Thursday, April 7, 2016

Mississippi Religious Freedom Bill Becomes Law

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On Monday, the lawmakers in the Mississippi House voted 69-47 to send House Bill 1523, which opponents say will allow discrimination against LGBT people, to Gov. Phil Bryant for his signature. The Mississippi Senate had passed the bill the previous week. On Tuesday, the governor signed the bill into law.
The measure, officially called the Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act, but commonly called a religious freedom law, allows businesses, government workers and religious services providers to deny LGBT individuals such things as marriage licenses, wedding planning, adoption support, counseling, property rentals, employment and certain medical procedures if the objection is based on religious objection to the applicant's lifestyle, especially related to marriage, sexuality or gender. The law protects those who deny the services from punishment.
As far as can be currently ascertained, the new law does not prevent workers with no religious objections from offering those services.
In an interview with a local CNN affiliate a few days before signing the measure, Gov. Bryant said, "I think it gives some people -- as I appreciate it -- the right to be able to say, that's against my religious beliefs and I don't need to carry out that particular task."
This law "doesn't stop anyone from getting what they want from the state," said state Rep. Randy Boyd, one of the bill's sponsors. "I have a problem with the discrimination of Christian belief." He added, "I don't uphold discrimination but I believe the Christian belief is more discriminated against than other things. ... I'm trying to get a happy medium here where people get their rights and other people aren't pressured into doing anything they don't believe in against their religious beliefs."
(A recent poll by LifeWay Research shows that an increasing number of Americans believe American Christians are facing a growing amount of intolerance.)
State Rep. Steve Holland, who opposed the bill, described it as the most hateful one he has seen in his 33 years in the state legislature, and several human rights groups have come out against the legislation.
State Sen. Jenifer Branning told reporters that the bill was requested "by a number of ministers, foster care agencies, adoption agencies and a host of individuals across the state."
Before the bill was signed, several corporations that do business in Mississippi spoke out against it, as did the Mississippi Economic Council and the Mississippi Manufacturers Association.
State Sen. John Horhn, who opposed the bill, pointed out that the U.S. Supreme Court has made same-sex marriage the law of the land, and that HB 1523 creates a "slippery slope" and "opens the door for other discriminations."
The Mississippi action comes on the heels of a somewhat similar bill in Georgia, which was passed by that state's legislature but was vetoed by Gov. Nathan Deal, and a bill in North Carolina that was vetoed by Gov. Pat McCrory, but whose veto was then overridden by the legislature.
For more specifics about Mississippi HB 1523, see especially the CNN article in the list below.
More on this story can be found at these links:
The Big Questions
1. In what circumstances, if any, should individuals, businesses or government workers be required to act in a manner that is antithetical to their religious beliefs? In what circumstances, if any, should individuals, businesses or government workers be free from coercion against their religious beliefs? Is there a reasonable limit to which one should be expected to serve the public? For instance, should bakers be asked to bake KKK cakes or should food servers be expected to serve neo-Nazi groups?
2. To what degree should religious conviction guide lawmakers? Why? Is a law that protects religious freedom in effect the establishment of a state religion regarding the matters the law touches upon? Is a law that forces a person to act against his or her religious beliefs in effect the establishment of a state religion regarding the matters the law touches upon? How do we distinguish God's laws from human laws today? How do we determine where human laws are a violation of God's?
3. What is discrimination? How is it different, if at all, from living by one's religious convictions? Is there a point at which practices arising from religious belief become sinful discrimination? Is there a point at which government prohibitions on others arising from religious beliefs become sinful discrimination? If we insist that our religious convictions prevent us from serving certain other individuals, should we expect to endure some measure of resistance or sanction as a cost of our conviction?
4. What kinds of events in recent years in the United States do you suppose triggered legislation such as this Mississippi law? Is this law the right kind of response? Why or why not?
5. To what degree is living the Christian life and applying it to real situations a matter of fresh thinking? To what degree is it the application of known principles to a specific situation? What are the risks of being static or monochromatic in our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus? What are the benefits?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Nehemiah 10:31 
... and if the peoples of the land bring in merchandise or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy it from them on the sabbath or on a holy day .... (For context, read 9:38; 10:28-39.)
After the people of Judah returned from exile, Nehemiah led them in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. The people then covenanted together about how they would live in the land in ways that were faithful to God (see 9:38). As the verse above shows, one of the ways they agreed to live was to abstain from conducting commerce on the Sabbath.
But note that they didn't threaten harm to those who did business on that day, nor did they legislate against such persons. They simply said they themselves would not participate in commerce on that day.
Question: How might the principle in this verse be applied to a Christian who is in business or is a government worker or a provider of wedding-related services when that Christian does not agree with the lifestyle of a customer or applicant? Is it reasonable for anyone engaged in sales in a multi-cultural, multi-religious society to be able to pick and choose whom they will serve, if they are offering their services to the general public?
John 4:7, 9
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." ... The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) (For context, read 4:1-29.)
Here, Jesus is breaking down cultural, religious and gender barriers that were commonly accepted at the time, even though he apparently did not approve of this woman's lifestyle (Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband" [vv. 17-18]).
