By Jason Hines, PhD – The Court will answer two questions. First, ?does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?? Second, ?does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?? These questions create three possible outcomes.
By Jason Hines – Today the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that Hobby Lobby and other closely held corporations can refuse to cover certain forms of contraception in the insurance plans they provide to employees because of their “religious beliefs.” Now I put religious beliefs in quotes because despite the Court’s decision, I refuse to admit that corporations, created in order to separate themselves from the people who create them, can have religious beliefs.
First Nebuchadnezzar forced the people to worship himself under threat of death. Then he forced the people to worship God under threat of death. He was wrong both times. — By Jason Hines – On January 15 the United States celebrated Religious Freedom Day. Each year on that day we officially recognize the benefits of a wide open society that is respectful not only of people of different faiths, but also of people who have no faith at all. In a statement President Obama said, “Today, America embraces people of all faiths and of no faith. We are Christians and Jews, Muslims and Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs, atheists and agnostics… Our religious diversity enriches our cultural fabric and reminds us that what binds us as one is not the tenets of our faiths, the colors of our skin, or the origins of our names. What makes us American is our adherence to shared ideals – freedom, equality, justice, and our right as a people to set our own course.” It is unfortunate we live in a society where some people do not share these lofty ideals. It is even more unfortunate that some of these people who do not share these ideals are Christians.
By Jason Hines – Hobby Lobby is attempting to argue that they will deduct the cost of birth control from their employees’ salary so that employees can’t buy birth control with the salary they are given. The health insurance does not belong to Hobby Lobby, it belongs to the employees.
By Jason Hines – You will at some point experience doubt, fear, sadness, disappointment – these things come. They are the cost of doing business in an imperfect world. However, avoid the temptation to believe that your story is finished when it is only in the middle. If we can just hold on things will get better because God is still writing our stories.
Neither Hollingsworth nor Windsor demand that any church, even in states that allow gay marriage, be forced to conduct gay weddings. Moreover, these decisions do not affect the ability of churches to decry homosexuality or homosexual conduct as immoral.
By Jason Hines – The parable of the wheat and tares teaches Christians a simple lesson: That we should not be eager to rip up the “tares” and destroy them (or at best separate from them) before the appointed time.
By Jason Hines – Now the clock is ticking for the group because there are KY tourism tax incentives for the project that are set to expire in May of 2014. The longer it takes to open the park, the less the group can receive in rebates. Under the current plan, the group can receive up to 25% of the cost of the project over ten years.
By Jason Hines – I wonder sometimes what this world would be like if we responded with the love and grace of God instead of with the seemingly righteous condemnation we hear far too often. I know every Christian doesn’t act that way, but sometimes it seems like we think God’s grace is some finite substance, and that if we extend it to the people most in need of it, we somehow won’t have enough for our own use. I am here to assure us all tonight; God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness, and God’s grace is not only sufficient enough for you, but for every single human being.
These types of incidents used to be few and far between for us in the United States. (I fully realize that these types of events are a way of life for many people around the world.) To feel for the people suffering in Boston and the people suffering in West was just too much for me, as much as I knew and know that deserve all the sympathy, empathy, love and prayers that I can give. As the time has passed this week my hearts have gone out to them and I wish them a peace and a comfort that I believe only God can give.