Mat Staver

Religious Right Activists Fear Boy Scouts Will Soon Face 'Homosexual Indoctrination'

Conservative leaders are continuing to rally opposition to a proposed plan to end the national ban on gay members in the Boy Scouts of America with warnings about pedophilia and “indoctrination.”

Family Research Council vice president Rob Schwarzwalder told Janet Mefferd yesterday that fathers cannot trust their sons to be around gay people.

Mefferd called gay rights advocates “totalitarian” for opposing the ban and lamented that the “violins are playing full blast” in the media when they cover stories about gay youths kicked out of the Boy Scouts.

Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel said in a statement that “people like Jerry Sandusky” would be “permitted to be Scoutmasters” if the policy changes, adding, “To allow homosexual Scoutmasters or homosexual Scouts will put young boys at risk.”

Concerned Women for America started a letter-writing campaign against the move before gays attempt “to infiltrate the next generation.” The group even claimed that if gays are allowed to join the Boy Scouts, it would mean that “our religious liberties are being taken away”…somehow.

The Texas Pastors Council called on parents to “defend our children” and not “allow our boys to be targeted by those who believe there is no moral code and no definition of gender” and stop those who are bent on “forcing their immorality on society.”

Pastors, if the scouts fall, the church is next in the sights of the activists committed to forcing their immorality on society – WILL YOU COME?

Fathers, if we allow our boys to be targeted by those who believe there is no moral code and no definition of gender – WHO WILL DEFEND OUR CHILDREN?

Mothers, your voice of courage and protection of the virtue of our children is desperately needed – WILL YOU STAND ALSO?

Florida Family Policy Council president John Stemberger went on another anti-gay rant, alleging that the BSA will “open a can of worms that would cause a mass exodus” and “devastate the Boy Scouts permanently.”

If the BSA departs from its policies on allowing openly homosexual scoutmasters and boys in the program it could destroy the legitimacy and the security of this iconic institution.

As an Eagle Scout, former Scoutmaster and a Vigil Honor Member of the Order of the Arrow, I have a deep personal interest in passing on the rich experience of Scouting to my two sons and I pray that the BSA does not open a can of worms that would cause a mass exodus from a program that America needs now more than ever to train boys to become responsible men. A change of this policy could transform and devastate the Boy Scouts permanently. Additionally, the vast majority of Americans do not support changing the policy to allow openly homosexual scout leaders, so this proposed change makes no sense on many levels.

2000 presidential candidate Alan Keyes in WorldNetDaily warned of “homosexual indoctrination” and “idolatry” in the Boy Scouts if they change the policy:

The simple words of the Scout Oath were meant to encourage boys in the habit of walking this straight path; hence the endeavor to be “morally straight.” But the oath first of all made it clear that the Scout looked first of all to God as the standard of moral rectitude. Try as they might, the present-day trustees of the Scouting movement will never fit the square peg of God’s standard into the round hole of homosexual sin. Moreover, though they begin by admitting practicing homosexuals into the ranks, they must end in acknowledging homosexual activity as morally correct, else they will involve the whole movement in the perjurious administration of an oath openly violated in practice. For in that moral sense, it is not possible to be gay and morally straight at the same time. Thus what the present trustees of the BSA reportedly may do involves rejecting God’s standard for male sexual behavior. And it involves doing so in a way that willfully abandons the straight path blazed by the footsteps of Christ.

…

By accepting a humanly fabricated redefinition of the moral standard, the BSA will fall prey to the inevitable logic of such idolatry. “Their idols are … the work of human hands … those who make them become like unto them; so do all who trust in them.” (Psalm 115:8) It will speedily become evident that what masquerades as tolerance is actually indoctrination, seeking to mold boys according to the standard the BSA trustees will have raised above God’s standard. For if homosexual activity is morally acceptable as an expression of love and good fellowship, then those who express their love accordingly do what is right.

