What if a T-Shirt Maker Refused to Make Shirts Supporting Marriage

Imagine a T-shirt print shop run by owners who openly practice homosexual behavior. Let’s call it “Tolerance 101.” They make T-shirts for community events, annual “gay pride” rallies, and sports teams around their city. Now, imagine that a major Christian ministry contacts the company to have them make T-shirts that will be worn at an event supporting marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Tolerance 101 declines to the make the shirts. In short, the managing owner exercises his prerogative as a business owner to refuse to communicate a message in genuine conflict with his beliefs. Tolerance 101 does business all the time with heterosexuals and even has heterosexual employees, so it’s not about discrimination against any person. It’s simply about not wanting to further a message the owners so deeply oppose.  Tolerance 101 even goes the extra mile and finds another T-shirt shop willing to do the job at the same price.

This scenario never happened, but if it did, it’s almost certain that the Christian ministry would not be traipsing off to the local human rights commission to file a discrimination complaint. But turn the tables and see what happens.

A company called Hands On Originals decided to not make T-shirts for an upcoming “gay pride” event in Lexington, Kentucky. As a result of Hands On Originals’ decision, the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization of Lexington has filed a complaint with Lexington’s Human Rights Commission and is pushing what many would consider an all-out smear campaign against the T-shirt company for exercising a prerogative it would almost certainly want to reserve for itself.

This has caused the dominoes to start tipping one against the next, and an investigation has been launched into Hands On Originals because of its decision. And this investigation will certainly require the involvement of managing owner Blaine Adamson and others.

For example, Raymond Sexton, the executive director of the Human Rights Commission told Fox News that Hands On Originals will be “required by law to participate in the investigation.” Added Sexton: “We have subpoena power and have the backing of the law,” he said. “We are a law enforcement agency and people have to comply.”

Adamson, for his part, has respectfully responded that his company “employs and conducts business with people of all genders, races, religions, sexual preferences and national origins. However, due to the promotional nature of our products, it is the prerogative of the company to refuse any order that would endorse positions that conflict with the convictions of the ownership.”

But the bottom line in this juxtaposition of Tolerance 101 and Hands On Originals is that the former would certainly be extended a broader degree of freedom and professional discretion than the latter.  Tolerance 101 might even get kudos for its “courageous” stand against “bigotry” and its supporters would be quick to proclaim that the First Amendment protects Tolerance 101 from being punished for refusing to promote a viewpoint with which it disagrees. This duplicity is widely known but rarely addressed. And it allows homosexual activists to have their cake and eat it too, while condemning those who refuse to go along with the agenda.

It is the prerogative of a business owner to decline to aid in promoting a message that he cannot in good conscience promote. And this prerogative belongs to all business owners, whether they agree with the demands of those pushing a particular social agenda or not.

Tags:                 Gay Marriage            ,                                    Marriage            ,                                    First Amendment            ,                                    Freedom of Speech

Byron Babione

Byron Babione is senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund (www.telladf.org), a legal alliance employing a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.

http://townhall.com/columnists/byronbabione/2012/04/03/what_if_a_tshirt_maker_refused_to_make_shirts_supporting_marriage/page/full/

TV advertisers and their responses to your letters

Hmmm.  We have seen a wide array of trends amongst advertisers over these years as we have monitored television.  Much could be written on the subject.

One thing is clear.  Often in these days advertisers don’t respond to your expressions of concern.  That’s unfortunate.  Nonetheless, if they discontinue sponsoring degrading filthy shows we have a pretty good idea that they withdrew because they were hearing from people like you.

GCB without a doubt is one of the most blasphemous, degrading shows on network television today. 

 

Take Action! Click here to let advertisers know if they continue to support a show that ridicules and attacks your faith, you will not support them with your pocketbook.

 

We are thankful for pulls.  We are also thankful that others are taking action too.

Here is the way a Rev. Ted Pike updated those standing with him in his campaign to urge advertisers not to support the lies and degradation of GCB.

 

Quoting: Lindt Chocolates is the fifth sponsor of “Good Christian B******” (GCB) in the past five working days to respond to your calls and emails and end sponsorship. Here is Lindt’s written response to a caller:

 

“Thank you for reaching out to Lindt. We appreciate your sharing your concerns about advertising during GCB.

 

GCB is a new program and we were not aware the Lindt ad was added to the program’s advertising rotation. Having reviewed various comments received, we have taken action to remove Lindt advertising from the GCB program moving forward. We appreciate your patience as we work through the process to adjust the advertising schedule, which may take one to two weeks.

 

We appreciate your passion and thank you for taking the time to reach out to us to share your concerns.”

