Religious Liberty Will Bring Us All Down



Conservative Christians constantly make the case for their right to discriminate. They want to make wedding cakes only for people they agree with. They want to turn people away from housing options they advertise are available to the public. The relationship between discrimination and religious liberty needs to be discussed more widely.

I often recall a senior professor from graduate school. He said, "Never underestimate the public's ability to latch onto a bad idea." Using religious liberty to justify discrimination is one of those bad ideas.

When discrimination is sold to religious people it is never said, "This will allow others the deprive you of goods and services you need." I've looked for that phrase or one like it from those promoting  religious liberty. I have not seen it, even once. It is as though they are saying, "We can discriminate but it will not be allowed against us."

Need we be reminded new religions are made up everyday? A religion that refuses to serve people  in restaurants who are wearing crosses might start tomorrow. Maybe "the cross people" will be denied emergency medical treatment as well as wedding cakes. If it violates someones religious liberty it is not just OK, it's wonderful. Why would such low lives ever think they had these rights anyway, the new religion might say.

As I understand religious liberty, it would withholding financial arrangements if granting would be against "sincerely held religious beliefs." Home mortgages, car loans, student loans and what have you would be gone for some.

Taken to its logical end, religious liberty is an unpatriotic and against the principles of this country.

Comments

  1. Matt NoahAugust 4, 2019 at 10:54 AM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. Jon LindgrenAugust 4, 2019 at 12:51 PM

      Matt--I apologize for dragging across the delete button while aiming my cursor at publish. This site offers no retrieval. Please post again and I will be more careful.

      Delete
  2. Matt NoahAugust 4, 2019 at 5:50 PM

    Amendment 1 of the Bill of Rights: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

    There is no Constitutional Right or Amendment to the Constitution which protects sex; heterosexual or homosexual.

    Therefore, a baker or photographer, whose sincerely held religious beliefs hold, may refuse to create a cake with a message contrary to their 1st Amendment religious beliefs. It doesn't matter if the people or person requesting the cake is homosexual, heterosexual, etc. What matters is the message. The same can be construed of a photographer, florist or other service provider with the same sincerely held religious beliefs.

    It is certainly true of a priest whose Church prohibits same-sex unions.

    What then of renting to unmarried couples, regardless of their religious persuasion or sexual activities? The NOLO website explains landlords can decide, in large measure, who they want to lease property - https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/living-together-book/chapter5-2.html

    So, what to make of people who continue to beat down the door of the Christian baker in Colorado who has won his right to practice his religion? Is this nice? Do they have other options which would satisfy themselves? It is clear to me that a certain segment of society has no respect for the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens, want to punish and intimidate Christians and people of other faiths and who have long ago abandoned the idea of being good neighbors in favor of their homosexual activism.

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    1. Jon LindgrenAugust 4, 2019 at 6:02 PM

      Matt--I can only repeat myself. Where does this all lead? Does it have an end game when finally increasing amounts of discrimination will topped out? Or, does some discrimination simply lead to more until the whole country is divided into camps that will not lift a finger for their enemies.

      Delete
    2. Matt NoahAugust 4, 2019 at 6:54 PM

      The "end game" as you say, is to simply follow the US Constitution. To the extent the Left can stop fomenting anger and hate, the republic can survive. I predict nothing. I don't predict civil war. I'm utterly amazed that the baker in Colorado can't be left alone when a hundred bakers exist that will bake a cake to the homosexual's liking. The Catholic Church will never be forced to marry people who openly defy the sacrament of marriage. And yet, the homosexuals who want to marry (sic) know they could satisfy their marriage ceremony at a different church, temple, synagogue, mosque (probably not) or even an open-air location with Uncle Bozo hitching them.

      What's clear is that the aggression is coming from the loony liberals. Empowered by a court ruling (like Roe v. Wade), they now feel they can lay waste to other institutions. Bakers, florists, public bathrooms, photographers, and even women's athletic events. Isn't it great that Johanna can now win the weight-lifting gold medal at the US championships. Why, just 4 years ago her name was John and he (she?) couldn't finish in the top 10 in the Fargo championships. And Johanna insists on showering and dressing in the women's locker room. Tell me, who is assaulting the country?

      Delete

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