But the aim of Scouting is to encourage young men to do what is right in various ways. Therefore, once the moral prejudice against homosexuality is regarded as a violation of right, doing things that habitually assault and break down this prejudice becomes part of “moral training.” Just as, on many campuses now, refusal to experiment with homosexuality is frowned upon as a sign of bigotry, so henceforth in Scouting braking down this prejudice would be recognized as a meritorious activity. Though camouflaged in different words there will be a merit badge for this experimentation as part of the regime of homosexual indoctrination. God knows what that will lead to; and given now widely publicized possibilities, so should the BSA Inc.
Brian Tashman's blog

Staver: CIA Nominee John Brennan is 'Indebted to Islam'

As Brian noted last week, anti-Islam activists are gearing up to oppose John Brennan, President Obama’s nominee to head the CIA, for supposedly being too sympathetic to Islam.  Not only is Brennan's ability to speak Arabic of concern to them, but so are comments he made stating that his travels in Islamic countries have taught him about "the goodness and beauty of Islam" and "helped to shape my own world view."

And that sort of attitude is unacceptable to people like Mat Staver who suggests that Brennan's experience with Islam will make him unwilling to go after terrorists, warning that "if our CIA Director has had his worldview shaped by this kind of radical ideology, that should be concerning to every American":

Kyle Mantyla's blog

Mat Staver Accuses Obama of 'Blasphemy' and Hopes for Impeachment

Liberty Counsel head Mat Staver appeared yesterday on Crosstalk where he excoriated President Obama for speaking out in favor of gay equality during his inauguration, and went on to predict that House Republicans will call for his impeachment.

After host Jim Schneider of VCY America recounted pastor Louie Giglio’s decision to withdraw from the inauguration proceedings over an anti-gay sermon, Staver criticized Obama and Episcopal priest Luis Leon for their “unbelievable” and “unprecedented” advocacy of gay rights during the inauguration.

“To swear on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible during the inaugural address is just really blasphemy to do that,” Staver said, “Lincoln stood for principles completely different than this President stood for.”

Staver continued his anti-gay rant by maintaining that Obama is “the most immoral president that we’ve ever had in history” who is “pushing an immorality that is stunning.” He called Obama a “dictatorial president” who “does not like America” or the Constitution and blamed his “[putting] in-your face amoral, immoral and anti-American rhetoric and policies” for a spike in gun sales.

Staver: The next four years are going to be worse than the last four years and today’s inaugural address really sets the tone.

Schneider: And also Mat in the parade that’s going on right now we have the participation of the Gay & Lesbian Band Association in this parade and then Rolling Stone came out reporting a source told them that Lady Gaga is going to be one of the artists performing at a ball for the White House staffers tonight.

Staver: What we have is the President who is not the President of the United States, he is president of the divided states and he relishes in dividing the states among each other. He has this famous speech that he gave during a Democratic convention several years ago when he was a state senator and he talks about ‘there’s not red states and blue states but the United States of America,’ that’s not this President. This President runs to divide people, to divide and conquer and ultimately dismantle and deconstruct. He’s doing that with morality, he’s doing it with marriage, he’s trying to divide and conquer. Really, he is the most immoral president that we’ve ever had in history, pushing an immorality that is stunning.

Schneider: Mat, there is another aspect to this too and it is the Messiah-like image. Have you seen the Newsweek magazine yet? This is a side profile photo of the President with the headline, The Second Coming, it’s a biblical reference to the return of Christ. Keep in mind a couple of years ago they had ‘Obama God of All Things’ on the cover and then there’s another poster that’s being sold by street vendors today which Fox News reports doesn’t have the official endorsement of the White House but features the image of the president in prayer with the headline, ‘Prophecy Fulfilled.’ And of course Mat we won’t forget Jamie Foxx called Obama ‘our Lord and Savior’ recently at some music awards as well.

Staver: You know this kind of Messianic complex that people were putting on him and Obama doesn’t do anything to stop it. They may say that this is not what President Obama endorsed but the President can come out and hit that head on and stop that kind of Messianic complex. We saw it during the first inauguration and the first run for president, now we see it again in the second one. He is not the Messiah.

He is someone who does not like America; he is someone who does not like the fundamental values on which America is based; he doesn’t adhere to the Constitution; he is a dictatorial president that thinks the Constitution is an inconvenience put in his path. He as a President doesn’t work across the aisle, in fact he doesn’t even work with his own party, he doesn’t even invite his own party leaders to Camp David, he is not somebody who wants to get involved and actually solve the problems of the country, he wants to dictate how these things that are very important to all Americans ought to work.