We may already be seeing the positive effect of protesters informing remaining companies that now at least seven sponsors have abandoned GCB support. In medicine a rule of therapy is: “If it’s working, don’t change a thing!” There is one thing I hope will change: Many more outraged Christians and defenders of free speech, encouraged by these victories, will go to their phones and computers and send a personal message. Phone calls are especially noted by corporations.

We are doing everything right. The dominoes are falling, thanks to your calls and emails, including a chocolate one last Thursday! Keep it up.

“Good Christian Bitches” is not just mocking and dragging through the mud hypocritical women in Dallas, Texas. It reviles the power of Jesus Christ through His sacrifice at Calvary to create righteous saints, not hypocrites. He said that if you persecute His brethren, you persecute Him. It is Jesus Who is being kicked and spat upon every week on GCB.

If you actually saw Jesus in a ditch in the side of the road, being kicked to death …, would you keep driving by and say, “I can’t get involved, … . ” Or would you stop and, even were if at the risk of your own life, attempt to drive His attackers away? Today the vast majority of “Christians” and their leaders are opting to drive past Jesus … .

How do you think Jesus is going to respond in the Day of Judgment when He confronts such “Christians?”  Won’t He say: “You saw Me attacked and did nothing. You did not even pick up your phone or send a few emails in protest. Your leaders did not even issue a simple public statement in My defense.”

I shudder to think of Christ’s words to such a church and its leaders in that day. They cannot be: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord.” Will it be, “Depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity. I never knew you.”?

This is a crisis moment when being a Christian and friend of Jesus means coming to His defense as He and His church are under unprecedented assault. Don’t just say you are the friend of Jesus. Prove it by your actions. Phone and email right now all this week’s sponsors with this message: Please know that I object to your sponsorship of ABC’s Christian-bashing sitcom, GCB (“Good Christian B*******”). My friends and I are presently boycotting your products. I hope you are aware that Kraft, Pepsi, Huggies, Progressive, BareEscentuals, Marshalls, and Lindt have shown themselves more sensitive to the tens of millions of Christian consumers than have you. We expect that you will come forth immediately with a similar official statement that you have ended advertising on GCB.  UNQUOTE.

 

Take Action! Click here to let advertisers know if they continue to support a show that ridicules and attacks your faith, you will not support them with your pocketbook.

http://www.americandecency.org/archives/tv-advertisers-and-their-responses-to-your-letters/#more-6504

Christ Is Totally Credible (1)

“Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said…‘It is finished!’” Jn 19:28-30 NKJV

What made great intellectuals like C. S. Lewis commit their lives to Christ? His credibility! Observe some of the Old Testament prophecies Jesus fulfilled during His lifetime: (1) He would enter into Jerusalem on a donkey: “Behold, your King…He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey” (Zec 9:9 NKJV). (2) He would be betrayed by a friend: “My own familiar friend in whom I trusted…has lifted up his heel against me” (Ps 41:9 NKJV). (3) He would be sold for thirty pieces of silver: “So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver” (Zec 11:12). (4) They would gamble for His garments: “They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots” (Ps 22:18 NKJV). (5) Not one of His bones would be broken: “He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken” (Ps 34:20 NKJV). (6) He would be buried in a rich man’s tomb: “They made His grave with…the rich at His death” (Isa 53:9 NKJV). (7) That He would be raised again from the dead: “You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (Ps 16:10 NKJV). John records: “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst!’” In full possession of His mental faculties, with His mind unclouded, He checked off the prophecies He was supposed to fulfill right down to the last one, and said, “It is finished” (v.30 NKJV). Christ— He’s totally credible, and you can trust Him!

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/christ-is-totally-credible-1/

For God’s Sake

“After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he [David] said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” — 2 Samuel 7:1–2

After years of war and turbulence, King David finally had some respite. He settled into his palace for some peace and quiet. Yet, just as he was getting comfortable, he had an uncomfortable thought: “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” How can he enjoy his royal accommodations, while the ark of God had to make do with a tent?

Does the ark care? Does God need a house?

It reminds me of how a friend of mine remembers being baffled by a Jewish tradition performed at the Passover Seder (ritual meal) each year. At the point where Elijah the Prophet is invited to join the Seder, all those present get up, and one person will physically open the door for him to “enter.” My friend, as a child, thought that this was utterly ridiculous. If Elijah was a spirit, like Casper the ghost, why couldn’t he just come straight through the walls? What kind of ghost needs a door to be opened for him?

