Pastor Lloyd
Twitter @PastorLloyd
Letter to NJ State Senator Bill Baroni
I thought I would post a letter I sent earlier today to New Jersey State Senator Bill Baroni. I cannot urge you strongly enough to contact your state representatives TODAY as this matter is scheduled to go to a vote Thursday 12/10 at 2PM.
December 8, 2009
Dear Mr Baroni,
You have done much good for New Jersey in the past, and I must begin by recognizing your labors on behalf of our state.
That said, I cannot imagine that anyone who cherishes family and respects the Bible could possibly support S1967. As a pastor, I am sadly confident – notwithstanding your amendment – that the inflammatory language in this bill (italics mine below) will provoke bitter division and conflict (not to mention litigation) between the millions of people who take the Bible seriously, and the mere hundreds who want to ignore 5000 years of history while stripping marriage of all meaning and legitimacy.
2e. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this bill to end the pernicious practice of marriage discrimination in New Jersey.
Such legislation would be used as a weapon in the hands of radical homosexual activists who will bludgeon into submission any and all who express the plain teaching of the Bible in Leviticus 18:22[1]. 1Timothy1:9-10[2] Romans 1: 26-27[3], 1Corinthians 6:9-10[4], and elsewhere.
I already know of individuals who have been fired for observing that the Bible calls homosexuality a sin.
S1967 would give ammunition to radicals and further restrict our freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression purely on the basis of a few heartbreaking situations, each of which could be easily addressed with legal remedies other than this unnecessarily drastic redefinition of marriage.
How can you and your fellow senators give such disproportionate weight to the testimony of a few very unusual cases while ignoring the overwhelming evidence (documented at http://mappingamericaproject.org and elsewhere) regarding the deleterious impact of growing up without both father and mother has on children? By pressuring our schools to indoctrinate a generation of youth in the name of education and equality, this bill will ensure that many children will suffer under the full weight of those disadvantages.
What’s more, Mr. Baroni, despite what I’m sure is a well-intentioned attempt to create a zone of protection around religious institutions, most observers recognize this for what it is: lipstick on a pig.
Having ministered in this state for 25 years, I would just as soon you strike that amendment from the bill for it only appeals to those (thankfully few) self-serving pastors who care more about their paycheck than about people. Why should I as a pastor have a “bubble” to protect my speech when I know that those who hear the Bible taught and try to apply its teaching in love will be fired, fined, harassed, and sued? All this amendment does is serve to silence the fearful pastors and empty the churches of those who dare speak the truth, since those who attend would be unable to act on their teaching without reprisal.
(By the way, I’m sure that the state bar association is salivating in anticipation of all the litigation this new law will bring them. Lawyers were certainly well-represented in the Judiciary Committee hearings this week in a blatant display of self-serving testimony cloaked in the fine (if disingenuous) rhetoric of “equality” and “freedom of religion.” Using such intentionally deceptive terms for Trojan horse legislation carefully engineered by radical activists should be illegal.)
Frankly, I would just as soon see Governor Corzine veto that amendment (which, let’s be honest, as a lame duck governor he probably intends to do anyway) and have myself on the firing line alongside the people I serve. The “compromise” you offered in this amendment is an illusion at best.
If I sound outraged and disgusted, it is because I am. But I assure you I also will be praying for an overwhelming defeat of this bill! And after I have prayed, I will do much, much more to protect the families of this state – a role our representatives have clearly abdicated. When the people of New Jersey finally figure out what has happened this week, and how a bill that ironically has the word “freedom” in it now jeopardizes their families’ freedoms, I believe there will be many politicians looking for work.
But most importantly, Mr. Baroni, please know this: whether the bill passes or not, with the specious “protection” for clergy or not, know that I intend to redouble my efforts to help those caught up in homosexuality, for their souls’ sake, escape from that pernicious and deceptive sin. I am going to shout from every arena the good Lord affords me the truth of the gospel! Let the consequences be what they will.
Sincerely,
Pastor Lloyd Pulley
Calvary Chapel Old Bridge
[1] Leviticus 18:22 ‘You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.
[2] 1Timothy 1: 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,
[3] Rom 1: 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
[4] 1Cor 6: 9 Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
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