Friday, May 22, 2015

Anti-Christian Persecution's Next Steps

by JASmius



In Canada, it's no longer enough that Christian businesses participate in pagan rituals like catering and baking cakes for, and taking photo shoots of, homosexual "weddings"; now they're not even allowed to express their religious beliefs in their own establishments:

So, a Canadian Christian jeweler custom-made a pair of engagement rings for a lesbian couple, Nicole White and Pam Renouf, at their request. Later, when they found out that the jeweler personally opposes same-sex marriage, they went to pieces and demanded their money back. From the CBC’s report:

“They were great to work with. They seemed to have no issues. They knew the two of us were a same-sex couple,” White said.

“I referred some of my friends to them, just because I did get some good customer service and they had good prices.”

That was before one friend went in to purchase a ring for his girlfriend — and instead found a distressing sign.

It reads: “The sanctity of marriage is under attack. Let’s keep marriage between a man and a woman.”

The couple now believes the rings they ordered will have been "tainted" by having been fashioned by jeweler Esau Jardon’s hands, given what "impure thoughts" he holds in his mind.

It's not enough that homosexuals be served by Christians; they must be actively, 100% endorsed by Christians in every last action, slurp, and dribble of their "lifestyle," or they will be destroyed.

At first, Mr. Jardon stood his ground, meager as it was:

“I have been posting different aspects of my religious beliefs the last eleven years, and I've never had one single problem with any of my customers,” he said…

You will now, Esau.

“One of the reasons my family chose to come to Canada was the freedom of rights,” he said, noting the freedom of religion and freedom of speech…

“I feel really bad that [White] feels that we would in any way try to hurt or discriminate against her, but we will not retract from what we believe. I cannot say, ‘Well because you feel bad, I will stop believing what I believe,'” he said.

Oh, yes, you will, Mrs. Jardon.  Or else.  My advice?  Flee back to Mexico while you still can.  Or to the Islamic State, which is more tolerant of dissenting Christian opinions than the Lavender Lobby in the West, it seems:

“One of the reasons my family chose to move to Canada was the rights that it offered, the freedom of religion and freedom of speech, both of which at the time seemed to be very limited in Mexico,” he said.
“However, due to posting our religious beliefs, many people in Newfoundland want us to shut down business — that’s what they've been telling us.”

He said some threats came with names and others were anonymous.

“One of them states that ‘you better give them the money back or you will be very, very sorry,’” he said. [emphases added]

Mr. Jardon wasn't going to refund the lesbos their money, because it would be tantamount to apologizing for and "repenting" of his Christian beliefs.  That didn't last long.  Amazing how effective death threats are in winning a public debate, huh?  If you thought I was being hyperbolic in my analogy to ISIS, now you know better.

Rod Dreher handles the obligatory "What if the shoe was on the other foot?" rhetorical:

I bought some olive oil not long ago at a tiny grocery store owned by an Arab Muslim immigrant. If I find out that the merchant supports ISIS, am I entitled to declare my jug of olive oil tainted, and demand a refund?
Is a fundamentalist Christian permitted to send her osso buco back to the kitchen if she discovers that homosexual hands cooked it?

No, you and she are not.  Because this is just one more leftwingnut extremist one-way street.  And, as I always say, at the end of every leftwing "progression," lies the police state and the mass grave.

Nor, now, can U.S. soldiers, airpersons, sailors, or Marines even share their faith in uniform without getting hounded by the pagan mob:

An anti-Christian zealot is calling for the court martial of an Air Force general for publicly giving his Christian testimony while in uniform.

In a speech at the National Day of Prayer Task Force event earlier this month, Major-General Craig Olson credited God for his accomplishments in the military, and referred to himself as a "redeemed believer in Christ."

But the Air Force Times reports that Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, has taken issue with Olsen's remarks. Weinstein has called for him to be severely punished.

“[Major-General Craig Olson must be court martialed] aggressively and very visibly brought to justice for his unforgivable crimes and transgressions," Weinstein proclaimed.

Weinstein sent a letter to the Air Force Chief of Staff, accusing Olsen of violating rules within the Air Force, which he claims prohibits airmen from endorsing a particular faith or belief. [emphasis added]

I wonder of Mr. Weinstein even notices the self-righteous irony of his choice of words.  So now it's a "sin" to be a Christian, whether you're a business owner or a military officer or heaven forbid, a politician, or pretty much anything else.  In other words, it's a "sin" to be a Christian, period, and you'd better not compound it by giving your testimony or sharing your faith or witnessing to others, as Jesus Christ commanded His followers in the Great Commission, or you will be destroyed.

The Apostle Paul, via the Holy Spirit, saw all of this coming:

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.  For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. [emphases added]

If only we could, Paul, if only we could.

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