Questions: When are we to hold fast to long-cherished religious traditions, and when are we to relinquish them so that something more important might take root? How does Jesus' response to this woman challenge you? What rewards have you discovered when you crossed cultural, racial, economic or religious lines? Was your life enriched or damaged through such contacts?
Matthew 5:13-14
You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. You are the light of the world .... (For context, read 5:13-16.)
Jesus said his followers should be "salt of the earth" and "the light of the world."
Questions: Since salt alone does not make a whole meal, and light is only one element of creation, what do you think Jesus meant when he applied these two terms to his followers? Does our call to be salt and light include a mandate to legislate religious freedom? Is it a call to strongly influence the world with a witness to the way of the kingdom of God?
What methods of working for good in our contemporary world are compatible with Christ's teaching? What methods are not? What persons or groups give a good example of Christ-infused behaviors that give light and salt to the unbelieving citizens of this world?
1 Corinthians 13:13
And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (For context, read 12:12--13:13.)
Although 1 Corinthians 13 is often read by itself, especially at weddings, it is really part of a larger "sermon" from Paul that includes chapters 12 and 14 as well. (That's why we have suggested that you start the context reading at 12:12, but if you have time, read all three chapters.) In these three chapters, as in much of 1 Corinthians, Paul is addressing divisions within the church, as expressed in arguments over whose spiritual gifts are the "best."
In chapter 13, Paul gets to his main point, that no matter what other gifts and talents people have received from God, the greatest gifts are faith, hope and love, and of those three, love is the very best. And it was the failure to love one another that allowed the partisan spirit to flourish and divisions to hurt the church.
The Greek word translated as "love" in 1 Corinthians 13 is agape, which is the word used throughout the New Testament to speak of the action of love by God, Christians and people of good will.Agape is not about feelings, but about actions. Agape does not require us to feel affection toward everyone or to like everyone. But it does require us to act with good will toward others, including those with whom we disagree, both within the Christian community and in society.
Questions: Where specifically should you be prepared to act with agape? How might agape apply to you when interacting with someone whose lifestyle you disapprove of? If biblical principles matter, how should we apply the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount about loving our enemies (see Matthew5:44) to matters of serving those with whose lifestyle we disapprove?
For Further Discussion
1. Respond to the following from TWW team member Edward Hortsch: "Discrimination presents a major problem for Christians. I've always felt a business should be able to refuse service to anyone. Now I am questioning that right. In the past it was often used to justify racial discrimination. Today it is more often aimed at the LGBT community. As Christians we justify that on moral grounds. 
     "When I was in business I never questioned my customers on their beliefs. I repaired office equipment; I simply fixed their typewriters or adding machines. A Mormon Institute of Religion was one of my customers. When I was trying to sell Rainbow Air Cleaning systems, I'm sure I did a demo for a lesbian couple. Should I have done business with either one? At the time I didn't think of questioning it. Although I have to admit I felt a little strange helping the Mormons, not serving them would not have accomplished anything either. We are supposed to show the love of Christ to all people; it can put us in some peculiar situations."
2. Discuss the following, from TWW team member Frank Ramirez: "I cannot agree with those who insist that Christians face discrimination in the United States. We are all free to worship as we please. Those who are unable to attend worship are usually those who have jobs in law enforcement, the medical system, food industry and service industries that most Christians expect to have available to them on Sundays or (in the case of Sabbatarians) Saturdays. I belong to the Church of the Brethren. Our Brethren cousins in Nigeria experience true religious discrimination and persecution. They are murdered and tortured, their churches are burned to the ground and their young girls are abducted by Boko Haram. I would be more sympathetic to some of these laws (after all, would I want to produce a cake with a swastika for a neo-Nazi group?) if it weren't for the fact that these laws seem to advance a more political than religious agenda."
3. TWW team member Mary Sells says that the upshot of the Mississippi law is "Prejudice is fine; hide behind this law." Do you agree? Why or why not?
4. Respond to this, from TWW consultant James Gruetzner: "It seems to me that the current controversy is about much more than religious freedom -- although it is about that -- but it is also about freedom in general. In every case that I know of concerning same-sex weddings and the like, the Christian being challenged was willing to provide services and goods for homosexuals -- and in most cases, had already proved it. The specific problem was that they did not want to do something that endorsed homosexual actions, and the government forced them to do that or be fined or prohibited from working for others in a specific field. (That this specifically targets Christians is indicated, for example, in that no one is challenging Muslim-owned bakeries that refuse to bake wedding cakes for same-sex unions.) 
     "Perhaps the Mississippi law is a small step toward moving government back toward its purpose of securing the rights of 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,' rather than denying them."
5. Did God call us who follow Jesus to establish the kingdom of God or to live according to kingdom principles? If the latter, how does that apply to today's news story?
Responding to the News
Imagine yourself in line in a bakery where a gay couple is attempting to buy a wedding cake for themselves, and they are being told "No." The bakery owner and the gay couple all consider themselves to be active, faithful Christians. What, if anything, would you say, and to whom would you say it? Why?
Prayer
Keep us moving in our faith, O Lord, that we may ever be open to your direction and will. In Jesus' name. Amen.



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