martes, 21 de octubre de 2014

Secular Jihad in Houston

BY WALLACE HENLEY , SPECIAL TO CP

Secular jihad – that's the best way to characterize the subpoenaing of sermons and other communications from pastors opposing the Houston city regime and their "bathroom law."

It's important not to overreact to the overreach of Mayor Annise Parker and her supporters on the Houston City Council. Yet their actions call for vigorous opposition: First, because of the violation of the Constitution's First Amendment, and second, the irrationality of the bathroom law itself. That latter reason reveals the depth of cultural insanity prevalent in contemporary society.

Calling the subpoenas a form of "secular jihad" is not an overreaction, as a close examination of the origin and meaning of "jihad" shows.

"Jihad" is "struggle" against ideas counter to what one believes to be true. Some scholars of Islam, both Muslims and non-Muslims, believe the Quran teaches three forms of jihad. Personal jihad is the individual's struggle to purify his or her soul from corrupting influence. Verbal jihad is non-violent efforts to persuade others and seek justice. Physical jihad is the use of violent force against opponents.

History shows that when verbal jihad fails there is a turn to physical jihad. Such a struggle, as extremist movements reveal, seeks to stun and astound enemies with brute use of power. One evidence of this brutishness is the factor that the five pastors who were subpoenaed were not part of the lawsuit that the city is defending against.

Mayor Parker and her Council minions do not want a public vote on their bathroom bill because it cannot be passed on merit. The secularists, despite their new militancy, are unable to persuade the public by reasonable arguments (like: it's perfectly reasonable to open women's restrooms for men who perceive of themselves as women, even if your eight-year old daughter is using the facilities). The Parker regime knows it cannot win the vote, so, in good jihadist style, it launches its version of secular jihad through the force and intimidation of the courts.

The Houston subpoenas did violence to the Constitution and the First Amendment, and this is truly stunning. Are lawyers who demanded those subpoenas, the courts that approved them, and Annise Parker and her supporters on the City Council the product of an academic system that taught them either that the Constitution was the concoction of a bunch of old slave-holding white men that can therefore be disregarded, or an educational environment that taught them nothing about the Constitution at all?

Can they really be that judicially ignorant, or is this one more attempt to stretch the Constitution to accommodate current views on homosexual rights? After all, homosexual rights and global warming are now our nation's highest foreign policy priorities according to President Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Kerry, and Candidate Hillary Clinton.

Secular jihad, like power-dependent religious jihad, wants to threaten, condemn, and dominate. Thus, said Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Pastors Council –

and a lightning rod in the current maelstrom – the subpoenas "were an act of intimidation and harassment by the city through these law firms." The objective, he thinks, was "to bury us in this type of a demand in an attempt to shut us down, to try to run us out of time, will, or money to continue this lawsuit to its conclusion."

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the subpoenas were "aggressive and invasive," and reveal a lack of regard "for the very serious First Amendment considerations at stake." In a letter from Abbott to David Feldman, Houston's city attorney, Abbott said, "your action is a direct assault on the religious liberty" constitutionally guaranteed.

Those assaults don't come just from the homosexual lobby, but from the militant atheism that threatens individuals who seek the right of free expression, ranging from schools to the public square. As the proliferation of costly litigation that harnesses free speech shows, secular power-jihad is now becoming widespread. "We do recognize that we are the latest in a series of skirmishes across the nation in this battle," said Welch.

Ironically one of the church leaders whose messages were demanded for government scrutiny was a Vietnamese pastor who had come to the United States as one of the "boat people" fleeing communist oppression in his homeland. One hopes reason will prevail, and he will see that America continues to be the "land of the free" to which he came at such great cost.

Feldman said, in response to the criticism, that the city would now limit its requests to only those pastoral communications that dealt with the bathroom bill. Another stunner: He still apparently does not understand that the Constitution gives the right to pastors to oppose government mandates on moral and ethical grounds.

The Bible these leaders follow condemns the use of violence in their resistance. The Houston pastors who take the New Testament seriously won't bomb City Hall or try to assassinate leaders. They will "sanctify Christ as Lord" in their hearts, fight on their knees in prayer, proclaim truth from their pulpits that trouble the civil powers, and, as the Apostle Peter put it, be ready to give an apologia (a reasoned defense) of the "hope that is in them." (1 Peter 3:15)

Perhaps Feldman and Parker and their friends on the Council believe they have succeeded in their stun and astound strategy of secular jihadism. Maybe they think they have cowed the pastors and congregations so they will not resist the city machine.