As an adult my friend understands that the act of opening the door for Elijah is not for Elijah. It is for the benefit of those present at the Seder. Tradition teaches us that Elijah will appear immediately before the messianic times arrive. By opening the door and getting up to greet him, the participants demonstrate that they must play an active role in bringing about redemption. It won’t just magically appear. Human participation is required for making the world a better place.

Similarly, while God certainly does not need a home, nor is it possible to contain the Almighty in any one place, the act of building a house of God is intended for our sake. If a group of families live in luxurious homes and their local place of worship lies in ruins, what does it say about that community? It says that God is pretty low on their list of priorities. However when a community makes it a priority to build a house of worship that they are proud to attend, it reinforces the centrality of God in every aspect of their lives.

We put our money into what we value most. If you want to know what you really care about, look at where you spend your money. If your expenditures match your priorities, then great! If not, maybe it’s time to make a check out to your favorite charity. Not for God’s sake, but for your own.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/for-gods-sake

He shall confess that wherein he hath sinned, and bring his Guilt-offering. Lev 5:5-6 (R. V.).

It is said that sometimes a soldier will come from the battle bleeding from a hidden wound which he has received without knowing it. So in the rush of life we may contract defilement by touching uncleanness, or speaking rashly, which in the sight of God will leave a foul stain upon the white robe of the soul.

The presence of unconscious sin with us is the reason why we are often unable to pray or read the Word of God at night. We are aware of a certain distance, a vail, a cloud, which has settled down between us and the beatific vision. At such times we do well to examine ourselves and the past more critically; for probably we shall be able to detect the hidden cause, which, when we know it, must be confessed and placed on the head of our guilt-offering, whilst we yield ourselves to God as a whole burnt-offering, in a new act of self-surrender.

But confession is all important. We must confess our sins, if the faithful Lord is to forgive them. Confession is taking God’s side against ourselves. It is the act of judging evil in the light of the Throne. It is like the unpacking of a box, in which one begins with the lighter things at the top, and works steadily down to the heavy articles underneath. It is the repetition in the heart of Joshua‘s calling the roll of Israel until Achan, the son of Carmi, was taken.

When the atonement has been made as touching sin “in any of these things,” there is forgiveness. Dare to believe that this is so, Openi-tent soul, who hast made Christ‘s soul an offering for thy sin. He says: “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins.” Go thy way, and sin no more.

http://devotionals.ochristian.com/f-b-meyer-devotional.shtml

Who Are You?

Who Are You?.

Search Your Heart for Self-Righteousness

Search Your Heart for Self-Righteousness.

The Eleventh Station: Jesus Promises His Kingdom to the Good Thief by Mark D. Roberts

Luke 23:39-43

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Luke 23:39-43

Three men being crucified, suffering excruciating pain, literally. (The word “excruciating” comes from the Latin cruciare, “to crucify.”) One man begins taunting Jesus, sarcastically calling out for salvation he knows Jesus can’t deliver. The other, sensing something that he has never felt before, defends Jesus as an innocent victim. Then, in desperate hope, he cries out: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” In response Jesus says a most astounding thing, a most encouraging thing, a most curious thing: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

It’s easy to imagine the jeers of the crowd at this point as they made fun of Jesus’ silly wishful thinking. After all, he’d only been on the cross for an hour or two. Most crucifixions lasted several days before the victim finally died from exhaustion, exposure, loss of blood, and suffocation. The crowds must have thought: “Today in Paradise? What a joke! All Jesus and the stooge beside him will experience today is ultimate pain and ultimate disgrace. If they are lucky, perhaps tomorrow they might die. And even then, Paradise? Hardly!”

The word “Paradise” comes from a Persian word meaning “garden.” It was used to describe a place of beauty, peace, and joy. In Jewish thought, Paradise represented the Garden of Eden and could stand for the joys of heaven. Paradise was just about as far as one could get from crucifixion. Yet, in spite of the apparent absurdity of it, and in spite of the spiteful laughter of the crowd, Jesus promises that the thief will join him in Paradise even this very day.

Luke 23:39-43 has often perplexed Christians who believe that salvation comes only by explicitly confessing Jesus as Savior and Lord. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” hardly fits the bill here. Whatever the desperate thief believed about Jesus, it’s unlikely that he prayed what we call “the sinner’s prayer” while on his cross. Moreover, we have no reason to believe that Jesus straightened out the thief’s theology before offering the promise of Paradise. No, what we have in the text of Luke is a cry of minimal faith and maximal desperation. And what we have from the mouth of Jesus is a response of monumental mercy.

