URGENT PRAYERS/PETITIONS:
CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR PASTOR SAEED (Iranian-born AMERICAN pastor who just started an 8 year sentence for helping the underground churches in Iran) - "As Iran continues to abuse imprisoned American Pastor Saeed Abedini, its goal is now clear -- force Pastor Saeed to deny Christ.
As the Lord leads, please pray:
- For Pastor Abedini as he endures one of Iran’s most deadly prisons, potentially beaten and abused regularly, simply because of his Christian faith.
- For the pastor’s wife and family and the Holy Spirit’s comfort upon them.
- For the continuing meetings at the UN meetings in Geneva about Pastor Saeed.
- For the U.S. State Department to get involved in a significant way to obtain the pastor’s release.
PLEASE Continue to PRAY: "Libya Arrests Suspected Christian Missionaries ," February 16, 2013; "Four foreigners were arrested in Libya on suspicion of distributing books about Christianity and proselytizing, a Libyan police spokesman said on Saturday. Spreading Christianity is a crime in the predominantly Muslim North African county. The four were arrested in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday and are under investigation for printing and distributing books that proselytize Christianity. Police said they found 45,000 books in their possession and that another 25,000 have already been distributed. The suspects are from South Africa, Egypt, South Korea, and one holds both Swedish and U.S. Nationality. The U.S. Embassy in Libya has declined comment. "(Sources: CBS News, USA Today, Associated Press) [So much for the so-called "Arab Spring." - Stan]As the Lord leads, PLEASE PRAY: · For the timely release of the arrested missionaries. · For all who share God’s loving salvation in Muslim countries.
DECLARE YOUR SUPPORT FOR TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE. Please SIGN THE PETITION BELOW to declare yopur support for the traditional marrriage definition of marriage and in support of an amicus brief to go to the Supreme Court as it considers a redefinition of marriage possibly on Mon. and Tues., March 25th and 26th. Their decision on whether to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act passed by Congress in 1996 could be as pivotal to marriage and the family in America as Roe v. Wade was to the sanctity of human life in America. MOST IMPORTANTLY, please BE PRAYING EACH DAY for when Supreme Court reviews of this case (and Prop. 8 passed years ago in CA that made the traditional definition into law) possibly on March 25th and 26th.. and for their decisions. https://www.truthinaction.org/index.php/the-affirmation-of-marriage/?utm_source=Truth+In+Action+News+List&utm_campaign=9d8fb2dcc6-DOMA+%231+AB+TEST+Length&utm_medium=email
URGENT PRAYERS/PETITIONS:
CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR PASTOR SAEED (Iranian-born AMERICAN pastor who just started an 8 year sentence for helping the underground churches in Iran) - "As Iran continues to abuse imprisoned American Pastor Saeed Abedini, its goal is now clear -- force Pastor Saeed to deny Christ.
As the Lord leads, please pray:
- For Pastor Abedini as he endures one of Iran’s most deadly prisons, potentially beaten and abused regularly, simply because of his Christian faith.
- For the pastor’s wife and family and the Holy Spirit’s comfort upon them.
- For the continuing meetings at the UN meetings in Geneva about Pastor Saeed.
- For the U.S. State Department to get involved in a significant way to obtain the pastor’s release.
PLEASE Continue to PRAY: "Libya Arrests Suspected Christian Missionaries ," February 16, 2013; "Four foreigners were arrested in Libya on suspicion of distributing books about Christianity and proselytizing, a Libyan police spokesman said on Saturday. Spreading Christianity is a crime in the predominantly Muslim North African county. The four were arrested in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday and are under investigation for printing and distributing books that proselytize Christianity. Police said they found 45,000 books in their possession and that another 25,000 have already been distributed. The suspects are from South Africa, Egypt, South Korea, and one holds both Swedish and U.S. Nationality. The U.S. Embassy in Libya has declined comment. "(Sources: CBS News, USA Today, Associated Press) [So much for the so-called "Arab Spring." - Stan]As the Lord leads, PLEASE PRAY: · For the timely release of the arrested missionaries. · For all who share God’s loving salvation in Muslim countries.
DECLARE YOUR SUPPORT FOR TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE. Please SIGN THE PETITION BELOW to declare yopur support for the traditional marrriage definition of marriage and in support of an amicus brief to go to the Supreme Court as it considers a redefinition of marriage possibly on Mon. and Tues., March 25th and 26th. Their decision on whether to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act passed by Congress in 1996 could be as pivotal to marriage and the family in America as Roe v. Wade was to the sanctity of human life in America. MOST IMPORTANTLY, please BE PRAYING EACH DAY for when Supreme Court reviews of this case (and Prop. 8 passed years ago in CA that made the traditional definition into law) possibly on March 25th and 26th.. and for their decisions. https://www.truthinaction.org/index.php/the-affirmation-of-marriage/?utm_source=Truth+In+Action+News+List&utm_campaign=9d8fb2dcc6-DOMA+%231+AB+TEST+Length&utm_medium=email
"Redefining Marriage Threatens Religious Liberty," Leslie Grimard and Ryan T. Anderson, March 21, 2013 http://blog.heritage.org/2013/03/21/redefining-marriage-threatens-religious-liberty/
The Becket Fund’s brief, filed by Eric Rassbach, explains:
But religious liberty is about more than just solemnizing weddings. The Court ignored the many cases where churches—and individual believers—interact with the state: "These conflicts fall into two broad categories. First, objecting religious institutions and individuals will face an increased risk of lawsuits under federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws, subjecting religious organizations to substantial civil liability if they choose to continue practicing their religious beliefs. Second, religious institutions and individuals will face a range of penalties from federal, state, and local governments, such as denial of access to public facilities, loss of accreditation and licensing, and the targeted withdrawal of government contacts and benefits.