Actually, all they've done is awakened multitudes to the dangers and arrogant expansion of secular jihad. Churches everywhere will watch the Houston situation carefully. Houston may be the first city to see this particular application of the strategy, but if it succeeds secular jihad might be executed against church leaders of all types.

lunes, 20 de octubre de 2014

Idaho city tells pastors: Celebrate gay weddings or face fines, jail time

Politics: Idaho city tells pastors: Celebrate gay weddings or face fines, jail time

Image Credit: barbwire.com

Published by: Dan Calabrese on Monday October 20th, 2014

Fascism.

Bakers, photographers and florists are being forced to shut down their businesses unless they accede to demands that they join in the celebration of gay "marraiges," but so far no one has faced jail time for putting commitment to the Word of God ahead of the demands of homosexuals and their cultural champions.

Until now. A couple in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho who own a wedding chapel there declined the request of a gay couple that they perform their "wedding." They couple did what gay couples seem to do a lot in these situations. They didn't just go find someone else. They complained to authorities, who are now threatening to throw the pastors in jail. That's how out of control this has gotten:

The Idaho case involves Donald and Evelyn Knapp, both ordained ministers, who run Hitching Post Wedding Chapel. Officials from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, told the couple that because the city has a non-discrimination statute that includes sexual orientation and gender identity, and because the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Idaho’s constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman, the couple would have to officiate at same-sex weddings in their own chapel.

The non-discrimination statute applies to all “public accommodations,” and the city views the chapel as a public accommodation.

On Friday, a same-sex couple asked to be married by the Knapps, and the Knapps politely declined. The Knapps now face a 180-day jail term and $1,000 fine for each day they decline to celebrate the same-sex wedding.

Note how the secular left is trying to create a fascimile of the civil rights movement in turning these pastors into criminals, and doing so very disingenuously. First, of course, they're trying to make gay people the equivalent of black people, and trying to say the "discrimination" against the former is exactly the same as that practiced against the latter two generations ago. That is total nonsense. Anti-black bigotry was (and to the extent it still exists, still is) based on complete ignorance that looks at the color of a person's skin - a completely irrelevant matter - and passes a judgment against that person. Those who object to homosexuality are objecting to behavior, not appearance, and the objection is Bible-based.

(I know there are secularists who will try to say old-time racists used the Bible to justify their bigotry, and it's true that over time people have often clung to flimsy readings of Scripture to justify things. But there was never any mainstream acceptance among serious biblical scholars or pastors of such justifications. And you can read from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, and any sort of support for anti-black racism simply can't be found. By contrast, you can't get any clearer than 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 when it comes to homosexuality.)

Perhaps the more insidious tactic, though, is the misuse of the notion of "public accommodations." Back in the civil rights era, blacks were being denied access to basic accommodations like places to eat, or places to get a drink of water - things that are staples of the needs of every human being. It wasn't right to deny these things to anyone. It wouldn't be right to deny them to homosexuals, either.

The situations we're talking about today are entirely different. Bakers, florists, photographers and ministers provide services in which they actively participate and join in the celebration of the wedding ceremony. This goes way beyond accommodating your basic human need to get something to eat or to drink. It relates specifically to the behavior and lifestyle of the homosexual, and demands that the service provider actively endorse and help facilitate that behavior.

The Christian who believes homosexual sex is an abomination in the eyes of God cannot perform a gay wedding ceremony, or take photos of Bob and Gary, or write "Congratulations Anna and Shirley" on a cake without compromising his or her devotion to God. That is not the same thing as making them sandwiches.

The left wants the state to use the notion of "public accommodations" to force business owners to do things that directly violate their faith. The state is complying.

The idea that we've now reached the point where a city is prepared to put these folks in jail for refusing to take part in this travesty shows that we've passed the point where we were merely dealing with a cultural fad. We're looking at full-on fascism here. If you are risking jail, not because you did anything to anyone, but because you refused someone else's demand that you provide a service that is anathema to your faith - then we have a new civil rights crisis in this nation, and homosexuals are not the ones with the problem at all.

