Fire and Ice

Last night, our pastor debated the editor of Q Salt Lake, Bob Henline.  Originally, Mr. Henline asked Pastor Mallinak to write an article explaining the Biblical position on homosexuality.  Shortly after this, Mr. Henline invited Pastor Mallinak to debate the Non-discrimination ordinance in Ogden…that is, the debate was over the possible Ogden ordinance, and the debate was held in Ogden.

 

In an admirable show of respectability and propriety, both sides were mostly able to maintain a civil front and actually discuss the issues.  This debate was very different than what you might here on most talk-radio or TV shows.  The tone was fairly calm and honorable, but the debate did become fairly heated.

Discussions began with opening arguments and follow-up rebuttal speeches.  Following that, Darcy Goddard, of the ACLU, moderated questions from the audience and responses from participants in a fair and gracious way.  She did an excellent job.

(Darcy Goddard)

Pastor Mallinak made the points that this ordinance, which prohibits someone from “harassing” or “discriminating” against someone who is LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender), will restrict a Christian’s right to express himself according to his faith and belief in the Bible.  He further pointed out that this ordinance was coercive, and it allowed the city government to venture in to an area that should not be part of its jurisdiction…religion and morality.

Mr. Henline argued that this does not restrict a person’s right to express his religious beliefs, but it does govern his acting upon those beliefs.  He said, “Your religious freedom stops when it causes you to take actions that harm other people.”

Pastor Mallinak countered by saying that at some point, two people with two different standards of morality will collide on an issue.  When that happens, one or both will be “harmed” in the process.  Who then is to say which standard of morality should outweigh the other?  He also went on to deliver an enthusiastic appeal for the protection of private property rights of both business owners and landlords.

In the end, it was a good opportunity to see a topic discussed, challenged, examined, and contested in a manner that allowed the focus to remain on the issue, not personal antics, as is usually the case.

To counter any heated tempers or fiery debates, we had another snowstorm.  About three inches fell in three hours.  After that, everything froze.  It made for quite a “Winter Wonderland’…in March.

We Need Your Help

In the last two weeks, a debate has arisen in our town that needs your attention.  There is an ordinance up for debate that will prohibit “discrimination” against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders in employment and housing.  The fee for “discriminating” is minimal, but the recognition for the “alternate-lifestyle” crowd could be very damaging for many who value free speech, free thought, and free action.  This ordinance has been designed as a platform for action on the state level.

The ordinance, while offering a few exceptions, will infringe on our basic rights as Christians and citizens of Ogden, Utah, and the United States.

You can read a dissenting article here.

Please help us defeat this law by contacting our city council and mayor to ask that freedoms would not be taken away.

It doesn’t matter where you live.  The city council just needs to hear an outcry against this ordinance.  You can email the Ogden City Council at citycouncil@ogdencity.com.

They can be reached by snail mail at:

Ogden City Council

2549 Washington Blvd., Suite 320

Ogden, Utah 84401

Our mayor is Mayor Matthew Godfrey.  He is a good man, and he would like to hear from you as well.  Please email him at:

Mayor http://www.ogdencity.com/en/government/mayor.aspx

Thank you very much!

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Today, as most revel in the triumph or heartbreak of a Steelers-Packers Super Bowl,

I have moved on…mostly because the Packers won.  (Agh!  Anyone but the Packers!!!)

The other reason is because this is the day that we celebrate the

61st anniversary of President Reagan’s 39th birthday.

I can’t say it any better than Baronness Margaret Thatcher.  (No wonder why…

“We have lost a great president, a great American, and a great man.”

“In his lifetime Ronald Reagan was such a cheerful and invigorating
presence that it was easy to forget what daunting historic tasks he set
himself. He sought to mend America’s wounded spirit, to restore the
strength of the free world, and to free the slaves of communism.”

“These were causes hard to accomplish and heavy with risk.

Yet they were pursued with almost a lightness of spirit. For Ronald Reagan
also embodied another great cause – what Arnold Bennett once called ‘the
great cause of cheering us all up’.”

“And surely it is hard to deny that Ronald Reagan’s life was providential,
when we look at what he achieved in the eight years that followed.

Others prophesied the decline of the West; he inspired America and its allies with renewed faith in their mission of freedom.

Others saw only limits to growth; he transformed a stagnant economy into an engine of opportunity.

Others hoped, at best, for an uneasy cohabitation with the Soviet Union; he
won the Cold War – not only without firing a shot, but also by inviting
enemies out of their fortress and turning them into friends.

When his enemies tested American resolve, they soon discovered that his resolve was firm and unyielding.”

“Ronald Reagan knew his own mind. He had firm principles – and, I believe,
right ones. He expounded them clearly, he acted upon them decisively.

When the world threw problems at the White House, he was not baffled, or
disorientated, or overwhelmed. He knew almost instinctively what to do.”

“Nothing was more typical of Ronald Reagan than that large-hearted magnanimity – and nothing was more American.

Therein lies perhaps the final explanation of his achievements.

Ronald Reagan carried the American people with him in his great endeavours
because there was perfect sympathy between them. He and they loved
America and what it stands for – freedom and opportunity for ordinary people.”

“He was able to say ‘God Bless America’ with equal fervour in public and in
private. And so he was able to call confidently upon his
fellow-countrymen to make sacrifices for America – and to make
sacrifices for those who looked to America for hope and rescue.

With the lever of American patriotism, he lifted up the world.”

“And so today the world – in Prague, in Budapest, in Warsaw, in Sofia, in
Bucharest, in Kiev and in Moscow itself – the world mourns the passing
of the Great Liberator and echoes his prayer ‘God Bless America’.”

“And as the last journey of this faithful pilgrim took him beyond the
sunset, and as heaven’s morning broke, I like to think – in the words of
Bunyan – that ‘all the trumpets sounded on the other side’.

We here still move in twilight. But we have one beacon to guide us that Ronald Reagan never had.

We have his example. Let us give thanks today for a life that achieved so much for all of God’s children.”

Thank you, and

Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

I Am a SURVIVOR

This phrase is often used by cancer patients and their families. Those who are “still standing” in the wake of a cancer battle are called…

SURVIVORS.

The other day, I was in the resale shop and I saw a bright pink shirt. Of course, it caught my eye, and I took a closer look. Upon examination, I saw that it was a “Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure” souvenir t-shirt from one of their annual events. Written vertically down one side was the word…

SURVIVOR.

I did not cry in public, but I did have to catch myself. Most of my readers know that my mom lost her battle with cancer in March 2009. So of course, I identify with the cancer community. Also, I appreciate the work that they do in fighting cancer and helping those who are fighting it. But somehow, I just could not buy the shirt. For a few days, it puzzled me as to why I instinctively did not want to be labeled as a survivor. It was definitely not because I was ashamed to be identified with other “survivors.” It just seems so bleak. The word just did not fit…

SURVIVOR.

Then, I recalled the verse we have been teaching the kids at church: Romans 8:37. Mentioning a few verses surrounding it will help to explain. Verse 28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Also, verses 35-39 say, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I am not a

SURVIVOR.

I am a

CONQUEROR,

an OVERCOMER, and beyond, because of

JESUS CHRIST

and His love!

Because of Him, I can do more than just SURVIVE cancer.

Because of Him, I can CONQUER and OVERCOME cancer, loss, sadness, and pain.

Because of Him, I can learn and grow in the wake of cancer.

Because of Him, I can be a trophy of His grace, instead of just a

.

To Him be the glory and honor and praise forever…Amen!