Thus as a result you’re seeing gun sales go up all across America. Why is that? These are law-abiding citizens that are concerned that basic fundamental rights are being taken away from them so the lines are long, they’re just enormous in terms of the crowds that are taking place around the country and it’s because he is agitating the people. He is constantly agitating, constantly putting in-your face amoral, immoral and anti-American rhetoric and policies.

Later, Staver dismissed Obama’s re-election a mere two months ago and said that House Republicans should immediately consider impeaching Obama in order to push back against his policy agenda.

Caller: The founders gave us in the Constitution a means of dealing with people like Barack Obama, it is called impeachment. Staver: Yeah. Caller: We need to get onto our legislators and tell them in no uncertain terms if they want to go back to Washington they better get busy and get rid of this man. He has been incalculated [sic] with hate America from that day he was born.

Schnedier: Appreciate that, let’s quickly talk about impeachment. Mat, the House has to develop the articles; some congressmen have said that if the President does such and so we will initiate that.

Staver: Yeah I would not be surprised if shortly after this second term comes that you will have some impeachment proceedings in the House. He’s just going to push, push, push, push and he’s going to push people over the edge. I think the House will respond and if not we need to make sure that they do respond. That’s what the previous caller was getting at, when they initiated these impeachment proceedings during the Clinton administration and stopped him from doing a lot of the things he otherwise wanted to do in his term of office.

Obama is different from Clinton in many respects because he is more ideologically driven than Clinton, he is more radical than Clinton, it’s amazing when you almost think it would be nice to have Clinton back because he’s radical but he’s not as radical. Obama is the most radical ideologically driven president in history. He will do anything to reach his ideological agenda. He is not a politician and he doesn’t want to compromise, he doesn’t want to reach out to push his agenda. I think we’re going to have to have some very strong push back and impeachment I think is one of those areas.
Brian Tashman's blog

Barber & Staver: Federal Funding for Planned Parenthood is Like 'Enriching Hitler'

On yesterday's episode of Liberty Counsel's "Faith and Freedom" radio program, Matt Barber and Mat Staver discussed the 40th anniversary of Roe v Wade and the issue of federal funding for family planning services at Planned Parenthood, which Staver likened to "enriching Hitler," saying it was no different than forcing people to fund a "Hitler kind of killing machine, or Pol Pot or some of these other genocide tyrants":

Kyle Mantyla's blog

Barber & Staver: Obama is Pushing America Toward Civil War

2013 is the 150th anniversary of both the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address, and so Liberty Counsel has christened this year a "New Birth of Liberty." As Matt Barber and Mat Staver explained, President Obama is the antithesis of Abraham Lincoln and is systematically working to divide and weaken America and pushing the nation toward civil war:

Kyle Mantyla's blog

Staver: Banning Guns Will Just Cause Bad People to Build Fertilizer Bombs

On the "Faith and Freedom" radio program, Matt Barber and Mat Staver warned that the Second Amendment was under attack, which was no surprise since the Left is always "drooling [and] can hardly contain themselves" over opportunities to exploit tragedies like Sandy Hook in order to "completely disarm" America.

But taking away guns won't stop school killings, Staver stated, because then people would just resort to knives or to constructing massive fertilizer bombs like Timothy McVeigh. 

The real problem, Staver and Barber insisted, is that we've removed prayer and the Ten Commandments from our schools and so America is in a "moral crisis" and "sick to the core":

Kyle Mantyla's blog

Barber & Staver: Scott Lively Lawsuit is an Attempt to Intimidate and Silence Christians

Liberty Counsel has been representing anti-gay pastor Scott Lively in the lawsuit filed against him stemming from his anti-gay activism in Uganda. Not surprisingly, Matt Barber and Mat Staver do not think much of this lawsuit and are, in fact, convinced that it is designed to intimidate anti-gay activists that should be, like the California legislation, "a wake-up call to America [because] this is not a tolerance movement, this is a dominance movement" that seeks to "punish anyone" who disagrees with them: 

Kyle Mantyla's blog

Staver: CA Law is a 'Wake-Up Call to America' That Gay Activists Seek to 'Abolish Morality'

As Liberty Counsel continues its crusade against the California law that bans the use of sexual orientation conversion therapy on minors, it remains a frequent topic of discussion on the "Faith and Freedom" radio program, despite the fact that Mat Staver and Matt Barber essentially just keep making the same points over and over again.