Take it from caintv.com

sábado, 18 de octubre de 2014

Report: Nigeria Reaches Deal With Boko Haram Islamists to Release Kidnapped School Girls

Heather Clark

viernes, 17 de octubre de 2014

Famous Scientists Who Believed in God

godandscience.org

Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)

Copernicus was the Polish astronomer who put forward the first mathematically based system of planets going around the sun. He attended various European universities, and became a Canon in the Catholic church in 1497. His new system was actually first presented in the Vatican gardens in 1533 before Pope Clement VII who approved, and urged Copernicus to publish it around this time. Copernicus was never under any threat of religious persecution - and was urged to publish both by Catholic Bishop Guise, Cardinal Schonberg, and the Protestant Professor George Rheticus. Copernicus referred sometimes to God in his works, and did not see his system as in conflict with the Bible.
Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1627)

Bacon was a philosopher who is known for establishing the scientific method of inquiry based on experimentation and inductive reasoning. In De Interpretatione Naturae Prooemium, Bacon established his goals as being the discovery of truth, service to his country, and service to the church. Although his work was based upon experimentation and reasoning, he rejected atheism as being the result of insufficient depth of philosophy, stating, "It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion; for while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them, and go no further; but when it beholdeth the chain of them confederate, and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and Deity." (Of Atheism)
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)

Kepler was a brilliant mathematician and astronomer. He did early work on light, and established the laws of planetary motion about the sun. He also came close to reaching the Newtonian concept of universal gravity - well before Newton was born! His introduction of the idea of force in astronomy changed it radically in a modern direction. Kepler was an extremely sincere and pious Lutheran, whose works on astronomy contain writings about how space and the heavenly bodies represent the Trinity. Kepler suffered no persecution for his open avowal of the sun-centered system, and, indeed, was allowed as a Protestant to stay in Catholic Graz as a Professor (1595-1600) when other Protestants had been expelled!
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

Galileo is often remembered for his conflict with the Roman Catholic Church. His controversial work on the solar system was published in 1633. It had no proofs of a sun-centered system (Galileo's telescope discoveries did not indicate a moving earth) and his one "proof" based upon the tides was invalid. It ignored the correct elliptical orbits of planets published twenty five years earlier by Kepler. Since his work finished by putting the Pope's favorite argument in the mouth of the simpleton in the dialogue, the Pope (an old friend of Galileo's) was very offended. After the "trial" and being forbidden to teach the sun-centered system, Galileo did his most useful theoretical work, which was on dynamics. Galileo expressly said that the Bible cannot err, and saw his system as an alternate interpretation of the biblical texts.
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

Descartes was a French mathematician, scientist and philosopher who has been called the father of modern philosophy. His school studies made him dissatisfied with previous philosophy: He had a deep religious faith as a Roman Catholic, which he retained to his dying day, along with a resolute, passionate desire to discover the truth. At the age of 24 he had a dream, and felt the vocational call to seek to bring knowledge together in one system of thought. His system began by asking what could be known if all else were doubted - suggesting the famous "I think therefore I am". Actually, it is often forgotten that the next step for Descartes was to establish the near certainty of the existence of God - for only if God both exists and would not want us to be deceived by our experiences - can we trust our senses and logical thought processes. God is, therefore, central to his whole philosophy. What he really wanted to see was that his philosophy be adopted as standard Roman Catholic teaching. Rene Descartes and Francis Bacon (1561-1626) are generally regarded as the key figures in the development of scientific methodology. Both had systems in which God was important, and both seem more devout than the average for their era.
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

Pascal was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and theologian. In mathematics, he published a treatise on the subject of projective geometry and established the foundation for probability theory. Pascal invented a mechanical calculator, and established the principles of vacuums and the pressure of air. He was raised a Roman Catholic, but in 1654 had a religious vision of God, which turned the direction of his study from science to theology. Pascal began publishing a theological work, Lettres provinciales, in 1656. His most influential theological work, the Pensées ("Thoughts"), was a defense of Christianity, which was published after his death. The most famous concept from Pensées was Pascal's Wager. Pascal's last words were, "May God never abandon me."
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)

