Religious Right participants in the upcoming hate crimes legislation protest sure intent on generating some press for themselves, as in the last few hours both Gary Cass and Paul Blair have issued press releases about it.
And this is raising an interesting question about just how they intend to go about challenging this legislation, because they seem to think that they are going to be challenging the law by simply preaching from the Bible:
Pastor Paul Blair, founder of Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ, said, "Pastors have preached the Bible in America for over 400 years, pointing people to Jesus Christ and standing against sin. If preaching the Bible is now against the law, then let us be arrested. If not, may every pastor across America know that he can stand strong and proclaim Biblical Truth without fear of persecution or prosecution."
Of course, merely preaching that homosexuality is a sin is not going to be a violation of the hate crimes law, which even Cass seems to realize:
While the ministers do not expect to be arrested, they are willing to go to jail, if necessary, to stand for freedom of speech and religion.
The question really comes down to just how they intend to preach against homosexuality. Do they intend to preach Leviticus 18:22?
Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
"We're going to exercise our First Amendment rights to preach [the entire] Bible, including those parts that deal with homosexuality and the truth of the sin of homosexuality," explains Dr. Cass. He further says this is being done as a way to clarify "....that this does not constitute a hate crime."
The legislation explicitly protects religious freedom and freedom of speech, but "does not protect speech, conduct or activities consisting of planning for, conspiring to commit, or committing an act of violence." So if they intend to preach that homosexuality is sinful, that is not much of a challenge, as that sort of speech is clearly protected.
But since they obviously intend for this protest to be a direct challenge to hate crimes protections, that really only leaves them one option: demanding death for gays.
If that is the case, they ought to see if Steven L. Anderson is available to join them.
As we noted last week, various Religious Right groups will be holding an event next Monday designed to challenge the expansion of hate crimes laws to include protections for sexual orientation. At the moment, it is unknown just how they intend to go about challenging this, though openly calling for violence against gays seems to be pretty much their only option.
The intention of the rally the group is to assert the freedom of speech of ministers and Christians in general to declare biblical truth in the public square. The Rally will also expose the unconstitutional nature of the hate law.
Ministers from various denominations will preach from the Bible, especially those parts that speak to the sin of homosexuality. This will serve to reassure ministers and Christians that they are free to do the same.
According to the website, participants are set to include the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, Liberty Counsel, Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ, S.T.A.N.D., Vision America, and Jim Garlow.
Gossip Boy has a good run down of all the participating organizations and individuals, and we are going to keep tracking these developments to try and get a sense of just what they intend to do in order to "challenge" this legislation and what, if any, "specific legal challenges" they intend to bring.
Back in May we found out that fourth annual Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ conference was going to feature right-wing luminaries like Janet Porter and Peter LaBarbera, among others.
The fourth annual Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ conference, July 24-25, was another smashing success. Another near capacity crowd on Friday night enjoyed educational and inspirational messages from Janet Folger Porter, Lt. General Jerry Boykin, Peter LaBarbera, and Dr. John Morris. The conference is intended to bring believers together from all over the state to encourage them to take a strong stand for truth in our decaying society. In addition, it is hoped that the conference will help to awaken and activate pastors who, in turn, will lead their congregations to join the struggle for the soul of America. Pastors from across the state of Oklahoma attended and this year’s conference was visited by pastors from Iowa as they are beginning work to Reclaim Iowa for Christ.
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Janet Folger Porter, founder of Faith2Action, spoke first and reminded those in attendance that God is bigger than anyone or anything else and sits above the earth to insure that His people ultimately win the victory. She said that, although we may often feel like “grasshoppers in the fight,” we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. On Saturday afternoon, she challenged believers to attempt great things for God and reminded us that He often uses the most unlikely of candidates to do big things for Him. She ended by challenging believers to attempt “bigger things for God than we can do on our own.”
Peter LaBarbera, founder of Americans for Truth, a group dedicated to exposing the homosexual activist agenda, reminded the crowd Friday night that Americans are in a battle to preserve the biblical model for sex and marriage. He shared how the homosexual activists often gain the upper hand by redefining the terms, misrepresenting the facts. No one “labels” Christians as having a phobia for opposing pornography or infidelity, yet when we stand against the sin of homosexuality the left attempts to guilt believers into silence by labeling them as homophobes. He urged believers to unapologetically stand for Biblical morality no matter how loudly the homosexuals protest. On Saturday morning, Peter discussed the medical risks of the homosexual lifestyle. He emphasized the irony of our government’s attack on tobacco use while it essentially ignores the proliferation of STD’s and AIDS by homosexuals. LaBarbera closed by emphasizing that Christians do not hate homosexuals but rather, desire that they experience the forgiveness and transformation that comes from knowing Jesus.
What the Reclaiming Oklahoma coverage doesn't report is that LaBarbera didn't merely note the "irony" that the government is ignoring "the proliferation of STD’s and AIDS by homosexuals," he actually called for a federal study of the issue:
When it comes to combating cigarettes, the government not only restricts, taxes and bans smoking, it also funds and encourages anti-smoking messages and advertisements. Given the immense health risks of male homosexual sex, shouldn’t the federal government do a comprehensive study on the matter, tax sodomitic establishments, and educate the public and especially young people about the dangers of “gay” sex?
