THE CHURCH MILITANT
Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them". This Christian News Blog maintains a one stop resource of current news and reports of its own related to church, moral, spiritual, and related political issues, plus articles, and postings from other online discernment ministries, and media which share the aims to obey the biblical commands to shed light on and refute error, heresy, apostasy, cults, and spiritual abuse.
When you hear about government controlling church sermons, you might assume that China or Cuba would be the scene of such tyranny. But now the United States is also, with Iowa state officials not only claiming the power to determine what is and isn’t a “religious purpose,” but also, shockingly, to control church sermons.
At issue is the Iowa Civil Rights Act and a state bureaucracy’s position that churches are, to use the tendentious designation conjured up by judges decades ago, “public accommodations.” This makes them subject to the same rules as businesses; meaning, they don’t get to determine who uses their own facilities, paid for with their own money. This also could have a bearing on sermons.
As WND.com wrote Tuesday, “The Iowa Civil Rights Act bans places of ‘public accommodation’ from expressing their views on human sexuality if they would ‘directly or indirectly’ make ‘persons of any particular … gender identity’ feel ‘unwelcome.’”
But this blatantly unconstitutional law has made Christians feel more than unwelcome, and, consequently, some have filed a lawsuit. The Des Moines Registerprovided some background July 6:
Two conservative Iowa churches contend the Iowa Civil Rights Commission is violating their rights to free speech and religious liberty by censoring their views on human sexuality and forcing them to open restrooms to members of the opposite sex.
The Fort Des Moines Church of Christ filed a federal lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Des Moines claiming the commission's interpretation of state civil rights law prohibits church members from making any public comments — including from the pulpit — that could be viewed as unwelcome to people who do not identify with their biological sex.
The other religious entity suing the government is “Cornerstone World Outreach, a nondenominational, Bible-based church in Sioux City,” reports the Register. The city of Des Moines is also named in the suit because it enacted an ordinance nearly identical to the state law. As for more recent developments, WND tells us that lawyers for the Alliance Defending Freedom, who are representing the plaintiffs, “have filed a reply in support of their motion for a preliminary injunction that would protect the church members’ constitutional rights while the case plays out.”
But what’s playing out in America is alarmingly un-American. For example, the Register informs that Ben Hammes, a spokesman for Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, said "The governor has confidence in the commission to enforce the laws we currently have that protect religious institutions' right to exercise a religious exemption while protecting personal rights." The problem?
“Institutions,” religious or otherwise, don’t have constitutional rights.
People have constitutional rights.
Thus, the only rights to protect are “personal rights” — and using someone else’s privately funded facilities isn’t among them. The free exercise of religion is, however.
Note also that both our national Constitution and the Iowa Constitution state that the legislature “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
And they don’t say that this free exercise is only guaranteed in church.
In other words, if the First Amendment guarantees a right to something — let’s say, to criticize homosexual behavior — then people must be free from government compulsion in that area in church, outside of church, anywhere. For, again, these are rights for people, not places.
The Register also reports that Kristin Johnson, director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, defended her state lawmakers’ tyranny by noting “that state code provides some exemptions for bona fide religious institutions engaged in activities with a bona fide religious purpose” (Emphasis added.) My, how magnanimous of them.
So now not only are constitutional religious freedoms supposedly limited to “religious institutions,” but to only those with “religious purposes” — and “bona fide” ones at that — as defined (narrowly) by government. But “purposes” don’t have constitutional rights, either.
Of course, “religious” practices such as human sacrifice are prohibited everywhere. But if a religious practice is constitutionally protected, then, again, government has no legitimate power to prevent people from engaging in it — anywhere.
And consistency is the very soul of religious practice. After all, one thing any serious person of faith learns early is that he’s obligated to live his principles at all times; it would be ridiculous to say, for instance, that it’s wrong to lie in church — but lying to make money is different because “that’s business” (no, that’s hypocrisy). Likewise, if a doctor knows that “abortion” is actually pre-natal infanticide, it’s not reasonable to say, “Well, okay, then you don’t have to perform abortions in church. But we expect you to do it at your hospital job.” Or, would the militant secularists compel a pious Muslim to serve pork and alcohol in his restaurant, contenting themselves with the idea that “hey, it’s not like we’re forcing him to do it in his mosque!” Principles don’t cease to be principles beyond the church house door. (In fact, secularists have defended the “right” of Muslim women to wear “religious” garb, the hijab, while working in someone else’s business.)
