From The Washington Times and ADF:
Persecution of Christians severe around the globe
Sunday, March 20, 2011 - Naked Public Square by Eugene J. Koprowski
Font Size - +CommentShareTweet this!Share RSS Ask Eugene J. a QuestionSAN DIEGO, Ca, March 21, 2011 — One of this Sunday’s Epistle readings comes from 2 Timothy 1:8b-10, in which the Apostle Paul states, “bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.”
This, like other passages in that particular New Testament reading seeks to bolster the faith of Christians, when they are called on to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.
California Supreme Court
As I was scanning newspaper headlines researching this homiletic essay, I came across a contemporary story that shows the continuing, modern day relevance of Paul’s sage advice to his missionary, Timothy, cited above.
It is interesting to note that The Catholic Church agency, Aid to the Church in Need, on March 14, 2011, in new report, estimated that 75% of all religious persecution around the world is directed against Christians. That means approximately 100 million people are facing persecution for Jesus today.
Among the persecuted – Christian firemen in California.
California’s Supreme Court recently refused to hear the city of San Diego’s appeal of a finding of on-the-job sexual harassment - i.e. civil rights violations – of heterosexual, Christian male firefighters by homosexual activists. The claim was brought by local Christian firefighters, and the politically correct city fought it for years. Most recently, just a few weeks ago, the city had sought to have the state Supreme Court overturn an appellate court decision, upholding a local jury’s findings in favor of the firemen. But, just over a month ago, the state’s high court refused to even consider the city’s latest request for review.
The ruling in this case is likely to continue to reverberate throughout California, and the rest of the U.S., for some time, as the California Supreme Court been seen as a bastion of liberal secularism, and this case is a decidedly conservative piece of jurisprudence.
Substantial Evidence
California’s Fourth District Court of Appeals concluded in a 74-page ruling that “the record contains substantial evidence to support a finding that the sexual harassment experienced by the firefighters during the [gay] Pride Parade was severe and pervasive, thus altering the conditions of employment and creating a hostile or abusive work environment.”
A jury back in February 2009 initially decided that Capt. John Ghiotto, fire engineer Jason Hewitt and two others were sexually harassed after being forced by their superiors to participate in the 2007 gay parade against their religious objections.
In its appeals brief, the city stipulated that the conduct the firemen faced on the job was offensive, but argued that "the offensive parade conduct… occurred only intermittently over the course of three hours" and that the firefighters were only "subjected to what can fairly be described as simple teasing, offhand comments, and extremely isolated incidents of partial nudity or lewd behavior."
The appeals court, however, citing the numerous examples of crude conduct on the part of parade participants, from the trial record, said that indeed constituted sexual harassment in the firefighters’ work place.
The firefighters claimed city management forced them, in full uniform to mount their fire truck, and ride in the July 2007 San Diego gay pride parade.
According to the testimony at the trial, many vile comments were hurled at the firefighters along the parade route, including “show me your hose,” “you can put out my fire,” “you’re making me hot,” “give me mouth-to-mouth,” and “blow my hose.”
Certainly, for the firefighters, enduring the ugly, abusive, crude language on the streets of San Diego was undertaking what the apostle Paul called “a hardship for the Gospel.” Of course, the hardship also had secular, indeed, financial, consequences as well, because the firefighters’ jobs were on the line. So it appears that the court reached a just conclusion that the men were “sexually harassed” in their jobs because, as a condition of employment, they had to attend an homosexual spectacle they found morally objectionable.
What courage and bravery these firefighters showed by standing up for themselves in court, against the ongoing politically correct outcry of their superiors, including the San Diego city council, which again and again pressed forward with defending, and then appealing the case.
This is a significant victory for those who rely on their Christian conscience to inform their work choices. Employees should never be forced to partake in public events that violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.
American civil rights law calls on all employers to provide “reasonable accommodation” to employees for their religious faith. Whether this includes wearing a Muslim scarf at work, asking for time off to attend a Bar Mitzvah, or requesting not to attend a gay pride parade is irrelevant. An American does not, under the law, have to be harassed for his religious beliefs, as a condition of his job.
As yesterday’s Psalm reading for the Second Sunday of Lent from the Hebrew Bible sagely noted, the Lord “loves justice and right.”
As Paul wrote in his Epistle to Timothy, cited at the beginning of this exegetical essay, the strength to endure hardship “comes from the Lord.” These California firefighters received justice, after years of litigation, but their strength to seek it clearly came from their faith in God. They have shown their fellow Americans that to remain the land of the free, we must remain brave and maintain the courage of our convictions.
--Chor-bishop Eugene J. Koprowski is founder of the Priestly Society of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. He can be reached on fathergenekoprowski@gmail.com. Read more Naked Public Square in the Communities at the Washington Times.
