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The Church must awaken!

by Dr. A. Charles Ware
President, Crossroads Bible College
Sr. Pastor, Crossroads Bible Church



The City Council will vote on Proposal 622 on Monday, December 19, 2005.

The fundamental/evangelical church must awaken!

There should be a distinction made between civil rights for all persons and civil protection for all behavior. Due to this distinction and the fact that there is no body of evidence to substantiate the alleged broad systematic discrimination against the “gay and lesbian community” I urged that Proposal 622 either be amended by deleting references to “gender identity and sexual orientation” or that you vote against its passage. The definitions in the proposals states, “Gender identity means an individual having or being perceived as having a gender-related self-identity, self-image, appearance, expression or behavior different from those characteristics traditionally associated with the individual’s assigned sex at birth. Sexual orientation means an individual’s actual or perceived identity or practice as a lesbian woman, gay male, bisexual person or heterosexual person.”

This unquestionably parallels Romans 1:18-32 (especially Romans 1:25-27)

Although the proposal exempts religious organizations our voice needs to be heard as a moral conscience within the culture. The statement was made that over 80% of the community approves of this proposal. The truth is that we approve of civil rights for all people but disapprove of elevating immoral behavior to a legally protected minority group!

The following are some of my concerns with the passage of this proposal as it stands.

1. The law will create confusion.

• a. What about sexual orientation towards animals?
• b. What about sexual orientation towards children? With such a law could a teacher who has sex with a consenting student after work hours off campus be protected due to an “orientation for children?”
• c. How will gender specific sport’s, etc. address transsexual individuals?
• d. What will be the legal ramifications for an institution that teaches such lifestyles are immoral, then being forced by the law to hire individuals whose lifestyles clearly contradict those beliefs? What about counter suits by employees refusing to share restrooms and/or showers?
• e. Does not this law create another minority class that the minority business enterprise must include in federal or tax payer projects that require certain percentage to be given to minority owned business?
• f. Employment Law Professional says there is a Minnesota case where a male, after such law passed, came to work dressed as a woman said name was now Carla. He/she reused to go to unisex bathrooms specially built based upon self-identity as a woman. Therefore a female counter sued because of Carla coming into the women bathroom.

2. The law will force otherwise law abiding citizens to choose between obedience to deeply held moral convictions or obedience to the law.

• a. Business owners including day cares, etc., that have deeply held character or moral values that consider certain behavior to be morally wrong will be forced to make a difficult decision (either obey the law or violate moral integrity) if Proposal 622 is passed with the inclusion of the gender and sexual orientation clauses.
• b. What in the law makes provision for those who work in an environment that in the name of “diversity training” are constantly being enlightened i.e. pressured to accept such behavior as morally acceptable?

What can we do?

• 1. Pray - I Timothy 2:1-3. (personal prayer, praying in churches, prayer on Monday December 19th before and during the Council meeting.)
• 2. Repent of our lack of moral impact in the culture.
• 3. Write, email and/or call your council person and urge that they vote no to Proposal 622. If you do not know your council person go online at IndyGov.org.
• 4. Regardless of the outcome of vote on December 19, we need to form a biblical multicultural alliance giving moral leadership. I will call for a meeting in January.

“We can never retreat into our sanctuaries and neglect our civic responsibility to help set the moral tone of our culture. Leaving your neighbor in ignorance of his folly is inconsistent with the command to love him, and so political and cultural engagement are required for faithful believers.”
- Charles Colson, Break Point Ministries

posted by IndyChristian @ 2:56 PM