But truly shocking is the belief that government has the legitimate power to control even sermons. As the Register writes, citing Drake University law professor Maura Strassberg, “Strassberg said sermons that stick to human sexuality matters pertaining to theology would be constitutionally protected. But she suggested situations could arise where a preacher's remarks could cross over the line into harassment. ‘There is a line: You can go from, 'This is what God believes' … to 'You are bad, so we don't want you here,' Strassberg said.” Really? What if a pastor is addressing a group of Satanists, who are in his church merely to subtly disrupt? Sure, it may not be the best approach to evangelization, but to claim he has no right to do it is plainly unconstitutional.
First Amendment aside, while it’s bad enough that government has long told private entities whom they must serve, now the state is going a most ridiculous bridge too far in telling private entities how they must serve them. The absurdity can be illustrated by taking this “don’t offend the public” principle closer to its logical conclusion. Should a business be allowed to serve alcohol or pork since that may offend Muslims? Should an atheist group open to the public be allowed to criticize religion since this might offend believers? Whether you serve up a sermon, a seminar, a service, or something else, most everything offends someone and most everyone is offended by something. Will most everything be made illegal?
Of course not — only things offending “protected classes,” as the government discriminates among feelings, sensitivities, and groups. As to this, a 2007 amendment to the Iowa Civil Rights Act added "gender identity” and “sexual orientation” to the qualities that afford someone special protections.
And isn’t that special? As America becomes Amerika, we’ve traded protected speech for protected classes.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
By Kelleigh Nelson
August 13, 2016
NewsWithViews.com
“If ever time should come, when vain and aspiring men (or women) shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” — Samuel Adams (1722–1803) Father of the American Revolution, Patriot and Statesman
Evil is a cancerous and destructive force that destroys everything around it. One who plays host to demonic/satanic entities will eventually be destroyed by those same forces they have given themselves over to…. And this person has the blood of thousands on her hands and soul. A tree is known by its fruit and hers is foul and rotten beyond human comprehension. — Ralph Rowe, on Hillary Clinton
High School with Hillary
In 1960, I started high school at Maine Township H.S. East, in the Village of Park Ridge, Illinois. Park Ridge was a strongly conservative and Republican suburb in the northwest area of Chicago. In 1961, Hillary was at the exact same school. I graduated in 1964 from the largest class who ever attended at Maine East, 1,029 students, and in 1965, Hillary transferred to the brand new Maine South for her senior year.
Hillary’s first book, “It Takes a Village” was based on the name of the town she was raised in, the Village of Park Ridge.
I was not a friend of Hillary Rodham’s, but I was a Goldwater girl with her and knew her from that perspective. For readers who are too young to remember Barry Goldwater, he was our last truly constitutionally conservative Republican nominee in 1964. Many writers have compared Donald J. Trump and his treatment by the GOP to the same treatment received by Barry Goldwater. As a matter of fact, George Romney, father of Willard Mitt, who was in the primary that year, was so angry that he didn’t win, that he and his entire family voted for the corrupt and murderous Lyndon Baines Johnson. Sounds like so many of our traitorous GOP today!
A mock election, where Hillary was for Senator Goldwater, was held Hillary’s class, and she supported Goldwater who won the school election.
Yes, Hillary Clinton was a strong Republican in those days. Paul Carlson, who taught US History and government for 50 years at Maine East, actually received a letter from Hillary Clinton stating she would always be a strong conservative Republican. Paul Carlson was just that, and he was beloved by every student who was fortunate enough to have him as their teacher. He passed away in 2008 and taught more than 14,000 students. Once you were in his classes, your life was changed forever.
Hillary’s real personality came through over and over during high school, and I can testify to her arrogance and self-aggrandizement. A perfect example is when she pretended to be a journalist from Time magazine conducting an interview, with herself as the subject. Much of the interview featured her own accomplishments, even interrupting herself to expound on her attributes. In this self-interview, the last question she asked was, “What was your ambition in high school?” Her answer was, “To marry a senator and settle down in Georgetown.” Quite obviously, she’s attained the goal and more.
Hillary was very accomplished as well as an honor roll student. This websitecontains a full overview of her high school activities.
Here is her bio from the 1965 Senior Class Yearbook.
One must remember that when she transferred from Maine East, which had a student population of over 5,000 youngsters, to Maine South, the population of her class was then less than half of what it had been. Her competition was greatly reduced, giving her higher percentages, which she wouldn’t have had at Maine East.
Hillary, Methodist Youth Minister Don Jones, and Saul Alinsky
Don Jones became the Youth Minister at the Methodist Church in Park Ridge in 1961.
