It can seem to us that each day brings news of yet another setback or some new ominous cultural development that’s concerning to Christians, each one another straw on the back of an already overloaded camel.
But as recent events in California demonstrate, these trends can be resisted and, if not reversed, at least held at bay.
In late June, Eric Metaxas told us about California’s Senate Bill 1146. The bill, as its author, Senator Ricardo Lara, admitted, targeted Christian colleges and universities that adhered to traditional Christian teaching on human sexuality, including same-sex erotic relationships.
The bill would have required schools receiving religious exemptions from state or federal anti-discrimination laws to disclose this fact publicly. This alone would have created a state-mandated “hit list” that would have facilitated harassment and worse from LGBT activists.
But S.B. 1146 didn’t stop there. It would have limited the above-mentioned exemptions to seminaries and “religious vocational training schools.” Thus, Christian colleges and universities—schools such as Biola and Azusa Pacific—who offer programs in say business or education or the sciences, would have had to choose between eligibility for state grants-in-aid and fidelity to Christian morality. As the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities pointed out, this would have a potentially devastating effect on low-income students who depend on Cal Grants—75 percent of whom are ethnic minorities.
But wait: there was more. The bill also would have created a private right for LGBT people to sue if they felt discriminated against. Even if the person didn’t prevail in court, the potential for damage awards and the accompanying legal fees and bad publicity would have created a significant burden on schools that often struggle to keep the doors open in the first place.
