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sevenseas: Where is this going to end?

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ORIGINAL: rcjames

I can easily see where it may not be long before a good ole Biblical teaching on sin could well run awry of some hate speech ligislation or local law.

But, since teachings on the evils of sin are as rare as hen's teeth as of late, it may not be a major problem.

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sevenseas: It's easy to say Jesus is coming back, praise God and so on - easy until someone is knocking on your front door and you are hauled off to prison or worse. All persecution has a beginning and it seems it may be begining here in N. America now.

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Smile. And since one cannot lose their salvation, OSAS, then what does it really matter what happens? Why according to some, even if a person claims to once have had faith, and then openly denies Christ and delivers his brother or sister over to the authorities, he can still be saved anyway.

Hey, what is sin anyway? Isn't it really just in the eye of the beholder?

Heavendweller

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I wasn't calling for Christians to be lax or take an 'oh well' approach, I promise. It's just that we are warned time and time again about persecution and apostasy. If there is something Christians can do right now to stop this move towards outlawing free speech, then we should do it. I'm totally open to suggestions. In the end, though, only God knows whether this trend can be turned or not.

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It's very sad state of events in Canada - they are basically experimenting with fascism.

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Eh, we've always been experimenting with fascism.

As for the poster who mentioned that what happens here will eventually happen in the US, I believe so. We've had legal gay marriage for how long now, and it's beginning to happen in the US. It's only a matter of time.

What really gets me about all this though, is the people who bring up cases like this before the silly human rights commissions are biting the hand that feeds them. When you look at the high profile cases in front of it right now, these are people and groups sho don't realize that the freedoms we give them (and that they are fighting) aren't available in most other places.

But of course the government and the human rights commission has to go after the Christians now, otherwise they would probably be brought up in front of themselves by non-Christian groups for discrimination.

And to think that we have a Christian Prime Minister, whose own belief system feels the same way about homosexuality as this man, and yet he has done nothing to stop all this stupidity that goes on at the commission.

(Sorry, this commission thing is really getting on my nerves lately. Every time I read about the Mark Steyn case - mentioned in the article Jhud posted - I want to scream.)

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Perhaps we are contemplating building a fence on the worng border?

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If he spoke out against it inside a church it should be fine. That is a private institution. If he was speaking out in public I'm not sure if it is legal or not but it is a bad idea. You can't expect everyone to follow what you deem to be acceptible.

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ORIGINAL: bsjones84
What are Christians to do when we are faced with being arrested or worse forms of persecution? We have the apostles as our examples. Proclaim the Word of God no matter what the consequences are. I pray that if I'm ever facing such persecution I will be bold and trust fully in Him. God help me to stand for you regardless of the consequences.

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ORIGINAL: lexie

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Perhaps we are contemplating building a fence on the worng border?

I do believe that in certain areas across the border you have some locals sitting in folding chairs, polishing their guns!

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If he spoke out against it inside a church it should be fine. That is a private institution. If he was speaking out in public I'm not sure if it is legal or not but it is a bad idea. You can't expect everyone to follow what you deem to be acceptible.

From what I understand, the churches are currently pretty much safe from these types of laws (the government won't go into them) however, this pastor did decide to write his views in a local paper. It may seem like a bad idea, but we are watching our society plunge further and further morally, and these people aren't sitting in our pews on Sundays to hear the truth about their lifestyles. How else are we to reach them?

(I never read the article btw. I believe that we need to speak up on these things and not just sit on them in the church, but I do believe there is a loving way to do it and a harmful way to do it. I'm not sure what approach this guy took.)

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ORIGINAL: Solus
You just can't tell people that their lifestyle is evil and then be shocked when they get after you. I am not condoning the behavior and I do think what he did should be allowed, he just can't be shocked or complain that he upset people.

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ORIGINAL: solarflare

Freedom of speech is freedom of speech in or out of a 'church'. Apparently, after reading the article, it seems the pastor is not allowed to teach what the Bible has to say about homosexuality.
It seems homosexuals and other minorities can boast and say anything they want - and if you do not agree, you are not allowed to say so. That, is not freedom of speech. At least not for one side. The larger side, I might add.
So, teaching what the Bible says regarding this particular sin has become a 'hate crime'? That, if I understand things correctly, is the real problem, not where the words were spoken. The government should not have the right to dictate what is taught or believed in church - especially not when those beliefs have been espoused for a couple of thousand years.

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earthless: This is why if I ever pastor another church - we will not be seeking a 501(c)3 status. We will pay taxes and not have to worry about what is said and or what is not said from the pulpit.