Franklin Graham: I Will Not Worship ‘Rainbow Pride Flag’

Celebrated Christian evangelist Franklin Graham has taken issue with the Democrats’ extreme push of the LGBTQ agenda, saying he will stand with biblical morality.

“I will not bow down at the altar of the LGBTQ agenda nor worship their rainbow pride flag,” Rev. Graham said in reaction to Beto O’Rourke’s promise to strip churches of their tax-exempt status if they do not recognize homosexual marriage.

“I’m going to stand with the Word of God, the Holy Bible, which is truth from cover to cover,” Graham added in a three-part tweet.

Rev. Graham, the son of “America’s Pastor,” Billy Graham, was reacting to CNN’s “Equality in America” town hall meeting held on Thursday, which focused on LGBTQ issues with 2020 presidential candidates of the Democrat party.

Beto O’Rourke “said churches, religious organizations, universities that don’t go along w/ same-sex marriage should lose their tax-exempt status,” Graham noted. “This gives you a clue of what the progressive, socialist-leaning Dem. Party would try to force on our nation if they win any election.”

“They will create laws & ‘consequences’ that would punish those who don’t agree with them. This is a threat to religious freedom & free speech,” he said.

Last month, Rev. Graham came out against South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg for his efforts to defend abortion and homosexuality as Christian positions.

“Mayor Pete Buttigieg has been speaking openly about his support for abortion, which he says is a woman’s right to choose. That’s a crock — No one has the right to choose murder,” Rev. Graham wrote to his eight million Facebook followers in response to a Townhall article on Buttigieg’s efforts to redefine Christian morality.

During an interview with The Breakfast Club, Mayor Pete said the Bible is ambiguous about when life begins, and, thus, Christianity allows for a range of positions on abortion.

“There’s a lot of parts of the Bible which talk about how life begins with breath,” the Democrat presidential hopeful said. “And even so, that’s something that we can interpret differently.”

Mayor Pete has also insisted that Christianity has no problem with same-sex marriage, despite the numerous biblical passages that condemn homosexuality as an abomination before God and the unbroken Christian tradition that treats homosexual practice as gravely sinful.

“Mayor Pete is trying to tell people that the homosexual lifestyle is okay with God and that abortion is okay,” Graham wrote on Facebook. “His brother-in-law is right when he said, ‘This is leading people astray and it’s very, very dangerous.’”

“God defines right and wrong, not us,” Graham concludes. “As Christians, we are to live by the standards He gives us in His Word. ‘I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me.’ (Isaiah 45:5).”

Bibles May Be Banned in California and Most Likely in Other Parts of the Country

According to a post written by The Political Insider  Democrats in the alt-left state of California have passed a bill in the Assembly that would ban the sale of books that express Christian beliefs about sexual morality, quite possibly extending to printed texts such as the Bible.  No surprise there, after all this is the same party that once tried to abolish God from their official political platform … three times.

 

Assembly Bill 2943, which passed by a vote of 50-18, seeks to eliminate the “sale or lease of goods or services to any consumer” that promote “sexual orientation change efforts with an individual.”  Those efforts are subsequently defined as “efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.”

 

The Bible instills sex as an act meant for marriage between a man and a woman. In other words, its teachings seek to ‘reduce sexual attractions towards individuals of the same sex’.  Even the Los Angeles Times has raised the possibility that such a bill could lead to a ban on Bibles.  “One key part of the debate centers on whether Assembly Bill 2943 would stretch beyond businesses that charge for these programs and extend to printed documents,” they wrote, “even Bibles.”

Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com, seems to think it’s possible.

 

“A church bookstore selling the Bible, of course, selling a book about marriage or sexual purity or overcoming homosexuality or overcoming trans-sexuality,” he explained. “You could see a member of the public or even a member of the state government coming and saying, ‘Hey, that’s illegal.’”

Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, a Democrat who voted in favor of the measure, focused her attention on the gay conversion therapy aspect, already banned by mental health professionals on those under age 18 in California.  She scoffed at Christians concerned about this blatant affront to free speech saying, “But you can still try to pray the gay away, if you like.”  Just not with the guidance of a Bible apparently.

 

 

FYI: did you know that bible possession was once prohibited by the Catholic church? The English parliament in 1543 passed a law forbidding the use of any English translations other than the “Great Bible”. Tyndale’s New Testament was specifically prohibited, and later Wycliffe’s and Coverdale’s Bibles were also banned. It was decreed a crime for any unlicensed person to read or explain the Scriptures in public. It’s funny how history tends to repeat itself! Read about it here

First openly transgender state legislator elected in Virginia

Virginia House of Delegates candidate Danica Roem (D) has defeated longtime Del. Robert Marshall (R), becoming Virginia’s first openly transgender elected official, according to The Washington Post.

Roem’s win in Virginia’s 13th District also means she is poised to become the first openly transgender person to be elected and seated in a state legislature, advocates say.

Her win comes alongside Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam’s (D) victory in the governor’s race Tuesday, the first major victory for Democrats since President Trump took office earlier this year.

Roem, 33, was up over Marshall, 73, by more than 10 points with roughly 90 percent of votes counted in preliminary estimates. Hillary Clinton won the district by 14 points, 54 to 40 percent, over President Trump last year.  

Before venturing into politics, Roem was a reporter for the Gainesville Times and the Prince William Times. She defeated Marshall, a social conservative who has been in office since 1992.

“Danica will bring a reporter’s eye to Richmond, and we eagerly anticipate her results-oriented approach to deliver for her constituents in the 13th,” Virginia House Democratic Caucus Leader David J. Toscano and Caucus Chairwoman Charniele Herring said in a statement. 

“As a journalist, Danica Roem has covered the issues critical to Virginians and listened to a wide range of perspectives. During her campaign, Danica expanded this approach by listening to area residents’ concerns and making them integral to her own policy platform,” they added.

Marshall thanked his supporters in a statement posted to Facebook.

“For 26 years I’ve been proud to fight for you, and fight for our future. Though we all wish tonight would have turned out differently, I am deeply grateful for your support and effort over the years,” he said. “I’m committed to continue the fight for you, but in a different role going forward.”

Marshall previously authored the “Physical Privacy Act,” a bill that would require people to use the restroom that corresponded with the sex on their birth certificate.

The GOP delegate said the bill, which failed in a silent committee vote, was mainly aimed at protecting young girls from changing in locker rooms alongside men who identified as transgender.

Marshall, who referred to himself as Virginia’s “chief homophobe,” refused to publicly debate Roem. Ads by Marshall’s campaign also referred to Roem by her birth gender.

LGBTQ advocates hailed Roem’s victory on Tuesday evening, with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) calling it “a clear warning to anti-equality lawmakers across the country.”

“HRC was proud to mobilize voters to support Danica Roem’s trailblazing candidacy, and we look forward to working with her to help continue moving equality forward in Virginia,” HRC President Chad Griffin said in a statement. 

 

Methodist Church Refuses to Hold Any Weddings until Same-Sex Marriage is Allowed

An Austin church has voted to stop performing wedding ceremonies at the church until the Methodist church starts allowing same-sex weddings.

First United Methodist Church in Austin voted on Sept. 24 to temporarily stop wedding ceremonies. The congregation voted 93 percent in favor.

Taylor Fuerst, the church’s senior pastor, said he hopes the vote “will have a unifying effect on the congregation.”

“It communicates even more to our city that if you are in the LGBTQ community that you are not tolerated here, but embraced,” he said.

Currently, the Methodist church bans same-sex unions from being performed by pastors or taking place at Methodist churches. The denomination’s Book of Discipline, which governs the Methodist church, also says that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.”   Congregations are not required to hold weddings.

“This vote demonstrates that our members are willing to sacrifice a position of privilege in order to stand in solidarity with those who are discriminated against,” said Davis Covin, who was on the Austin church’s discernment team. “I think this also serves as a great example to the children and youth in our church by showing that our members strive for social justice and equality for all God’s children.”

