By Seth Brandle | Echo
The issue of homosexuality in light of Christianity is a divisive one, to be sure. But does this mean that denying goods and services to ordinary people is actually a violation of religious liberty or a morally justified thing to do? I would argue not.
Seemingly overnight, Indiana experienced a tsunami of media coverage due to new legislation signed into state law. While similar Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (RFRAs) have been enacted in 18 states, Indiana's law boasted a unique provision. The law could be used as a defense in suits between private individuals/businesses, rather than only in cases between the government and an individual, as other states' RFRAs had.
Before this emergency antidiscrimination clarification, Indiana's law may have allowed businesses to deny service to any potential customer if the owner felt that their religious beliefs were "substantially burdened." This was included thanks to pressure from Christian business owners.
They feared facing the same fate as Jack Phillips, the owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, who was sued by a gay couple after he refused to bake them a wedding cake.
Christian advocacy groups and legislators say the ability to deny goods or services is part of the business owners' First Amendment rights, if doing is helps them to avoid compromising their religious beliefs. According to Christian groups, that's not discrimination.
Instead, these groups claim that business ownersare being discriminated against by the LGBT community because of the lawsuits. Throughout the U.S., Christians have risen up in support of RFRA in order to guarantee their religious rights.
Americans have been through this before. There was a time not too long ago when business owners could deny service to anyone because of the color of their skin. Segregation was the social policy of the day, and people justified it by taking the Bible out of context. Obviously, homosexuality and race are two very different things. But the reaction to the desegregation movement and the reaction to the marriage equality movement are too similar to be ignored.
In a sermon given in 1960 entitled "Is Segregation Scriptural?" Bob Jones Sr., founder of Bob Jones University, declared that God desires segregation and clearly lays this fact out in his Word.
"In recent years, there has been a subtle, Satanic effort to undermine people's faith in the Bible; and the Devil has led the race issue along until men have put their own opinion above the Word of God," Jones asserted. "You will find that practically all the troubles we are having today have come out of the fact that men in many instances have ceased to believe in an authoritative Bible."
Replace the word "race" in that statement with "sexual orientation," and it becomes something constantly found in sermons given today.
This is not to say that Christians must support same-sex marriage and align with "worldly" beliefs. But legitimate room for debate on same-sex marriage still exists-there is no clear answer yet. In the meantime, we as Christians have to stop punishing or discriminating our neighbors and friends for breaking our moral code.
1 Corinthians 5:12-13 says, "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. 'Expel the wicked person from among you.'"
It is not our right to block people who live lifestyles we disagree with from participating in society and living regular lives. This idea ultimately boils down to pharisaical pride. Unfortunately, Christians might only find this out once they themselves become victims of the kind of discrimination that targets same-sex couples today. If the religious freedom restoration movement continues down this path, the country will face an unintended maelstrom of hurt and humiliation.