In optics, mechanics, and mathematics, Newton was a figure of undisputed genius and innovation. In all his science (including chemistry) he saw mathematics and numbers as central. What is less well known is that he was devoutly religious and saw numbers as involved in understanding God's plan for history from the Bible. He did a considerable work on biblical numerology, and, though aspects of his beliefs were not orthodox, he thought theology was very important. In his system of physics, God was essential to the nature and absoluteness of space. In Principia he stated, "The most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being."
Robert Boyle (1791-1867)

One of the founders and key early members of the Royal Society, Boyle gave his name to "Boyle's Law" for gases, and also wrote an important work on chemistry. Encyclopedia Britannica says of him: "By his will he endowed a series of Boyle lectures, or sermons, which still continue, 'for proving the Christian religion against notorious infidels...' As a devout Protestant, Boyle took a special interest in promoting the Christian religion abroad, giving money to translate and publish the New Testament into Irish and Turkish. In 1690 he developed his theological views in The Christian Virtuoso, which he wrote to show that the study of nature was a central religious duty." Boyle wrote against atheists in his day (the notion that atheism is a modern invention is a myth), and was clearly much more devoutly Christian than the average in his era.
Michael Faraday (1791-1867)

Michael Faraday was the son of a blacksmith who became one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century. His work on electricity and magnetism not only revolutionized physics, but led to much of our lifestyles today, which depends on them (including computers and telephone lines and, so, web sites). Faraday was a devoutly Christian member of the Sandemanians, which significantly influenced him and strongly affected the way in which he approached and interpreted nature. Originating from Presbyterians, the Sandemanians rejected the idea of state churches, and tried to go back to a New Testament type of Christianity.
Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)

Mendel was the first to lay the mathematical foundations of genetics, in what came to be called "Mendelianism". He began his research in 1856 (three years before Darwin published hisOrigin of Species) in the garden of the Monastery in which he was a monk. Mendel was elected Abbot of his Monastery in 1868. His work remained comparatively unknown until the turn of the century, when a new generation of botanists began finding similar results and "rediscovered" him (though their ideas were not identical to his). An interesting point is that the 1860's was notable for formation of the X-Club, which was dedicated to lessening religious influences and propagating an image of "conflict" between science and religion. One sympathizer was Darwin's cousin Francis Galton, whose scientific interest was in genetics (a proponent of eugenics - selective breeding among humans to "improve" the stock). He was writing how the "priestly mind" was not conducive to science while, at around the same time, an Austrian monk was making the breakthrough in genetics. The rediscovery of the work of Mendel came too late to affect Galton's contribution.
William Thomson Kelvin (1824-1907)

Kelvin was foremost among the small group of British scientists who helped to lay the foundations of modern physics. His work covered many areas of physics, and he was said to have more letters after his name than anyone else in the Commonwealth, since he received numerous honorary degrees from European Universities, which recognized the value of his work. He was a very committed Christian, who was certainly more religious than the average for his era. Interestingly, his fellow physicists George Gabriel Stokes (1819-1903) and James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) were also men of deep Christian commitment, in an era when many were nominal, apathetic, or anti-Christian. The Encyclopedia Britannica says "Maxwell is regarded by most modern physicists as the scientist of the 19th century who had the greatest influence on 20th century physics; he is ranked with Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein for the fundamental nature of his contributions." Lord Kelvin was an Old Earth creationist, who estimated the Earth's age to be somewhere between 20 million and 100 million years, with an upper limit at 500 million years based on cooling rates (a low estimate due to his lack of knowledge about radiogenic heating).
Max Planck (1858-1947)

Planck made many contributions to physics, but is best known for quantum theory, which revolutionized our understanding of the atomic and sub-atomic worlds. In his 1937 lecture "Religion and Naturwissenschaft," Planck expressed the view that God is everywhere present, and held that "the holiness of the unintelligible Godhead is conveyed by the holiness of symbols." Atheists, he thought, attach too much importance to what are merely symbols. Planck was a churchwarden from 1920 until his death, and believed in an almighty, all-knowing, beneficent God (though not necessarily a personal one). Both science and religion wage a "tireless battle against skepticism and dogmatism, against unbelief and superstition" with the goal "toward God!"
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Einstein is probably the best known and most highly revered scientist of the twentieth century, and is associated with major revolutions in our thinking about time, gravity, and the conversion of matter to energy (E=mc²). Although never coming to belief in a personal God, he recognized the impossibility of a non-created universe. The Encyclopedia Britannica says of him: "Firmly denying atheism, Einstein expressed a belief in "Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the harmony of what exists." This actually motivated his interest in science, as he once remarked to a young physicist: "I want to know how God created this world, I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details." Einstein's famous epithet on the "uncertainty principle" was "God does not play dice" - and to him this was a real statement about a God in whom he believed. A famous saying of his was "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."