He was instrumental in destroying the traditional upbringing of many of his young charges, and Hillary Rodham was one of them. Jones was a liberal social justice Methodist youth minister who became a mentor to Hillary Rodham in the early 60s. He was the one who pulled her away from her father’s “Goldwater Girl” roots via Alinsky.
I dare say few people who have done research on Hillary actually understand that Don Jones was the catalyst who changed her and brought her into the world of Alinsky. Even Dinesh D’Souza’s latest movie doesn’t tell this.
LEFT:
Don Jones, graduate of Drew University Divinity school, Hillary, NJ Gov. Tom Kean, then Drew University's president, at the school's 1996 graduation. Clinton spoke and received an honorary degree.
From CNN’s article on Hillary’s Park Ridge Methodist Youth Minister, Don Jones, it states:
From the moment Jones arrived in Park Ridge, he was on thin ice, according to a number of people close to him. He was not a "fundamentalist" or "literalist," said Peter Jones, and that rubbed some in the community the wrong way.
"It was a conservative community and church," his son said, "And he was a free thinker."
"He wasn't a religious figure that tried to indoctrinate or tell people what to think or feel or believe," said David Jones. "He used a method that really drew people out and questioned them."
So just two years after he moved to Park Ridge, Jones left. And although it is not totally clear, Ricketts and others said his unorthodox style may have been the reason.
How sad it is that Hillary Clinton even met Saul Alinsky, and we have Rev. Don Jones to thank for changing this young girl and many like her, from Constitutional conservatives into the Luciferian Marxist anti-God beliefs of Saul Alinsky.
Hillary would later describe Alinsky as a “great seducer” of young minds, as did Jones, which was apparently the reason that Jones brought his wide-eyed teens to meet with the radical whose politics Jones liked. Jones succeeded. Hillary was taken in, and she has been forever lost to the leftist, agnostic, Alinsky who dedicated his book, “Rules for Radicals” to Lucifer.
The Rev. Jones’s point in bringing the youngsters to Alinsky was obviously not religious since Alinsky was anathema to anything religious and especially to Christianity. The youth minister’s goal was social-political. Like Jones, Alinsky was dedicated to advancing the interests of the Proletariat, or what Alinsky called the “Have-Nots.” For Hillary, that first encounter was just the beginning.Alinsky answered an interview question with, “Hell would be heaven for me. All my life I’ve been with the have-nots. Over here, if you’re a have-not, you’re short of dough. If you’re a have-not in hell, you’re short of virtue. Once I get into hell, I’ll start organizing the have-nots over there. They’re my kind of people."
And you see the results today. Again, we must look at the roots of where her cancerous evil comes from, just as my friend Ralph Rowe stated in the quote above.
Conclusion
Hillary Clinton should never be anywhere near our White House again. This woman is corrupt and rotten to her very core. We cannot survive four years of her running the country. There is so much more to tell about this Queen of Corruption!
Published on Aug 13, 2016 Even though she continually reassures us that she is not here to take the guns, leaked audio proves she intends to elect supreme court judges who will impose strict gun control measures.
August 13, 2016 NewsWithViews.com
“If ever time should come, when vain and aspiring men (or women) shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” — Samuel Adams (1722–1803) Father of the American Revolution, Patriot and StatesmanEvil is a cancerous and destructive force that destroys everything around it. One who plays host to demonic/satanic entities will eventually be destroyed by those same forces they have given themselves over to…. And this person has the blood of thousands on her hands and soul. A tree is known by its fruit and hers is foul and rotten beyond human comprehension. — Ralph Rowe, on Hillary ClintonHigh School with Hillary
In 1960, I started high school at Maine Township H.S. East, in the Village of Park Ridge, Illinois. Park Ridge was a strongly conservative and Republican suburb in the northwest area of Chicago. In 1961, Hillary was at the exact same school. I graduated in 1964 from the largest class who ever attended at Maine East, 1,029 students, and in 1965, Hillary transferred to the brand new Maine South for her senior year.Hillary’s first book, “It Takes a Village” was based on the name of the town she was raised in, the Village of Park Ridge.I was not a friend of Hillary Rodham’s, but I was a Goldwater girl with her and knew her from that perspective. For readers who are too young to remember Barry Goldwater, he was our last truly constitutionally conservative Republican nominee in 1964. Many writers have compared Donald J. Trump and his treatment by the GOP to the same treatment received by Barry Goldwater. As a matter of fact, George Romney, father of Willard Mitt, who was in the primary that year, was so angry that he didn’t win, that he and his entire family voted for the corrupt and murderous Lyndon Baines Johnson. Sounds like so many of our traitorous GOP today!A mock election, where Hillary was for Senator Goldwater, was held Hillary’s class, and she supported Goldwater who won the school election.
