This week's edition of The 3, with three stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes news out of the United Kingdom, where the Church of England is considering a more tolerant stance of same-sex marriage while not allowing it under church law. Also, two people have been arrested in pro-abortion violence against three pregnancy resource centers in Florida. And, a Colorado baker who won a U.S. Supreme Court victory has been back in court and has lost in two state courts as a result of declining to decorate cakes that send a message that violate his beliefs.
Church of England proposal allows blessing gay marriage by not performing it
The Church of England, regrettably, has been debating its position on so-called "same-sex marriage," and recent proposals indicating that the door is opening for a full endorsement of the practice.
The draft proposals - announced by the House of Bishops earlier this month – suggest a set of prayers that would bless same-sex couples instead of legalising marriage.CEO of the UK's Evangelical Alliance, Gavin Calver, doesn't seem to agree that this is a "best" course of action, saying that these recommendations are a "clear step away from the church's historical position." The article says:
The plans are the result of a six-year period of internal debate on whether to allow same-sex marriage in the church.
But given divisions among the bishops themselves, the proposals are being described as “the best we can do” in the current context of the Church.
He told Premier: “That step away also probably suggests further steps away into the future. So it's not just about the Holy matrimony, it's also about choosing to bless things that perhaps haven't previously been blessed by the church.”These "blessings" are being referred to as the "Prayers of Love and Faith." The article relates: "Once debated and refined in General Synod, the Prayers of Love and Faith will be made available to all priests in the Church of England."
“And it's also about the place of sexual activity in faithful relationships. And so it's deeply concerning and problematic on a number of levels.”
These attacks are among more than 100 incidents of pro-abortion violence targeting churches and pregnancy resource centers that TWS has catalogued since the Dobbs opinion was leaked. All three attacks were against Catholic-affiliated pregnancy resource centers where the vandals were captured on security tape — but not by police.
The indictment charges Freestone and Smith-Stewart with violating the FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) Act by threatening employees and intentionally damaging property. If convicted, they face “a maximum of 12 years in prison, three years of supervised release and fines of up to $350,000.” The FACE Act was passed to protect abortion centers, but it protects pro-life pregnancy centers and churches too.
But as the website's headline suggests, this could be a case of "too little, too late." The article goes on to say:
The DOJ’s lack of action on PRC investigations has opened it up to criticism of implementing a two-tiered system of justice. “The Biden administration was slow to respond to the many attacks on these centers despite pressure from pro-life members of Congress and outside advocacy groups,” said Perkins. These indictments came only “after months of dragging their feet on responding to the attacks on pregnancy resource centers.”
Meanwhile, there has been an increase of pro-lifers who were targeted for FACE act violations during 2022.
Colorado baker back in court, loses again in state proceeding
Colorado cake baker Jack Phillips, who was victorious, to a certain extent, in the U.S. Supreme Court case bearing his shop's name, the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, has continued to face court action since the day the high court announced it would hear the case, in which it eventually upheld his right to decline to provide a cake to celebrate a same-sex wedding ceremony.
That's according to the website of the Alliance Defending Freedom, which reported that on that day...
...an activist attorney called Masterpiece Cakeshop requesting that Phillips create a custom-designed cake, pink on the inside and blue on the outside, that would symbolize and celebrate a gender transition. The attorney then called back—requesting another custom cake depicting Satan smoking marijuana to “correct the errors of [Phillips’] thinking.” Phillips declined to create both custom cakes because they expressed messages that violate his core beliefs. The activist then filed this lawsuit. Phillips works with all people and always decides whether to take a project based on what message a cake will express, not who is requesting it.The Colorado Court of Appeals last week ruled against Jack Phillips in the case. ADF stated: "Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Phillips and Masterpiece Cakeshop had asked the Colorado Court of Appeals to uphold his First Amendment rights after a trial court issued a ruling that punished Phillips for declining to design a custom cake celebrating a gender transition."
"...This cruelty must stop. One need not agree with Jack’s views to agree that all Americans should be free to say what they believe, even if the government disagrees with those beliefs. The same law being used to punish Jack is also at issue now at the U.S. Supreme Court in 303 Creative v. Elenis. The court there should reject Colorado’s attempt to mandate orthodoxy and drive views it disfavors from the public square and affirm that graphic artist Lorie Smith and all artists—writers, painters, photographers, filmmakers, calligraphers, cake artists, and more—have the right to create freely without fear of government punishment. Cultural winds may shift, but freedom of speech is foundational to our self-government and to the free and fearless pursuit of truth.”
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