First it was wedding cakes. If two homosexuals wanted to get "married," you would not have the option of declining to assist in their celebration. You will bake the cake and you will decorate it to celebrate gay marriage, no matter what your Bible says, religious fanatics.
Now Christians have to do their matchmaking too - at least the Christians who don't think it's worth the trouble to defend the First Amendment, which apparently includes the people who run ChristianMingle.com:
Two gay men filed class-actions claims against Spark Networks Inc. in California courts in 2013 alleging that ChristianMingle.com and several other sites in the company’s portfolio of niche dating services excluded users looking to meet singles of the same sex.
ChristianMingle, billed as the largest online community for Christian singles, required new users to specify whether they’re a man seeking a woman or a woman seeking a man. The lead plaintiffs, two gay men who tried using it, claimed that the limited options violated California’s anti-discrimination law.
Known as the Unruh Civil Rights Act, the state law requires “business establishments” to offer “full and equal accommodations” to people regardless of their sexual orientation.
Under the agreement, the gateway homepages now ask just whether a user is a “man” or a “woman.” Spark Networks agreed that within two years, it would adjust other searching and profile features to give gay and lesbian singles a more tailored experience.
Give today's legal environment, I realize it's very possible Spark Networks might have lost the case anyway - and settling is what you do when you're convinced you're going to lose. But if they're serious Christian believers, which I suspect they're not, they should have fought the lawsuit to the end.
The reason I say I suspect they're not, aside from the obvious fact that they settled the case and agreed to do gay matchmaking, is that there are lots of businesses out there who see Christians as a market opportunity without necessarily embracing the Word of God. I don't know who runs Spark Networks, but you don't have to be a Christian to name a web site ChristianMingle.com. You just have to be willing to set Christians up on dates.
The really dangerous slope we're on right now is the one that says not only do homosexuals have certain rights, but other citizens can now be compelled by the state to provide services for the purpose of assuring those rights, regardless of any religious convictions they may have to the contrary. We've never done anything like that in the history of this nation, and for good reason.
These days the left would have you believe that the First Amendment guarantee not to infringe the free exercise of religion only applies to what happens in church. Historically even the left has not believed that. They've been more than happy to cite the free exercise clause to get conscienscious objectors out of military service, and to exempt Indian tribes from drug laws so they could use peyote.
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Right now the secular left is engaged in a full-scale assault on Christianity, and homosexuality is merely the prop they're using to wage the battle. On a legal front, they're forcing Christian businesses to participate in the facilitation and celebration of homosexual relationships. On a cultural front, they're pressuring businesses to pull out of any state or locality that maintains laws protecting the rights of Christians in these matters - and having plenty of easy success in doing so. And on the political front, they largely get away with blaming Christians for mass murder committed against gays by Islamic terrorists - if only because their media allies are so willing to embrace that absurd narrative.
That all this is happening is undeniable. What I do not want to see, however, is Christians whining about being persecuted. I want to see Christians fight, and fight hard, using the power of the Holy Spirit. The gambit of the secular left is to make us afraid to live our faith or to express our faith - because if we do we could lose our businesses and be cast off to the margins of society. The response of Christians must be to live it and express it all the more, and to leave no mistake about the fact that faith in Jesus Christ is about love of everyone, and about the opportunity everyone has in Him to be free of the desires of the flesh so they can be reconciled to God, who blesses His people with real joy, real peace and real satisfaction.
Sometimes that might require civil disobedience, although we're making a mistake if we just try to beat the secular left at their own game. There's a reason it's their game and not ours. But it never involves settling a lawsuit and agreeing to do under a "Christian" brand name what is detestable to God.
You find out pretty quickly these days who really means it when they call on the name of Jesus Christ.
First it was wedding cakes. If two homosexuals wanted to get "married," you would not have the option of declining to assist in their celebration. You will bake the cake and you will decorate it to celebrate gay marriage, no matter what your Bible says, religious fanatics.
Now Christians have to do their matchmaking too - at least the Christians who don't think it's worth the trouble to defend the First Amendment, which apparently includes the people who run ChristianMingle.com:
