Supreme Court has tough decision between baker, gay couple

Jack Phillips of Lakewood, Colo., is caught up in one of the biggest legal conundrums to ever go before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Phillips is a Christian baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. Charlie Craig and David Mullins came into his Masterpiece Cakeshop in 2012 and Phillips declined to make a cake for a ceremony that he believes is in contradiction to his faith. The spurned couple cried discrimination and their case has been crawling through the courts ever since. This month it arrived at the doorstep of the nation’s highest court.

This case is unique in that it deals with conflicting freedoms and rights. Phillips maintains his right to free association and his freedoms of religion and expression allow him to decide with whom he will conduct business. Craig and Mullins contend that as a businessman in the public sector that Phillips has violated their civil rights by discriminating against them.

The case is indicative of the social war that has been waging between Christians and the Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community for decades. From the Christian perspective, all sexual activity outside the bonds of heterosexual marriage is a sin. The Bible very specifically singles out same-sex relationships.

As the LGBT community fought for and won rights – specifically the right to marry – Christians were the ones to stand for our beliefs and to defend traditional marriage. The more the LGBT community pushed for equality the more we Christians felt our freedom of religion and our rights were being trampled.

As same-sex marriage became the law of the land, the gay community further pushed its agenda onto sacred ground. Through lawsuits and other means, they have been forcing bakers, florists, photographers, wedding planners, and even some churches to violate their deep-held religious beliefs or face harsh, legal consequences.

To me it’s wrong for the U.S. government to tell anyone of any religion they have to violate core tenants of their faith in order to do business in this country. That’s tantamount to religious persecution. That’s why our pilgrim forefathers left England to settle here. Freedom of religion is at the very heart of the U.S. Constitution.

Under no circumstances should the government be forcing Christians to provide services to the gay community. Christians should be voluntarily doing it of their own free will.

Anyone professing to be a Christian who refuses to serve homosexuals is clearly violating the commands of Jesus and is making a mockery of our faith. I know that statement may seem contradictory and harsh, but it’s true. I’ve been re-reading the four gospels of the New Testament and have come to the realization that I and many of my brothers and sisters in Christ have been misinterpreting the scriptures. We cling to the verses that tell us to be set apart from sin and the things of this world. We are in – not of – this world.

As I read the words of Jesus and see his example, I’m reminded that he did not sit in the temples preaching the Good News and calling sinners to him. He met the sinners where they were. He stayed at the homes of tax collectors, befriended prostitutes, and aided oppressive Roman soldiers.

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,” Jesus said in Luke 5: 31-32.

In his teachings, Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God and love others. (Mark 12:29-31) You can’t love someone you’re pushing away.

The really convicting scripture is in Luke 6:27-31, “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Jesus essentially says the same thing in the parable of the Good Samaritan. In the story, a man is beaten and robbed by thieves and left for dead on a road. A priest and a Levite (religious leader) pass by the man, ignoring him. Then a Samaritan (sworn enemy of the Israelites) comes by and not only helps the man, but takes him to an inn an pays the innkeeper to take care of him. (Luke 10:30-37)

I think when Christians refuse service to LGBT people we are behaving more like the priest and Levite and in opposition to the Samaritan. This is wrong. We can be compassionate and fair and demonstrate the love of God without passing judgment or condoning the sin.

Baking a cake for a gay couple does not make you gay or in any way make you complicit in their relationship or lifestyle. It does open the door for you to reach out to them with the truth of the scriptures. That’s an opportunity that’s lost if you don’t help them.

By refusing to bake a cake, take photographs or arrange flowers, Christians not only alienate themselves from the people they should be reaching, but they further enhance the public perception of Christians being judgmental hypocrites.

I could go on, but I will leave this here and eagerly await the ruling from the Supreme Court. It’s not a decision I’d like to have to make because of all the legal and constitutional implications that accompany it. It would be an easy decision for me to make, however, based on faith and behavior.

(Note: This column was not published in the newspaper.)