Conflict and Criticism

It remains to be seen how a recent controversy will affect evangelist Greg Laurie’s annual SoCal Harvest Aug. 17-19. However, considerable media coverage in the Los Angeles area could ultimately boost attendance at the 29-year-old event.  Laurie, who leads the Riverside-based Harvest Christian Fellowship, was featured in a promotional billboard holding a generic Bible. After two weeks, the Irvine Company removed billboards from a Newport Beach mall and the Irvine Spectrum because of complaints. In a blog post last week, Laurie pointed out the book didn’t say Bible or have a cross on it, although he affirmed it was a [...]

A new report from a non-partisan Christian organization is calling for paid family leave time, the topic of a recent panel in the U.S. Senate. “Time to Flourish: Protecting Families’ Time for Work and Care” looks at pressures families face amid employment and caregiving duties. It was written by Rachel Anderson, resident fellow with the sponsoring Center for Public Justice (CPJ), and Katelyn Beaty, an editor-at-large with Christianity Today. “We believe Christians are called to steward their citizenship in order to shape policies and cultural norms that protect the family,” said the center’s CEO, Stephanie Summers. “This report is for [...]

An attempt to turn a one-time Episcopal church into a hotel, events center, and restaurant in the Finger Lakes region of north central New York is headed back to court. Opponents of the redevelopment of Trinity Episcopal Church in Geneva have twice taken legal action in an attempt to scuttle a zoning variance for the project, according to a report in the Finger Lakes Times. The latest case is scheduled to go before a judge Sept. 10. Opponents say none of the components of the proposed development are permitted in that area of the town of 13,000.  “The repurposing of [...]

A couple in a community northeast of Pittsburgh is challenging the borough government, which contends Bible studies and other religious events on their 32-acre farm are violating a zoning ordinance.  The Independence Law Center of Harrisburg—a public-interest law firm affiliated with the Pennsylvania Family Institute—has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Scott and Theresa Fetterolf. It says the Sewickley Heights Borough’s attempts to prevent them from using their farm for religious purposes violates their civil rights. The Law Center’s chief counsel, Randall Wenger, points out the borough is trying to restrict worship. Yet, he said it permits such activities [...]

The owner of a Hawaii bed and breakfast has lost an appeal to the Hawaii Supreme Court after refusing to rent a room to a lesbian couple. Phyllis Young of Aloha Bed & Breakfast said her denial stemmed from her beliefs that a marriage is between one man and one woman. The women sued in 2011; a lower court ruled in their favor in 2013. In February, an intermediate appellate court affirmed the decision, deciding that Young discriminated against the women because of their sexual orientation.  This month, the state’s supreme court rejected Young’s petition for a review of the [...]

With support from Michigan Gov. Richard Snyder and Atty. Gen. Bill Schuette, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) is a notch closer to winning its legal battle with Wayne State University.  The Christian student group sued the university and both state officials in March after being kicked off campus in late 2017.  The dispute originated with IVCF’s insistence on selecting only those who ascribe to Christian principles as officers. Wayne State officials said they were not required to “subsidize” discrimination, even though they allow 90 other groups to choose their officers. However, Snyder and Schuette sided with IVCF, saying the state’s universities [...]

The owners of a Phoenix art studio that has declined to make wedding invitations for same sex couples is appealing their case to the Arizona Supreme Court.  Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski of Brush & Nib Studio lost a bid to prevent the city from enforcing its anti-discrimination ordinance. The studio creates custom artwork using hand lettering and painting and calligraphy to celebrate weddings and other events. The owners argue their work is “inextricably related” to their Christian beliefs.  Last month, the Arizona Court of Appeals refused to hear their case, but now the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) plans to [...]

A group of “religious” pot smokers lost their bid to use Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act to justify the use of marijuana as their chosen sacrament. The First Church of Cannabis filed suit against Indiana three years ago, claiming the state’s marijuana restrictions placed a substantial burden on its exercise of religion. However, Marion County Judge Sheryl Lunch recently dismissed the suit, saying the state had reasonable grounds to not allow the church to circumvent the law. Undermining Indiana’s ability to enforce marijuana laws would allow “anyone charged with violating those (to) simply invoke ‘religious’ exemption, triggering time-consuming—if not practically [...]

While immigration disputes engulf Congress, a group of faith, business, national security and law enforcement leaders are urging both sides to come together in constructive conversations about the issue. Founded in 2013, the National Immigration Forum recently placed a full-page ad in the Washington, D.C. edition of the New York Times. Among signers of the statement were Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; Shirley Hoogstra, president of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities; and Bishop Joe S. Vasquez, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration. Among the other 65 signatories [...]

While many evangelicals question the seriousness of global warming, the Church of England has sided with environmentalists. Its endowment and investment funds will sell their shares in fossil fuel companies that are slow to tackle global warming issues by 2023. At its recent General Synod, the ruling body voted 347-4 to divest holdings in companies that fail to align their business with the Paris Agreement. The accord calls for restricting global temperature rises to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). “The church must play a leading role and exercise its moral leadership on the issue of climate change,” the [...]

President Donald Trump and Republican supporters have credited last December’s tax cut legislation with stirring economic recovery and reducing unemployment to 3.8 percent. But non-profits are protesting an obscure provision of the bill. The Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability (ECFA) is circulating an electronic petition against the law as it relates to employee parking. Nearly 2,300 parties had signed the petition by early July. The ECFA, which oversees more than 2,200 ministries, and other non-profits are protesting having to file federal income tax returns. They must pay unrelated business income tax (UBIT) on the cost of parking and other transportation [...]

Criticism and complaining can be an event or a lifestyle. Here is an antidote to consider.

Although one of the nation’s largest growing fast-food chains, Chick-fil-A’s support of traditional marriage has prompted continuing criticism nationwide from the gay and lesbian community.  That included harsh criticism of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on social media after he tweeted about eating at Chick-fil-A in early June. However, recently the chicken chain found support from an unlikely source: the leader of Georgia’s Log Cabin Republicans, a pro-gay group.  In an interview with Q magazine, which serves Atlanta’s LGBTQ community, Jamie Ensley said the “liberal bullying” of the chain must end.  He told the magazine he was motivated by the Dorsey [...]

A federal appeals court has dismissed a challenge by an Arkansas circuit court judge who had been banned from hearing death-penalty cases after he protested against capital punishment. Judge Wendell Griffen—also pastor of New Millennium Church in Little Rock—claimed the state’s supreme court had violated his free speech and religious rights. The court stopped him from hearing capital cases after he participated in an anti-death penalty demonstration on Good Friday in 2017. Although a lower court had ruled Griffen’s lawsuit could proceed, in a 2-1 ruling the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision. It denied his claims [...]