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Persecution of Christians severe around the globe
Sunday, March 20, 2011 - Naked Public Square by Eugene J. Koprowski
Font Size - +CommentShareTweet this!Share RSS Ask Eugene J. a QuestionSAN DIEGO, Ca, March 21, 2011 — One of this Sunday’s Epistle readings comes from 2 Timothy 1:8b-10, in which the Apostle Paul states, “bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.”
This, like other passages in that particular New Testament reading seeks to bolster the faith of Christians, when they are called on to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.
California Supreme Court
As I was scanning newspaper headlines researching this homiletic essay, I came across a contemporary story that shows the continuing, modern day relevance of Paul’s sage advice to his missionary, Timothy, cited above.
It is interesting to note that The Catholic Church agency, Aid to the Church in Need, on March 14, 2011, in new report, estimated that 75% of all religious persecution around the world is directed against Christians. That means approximately 100 million people are facing persecution for Jesus today.
Among the persecuted – Christian firemen in California.
California’s Supreme Court recently refused to hear the city of San Diego’s appeal of a finding of on-the-job sexual harassment - i.e. civil rights violations – of heterosexual, Christian male firefighters by homosexual activists. The claim was brought by local Christian firefighters, and the politically correct city fought it for years. Most recently, just a few weeks ago, the city had sought to have the state Supreme Court overturn an appellate court decision, upholding a local jury’s findings in favor of the firemen. But, just over a month ago, the state’s high court refused to even consider the city’s latest request for review.
The ruling in this case is likely to continue to reverberate throughout California, and the rest of the U.S., for some time, as the California Supreme Court been seen as a bastion of liberal secularism, and this case is a decidedly conservative piece of jurisprudence.
Substantial Evidence
California’s Fourth District Court of Appeals concluded in a 74-page ruling that “the record contains substantial evidence to support a finding that the sexual harassment experienced by the firefighters during the [gay] Pride Parade was severe and pervasive, thus altering the conditions of employment and creating a hostile or abusive work environment.”
A jury back in February 2009 initially decided that Capt. John Ghiotto, fire engineer Jason Hewitt and two others were sexually harassed after being forced by their superiors to participate in the 2007 gay parade against their religious objections.
In its appeals brief, the city stipulated that the conduct the firemen faced on the job was offensive, but argued that "the offensive parade conduct… occurred only intermittently over the course of three hours" and that the firefighters were only "subjected to what can fairly be described as simple teasing, offhand comments, and extremely isolated incidents of partial nudity or lewd behavior."
The appeals court, however, citing the numerous examples of crude conduct on the part of parade participants, from the trial record, said that indeed constituted sexual harassment in the firefighters’ work place.
The firefighters claimed city management forced them, in full uniform to mount their fire truck, and ride in the July 2007 San Diego gay pride parade.
According to the testimony at the trial, many vile comments were hurled at the firefighters along the parade route, including “show me your hose,” “you can put out my fire,” “you’re making me hot,” “give me mouth-to-mouth,” and “blow my hose.”
Certainly, for the firefighters, enduring the ugly, abusive, crude language on the streets of San Diego was undertaking what the apostle Paul called “a hardship for the Gospel.” Of course, the hardship also had secular, indeed, financial, consequences as well, because the firefighters’ jobs were on the line. So it appears that the court reached a just conclusion that the men were “sexually harassed” in their jobs because, as a condition of employment, they had to attend an homosexual spectacle they found morally objectionable.
What courage and bravery these firefighters showed by standing up for themselves in court, against the ongoing politically correct outcry of their superiors, including the San Diego city council, which again and again pressed forward with defending, and then appealing the case.
This is a significant victory for those who rely on their Christian conscience to inform their work choices. Employees should never be forced to partake in public events that violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.
American civil rights law calls on all employers to provide “reasonable accommodation” to employees for their religious faith. Whether this includes wearing a Muslim scarf at work, asking for time off to attend a Bar Mitzvah, or requesting not to attend a gay pride parade is irrelevant. An American does not, under the law, have to be harassed for his religious beliefs, as a condition of his job.
As yesterday’s Psalm reading for the Second Sunday of Lent from the Hebrew Bible sagely noted, the Lord “loves justice and right.”
As Paul wrote in his Epistle to Timothy, cited at the beginning of this exegetical essay, the strength to endure hardship “comes from the Lord.” These California firefighters received justice, after years of litigation, but their strength to seek it clearly came from their faith in God. They have shown their fellow Americans that to remain the land of the free, we must remain brave and maintain the courage of our convictions.
--Chor-bishop Eugene J. Koprowski is founder of the Priestly Society of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. He can be reached on fathergenekoprowski@gmail.com. Read more Naked Public Square in the Communities at the Washington Times.
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