But they do add new twists every now and again, like when Staver recently declared that this law ought to serve are a "wake-up call to America" that gay activists are on a mission to "abolish morality": 

Kyle Mantyla's blog

Right Wing Leftovers - 1/7/13

  • WorldNetDaily has really outdone itself by attacking Neil Patrick Harris for starring in an ad for the Super Bowl…which must mean he is mocking Tim Tebow and pushing the “gay agenda”!
  • Absolutely stunned that Fox News deceptively edited a speech by President Obama to attack him on gun policy. 
  • Just a mere eight percent of Americans identify as Tea Party members, but that won’t stop Tea Party groups and politicians from claiming they speak for the majority of Americans. 
  • Gary Bauer says Chuck Hagel’s nomination as Defense Secretary proves “Obama is a leftist ideologue whose economic policies are socialistic and whose foreign policies are weak and pro-Islamism.” 
  • Robert Knight writes in the Washington Times that Democrats have an “obsession with alternative states of ecstasy, extreme environmentalism, perverse sex, big government and confiscatory taxes.” 
  • Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel warns there is a push to “criminalize speech by U.S. citizens on homosexuality.” 
  • WND editor Joseph Farah says the End Times are fast approaching.
Brian Tashman's blog

Staver: Supreme Court could spark Second Revolution and Civil War over Marriage Equality

According to Liberty Counsel head Mat Staver, if the Supreme Court rules in favor of marriage equality, America may head toward outright revolt and a second civil war. Staver told Janet Parshall that marriage equality will mean that the institution of marriage, freedom of speech and the freedom of religion will be “destroyed” and “bulldozed over.”

Like Family Research Council president Tony Perkins who last month maintained that the Supreme Court may start a “revolution” and “break this nation apart” by striking down gay marriage bans, Staver said that the court “could split the country right in two” as “this is the thing that revolutions literally are made of.”

“This would be more devastating to our freedom, to our religious freedom, to the rights of pastors and their duty to be able to speak and to Christians around the country, then anything that the revolutionaries during the American Revolution even dreamed of facing,” Staver said, “This could cause another civil war.”

Staver: Basically marriage will be completely destroyed, families will be destroyed, children will be hurt by this and freedom of speech and freedom of religion, including in the pulpit itself, will absolutely be bulldozed over. This would open a floodgate of unimaginable proportions. That’s why with those kinds of consequences to have five of the nine justices ultimately have this kind of power in their hands, that’s not how this court and this country was established, to have five individuals to be able to have that kind of catastrophic, social reengineering power in their hands, that’s just not something that was envisioned by the founders.

Parshall: Absolutely right. God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind so we need to be in prayer, but I also think we need to be preparing our hearts as well Mat that if in fact the Supreme Court decides to trample underfoot the truth of God’s word, we as a church are going have to decide what we’re going to do. Mat, you know I’m going to appeal to your pastor’s heart, that means that every single pastor who is called to hold out the word of life is going to have to decide whether or not he is going to sidestep certain passages for fear of some sort of response from the government.

Staver: This is the thing that revolutions literally are made of. This would be more devastating to our freedom, to our religious freedom, to the rights of pastors and their duty to be able to speak and to Christians around the country, then anything that the revolutionaries during the American Revolution even dreamed of facing. This would be the thing that revolutions are made of. This could split the country right in two. This could cause another civil war. I’m not talking about just people protesting in the streets, this could be that level because what would ultimately happen is a direct collision would immediately happen with pastors, with churches, with Christians, with Christian ministries, with other businesses, it would be an avalanche that would go across the country.

He even argued that marriage equality laws “destroy the very foundation of our family” and have “catastrophic consequences,” including “the unraveling of the United States.”

Parshall: There is no ambiguity as to what the definition of marriage is. Here are nine people in black robes who are basically going to judge, and I’m going to put this in the vernacular of the common man, these are nine people who are basically going to say: God didn’t say that and here’s our ruling. I know I really distilled it down but you’ve got judges who are basically going to decide for us at the high level, potentially, how marriage should be defined. That’s amazing. Who would have thought we would ever find ourselves in that place?