Christian Mother of Five Death Sentence for Blasphemy Upheld by Pakistani Court

Christian Mother of Five Death Sentence for Blasphemy Upheld by Pakistani Court

BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER

(PHOTO: MOHSIN RAZA)

The death sentence of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman and mother of five children, was upheld by the Lahore High Court in Pakistan on Thursday. Bibi has been convicted of blasphemy for drinking from the same bowl of water as Muslims and making derogatory comments about the prophet Muhammad.

"The case against Asia Bibi is a great example of how Christians and other religious minorities are abused in Pakistan by fundamentalists wielding the controversial blasphemy laws. The blasphemy laws were originally written to protect against religious intolerance in Pakistan, but the law has warped into a tool used by extremists and others to settle personal scores and persecute Pakistan's vulnerable religious minorities," said International Christian Concern's Regional Manager for South Asia, William Stark.

"Sadly, the vast majority of blasphemy accusations brought against Christians and others are false. Unfortunately, pressure from Islamic radical groups and general discrimination against Christians in Pakistan has transformed trial courts and now appeals courts into little more than rubber stamps for blasphemy accusations brought against Christians, regardless of the evidence brought to bear in the case."

Bibi was sentenced in 2010 following an incident in 2009 where she was harvesting berries with a group of Muslim women in Sheikhupura. The Muslim women accused her of drinking from the same water bowl as them, which was considered unclean as she is a Christian. Following an argument, the women went to a local cleric and told him that Bibi had blasphemed against Islam.

BBC News noted that the sentencing sparked global condemnation from several human rights groups, who criticized Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws. ICC and other critics of these laws say that they are often used to settle personal scores and unfairly target minorities, especially Christians.

Bibi's appeal hearing was initially scheduled to take place on March 17, but was delayed and rescheduled, before finally taking place on Thursday. The Christian mother's lawyers have said that they will take the case to the country's Supreme Court.

Earlier this year, Christian mother Meriam Ibrahim was spared the death penalty and allowed to go free by the court in Sudan, after having initially been found guilty of refusing to identify as a Muslim and for marrying her Christian husband. Ibrahim's freedom was won in part thanks to a huge international campaign that petitioned for her release, which included pressure on Sudan from several American politicians, such as Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

jueves, 16 de octubre de 2014

The Houston Subpoenas and the Criminalization of the Pulpit

BY WALLACE HENLEY , SPECIAL TO CP

October 15, 2014|12:45 pm

The first step toward criminalization of the American pulpit may have just been taken in Houston. It is a frightening moment not just for the church in America's fourth largest city, but for the pulpit throughout the United States.

Last June, after an intense public debate and the protestations of 400 Houston-area pastors, the City Council, at the behest of lesbian Mayor Annise Parker's administration, passed a non-discrimination ordinance that would permit men to use women's restrooms and women to access men's, based on trans-gender concerns among others.

A petition drive to put the Council's mandate on the ballot collected some 50,000 signatures, almost three times those required. The city administration rejected the petition, claiming irregularities. A group not including the pastors filed suit against the Council's action.

Now city attorneys are demanding sermons and other statements that will be inspected presumably for comments that might be construed as anti-homosexual.

I serve a Houston-area church, and my first thought on reading of the shocking action was of an experience in the former Soviet bloc where I ministered not long after the collapse of communism.

I was part of a group conducting a pastor's conference. After one of the sessions, we noticed consternation among the church leaders. They had spotted a "red pastor" in the room. This was the designation given pastors who would spy on their fellow preachers, and report any deviation from the Communist Party line, or the dictates of a local regime.

