included having China's State Administration for Religious Affairs secretly investigate house churches and create files on them, the report found. The current wave of crackdowns, which began midway through 2012, is part of the second phase, according to Fu.

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It's Christmas....Rejoice

Written by David DiCrescenzo on . Posted in FAITH

I love Christmas.  The smells, the lights, the atmosphere, the time and fellowship with family and friends; and mostly the time to reflect.  It’s a time to put politics and everything else aside for a couple of days and enjoy the season.

Like so many of my busy friends, I sometimes don’t take the time to smell the roses as it were; I tend to forget that the sky is blue.  Christmas has a way of changing that.  The calls and text messages start happening, cards come in the mail, packages are carefully wrapped, and wafts of Ginger Bread Cookies and other delights start emanating from kitchens everywhere.

This Christmas has been very special for a lot of reasons; as it turns out, many of my closest friends from out of state have converged on Florida so I’ve been able to hang out with some of them.

Last weekend I took a stroll down to City Place in West Palm Beach to start getting a sense of the Season, and I was blessed to spend time with some great friends at two very special Christmas Services since.

A Blessed Event on a Beautiful Day

Written by David DiCrescenzo on . Posted in FAITH

A new friend of mine told me and another friend her story of faith recently.  She is a great lady, a single mom, works very hard to make ends meet on her own, and through her boyfriend has come to know our Lord and Savior.  Such stories happen all the time and might not be considered newsworthy by most, however, this past Friday, my new friend shared with us that she was following a blessed mandate of the Christian Faith…she was being baptized the very next day.

As Christians, my other friend and I started welling up a bit because we understand fully what this means.  It isn’t simply a trip to the Baptism location for a sprinkle or a dunk.  No, it is in fact a very public act, a declaration for the whole world to see that she fully understands, accepts, believes, and knows that our Heavenly Father sent His only Son, Jesus the Christ to become a final sacrifice for the sin of the world.  In doing so, He literally took on the burden of the sin of the entire world for all time, and paid the price….DEATH.