Staver: It’s stunning. That’s why I am very concerned that this has made its way to the United States Supreme Court because only five of those nine can make a decision and so five people, potentially, in the United States, only five out of the hundreds of millions that we have, have in their hand this opportunity to literally wreck marriage, to destroy the very foundation of our family and the biblical definition of marriage. The consequences are staggering. This could be the Roe v. Wade of marriage and family. If we ultimately say as a court and if the country follows it that marriage is between two people of the same sex and it’s now how common sense, history and the Bible ultimately defines it, that has catastrophic consequences. That is staggering and it is actually something that we ought to be in significant prayer about because this could be the unraveling of the United States.
Brian Tashman's blog

Right Wing Leftovers - 12/19/12

  • Conservative judicial icon Robert Bork died today at the age of 85.

  • Mat Staver says Bork would have made an excellent Supreme Court Justice who would have overturned Roe v Wade, if only Joe Biden and Ted Kennedy had not been "so mean" to him.

  • Buster Wilson really does not seem to appreciate our efforts to help him spread his message.

  • We can only hope that, at some point, VA Rep. Bob Marshall's district will grow tired of being a laughingstock and stop electing him.

  • Finally, Ted Baehr and Tom Snyder explain why the Sandy Hook tragedy happened: "By removing God, the Bible, God's Law, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit from society, including the mass media and the schools, we are raising generations of people with no faith in God or Jesus and, hence, no moral conscience, and no self-control. If so many people have no faith, no moral conscience and no self-control, then it’s no wonder our society is suffering from all these mass murders by evil lone gunmen."
Kyle Mantyla's blog

Barber: CA Law Will Tell Minor Victims of Sexual Abuse That They're Gay or Transgender

One has to wonder just how many episodes of their "Faith and Freedom" radio program Mat Staver and Matt Barber are going to dedicate to railing against the California law that bans the use of sexual orientation conversion therapy on minors since, at this point, these programs have become absurdly redundant as they just keep making the same points over and over.

But somehow they are still managing to come up with increasingly ridiculous claims about the dangers posed by this law, warning that it will require therapists to tell victims of sexual abuse that they are now transgender:

Kyle Mantyla's blog

Liberty Counsel is Now the NHCLC's Official 'Legislative and Policy Arm'

We have been asking for years now how Samuel Rodriquez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, has been able to maintain his reputation as a moderate evangelical leader - someone who is regularly invited to the White House and presidential events - despite being a full-blown Religious Right activist. 

So we are hopeful that this latest announcement revealing the deepening partnership between the NHCLC and the radical anti-gay bigots over at Liberty Counsel will finally put an end to this myth, especially since Liberty Counsel has now become "the legislative and policy arm for the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference:"

The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) has named Liberty Counsel as the senior sponsor of its Life Directive. Liberty Counsel and Liberty Counsel Action will also become the legislative and policy arm of the NHCLC. The largest Hispanic evangelical association with 40,118 evangelical Hispanic churches, the NHCLC is committed to support life from conception to natural death.

“Liberty Counsel is honored to be the legislative and policy arm for the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “Our liberty is based on the unalienable right to life that comes from our Creator. The right to life is the right of all rights. No other right has meaning without life,” Staver said.

The mission of the NHCLC is guided by seven directives, among them promoting a culture of life, encouraging the biblical design for marriage as one man and one woman, working with youth, education, and more.

Few groups operating today can match Liberty Counsel in terms of unmitigated hostility toward gays and Muslims and those with whom they disagree or in terms of overall general craziness ... and it has now officially become the NHCLC's "legislative and policy arm."

Kyle Mantyla's blog

Barber: Almost Half of Gay Men Were Sexually Assaulted by Pedophiles as Children

When not fighting the "war on Christmas," Mat Staver and Matt Barber continue to fight the California law that bans the use of sexual orientation conversion therapy on minors, which they have now taken to calling "Jerry Sandusky laws" on the grounds that children who are sexually abused will now become gay because they will not be allowed to get therapy to help them deal with the abuse. 

In fact, Barber falsely claimed that almost half of all gay men "were sexually assaulted by a homosexual pedophile" and that abuse is what pushed them into a lifestyle filled with disease, depression, and alcoholism. 

