A Loud Wake-up Call For All Of Us!

California and Maine State Legislatures are in the process of passing bills that could effectively trample religious liberty, free speech, and the rights of conscience, as well as potentially ban the Bible!

This sobering reality should be a loud wake-up call for all of us! As we share this disturbing news, the California bill has already moved through the General Assembly and is now being fast-tracked for debate and a vote in the California Senate.

The California bill (AB 2943) proposes to make it unlawful to advertise or sell products or services related to sexual orientation change efforts.Licensed counselors, including pastors, could be penalized for offering counseling according to a Biblical worldview to anyone struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identity.

This bill may eventually have a far-reaching impact on businesses, universities, churches, speakers, counselors, ministry organizations, and more. "It could ban speakers who advocate for a traditional or biblical view of marriage and human sexuality," noted Monica Burke with the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation in an article for the Daily Signal. They could punish bookstores that sell "goods," including the Bible, because they contradict the state's views.

Who else is in the crosshairs? Churches could be prohibited from holding conferences on sexual purity if avoiding homosexual behavior is encouraged. Pastors and conference speakers could be banned or penalized if they teach according to a biblical worldview on marriage.

The Maine bill has similar potential to impede our religious freedom rights. The language in this bill (LD 912) is so broad that without the passage of the Austin Amendment, those considered to be "certain professionals licensed under the Maine Revised Statutes" could be penalized for counseling according to a Biblical worldview.

This legislation is being pushed by one group of anti-God citizens (including legislators) threatening the religious liberties and free speech of another group simply because they have a different set of values and beliefs.

Will you join us in sharing this article, as well as using these well-crafted talking points in your sphere of influence? If you are a resident of California or Maine, or another state that is considering a version of this bill, call your state representatives or Governor. A few minutes of your day could change the course of the nation.

We live in a day where the very notion of reality has eroded to the point that extreme pluralistic bias is the normal basis for truth and the engagement of truth claims. Even the ability to debate is undermined by pluralistic sensitivity. In short, it is an age in which—more than ever—evangelical Christians need to be clear on the authority, inerrancy and sufficiency of the Bible.

Source: Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation

 

This is a day to be the salt and light Jesus commanded to His disciples. Exercise your duty as a citizen and pray for such evil to be restrained (2 Thes. 2:7). Pray for Reformation to catch fire in America!

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