Yes, Hillary Clinton was a strong Republican in those days. Paul Carlson, who taught US History and government for 50 years at Maine East, actually received a letter from Hillary Clinton stating she would always be a strong conservative Republican. Paul Carlson was just that, and he was beloved by every student who was fortunate enough to have him as their teacher. He passed away in 2008 and taught more than 14,000 students. Once you were in his classes, your life was changed forever.Hillary’s real personality came through over and over during high school, and I can testify to her arrogance and self-aggrandizement. A perfect example is when she pretended to be a journalist from Time magazine conducting an interview, with herself as the subject. Much of the interview featured her own accomplishments, even interrupting herself to expound on her attributes. In this self-interview, the last question she asked was, “What was your ambition in high school?” Her answer was, “To marry a senator and settle down in Georgetown.” Quite obviously, she’s attained the goal and more.Hillary was very accomplished as well as an honor roll student. This websitecontains a full overview of her high school activities.Here is her bio from the 1965 Senior Class Yearbook.One must remember that when she transferred from Maine East, which had a student population of over 5,000 youngsters, to Maine South, the population of her class was then less than half of what it had been. Her competition was greatly reduced, giving her higher percentages, which she wouldn’t have had at Maine East.Hillary, Methodist Youth Minister Don Jones, and Saul AlinskyDon Jones became the Youth Minister at the Methodist Church in Park Ridge in 1961.He was instrumental in destroying the traditional upbringing of many of his young charges, and Hillary Rodham was one of them. Jones was a liberal social justice Methodist youth minister who became a mentor to Hillary Rodham in the early 60s. He was the one who pulled her away from her father’s “Goldwater Girl” roots via Alinsky.I dare say few people who have done research on Hillary actually understand that Don Jones was the catalyst who changed her and brought her into theworld of Alinsky. Even Dinesh D’Souza’s latest movie doesn’t tell this.
LEFT:Don Jones, graduate of Drew University Divinity school, Hillary, NJ Gov. Tom Kean, then Drew University's president, at the school's 1996 graduation. Clinton spoke and received an honorary degree.From CNN’s article on Hillary’s Park Ridge Methodist Youth Minister, Don Jones, it states:From the moment Jones arrived in Park Ridge, he was on thin ice, according to a number of people close to him. He was not a "fundamentalist" or "literalist," said Peter Jones, and that rubbed some in the community the wrong way."It was a conservative community and church," his son said, "And he was a free thinker.""He wasn't a religious figure that tried to indoctrinate or tell people what to think or feel or believe," said David Jones. "He used a method that really drew people out and questioned them."So just two years after he moved to Park Ridge, Jones left. And although it is not totally clear, Ricketts and others said his unorthodox style may have been the reason.How sad it is that Hillary Clinton even met Saul Alinsky, and we have Rev. Don Jones to thank for changing this young girl and many like her, from Constitutional conservatives into the Luciferian Marxist anti-God beliefs of Saul Alinsky.Hillary would later describe Alinsky as a “great seducer” of young minds, as did Jones, which was apparently the reason that Jones brought his wide-eyed teens to meet with the radical whose politics Jones liked. Jones succeeded. Hillary was taken in, and she has been forever lost to the leftist, agnostic, Alinsky who dedicated his book, “Rules for Radicals” to Lucifer.The Rev. Jones’s point in bringing the youngsters to Alinsky was obviously not religious since Alinsky was anathema to anything religious and especially to Christianity. The youth minister’s goal was social-political. Like Jones, Alinsky was dedicated to advancing the interests of the Proletariat, or what Alinsky called the “Have-Nots.” For Hillary, that first encounter was just the beginning.Alinsky answered an interview question with, “Hell would be heaven for me. All my life I’ve been with the have-nots. Over here, if you’re a have-not, you’re short of dough. If you’re a have-not in hell, you’re short of virtue. Once I get into hell, I’ll start organizing the have-nots over there. They’re my kind of people."And you see the results today. Again, we must look at the roots of where her cancerous evil comes from, just as my friend Ralph Rowe stated in the quote above.ConclusionHillary Clinton should never be anywhere near our White House again. This woman is corrupt and rotten to her very core. We cannot survive four years of her running the country. There is so much more to tell about this Queen of Corruption!_______________________________________________________