For Staver, the basic goal of laws seeking to ban the use of conversion therapy is simply to force people to accept homosexuality "as good and normal, when it is not":

Kyle Mantyla's blog

Liberty Counsel Appeals Ruling and Calls Limits on Ex-Gay Therapy for Minors 'Child Endangerment'

After a district court judge rejected their challenge of California’s law prohibits therapists from practicing dangerous sexual orientation conversion therapy on minors, Liberty Counsel has decided to appeal the ruling and has continued to portray the law as a boon to child predators. LC chairman Mat Staver said in a statement that the law promotes “child endangerment” and “will destroy many lives,” maintaining that “Jerry Sandusky would welcome a law like SB 1172” as “it is endangering generations of Americans.”

Late last night, Liberty Counsel filed a request for an emergency appeal and declarations in support of our appeal, asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to block California law SB 1172 which goes into effect on January 1, 2013. The law will ban any counsel that seeks to reduce or eliminate same-sex sexual attractions, behavior, or identity.

“If a young boy molested by the likes of a Jerry Sandusky develops severe emotional distress and unwanted same-sex sexual attractions, this law will force the counselor to tell the boy that his feelings are normal and good,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. Staver continued, “If the counselor seeks to reduce or eliminate the stress caused by his client’s molestation, the counselor will commit an ethical violation. That is child endangerment!”

A 2001 study in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found that 46% of homosexuals were molested in childhood. Without counseling, these victims often act out the very same sexual behavior used in their molestation. Staver said, “Jerry Sandusky would welcome a law like SB 1172. Minors who are sexually molested will face even more damage when they are told that their unwanted same-sex sexual attractions or behavior are natural and normal. This law is an outrage and it will destroy many lives and wreck the counseling profession,” said Staver.

“The minors we represent have not and do not want to act on their same-sex attractions. They are greatly benefiting from counseling,” Staver said. “If this law goes into effect and there is no emotional help available to these children, I fear they will suffer irreparable harm,” said Staver.

“Without this emergency injunction, the State of California will essentially barge into the private therapy rooms of victimized young people and tell them that their confusion caused by the likes of a Jerry Sandusky abuser is normal and they should pursue their unwanted same-sex sexual attractions and behavior. This is not only outrageous, it is endangering generations of Americans!” said Staver.
Brian Tashman's blog

Eliason: Affirming Gay People like Encouraging Pyromaniacs

Liberty Counsel chairman Mat Staver appeared on VCY America’s Crosstalk yesterday to discuss his so far unsuccessful legal challenge to California’s law banning ex-gay therapy practiced on minors, where host Vic Eliason commended his efforts and said that affirming a gay person’s sexual orientation is “like saying to the pyromaniac: go ahead and try it again.”

Staver: These clients who have a right to receive the kind of counseling that they want and is benefiting them, they will be told ‘no you can’t have that anymore.’ The only kind of counsel that you can get is that these confused feelings that you have and that you don’t want, don’t worry about them, just act on them, let’s change your religious and moral views instead.

Eliason: That’s like saying to the pyromaniac: go ahead and try it again. Inflaming emotions and passions….

Staver argued that the law will hurt survivors of child abuse because they will begin to “have feelings towards somebody of the same-sex because that’s how he was abused, that’s how he was dominated,” saying that gays are “abnormal” and have a “risky” lifestyle. He added that sometimes sexual orientation conversion therapy isn’t even needed because the orientation can “go away spontaneously” and “without any intervention at all.”

The likes of a Jerry Sandusky, the monster that he has been on the media and around the country, molest a young boy. That boy then begins to have anger and identity issues and it affects his relationship with his classmates and with his parents, then begins to act out or have feelings towards somebody of the same-sex because that’s how he was abused, that’s how he was dominated. That’s a normal response for someone going through something like this where they’ve been sexually dominated.

…

There are studies that show that some minors for example that might develop these same-sex sexual attractions, they go away spontaneously, they go away without any intervention at all, they just simply go away. Now, what happens if you have situations like that where someone just says, ‘hey it’s natural and normal, go ahead and act on it.’ Well no it’s not natural and normal, in fact it’s abnormal, it’s risky.
Brian Tashman's blog

Liberty Counsel: In an 'Irony of Unimaginable Proportions," the 'War on Christmas' is Now Forcing Christians Into the Closet

Today, Mat Staver and Matt Barber were back with another dispatch from the never-ending "war on Christmas," this time voicing their outrage about a decision by a Florida elementary school to remove a nativity scene its Christmas display.  According to reports, the nativity scene is now being stored in a closet ... which prompted Staver and Barber to comment on the "irony of unimaginable proportions" that now "Christians are being forced into the closet":

Kyle Mantyla's blog

Right Wing Round-Up - 12/5/12

Kyle Mantyla's blog

Right Wing Leftovers - 12/4/12

  • Several dozen Religious Right and conservatives leaders have signed on to a letter telling House Republicans never to compromise with Democrats because "you have a mandate to fight for conservative principles that is arguably much broader than the one that narrowly reelected President Barack Obama claims to have for his leftist agenda."