It would be unwise to build a whole theology of salvation on the basis of this single passage from Luke. It would also be unwise to build a theology of salvation without taking seriously this passage. Whatever else, it reminds us that God is “rich in mercy” (Eph. 2:4). God saves us, not because we earn it, not because we deserve it, not because we say the right words and pray the right prayers, and not even because we get our theology right, but because God is full of mercy, mercy revealed and poured out through Jesus Christ, mercy that says to a thief: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

If this crucified criminal could have hope, then perhaps you and I can as well. We hope, not in our goodness, not in our good intentions, but in the matchless mercy of God. As I reflect on Jesus’ response to the thief, I’m reminded of a marvelous hymn by Frederick William Faber, “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy.” It turns out that this hymn is actually an excerpt from a longer piece written by Faber, called “Souls of Men! Why Will Ye Scatter.” I’ll close today with all of Faber’s verses:

Souls of men, why will ye scatter like a crowd of frightened sheep? Foolish hearts, why will ye wander from a love so true and deep?

Was there ever kindest shepherd half so gentle, half so sweet, as the Savior who would have us come and gather round His feet?

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea; there’s a kindness in His justice, which is more than liberty.

There is no place where earth’s sorrows are more felt than up in heaven; there is no place where earth’s failings have such kindly judgment given.

There is welcome for the sinner, and more graces for the good; there is mercy with the Savior; there is healing in his blood.

There is plentiful redemption in the blood that has been shed; there is joy for all the members in the sorrows of the Head.

For the love of God is broader than the measure of man’s mind. and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.

But we make his love too narrow by false limits of our own; and we magnify its strictness with a zeal he will not own.

Pining souls, come nearer Jesus, and O come not doubting thus, but with faith that trusts more bravely His great tenderness for us.

If our love were but more simple, we should take him at His word: and our lives would be all sunshine in the sweetness of our Lord.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Do you ever tend to limit the mercy of God? Are you ever tempted to think that you can earn God’s grace? What helps you to rely on God’s mercy?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, how I thank and praise you for your mercy. You give us, not what we deserve, but infinitely better. Thank you for hearing my cries to you, and for responding to me much as you did to the thief who sought your help. Thank you for remembering even me, and for the promise I have of Paradise beyond this life. There’s much I don’t understand about the afterlife, but what I know is that I will be with you, seeing you face to face. And in your presence there will be fullness of joy. That’s more than enough for me! Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/eleventh-station-jesus-promises-his-kingdom-good-thief

Hawks And Lions

One morning, I watched a rabbit nibble grass in my backyard. He was on the small side, with brown flecked fur and a cotton-puff tail. Suddenly, a hawk sliced through the air as fast and precise as lightning. With talons outstretched, he snatched for his prey. But the rabbit recognized the approaching danger and sped to safety, just inches ahead of the hawk.

Like the rabbit that spotted its predator and scurried away, we as Christians need to be watchful so that we can evade our enemy. “The devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Satan wants to devour us by winning us over to his ways; he does this by toying with the truth (John 8:44) and trying to deceive us (Gen. 3:1).

The devil’s schemes reflect his dishonest nature, and his tricks are meant to catch us off guard. In response, Christians should be alert and clear-headed (1 Peter 5:8). Living in this state of active readiness helps us discern false teaching (1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 1:7-11) and overcome temptation (Matt. 26:41).

Today, watch out for your spiritual predator. What kind of lies is he whispering? How is he tempting you? Resist him, and he will flee (James 4:7).

The devil is cunning, deceptive, and sly; He’s clever; he tricks us to swallow his lie. But his crafty methods we’re sure to discern If we make God’s warnings our daily concern. —D. De Haan

The first step on the way to victory is to recognize the enemy.

http://odb.org/

Tozer Devotional-As the Son so the Father

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

As the Son so the Father

It is a rare mind, I suppose, that is much concerned with the conduct of God in those distant realms that lie beyond human experience. But almost everyone has wondered how God would act if He were in our place. And we may have had moments when we felt that God could not possibly understand how hard it is for us to live right in such an evil world as this. And we may have wondered how He would act and what He would do if He were to live among us for a while. To wonder thus may be natural but it is wholly needless. We know how God would act if He were in our place–He has been in our place. It is the mystery of godliness that God was manifest in human flesh. They called His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. When Jesus walked on earth He was a man acting like God; but equally wonderful is it that He was also God acting like Himself in man and in a man. We know how God acts in heaven because we saw Him act on earth. “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” (John 14:9). As glorious as this is, it does not end there. God is still walking in men, and wherever He walks He acts like Himself. This is not poetry but plain, hard fact capable of being tested in the laboratory of life.

http://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/tozer?id=509