Christian Examiner — Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor
Sign of the times? When I went to a bagel shop to get a newspaper, I asked 10 people who were enjoying their bagels if they thought that marriage in California should be defined and recognized as between a man and a woman. One couple had already signed the petition regarding this. The other eight respond with “No” or “Absolutely not.” I was shocked, horrified and left unbelieving. Eighty percent of a random sampling would approve marriage between same-sex persons, which could lead to marriage between a man and his mother or sister, etc., or even with the dog. Florence C. Stacy Lake Forest, Calif. “Expelled’ movie exposes truth Thank you for a well-done article on the Ben Stein movie “Expelled” (April 2008). Here is an example of how those that oppose (Intelligent Design) will ultimately influence what we as Christians say. The Baylor University biology department—a Baptist school—has a statement on evolution that does not reference a creator and is devoid of any reference to a faith component. Basically, the statement is a thinly veiled statement against Intelligent Design. I have had contact with the chairman of the BU biology department, and he has been extremely polite. Both of us have e-mailed the other proposed alternative verbiage, but nothing has changed to date. In my opinion, the department will continue to teach evolution responsibly as it has for years. Their current inability to say, “God created,” is due to their entanglement with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which prevents them from saying anything that might lead to ID. This disappoints me. I personally view this as evidence of a fine school with a strong faith heritage being coerced into verbal suppression in order to keep the AAAS and possibly other scientific accrediting groups satisfied. Baylor is not the only school in this predicament. All faith-heritage schools will have to decide just how the ID issue will make them change their vocabulary. Will they say “God Created” or “?” You can judge for yourself at www.baylor.edu/biology/index.php?id=27622. Charles Felts Fort Worth, Texas McDonalds and its gay agenda On March 12 the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce announced that Richard Ellis, vice president of communications for McDonald’s USA, was elected to its board of directors. According to McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner, McDonald’s will aggressively promote the homosexual agenda. “Being a socially responsible organization is a fundamental part of who we are,” Skinner said about joining the NGLCC on the company’s Web site. “We have an obligation to use our size and resources to make a difference in the world.” McDonald’s has given an undisclosed amount of money to the chamber in order to become recognized as a major supporter of the homosexual agenda. In the past, McDonald’s has sought to keep its reputation as a "family-friendly" and "kid-friendly" business. One can only wonder why McDonald’s leaders have chosen to pander to radical homosexual activists. In doing so, McDonald’s has chosen to forsake mainstream America. Is this what Skinner calls “socially responsible?” In August 2006, Wal-Mart made the same move. December of that year, Wal-Mart expected its sales to be up 5 percent from the previous year. But, sales went down 2 percent! This happened while most other stores enjoyed the seasonal increase. Within a few months Wal-Mart backed off the gay agenda and promised to remain neutral on controversial issues. Will McDonald’s face the same reaction? Now that Big Mac has become Gay Mac, those of us who have a different view of what is "socially responsible" will be eating elsewhere. Steve Casey Stonewall, La.		Marriage commentary misleads Miles McPherson's commentary, “The battle is for more than biblical marriage” (April 2008), demonstrates hypocrisy, at the least, or just plain false piety, when he states: “For example, a church-owned retreat center on the East Coast lost part of its tax-exempt status for refusing to marry a gay couple.” The gay couple wanted to use a public facility for a civil union, not a marriage ceremony. The “church-owned retreat center” was not asked to “marry” the couple; something a “retreat” cannot practically or legally do. The retreat center had been rented to the public and accepted government (public) funds in the past. The church said that in renting the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association facility, they were not acting as a church. According to Congressman Frank Pallone of N.J., the association has applied for and accepted federal and state funds in the past to repair the boardwalk and make improvements to the Great Auditorium. Both the state and federal authorities questioned if public funds could be allocated if the association was a church. Association officials responded, saying it was not a church, just a camp meeting association with open doors to the public. When churches want to be both private and public, profit and non-profit and yet maintain a tax-exempt status, they have to abide by government law, not biblical instruction. Miles McPherson would do everyone a favor by honoring biblical instruction in Commandment 8: Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor. That matter gives him some credible authority. Leslie DeFacio Alameda, Calif. Editor’s note: The commentary written by Pastor Miles McPherson did use the incorrect term for the requested ceremony at the Ocean Grove Camp Ground in New Jersey. The couple requested a same-sex union ceremony, not a same-sex marriage ceremony. The misstatement was not deliberate. It also does not change the heart of his message, which was this: The growing threat of anti-Christian intolerance imposes a chilling bridle on religious freedom, the freedom of speech and even the freedom of assembly. Governor flip-flops on marriage In my opinion, the governor is tearing California apart with his vow to fight a proposed constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage. He went so far as to call it a waste of time. Apparently, AB 777 wasn't bad enough. Now this. He and San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, who did a similar flip-flop last fall, are both a waste of time. And now they are sleeping together—politically speaking!! George Campos Upland, Calif.