Human rights -- whatever happened to freedom?

Dr. Diane on an important message about our freedom of rights ...

June 2008

I just received a mailing from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The envelope was printed with "Human Rights Tribunal's decision has potential to impact every ministry PLEASE READ".

The letter inside talks about a case against a Christian ministry that's been in operation since 1964 to provide care and group homes across Ontario to special-needs children.

According to the letter, Christian Horizons ministry employs 2,500 faith motivated people to serve the needs of 1,400 developmentally disabled residents in orver 180 residenial homes in Ontario.

The ministry has been highly successful and has contributed to the province's decision to move into a community group-home model for similar social services.

As any true-to-its-faith Christian ministry, Christian Horizons operates under a mandate from God and as such is Christian in nature and maintains the faith convictions of the Bible.

An article in the National Post of April 29, 2008, reports the case against Christian Horizons of an employee who confessed being a lesbian, five years after signing the ministry's Lifestyle and Morality Statement.

The one adjudicator acting as an Ontario Human Rights Tribunal decided that the requirement that all employees agree to and live by this requirement is not reasonable because, it states among other things, the organization does not serve a Christian-only clientele.

I worked for World Vision some years ago and the requirements were the same. They are a Christian ministry and offer services to all humanity -- Christian or non-Christian. But the staff needs to be in agreement with the statement of faith which is based on the Bible.

Now, my argument here is not for or against homosexuality, that's a whole other issue. My argument is that every ministry or business or organization should have the right to require certain criteria of their employees. And if an employee finds him/herself at odd at any time they should simply leave and move on to some other place of employment.

That is the freedom we all have -- or should have... used to have -- in our country and any other free democratic country. That's what men and women have fought and given their lives for in wars passed and continue to do in wars present today.

Freedom comes at a high price and yet we have people in the very midst of that freedom deciding against what people of our Country and others fought and died for.

I don't get it! Really.

The point of the EFC's letter is that this case and other cases like it, if left unchallenged have the potential to affect other Christian ministries. With an assembled group of qualified and legal minds, they are the soldiers of this continued war on freedom of beliefs.

Let's support one another. Go to their web site today and help out -- it's that important.(evangelicalfellowship.ca).

As you browse through this web site, may the Lord bless you with His Word...

P.S.:Please pray for this ministry that the Lord will place it on the hearts of people to send in a donation to help cover the expenses and the growth and vision of this ministry.

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