  • John McCain's gift to the world just keeps on giving.

  • Sen. Rand Paul is pushing national "personhood" legislation called "The Life at Conception Act."

  • Mat Staver says Islam is not a religion and therefore should not be allowed to "use the same kind of laws for an advancement of a political ideology that you would for religious liberty."

  • Finally, Bryan Fischer explains that "our Second Amendment is rooted in the teaching of Jesus Christ":

Kyle Mantyla's blog

Mat Staver Continues the Crusade Against Obamacare

Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver recently appeared on Janet Parshall’s radio show to promote his claim that the health care reform law is unconstitutional and an immense “setback to religious liberty.” While representing Liberty University, Staver sued over the health care law’s individual mandate in 2010, but the Supreme Court ruled in June that the mandate was constitutional. Over the summer, Liberty asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its arguments against the employer mandate and the contraceptive coverage mandate, which it said were not addressed by the court’s ruling. The court agreed to the request and told the 4th Circuit to hear arguments on the two pieces.

While speaking to Parshall, Staver fueled the myth that Obamacare is “a frontal assault to religious freedom” and that employers and individuals are “being forced to fund abortion.” Staver drew no difference between abortion and contraceptives in his assertions, and echoed the misconceptions of many Religious Right groups and conservative politicians who argue that the mandate compels religious individuals pay for abortion coverage.

But no part of Obamacare actually coerces anyone to fund abortion coverage. Women who choose health plans that do cover abortion must pay a separate premium out of their own pockets. Because insurers must assess a $1 per month surcharge on all enrollees in the plan to take into account the cost savings of abortion, anti-choice activists are complaining that this constitutes taxpayer funding for abortion.

Although a conscience clause was added allowing churches who object to birth control to be exempt from the requirement, many religious leaders argue that this exemption is not wide enough.

Precedents have already been set that counter Staver’s claims, as several judges have ruled that Obamacare does not violate the religious freedom of employers that do not want to cover contraceptives. A pivotal Supreme Court opinion previously established that a law that applies uniformly to the faithful and the non-faithful alike does not violate the First Amendment. Though individuals are still free to exercise their religion by abstaining from using contraceptives, Staver contends that the law is “[telling] you what to believe [and] how to practice.”

Staver: This is something that’s either or. Either we follow our religious conviction that life is sacred and it begins in the womb, and disobey Obamacare and pay the penalties for it, or we obey Obamacare and disobey our religious convictions and conscious. There is no in between. It is a frontal assault to religious freedom unprecedented in its scope since the founding of its country. So this I think is a very strong argument as we go back to the high court, and in addition to the free exercise for Liberty University and other religious employers, we have the free exercise claim for all individuals. Because in addition to being forced to fund abortion from an employer’s perspective, individuals are also forced to have a fee assessed which goes to funding abortion.

…

Parshall: If they say, you know what, too bad government has the right here, religious liberty, that’s nice, not now, not here, what would be the impact of religious liberty, far beyond the boundaries of Liberty University’s campus, what would it mean for the church capital C universal as well?

Staver: Oh it would be huge in terms of its setback to religious liberty because this is a classic conflict. A lot of times you have laws that, you know maybe an irritant, you know for example you might want to use a library for a room that’s a common meeting and you might want to have prayers and somebody says no you can’t do that because its religious speech. Well sort of another free speech issue the question is, is this a free religion exercise? It may be, but you know the argument would be well, you can still practice your religion, we’re not telling you what to believe, what to practice, but this here tells you what to believe, it tells you how to practice, it is a core component of your belief. So, if we were to lose on this issue, wow, I mean the implications of that would be huge, it would mean that the government, for the first time in history, is able to pass a law that directly conflicts with a religious belief.
Ariella's blog
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