As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“Christian wedding vendors who decline to provide services for same-sex ceremonies have suffered another legal setback.The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled Dec. 28 that the state did not violate the First Amendment rights of Aaron and Melissa Klein in a 2015 order that included a $135,000 fine.” BPNews
In Cochran v. City of Atlanta, the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia said that the city’s restrictions on non-work speech, which were used to terminate Cochran, “do not set out objective standards for the supervisor to employ” and do not “pass constitutional muster.” CToday
“A Democratic senator announced Thursday night that the repeal included in the House version of the tax bill, which would allow churches and other nonprofits to endorse candidates without losing their tax-exempt status, was removed during the reconciliation process with the Senate version, which did not include a repeal.” CToday
In any nation that aspires to be free, freedoms will clash, and there will be winners and losers. Speeding laws limit the freedom to drive fast in favor of the freedom to drive safely. Theft laws limit the freedom to take things we want in favor of the freedom to keep what’s ours. In the retail setting, antidiscrimination laws limit the freedom to sell selectively in favor of the freedom to buy what we want without being turned away because the seller doesn’t like “our kind of people.”
Soon, the Supreme Court will rule in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (if it hasn’t already by the time this post appears). When it does, it’s likely that one set of freedoms will be protected or expanded, and another set will be limited. Which freedoms should prevail?
Though I’m not a lawyer, several features of the case are clear to me, and they point toward the conclusion that the Court ought to rule in favor of Masterpiece Cakeshop.
“Graham is a conservative evangelical Christian known for his vociferous opposition towards gays and Muslims. Critics are afraid his Islamophobic statements will lead to increased prejudice.” World Religion News
This article is a short summary of the oral arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on December 5, 2017. In the article, I provide a few bits of commentary. But, this is primarily a summary.1 Hopefully, it can spur each of us on to consider the issue of soul liberty in the public square in these troubled times.
“Southern Baptist institutions and other objectors to the six-year-old abortion/contraception mandate are still working to protect their freedom of conscience on a number of fronts after the Trump administration provided aid through a new rule.” BPNews
Cochran was fired after he “wrote a men’s devotional book that advocated in a brief section the biblical view of marriage and sexuality, including that homosexual behavior is immoral.” BPNews
“The Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission filed a brief Sept. 7—along with the Christian Life Commission of the Missouri Baptist Convention and others—arguing the “free exercise of religion by secular vocations in the marketplace should be no less protected than sacred vocations in the ministry,” citing the Supreme Court ruling in Burwell v.
Discussion