Speaking Friday at the annual Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ conference in Edmond, OK, Americans For Truth about Homosexuality (AFTAH) President Peter LaBarbera called for a comprehensive government study on the heath risks of homosexual sex.
LaBarbera read from a Food & Drug Administration (FDA) report explaining why “men who have sex with men” (MSM) cannot donate blood due to the high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases linked to MSM. He noted that since government agencies and politicians are active in confronting the health risks of smoking (using taxpayer dollars), they should do the same for homosexual sex — especially between men — which appears to be as dangerous or more so than smoking cigarettes.
I have no idea on what LaBarbera is basing his assertion that gay sex is more dangerous than smoking ... and neither does he apparently, because the only link he provides to any sort of "evidence" makes no such claims or comparisons.
And, let's just imagine that the government did undertake this sort of study - what exactly would it do then? Institute bans or taxes on gay sex?
Anyway, the biggest development from the conference seems to be the resurrection of Coral Ridge Ministries' Center for Reclaiming America, which shut down back in 2007:
A highlight of this year’s event was the announcement that Coral Ridge Ministry is allowing Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ to carry on the legacy and work of Dr. D. James Kennedy.
Reclaim Oklahoma will be more actively working with other states in awakening pastors from across the nation to take back their own communities and states in an effort to Reclaim America for Christ.
The article mentions that there are already efforts underway to create a similar organization in Iowa, and with the announcement that organizers seek to spread the effort throughout the nation, it looks like we'll be hearing a lot more about the effort to "reclaim America for Christ" in the months and years ahead.
[Pastor Paul Blair of Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond, Okla.] is founder of a group called Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ, an outreach to pastors that encourages church leaders to take a stand against the spread of immorality in American culture. He is urging pastors across the nation to stop being silent and muster the courage to speak out against efforts to criminalize Christianity. He said church leaders have abandoned the prophetic call and have chosen instead to be CEOs of competitive church businesses rather than proclaiming "faith in Christ alone and repentance from sin."
"Pastors used to speak strongly about issues – like when Billy Sunday led a crusade, and the next thing you know, liquor was outlawed. So they made a difference," he said. "The year 1954 is when pastors began to grow timid because, all of the sudden, they had this misguided notion that they might lose their tax exemption if they made too much noise."
Shortly after ministers grew silent, prayer and Bible reading were taken out of schools. The sexual revolution immediately followed, along with Roe v. Wade. Now, he said, attacks on Christian liberty and morality have become more brazen and coordinated than ever – with widespread movements to legalize homosexual marriage, the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to profile Christians as "potential terrorists" and strategies to silence pastors through hate crimes legislation.
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Blair is stepping up the effort by calling on "patriot pastors" to lead their congregations in three areas: 1) evangelizing and leading people to Christ to change the culture 2) educating people about the truth of America's Christian heritage and real threats like the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and 3) contacting elected representatives by writing letters and participating in petition drives.
His church is planning a special Memorial Day weekend sermon where he will bring in a 150-foot crane to fly the American flag as he warns his congregation of attacks on freedom.
"We absolutely will be addressing the fact that freedom isn't free," he said. "We'll talk about the great sacrifice that was paid for the liberty we enjoy and how there are attacks on that liberty not just abroad, but here at home."
Accompanying this article was this ten minute video in which Blair runs through the litany of right-wing lies about hate crimes legislation:
While watching it, my first thought was “this sounds an awful lot like the nonsense Janet Porter has been peddling” which, as it turns out, makes sense because Blair’s organization has ties to Porter, having signed on to her recent effort to pressure Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to resign.
It made even more sense when I saw that she was going to be a featured speaker at the upcoming Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ Conference:
The 2009 conference will be held on July 24 and 25 at Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond.
Scheduled speakers include Peter LaBarbera from Americans for Truth, Dr. John Morris from the Institute for Creation Research (ICR), LTG (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, one of the original members of the U.S. Army's Delta Force, and Faith2Action President Janet (Folger) Porter.
Boykin, you may recall, made news a few years back when he declared that we were at war with Islam and that our “spiritual enemy ... will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus” but that we would eventually win because our God is real while they worshiped an idol. Since leaving the military, he’s hooked-up with fringe Religious Right figures like Rick Scarborough and now, apparently, Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ.
In fact, ROC seems to have some pretty significant ties to a variety of second and third-tier right-wing leaders. According to its website, its 2008 conference featured the likes of David Barton, Bill Federer, and Mat Staver. The organization also participated in the “One Day Crusade” events put on by Scarborough and Gordon Klingenschmitt before the election last year and was deeply involved in rallying support for Oklahoma legislator Sally Kern, the self-proclaimed “warrior for Judeo-Christian values” who declared that the “homosexual agenda” was “the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam.”
It seems that while we were busy not paying any attention this organization, they were busy building relationships with a variety of more high-profile right-wing leaders and organizations to whom we do pay attention. And since they seem to be treating ROC as a legitimate ally, I guess we’re going to have to start trying to pay a bit more attention to what they are up to.
