Gay Activists and Religious Freedom

Demanding to Be Served

By Chuck Colson, Christian Post Guest Columnist Friday, June 19, 2009

eHarmony is a popular online dating service designed by Neil Clark Warren, an evangelical Christian psychologist. The site claims that, on average, 236 eHarmony members marry every day. That's good news.

The bad news is that, in 2005, a man claimed the company violated his rights by not offering a matchmaking service to homosexuals. He lodged a complaint with the New Jersey attorney general, who found probable cause that eHarmony had violated state anti-discrimination laws. eHarmony vigorously disagreed.

Nevertheless, last year, eHarmony agreed to develop a matchmaking service for same-sex couples-and pay $55,000 in fines.

As I said Sunday, we've seen this scenario over and over again. Christians or Orthodox Jews open up a business, ministry, or school, and sooner or later, a same-sex couple shows up demanding services that conflict with the sincerely held religious convictions of those they confront. When the same-sex couple is turned down, they promptly sue-even if others offer to accommodate them for the same services. And too often, they are winning their cases.

It's as if the First Amendment no longer exists. I can't help but suspect that radical gays deliberately target outfits run by religious believers in order to force them to accommodate their political agenda-or go out of business.

So what can we do about this? How can we protect our First Amendment rights-and marriage itself?

First, if you are victimized by a gay activist group or same-sex couple demanding that you throw out your religious beliefs, contact the Alliance Defense Fund. They have spent many years defending the First Amendment right of religious believers-rights now under brutal attack.

Second, we've all got to work together to protect the integrity of marriage. Learn how by contacting the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy. You'll also learn why we need to pass a federal marriage amendment. I know you're getting fatigued, but it's time to stiffen our spines.

College students who want to learn how to defend traditional marriage should go to the Ruth Institute website and sign up for a summer conference. The Ruth Institute also offers a list of people who will speak to your group about marriage. Or, you can purchase a same-sex "marriage" home party kit, which includes DVDs, bumper stickers, and wrist bands. Have your friends over, and use the kit to teach them how same-sex "marriage" will harm everybody.

The issue is critical. We all must learn how to answer the charge of "bigotry," and winsomely explain why marriage cannot exist between same-sex couples; and how same-sex "marriage" will not broaden marriage, but radically and dangerously change its nature.

We must learn, as the apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:5, to "demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God."

If we don't make the case for natural marriage-or fight attempts to shut us up or shut us down-sooner or later, we will all find our most sacred liberties sacrificed on the altar of the gay agenda.