California’s Proposition 8 and DOMA, the Becket Fund argues, were rational responses to these concerns, by retaining civil unions for same-sex unions and marriage for the union of husband and wife.The Church-State conflict over conscience has already begun. As Heritage’s Thomas Messner has documented again and again and again, redefining marriage has already been—and will continue to be—a nightmare for religious liberty. To give just one example, in Massachusetts, Illinois, and Washington, D.C., Catholic Charities were forced to shut down their adoptive services because they would not place foster children with same-sex couples. [To find links to underlined portions above, go to link for this article listed above.]
These conflicts—and the foreseeable conflicts if DOMA and Proposition 8 are overturned by the Supreme Court—put First Amendment rights to freedom of religion and association in danger. The Becket Fund concludes in the final two sections of its brief that whatever one thinks about the merits of redefining marriage, citizens and their representatives—not unelected judges—should make marriage policy: "Because many of the conflicts between same-sex marriage and religious liberty can be avoided—at least in part—by legislative exemptions, the judiciary should allow the legislatures to go first. Allowing the people to decide avoids a frozen conflict and facilitates their acceptance of whatever may be the ultimate result of their public debate.
Let the political process do its work. The definition of marriage isn’t something for the courts to decide. The Court should respect the constitutional authority of the people.
[bold and italicized emphasis mine]
"A scholarly consensus has emerged that giving legal recognition to same-sex marriage will result in wide-spread, foreseeable, and to some extent legislatively avoidable church-state conflict. Some scholars argue that the rights of religious believers should nearly always give way to the right of gays and lesbians to be free from discrimination. Others support strong exemptions for objecting religious believers.… Since neither Baehr [the case that prompted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)] nor In re Marriage Cases [the California Supreme Court case creating same-sex marriage] even recognize these conflicts let alone resolve them—it was entirely rational for Congress and the people of California to respond as they did."For example, when the California Supreme Court forced the legal recognition of same-sex relationships as marriages in that state, the only religious liberty provision ceded by the Court was that no religious official would be required to perform a marriage. However: "By limiting religious freedom concern to “'orced solemnization,' the California Supreme Court allowed itself to be distracted by a red herring—albeit one that parties on opposing sides of the marriage debates have been all too happy to indulge. Among scholars, '[n]o one seriously believes that clergy will be forced, or even asked, to perform marriages that are anathema to them.' ”
But religious liberty is about more than just solemnizing weddings. The Court ignored the many cases where churches—and individual believers—interact with the state: "These conflicts fall into two broad categories. First, objecting religious institutions and individuals will face an increased risk of lawsuits under federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws, subjecting religious organizations to substantial civil liability if they choose to continue practicing their religious beliefs. Second, religious institutions and individuals will face a range of penalties from federal, state, and local governments, such as denial of access to public facilities, loss of accreditation and licensing, and the targeted withdrawal of government contacts and benefits.
California’s Proposition 8 and DOMA, the Becket Fund argues, were rational responses to these concerns, by retaining civil unions for same-sex unions and marriage for the union of husband and wife.The Church-State conflict over conscience has already begun. As Heritage’s Thomas Messner has documented again and again and again, redefining marriage has already been—and will continue to be—a nightmare for religious liberty. To give just one example, in Massachusetts, Illinois, and Washington, D.C., Catholic Charities were forced to shut down their adoptive services because they would not place foster children with same-sex couples. [To find links to underlined portions above, go to link for this article listed above.]
These conflicts—and the foreseeable conflicts if DOMA and Proposition 8 are overturned by the Supreme Court—put First Amendment rights to freedom of religion and association in danger. The Becket Fund concludes in the final two sections of its brief that whatever one thinks about the merits of redefining marriage, citizens and their representatives—not unelected judges—should make marriage policy: "Because many of the conflicts between same-sex marriage and religious liberty can be avoided—at least in part—by legislative exemptions, the judiciary should allow the legislatures to go first. Allowing the people to decide avoids a frozen conflict and facilitates their acceptance of whatever may be the ultimate result of their public debate.
Let the political process do its work. The definition of marriage isn’t something for the courts to decide. The Court should respect the constitutional authority of the people.
[bold and italicized emphasis mine]