I also remembered Martin Niemoeller and other Nazi-era pastors in Germany. When Niemoeller awoke to the truth about Hitler, his became one of the most eloquent voices among many against the Hitler regime. Priests, pastors, and rabbis were in the first groups to be imprisoned at Dachau. More than a thousand would die there.

Mayor Parker is a brilliant, able leader. Her understanding of finance and other policy issues have benefited the whole region where I live and serve. That her administration might be remembered historically as the first in American history to attempt to investigate the pulpit is a disappointment.

Several years ago I conducted a large funeral at our church for a fallen firefighter. Mayor Parker was present, and wanted to speak about the public servant who had lost his life helping Houston's citizens. I debated with myself whether or not to stand when she stepped onto the platform. The rumblings that would explode into full view in the bathroom ordinance were already stirring in our community. Yet, when she came to the pulpit I did stand to honor the Office of Mayor that she occupied. I felt it would be petty and disrespectful to do otherwise.

How sad that Mayor Parker's administration itself has fallen into pettiness and disrespect for the sanctity of the pulpit. When I read of the Houston subpoenas I recalled work by Yale Professor Harry S. Stout. He studied the American pulpit in the Colonial era, and details findings in his book, The New England Soul: Preaching and Religious Culture in Colonial New England, and in other writings.

More than 2,000 times a week by 1776, New Englanders were hearing pulpiteers explain the deeper implications of Parliamentary dominance and abuse. They revealed the larger issues, the authority of Scripture and the destiny they believed New England had been given as crucial for proclaiming God's Kingdom, according to Stout.

New England preachers understood about the power abuses they perceived in the British Parliament. When human regimes clashed with that eternal Kingdom, the pastors were not afraid to say so. There are even deeper issues now: the tromping of the Constitution and the setting of a path that could find reason for criminalizing the pulpit.

To be fair, preachers of all religions must give careful thought when they enter the pulpit. The aim must always be to deliver God's word, not human distortions. Truth must always be balanced with grace and grace with truth. And when the hard message must be spoken, it must be proclaimed with a broken, compassionate heart, and should always end with hope. Pulpiteers do not have the authority to inflame anger or incite violence. Those who enter the pulpit must recognize the high trust given them, and speak with discernment and discretion as well as courage. They have not only the right but the responsibility to speak about moral and ethical issues in their society.

Tyrants have tried across history to mute the pulpit, and have failed again and again. When the Prophet Amos would not adjust his message to suit King Jeroboam, the king's religious lackey, Amaziah, ordered him not to prophesy at Jeroboam's sanctuary and house. (See Amos 7)

In a previous Christian Post column I wrote about the sequence often followed in the attempt to silence churches: caricaturization to marginalization to vilification to villainization to criminalization to elimination.
One hopes we are not seeing in Houston the beginning of the attempt to criminalize the pulpit as its occupants speak on moral and ethical issues.

Take it from Christian Post

Christian persecution in the US: Openly gay Houston mayor demands pastors turn over sermons

Written by Allen West on October 15, 2014

My friends, the persecution of Christian pastors has begun in this country. We previously warned about the efforts of the Freedom from Religion Foundation and its secretive settlement with the IRS allowing them to demand sermons to scrutinize for “political activity.” Well, it has indeed happened, in one of the reddest of red states in the reddest county in America: Houston, Harris County, Texas.

As reported by Fox News, “The city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor. And those ministers who fail to comply could be held in contempt of court. “The city’s subpoena of sermons and other pastoral communications is both needless and unprecedented,” Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Christina Holcomb said in a statement. “The city council and its attorneys are engaging in an inquisition designed to stifle any critique of its actions.” ADF, a nationally-known law firm specializing in religious liberty cases, is representing five Houston pastors. They filed a motion in Harris County court to stop the subpoenas arguing they are “overbroad, unduly burdensome, harassing, and vexatious.”

If there is anything that should unify Americans, it should be an assault on Christian ministers. It is absolutely amazing that the Obama administration sends a personal congratulatory note to the Islamic center in Oklahoma that spawned Alton Nolen who beheaded a 54-year-old American grandmother — and we have this openly lesbian progressive socialist tyrant allowing a subpoena against Christian pastors.

