Liberal Methodists Defeating Traditional Methodists' Ethics

As the federal hate crimes legislation wends its way through the Congress I have been assured by our State Senators that any such legislation would of course exempt religious organizations. Not only am I skeptical but I believe we are in grave danger of losing our freedom of speech and religion and any exemption for religious organizations, if given at all, would be short lived in our culture of anti-Christian bigotry.

At this same time, the "Employment Non-Discrimination Act" (ENDA) is also working its way through Congress which is yet another piece of law intended to give special protections and rights to the sexually misguided. Is the following report coincidental or is it a shot across the bow, fired by God, to alert His people to the portent of impending eventualities?

From Citizen Link of Focus on the Family--Two lesbian couples who were denied permission to use a church group's seaside pavilion for their civil-union ceremonies have persuaded New Jersey officials to punish the group through revocation of its tax-exempt status.

The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, owned by the Methodist Church. The ruling eliminated the Church's tax exempt status of the pavilion alone. It wasn't a large sum of money but it certainly was symbolic and underscores the importance of legislation on a church's right to function as a church and it being infringed upon by the state. When, not if, ENDA and the hate crimes legislation passes, these types of suits will flourish.

What is ironic in this particular case is that the Methodist church involved cited the United Methodist Church's "Book of Discipline" which forbids homosexuality. Yet in countless Methodists churches nationwide, they are the vanguard of homosexual endorsement diluting this particular God fearing Methodist church's Biblical stance.

"Scott Hoffman, Ocean Grove chief administrative officer, told the entire property is
dedicated to the 'perpetual worship of Jesus Christ.' But he said the state thinks 'because
it’s on a boardwalk that it’s not really a church, so they’re defining what a church is, and
I think everybody needs to pay attention to that.'”

Bottom Line is that the old tax exemption enjoyed by religious organizations for decades will sooner than later, be a thing of the past. Ah, how much we have taken for granted.