So far, 11 United Methodist churches have agreed to temporarily stop holding wedding ceremonies until the denomination lifts the ban on same-sex weddings.

[written by Amanda Casanova]

Satanic Temple Wants Followers to Force Christian Bakers to Make a Cake to ‘Honor Satan’

Temple, out of its dissatisfaction with Christian-owned bakeries that decline to make cakes celebrating same-sex “weddings,” is now asking its followers to force bakers to make a cake for Satan.

The group says that it came up with the idea in light of the Masterpiece Cakeshop case soon to be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“[B]ecause sexual orientation is not a protected class under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, (whereas race and religion are), there is a good chance that the right to discriminate against gay couples will be affirmed as a constitutional liberty,” it wrote.  Out of the Satanic Temple’s fears that the court will likely rule in favor of the cakeshop, it has asked that those “who feel alienated or oppressed by the privileged status that religion holds over sexual orientation” contact religious bakers and order a cake to “honor Satan.”  

It asserts that the bakeries will not be able to say no since religion is considered a federally-protected class.

“Because religion is a protected class, a baker may refuse service to LGBTQ people, but they may not refuse service based upon someone’s religion. If they aren’t willing to make a cake for same-sex unions, let’s have them make a cake to honor Satan instead,” spokesperson Doug Messner, who goes by the name Lucien Greaves, said in a statement on Thursday.

However, as previously reported, while the Satanic Temple contends that it is a religious group, it also notes on its website that it is “non-theistic” and does not believe in Satan or the supernatural at all, but only views the devil as a metaphor and a “symbol of the eternal rebel.”

“[W]e do not promote a belief in a personal Satan,” its FAQ section explains. “To embrace the name Satan is to embrace rational inquiry removed from supernaturalism and archaic tradition-based superstitions.”

Some, therefore, consider the group as essentially an atheist effort to make a point about religion.

The Satanic Temple acknowledged to the Daily Caller this week that it is particularly upset that Christian bakers have declined to create baked goods for same-sex ceremonies because many members of the devilish group identify as homosexual.

“A lot of our membership is also homosexual as well, and I feel like there’s obvious reasons for that,” Messner said. “You know, we’re very into that kind of thing. There’s no issue of tolerance with us. And a lot of people who have grown up gay feel very alienated from traditional religion. So we have a very high population of LGBTQ community also as membership of the Satanic Temple.”

As previously reported, in 2015, during the unveiling of its Baphomet statue in Detroit, attendees shouted “Hail Satan” as two shirtless men pulled off the cloth that covered the figure and then embraced and kissed each other in front of the statue.

The group wrote in Thursday’s press release that if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of religious bakeries, the Satanic Temple will host a party for Satan in “honor” of every unsuccessful attempt to order a same-sex “wedding” cake from a Christian baker.

“If you can’t get a cake for your same-sex union, we’ll host a party in your honor at The Satanic Temple headquarters in Salem and order a cake that praises Satan from your offending discriminatory ‘religious liberty’ enthusiast,” Greaves said.  

According to the Scriptures, one of the signs of the last days is that mockers and scoffers will arise, living in accordance with their own fleshly lusts.

“But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts,” verse 17 reads. “These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.”

The Matthew Henry Commentary on this passage describes such persons as “sensual men separate from Christ and His Church, [who] join themselves to the devil, the world and the flesh by ungodly and sinful practices.”

“We must watch over one another faithfully, yet prudently reprove each other, and set a good example to all about us. This must be done with compassion, making a difference between the weak and the willful. Some we must treat with tenderness. Others save with fear; urging the terrors of the Lord,” he continues. “All endeavors must be joined with decided abhorrence of crimes, and care [must] be taken to avoid whatever led to, or was connected with fellowship with them—in works of darkness—keeping far from what is or appears to be evil.”

[written by Heather Clark]