This is the test case (and as it happens I was just in Houston last week and will be back next Monday) and this is unconscionable! However, if this case is successful, it will be replicated elsewhere — and where is the Left screaming out about First Amendment rights of these pastors: “Freedom of religion and the free exercise thereof?” Where is the ACLU? After all, they care so much about the rights of unlawful enemy combatants aka Islamic jihadists and terrorists.

“Political and social commentary is not a crime,” attorney Holcomb said. “It is protected by the First Amendment.” Fox says, “the subpoenas are just the latest twist in an ongoing saga over Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance. The law, among other things, would allow men to use the ladies room and vice versa. The city council approved the law in June.”

This is just how upside down Mayor Parker is and reflects her intent to establish a radical far left, gender-blind agenda and through coercion and intimidation, destroy any opposition – including church leaders. This is the tyranny of the Left and the radical gay agenda in full display. And I just have to ask, how does this bring anyone into alignment with the gay community if they are fully supportive of these initiatives?

Houston is home to Pastor Joel Osteen and I wonder if he’s going to make a stand and speak out — or is his ministry just for show? I can bet that just up the road in San Antonio, Pastor John Hagee won’t be taking this lying down. And what about Pastor T.D. Jakes up in Dallas — where does he stand?

Many people laughed when the progressive socialists came out with their “Turn Texas Blue” campaign – who’s laughing now? The State Capitol of Texas, Austin, is well known as a bastion of progressive socialists and now look at what’s happened in Houston — perhaps Gov. Rick Perry should stop going to Blue states and asking them to move to Texas. Leftist progressives are like locusts; wherever they migrate they bring along their destructive policies and agenda in order to infest their new host — just look at how the migration of leftist progressives from California has affected Colorado? And now it’s happening to Texas.

Here’s a clear example of the radical gay agenda and tyranny of Houston Mayor Parker. Per Fox, “the Houston Chronicle reported opponents of the ordinance launched a petition drive that generated more than 50,000 signatures – far more than the 17,269 needed to put a referendum on the ballot. However, the city threw out the petition in August over alleged irregularities.” As voter referendums supporting traditional marriage are being tossed aside by courts, judicial activism and legislating from the bench is alive and well.

“After opponents of the bathroom bill filed a lawsuit, the city’s attorneys responded by issuing the subpoenas against the pastors. The pastors were not part of the lawsuit. However, they were part of a coalition of some 400 Houston-area churches that opposed the ordinance. The churches represent a number of faith groups – from Southern Baptist to non-denominational.”

Mayor Parker won’t explain why she wants to inspect the sermons — and what makes her believe she has the power to do so anyway. Mayor Parker’s director of communications, Janice Evans, said “We don’t comment on litigation.”

Fox reports that “ADF attorney Stanley suspects the mayor wants to publicly shame the ministers. He said he anticipates they will hold up their sermons for public scrutiny. In other words – the city is rummaging for evidence to “out” the pastors as anti-gay bigots. Among those slapped with a subpoena is Steve Riggle, the senior pastor of Grace Community Church. He was ordered to produce all speeches and sermons related to Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality and gender identity. The mega-church pastor was also ordered to hand over “all communications with members of your congregation” regarding the non-discrimination law. “This is an attempt to chill pastors from speaking to the cultural issues of the day,” Riggle told me. “The mayor would like to silence our voice. She’s a bully.” Rev. Dave Welch, executive director of the Texas Pastor Council, also received a subpoena. He said he will not be intimidated by the mayor.”

I’ve said before that America is under assault from the unholy alliance of progressive socialists, Islamo-fascists, and secular humanists. What is happening in Houston is wrong on so many levels, it defies logic and reason but it is to be expected from the tyranny of the Left.

If Mayor Parker is successful, it will happen in other major American cities under radical progressive socialist control. It is time for all — especially Christian Pastors — to stand up, “be strong and courageous,” and defy this illegal edict reminiscent of Henry the Eighth, who proclaimed himself head of state and head of church.

Mayor Annise Parker is out of control, and knowing the backbone of true Texans and Houstonians, she will be defeated. To the gay community, if this is what you support and believe in, you’re not positively advancing your case – but demonstrating you advocate coercion as a means.

Time to rally America, and let’s send a message to Mayor Annise Parker of Houston: Molon Labe!

Take from http://allenbwest.com/2014/10/christian-persecution-us-openly-gay-houston-mayor-demands-pastors-turn-sermons/